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MG TD TF 1500 - 55 TF 1500 for sale
Been sitting at my place for over a year. The family has decided to sell it. I don't have a price yet but will give anyone interested the contact details. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfdOW1e8irk Might have to cut and paste to see the video I made a year ago. |
L E D LaVerne |
LaVerne, Your knowledge of TF's would lend me to believe your assessment of this one. Can you give your thoughts? Bruce |
Bruce Cunha |
I was going to send you an email Bruce but I'll just post my observations here from when I brought the car to my place about a year ago.....
I thought it might be best if I put down a few thoughts about the car. I rolled it off the trailer when I got home and into my shop. I had a look at the carburators as i knew the piston was stuck it the front carb. I discovered that there were two different needles and that the front one was improperly installed. I had an old correct needle that I put in it. I attempted to start the car as I was going to move it to the other side of my shop that has the lift so I could have a look at the underside of the car but as I was turning the engine over I noticed that it wasn't making any oil pressure. I discovered that the flex line that runs from the block to the oil gauge had ruptured and the oil was spilling out on the floor so I moved it over by hand after changing the tire that would not hold air to the spare. There are signs that either the rear axle oil seals or the rear brake cylinders are leaking. Not good as far as braking goes. So that should definatley be addressed. If it has been quite a few years since anything was done with the brake system, it would be wise to flush the system and replace all of cylinders and rubber hoses. The rear tires and the spare are not safe to use by any standard. I looked through the box of papers and I see the fronts were purchased around 2008 if I remember correctly so they could be used a bit more if desired. The ride and handling would be much improved if all of the tires were replaced with radials. The carburetors shafts are very sloppy and they should be rebuilt. It appears that the radiator may have been leaking and should be repaired and replace all of the hoses.. Fuel tank doesn't look too bad but should probably be flushed and the filter replaced. It looks like a new fuel pump was put on the car not that long ago. It is not the correct type pump and the wiring connection is a little dangerous. The fuel cap is not original but probably works better The interior panels don't look all that bad. They are not totally correct just ( Amco replacements ) for information. The seats need some attention as the passenger side has a tear and the back of the drivers side is loose. Missing the tonneau bars . The carpet...missing the drivers side floor and much of the rest isn't in great shape. Black would be the correct color for information. The wood appears to be in pretty good shape. The wiring looks sort of ok but it's hard to judge as it isn't done with a correct harness. The chrome on the car is in good shape. The paint however is not. The sheet metal is about as good as I have ever seen on an unrestored "T" car but it could really do with a total respray. The frame was painted the same cream color as the body which isn't correct as it should have been black. Much of it has flaked away and it has exposed bare metal which will be subject to rusting. The underside of the running boards shows the cream color flaking away as well and showing some of the original black paint. To paint the car correctly requires that it be totally disassembled. . Here are a few more observations after having gotten the car started and driving it around the block. The tachometer isn't working. I will have to determine whether it is the tachometer itself, the cable or the reduction gear box. The rest of the instruments are working. The speedometer bounces a great deal and it is most like due to the cable. The amp gauge is reading in reverse. The reason for that is most likely because the battery has been connected as a negative ground. The car was originally positive ground. This should be fairly easy to correct. The shocks are leaking fluid and should be removed and sent off to be rebuilt. The suspension bushings front and rear have pretty well perished and should be replaced. The engine oil pressure is lower than it should be which is an indication that the bearings and or the crankshaft journals are most likely worn. I will do a compression check on it sometime this week to get a better idea of the condition. I will probably check the valve clearances at that time. The 1500 engine in your TF is a fairly rare item and almost impossible to find a replacement should it have a catastrophic failure. I haven't seen or heard anything yet that indicates that that is about to happen, but depending on how long ago and how many miles are on it since the last rebuild some thought towards rebuilding the engine may need to be considered. The transmission worked very well. The brakes also worked very well. The steering worked fine but the car darts when getting on or off the throttle. This is usually due to worn bushings on the rear suspension. The car has a number of things that are not correct but none that I can see that cannot be corrected. It has an old black vinyl top but no signs of any side curtains or a jack. |
L E D LaVerne |
Take a bit of money and a lot of time to bring it up to a respectable condition, a LOT of money to bring it up to show condition, but it looks like a nice candidate for a restoration. The sheet metal looks like it's nice and straight. If it's been stored inside most of it's life the wood should be good. Depending on how far a buyer wants to go with it, the price it can be had for would be a definite consideration. Just my 2 cents. PJ |
PJ Jennings |
This thread was discussed between 13/11/2017 and 14/11/2017
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