T-Series Towing MG TD

[Guest]

The MG expert who sold me his car mentioned in passing that he had a tow bar he used to tow the TD behind his Jeep. He said that it worked by removing the two large front bumper bolts, storing the bumper in the Jeep and using those attach points for the tow bar. Has anyone seen such a product or might know where to buy it?

 

[90 XJ-S]

He probably either made it or had it made.

My advice, forget the tow bar, get a trailer. Better for the MG and better for your nerves.

As they say... Just my $.02

By the way, Welcome to the forum. Glad you brought your TD and joined us.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif
Mike

 

[Bugeye58]

I have a similar setup that is made by "Blue Ox".
I towed a Sprite from California to Michigan with it, and had no problems at all. It consists of the towbar portion, and then an adapter plate that comes as a blank. I drilled the appropriate holes to attach it to the front bumper mounts of the Sprite.
Jeff

 

[Steve_S]

My vote is for a trailer as well. Saves wear and tear on the car and protects it from debris.

 

[Guest]

Thanks to all. My TD arrived yesterday and today I "borrowed" the plates from one of my daily drivers and gave the TD a 50 mile "test run" Quickly discovered these things do not belong on the highway. I cruised at about 3000
rpm which seemed to be the car's comfort zone. Traffic was whizzing past so I exited and kept to local streets...much better! Shifting these old boxes was also a new experience and I will have to figure that out.

Steve

 

[Guest]

Jeff

Can you give me some specs or part/model numbers on the blue ox rig??

Thanks

Steve

 

[Bugeye58]

Steve, I'll do it tomorrow, and let you know. Right now it's dark and rainy outside, and the thing is in the trailer.
Jeff

 

[Guest]

That is very kind of yoy...no rush at all

 

[Steve_S]

You may consider changing the rear end to a higher ratio. It will help highway cruising immensly.

 

[Guest]

Steve
I am such a newbie that I either have to wait for an education or find a shop that works on these cars. I have no idea what kind of ratio is installed but if I can locate a local expert through the MG Registry I will look into improving performance. For the moment the car works perfectly and I like cruising side roads at 40-45 mph.

 

[Bugeye58]

A TD is matched perfectly to cruising the by-ways and lanes at 45-55 MPH. A hamper and throw robe handy, pull off where you want, uncork a bottle of wine to go with the contents of the hamper, and voila, perfection.
A TD was never about performance, unless judged with its contemporaries. It was always a poorer mans version of "Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?"
At least that's always been my take. Of all the "T" series, to me a TD was the most desireable.
Jeff

 

[Steve_S]

Steve, changing the differential will give a different final drive ratio. However this affects performance in more than one way. Going to a higher ratio will effectively raise all four gears equally, which of course lowers the RPMs at a given speed. So driving on the highway at 55 MPH will be much more pleasant - less noisy and easier on the car. However the downside of this is that acceleration will suffer. The TF does not have a lot of horsepower, so raising the gears will put additional load on the engine during acceleration. It won't hurt any, just slow down acceleration a little bit.

You can equate it to changing gears on a bicycle. Changing the rear end in your car is like shifting into the next higher gear on the bike. Your pedaling slows, but it's harder to accelerate, making high-speeds more comfortable but lower speeds less so.

There are a few different ratios to choose from and I don't remember what ratio the TF came with originally. It's probably a 4.55:1. You can upgrade it to 4.3:1 which should give a good balance between lowered RPM and minimal loss of acceleration. I'd recommend talking to a local TF owner to see what his car is like, as most likely he has changed the gears. Good luck!

PS... FWIW, My '53 YB revs very high on the highway and i do plan to change the gearing to better suit modern traffic. It was geared with slow, windy British roads in mind and can pull a tree stump in first!

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the info. Given my lack of experience with these cars I am going to seek out the local TD owners (quite a few) and hopefully find a pair of magic hands available for hire to keep my car in top shape. I can do the basics but taking apart the rear end or transmission is at the moment beyond my skills

 

[Bugeye58]

Steve, the Model # of my towbar is BX4202. There is no number on the baseplate that attaches to the vehicle, but here is the link to the Blue Ox web-site.

https://www.aemfg.com/index.html

They have a list of dealers by location, so perhaps you can find one locally, and see what they have to offer.
My baseplate is nothing more that a chunk of 3/8"x 4" flat stock with ears welded on to accept the towbar.
And, of course your car leaks oil. It's marking its territory! The day that any of mine stop leaking, I will be concerned that they are out of oil! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Jeff

 

[Guest]

Thank you. The information is very helpful. I don't expect to ever tow the car as a matter of getting it from one place to another, but the thought of having that device should I get stranded by the roadside sounds like a nice security blanket. If I can call my better half and tell her to bring the Jeep and the bar, I think I will be less nervous about venturing out in a 51 year old car.

Appreciate the reassurance about old car incontinence. If it was my "real car" I would be at the dealer Monday but
I think I will settle for an "adult diaper" under the tranny. I managed to actually discover the transmission dip stick (those sneaky Brits /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif )and the oil was at full as was the crancase.

 

[martyc]

[ QUOTE ]
---snip--- should I get stranded by the roadside sounds like a nice security blanket. ---snip---

[/ QUOTE ]

s hess, you might also want to consider a AAA membership. For a few dollars more than their "regular" membership, they have a "100-mile radius, tow it anywhere" sort of offering. That's my security blanket. As long as I stay within 100 miles of home, I can count on getting a "free" tow home. Several other collector car owners suggested it to me, as well. I'd avoid the standard offering, however, which will just tow you to the nearest garage, not anywhere you want.

Hope this helps!

 

[Guest]

Triple AAA would be great but I have to see if they offer a flatbed. The thought of my TD with its nose or rear end in the air on a hook is so painful I would prefer to sleep next to it along the highway all night if necessary.

Will check if AAA has a flat bed only option

 

[Steve_S]

You can specify a flatbed tow. I've done it a few times. And the extended coverage is worth the extra cost.

 

[martyc]

Like Steve S says...you can specify a flat bed tow...I checked before I signed up. Let me know if AAA tells you anything different!

 

[Guest]

Sounds like a plan /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif