• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

T-Series MG TD

Share this page

R

ralph_s

Jedi Trainee
Offline
I'm off to look at a 1953 MG TD. Never been involved w/ TD's before. What should I look for as problem areas. I'm not concerned about the engine/tranny but don't know diddly about the bodies/frames.
Thanks for any suggeations.
 
Wood rot....the entire body is wood covered with thin metal!

Straightness of front fenders.

Completeness.
 
Frame is steel and typically good. Floors are body and body timbers (under sheet metal)is ash. Look for wood around cowl and underneath where it is visible. Take 100 pics and post them here. Us T-series owners will be able to steer you in the right direction.

What's the asking price and what's the condition? Western/southern car or eastern/northern car?
 
Car is located in PA, but don't any history history. I'll get that during the visit. Asking price is firm at $2500. For my understanding, the frame is steel w/ wooden floor boards and wood?? Are parts readly available in US?
 
Frame is steel...body is metal over wood....wooden floorboards are the least of your possible wood problems! I paid about that for my '53 & spent 10 years & way more than its worth totally restoring it...parts are available...Moss has a catalg for them.
 
I've always been a better carpenter then welder....maybe this is the car for me. LOL
I'll post some pixs when I get them and collect the 2nd,3rd & 4th opinions.
Thanks

ps still gotta break the news to my wife, wish me luck!!
 
We'll convince her ;-).
 
Unless it is totally rusted, rotted, and ruined, that is a good price for any TD... have seen frames without wheels sitting in fields that go for that!
The frame, as mentioned is steel...the body has a wooden frame of ash, again as mentioned, which has its metal skin tacked to it...
Quarter panels usually rust (mine have), but all the tub panels are pretty much flat metal... not too hard to repair or replace.
If the wood is rotted (you can see wood around the firewall where the body panels meet it...usually painted, but wood just the same and the ends of this wood can be seen from under the car), it becomes a pretty major job to rebuild.
You can build a new TD with parts from Moss and a few others, however, they are offshore and can be tough to fit...not to mention not quite the quality of original...
Check eBay and you will find hundreds of hits for MGTD
 
Ralph- I've owned T series MG's for more than 35 years. The best advice I can give is to buy the best you can afford, not what looks to be cheap. If someone were to give you a pile of TD parts that would make a complete car, you're looking a Twenty Thousand Plus to get it nice shape. Said another way...you'll spend more than it's worth to get it the way you want it. If you really want a TD look for someone else's abandoned project. One that has had a gearbox rebuild, an engine rebuild, a tub rebuild, etc. There are a lot of TD's out there, keep looking.
 
If nothing else, buy it for parts. Have you seen prices for fenders. The cankshaft new is right at $3000. The wood is the main thing to look at. If its still together, check how the doors open and shut. If you have to farm out any of the work to be done, you will not come out. Otherwise like Sebring said, buy the best you can afford if you have the T series bug.

Marv
 
Well it all became moot as someone else made an offer before I got to see the car in person. The pixs on craigs list looked good, but needed to put a set on "eyes" on it. Probably was for the better as it would have been a distraction to my bugeye resto project.
Thanks to all for the advice & support.
 
Happens...not meant to be this time!
 
Back
Top