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MG TD TF 1500 - BS?

E-bay kar of the day.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2491655379&category=31858

Says it has 9,190 "Original" miles.

Give me a break. It may only have that many miles on the Odometer, but please.

I especially like the 2" heater hose running directly from the bypass.

Also, look at the front pan. Looks like someone bent it up so the crank now goes under the pan.

Guess I can't say it does not have original miles, but this is sure no absolutly original vehice.
Bruce Cunha

Why recover leather seats when they have been hardly used?
John James

Hmm... black top and interior...one non stock horn/one missing....solid state fuel pump. That must have been some 9000 miles???
gordon.b.lawson '53TD

Does anybody else wonder if he is selling the E-Type and the 56 T-Bird?
John Redman

He lives very near me, so, I'll go look. BTW, the "red paint black interior" SHOULD say "red paint, black interior".
John Redman

In looking back over the picures, I love the heater hose. They are running the entire radiator system through the heater, considering the size of the hoses, I bet the interior gets nice an toasty.

Bruce Cunha

Perhaps that's why the interior is black!
John James

From the looks of that engine area it may have been original miles on a dirt track. That exhaust manifold tell the whole story.It has been heated and cooled 9000 plus times. Why was the temperature gauge cappilary tube wound around the radiator stay.Tank panels painted all over.Wrong filter,fuel pump aftermarket. No glove box door is seen on aftermarket dash board.that's enough as I'm running out of ink. Let hope some fish doesn't fall for that lie about originality.
Sandy Sanders
conrad sanders

Too many pictures that "say a thousand words" more about how impossible it is for this car to be as presented in the seller's statements of authenticity. Not only that, but I've met Grade 6 students who could do a better job of proofreading his description for grammar and spelling.
Gene Burgess

Square tail-lights on a '53?

Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué.
Gordon A. Clark

OK, you guys beat me to it. I did however forward the following info to the seller. Should be interesting to see if he changes the ad

"This may be a nice car but not original. To start with, the VIN is not 22,381 or there are a lot of "rare" TDs with the same VIN. The VIN # is on the plate on the right side of the battery behind the voltage regulator and starts with TD. The TD changed to round tailights in Oct of 52, the dimmer switch on the horn button was changed to floor mounted dimmer in Aug of 52, the wiper motor changed to center mount in Dec of 52, the air filters are after market replacing the aluminum intake and oil bath filter, the horn is from something else and the second one is missing, the fuel pump has replaced the SU and by looking at the wiring at the fuse box, it has been been rewired. If this is the original paint the chrome edge of the tank panels has been painted over. I would however, like to know what the engine # is, this is on the curb side of the engine an stamped into the octagon brass plate on the engine."

Regards,
Ron
Ron Boisvert

I also sent the seller a question regarding the obvious non-original items, refuting his claim of 100% original, questioning the "documented 9,194 miles", and stating that the car is likely a late '51 or early '52 model, etc. I did receive a response - Talk to my partner, I'm out of town for the rest of the week. Hmmm. Sounds like buck passing to me.

I also hope that some poor sucker doesn't fall for the "rare", "100% original", "documented 9,194 miles" claims this gentleman is making. I'm being nice, assuming that he is only repeating what he has told. Though I have to believe that anyone familiar with cars, not necessarily MG Ts, would be able to tell that this car has done considerably more than 9,194 miles and that some serious changes have been made to the car to render it less than 100% original. All of this we can tell from looking at a few photos!!!

Larry
'51TD
Larry Thompson

I am always amazed how bad these "very special cars" look, and I wonder how much it would cost to make of these wrecks a real TD that looks somewhat original. Think onlt of the air filter!

Denis
A real 1950 TD
Denis L. Baggi

Why do you guys keep harping on origionallity. Different strokes for different folks. That's why Ford and Chevy make different color cars? The car looks fine to me> I would just restamp the numbers. Roger
Roger Thompson

I think I bought one of Roger's cars once. It was a 1948 TC and it had sliding trunions on the springs. Nuff said. It was one of the nicest driving TC's? that I ever drove, It steered absoluitely perfect.60 MPH and it was hands off.
Sandy Sanders
conrad sanders

While I have no problem with a certain level of personalization on an enthusiast's car, --- my '52 MKII has bobbed fenders, a 3 bow top, a golfer (nee bottle stopper) rad ornament, no chrome face bars on the bumpers, red wheels with no hub caps, a Marshall blower and a console, but the measure should be 'period authentic', otherwise buy the Ford, or VW-based automatic gearbox'd-cruise controlled-blaupunkt'd replicar. I always thought the object of the game, was to find a car you liked for what it was, not make it into something else. Too many bad choices in the retrofits, have resulted in these 'look at what's on e-bay today' cars. I'll step down now.
Safety Fast
Paul
Paul

I guess everyone is harping on originality because of the sellers claims, which are clearly inaccurate (to be kind). True "originality", let alone 100% originality, is all but impossible for a 50+ year old car, unless it has been kept in a bubble since new. New tires? New hoses? New spark plugs?, etc. Not original. If the seller hadn't claimed "100% original" and "documented 9,194 miles", which appear inaccurate, if not fraudulent, I don't think this thread would even have been begun.

My 2 cents.
Larry Thompson

"The seller shall not be responsible for the correct description, authenticity, genuineness, or defects herein, and makes no warranty in connection therewith"

This would have been enough to scare me off!
US $11,301.00 (Reserve not met) is the best thing that could have happened to the high bidder!
Had it not been for the reserve..the heater wouldn't be the only thing getting "hosed" here!
Cheers,
David
David Sheward

To Roger Thompson: non-original cars look awful, except mine of course.

Denis
Denis L. Baggi

I find it kind of funny that a regular poster to this site once stated that a TD is not 100 percent origional after the first oil change. That says it all! I also think that if you do not own a T series car that you could not tell if it was origional or not. You only find this out after you are the owner of one. Roger
Roger Thompson

I too have the "original" dilemna now. Its easier to retain integrit of the guts (tranny, engine, rear axle) than the body and exterior parts. I've had to scrap all the wood and sheet metal from the doors back. Everything will be replacement except the doors. For all I know, the front fenders and running boards may already be Moss products. Once I started taking stuff off, I saw that almost all the major chrome products had been replaced already; my lesson learned the hard way -- bought it sight unseen on E-Bay. On the other hand its what I wanted, a project car.
I hope it'll turn as many heads as my Spitfire does.
RM Kaplan

People see a Spitfire, MGA, or MGB and look at you driving by... sometimes they smile...
With a T series...they wave and yell...and when you are parked (even at a stoplight), they walk/run/stroll over and ask questions...or 1 out of 5 tell you they "had one way back when"... and middle to older age ladies get this funny "glint" in their eyes...Like they "really" remember when!!!!!!
gordon.b.lawson '53TD

Absolutly correct Gordon. I find that one of the greatest pluses of owing a TD. I get as much attention in driving the TD than some of the fanciest hot rods on the road do. Perhaps it is because it was a car that many had at one time.
Bruce Cunha

It's the ten year old kids that I find really notice the car.
D Clark

This thread was discussed between 27/09/2004 and 26/10/2004

MG TD TF 1500 index

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