• 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 so I get this '53 MG TD...now what??

260chrisb

Freshman Member
Offline
Help!! I have acquired a '53 MG TD and have no idea what to do with it short of offering it for sale. I'm a german car guy! The car has been sitting most of the last 25 years and last ran about 12 years ago after the owner of 33 years decided to spend about 3K to get it running after it sat for about 10 years so I know it runs. They literally drove it about 25 miles and it was back in the garage for another 12 years.....the car has been in a garage for the last 33 years. It has 33,000 miles on the clock. I want to research the VIN to see if there is any historical significance and try to come up with a value and asking price. Where does a guy start? The VIN is: XPAGTD228388. Thanks. Chris Burd 574-514-6292.
 
That's not the vin. and is usually the body type. The vin is either a body number or an engine number listed on a plate on the battery box. Show us some pics of the plate and the car and we can help. Unless it's a TD Mark II, or an Arnolt TD, not much in the way of significance.

Try here for more info.

https://www.mgcars.org.uk/mgt.html#MGTD
 
Chris - "XPAGTD228388" This is the engine number of the car. If that number was taken off the makers plate affixed to the front of the tool box on the drivers side, under the bonnet, then it was the original engine that cam in the car. It is a rather late engine and if it is the original engine, it would place the car in the mid 53 time frame. E-mail me at SUfulepumps@donobi.net and I'll send you a write up of the significant number on the car and where they can be found. If you got the above number off the title of the car, then it may well have been in a state that used engine numbers to identify the cars back in the 50s. such states were Wisconsin, California and several others.
Cheers,
 
Unfortunately, unless you've heard it run in the last few days, we don't know that it runs.

As the owner of a '53 TD that underwent a total restoration, I'll tell you that some things are expensive & hard to do (woodwork), some are just expensive (rechroming everything) & most is just disassembly, repair/replace & paint.

Need photos to value it......does it have its top? Side curtains? How is the wood (entire body is wood with metal nailed over....does it run or is the enginer locked up?

Lots of variables....bur, basically, a '53 TD that needs 100% restoration isn't very significant nor valuable (i.e., not gonna bring much money in that shape) The lucky thing you apparently have is a car that's all there.
 
Re: so I get this '53 MG TD...now what?? Update.

Thanks for the many replies. I'm already learning! I have about 20 pictures of this car that can be sent or posted. The VIN is: TD 27983. I understand it's difficult to set a value for a car that has sat for so long and is not currently running. I also understand the cost of restoration. I need a starting point and welcome suggestions. The car is in very good overall condition, is not damaged, has very little rust, straight panels, and is complete. It's been in a garage for the past 33 years and has not run in 13.
 
Re: so I get this '53 MG TD...now what?? Update.

Just watch ebay for a while and you'll get a sense of its value. Also, you can post up an auction on ebay with a safe reserve number and just see how the national market values it. Not perfect, but very educational.
 
Re: so I get this '53 MG TD...now what?? Update.

Why not pass it on to someone for the same price you paid for it? Someone who, of course, is interested in restoring it and not parting it out.
 
Re: so I get this '53 MG TD...now what?? Update.

I'm still looking at the photos.....at lweast it isn't disassembled like mine was when I bought it.....but, it does need everything if you want to make it a driver.....couldn't see the condition of the wood but didn't see any serious body damage....that interior is, how do I say it, trash...seat looks decent as does the dash but everything else, uh-uh... can't tell you much about mechanicals except the engine is correct for the car....but they never had refrigerastor white tops & side curtains that I remember.
 
Back
Top