MG-Cars.net

Welcome to our resource for MG Car Information.

Recommendations

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG TD TF 1500 - Genuine Mark II on eBay

A genuine Mark II TD is being sold on eBay (180597700991), reserve not met at $7600 with 3 days to go. A "ground-up restoration" that boasts "suspension, carburator and frame updates", the dealer mixes up the usual "larger clutch and oil pan" with the Mark II specs. Unfortunately, it also has a replaced engine (which the dealer does not mention mention...).

It's an attractive car with a Bugatti-like paint swoosh, but has the chrome painted on the gas tank ends, a formica-looking wood dash, repro instruments and tatty-looking dash controls. It lacks the original air filter system (don't they almost all?), but looks like a decent driver with all the other visible Mark II details present (fuel pumps, Andri, 1-1/2" carbs).

Tom
t lange

Why would anybody do all that to a car and not clean or paint the inside of the wheels. I did not see any photos of the engine area at all.
However someone is a decent WORDSMITH. Possibly a plaigerist as I am certain that I have read that description before.
Sandy
SANDY SANDERS

Sandy - perhaps they didn't load on your computer, but there are a whole bunch of engine photos, as well as some very dizzying upside-down views of the undercarriage. The engine tag and the ID tag are both shown, and are clearly non-matching.

Tom
t lange

....my goodness... its one thing to include dozens of photos....but perhaps they should be all different, rather then multiples of the same shot.... although if you flip through them fast enough, the passenger door handle does some neat animation.....!
gblawson(gordon- TD27667)

If the suspension was updated, how come they left the old deteriorating rubbers in the lower control arms? I wonder what else isn't on the up and up? $27,500?? PJ
P Jennings

Hey, it has a goose-poo-proof hood! LOL
David Sheward

Whew, what a mess. The part that was evidently restored looks 20 years old with the rotten rubber, filth everywhere,wrong engine- very possibly not a MkII engine. Probably a decent car for $12-15,000. George
George Butz

Wonder if it really has MKII spec carbs and head? as well as rear end.

I know the only thing MKII on mine was the badges and rear end unfortunately
l rutt

Is a Mark II engine the same as a 1500 engine appearance wise? PJ
P Jennings

Other than badging there is virtually no external difference between a 1250 and a 1500, and nothing to distinguish a Mark II engine - remember that there is nothing internally different, other than valves and a higher compression ratio.

The ID number on the engine plate can be used to determine whether an engine is a Mark II - I have engine numbers for all Mark II cars, and can look it up.

My guess is that this car has the right externals but the wrong internals - the engine is not a Mark II engine based on the s/n. The diff usually does not get changed out.

Tom
t lange

The closer you look at this car, the more things you find. This photo amazes me, from how their describing the car, why would they post it? Rusty wheel, oil on the shock, rotten rubber, plus it's filthy under there, they didn't even wash the underside! Oh well, if this is a California trend, I'm glad I don't live there. PJ




P Jennings

How do you tell that the instruments are repro rather than restored originals? They look good to my untutored eyes. Matt
Matt Davis

I'm going from memory (and instinct) here, but I think the needles are different, and there is an inner bezel that the originals don't have. I may be wrong, but they feel a tad smaller than the originals, also.

For those who have not looked, it's stuck at $7,600 or Buy-It-Now for $27,500... And no mention yet that the engine is replaced! Gives you confidence in the dealer, doesn't it?


Tom
t lange

After a no-sale at $9100 the car is up a second time, again with no mention that the engine is a replacement. The dealer feels that showing the two ID plates should be enough for people to draw their own conclusions about whether the engine is original or not. Caveat emptor.

Tom
t lange

Well, I asked the dealer for the chassis number and had to tell them where it was at. I was given the number as they were supposed to have read it and to my surprise, the number they gave me is no good! No production number matches. Possibly read it wrong, but, whatever. Thought you'd like to know. PJ
P Jennings

PJ - the ID plate is shown, and it has a genuine TD/C number. The car feels OK to me. They have it listed under the engine number (XPAG 8293), which - because of the replaced engine - is no longer the correct number!. One can only hope that the title does not also have the earlier engine number...

Tom
t lange

The first time around this car closed at $11,101 with 16 bids, the second time it closed at $14,100 with 7 bids, and neither time met the reserve (Buy it Now of $27,500). The dealer doesn't seem to want to believe that it is a $12-15,000 car with the wrong engine and a pretty, but amateur "restoration".

It's up a third time with STILL no mention that the engine is a non-Mark II replacement, although he has been told this fact more than once. He asked me for the address of this forum and I hope he is reading this exchange, as I consider his omission a clear indication of his ethical stance. His inordinate photographs seem to be a case of, "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bulls**t." I know what the Mark II's suspension and carb updates are, but I'm still unclear what he means by the "frame update"! He claims the Mark II was introduced in mid-'51, but the first one actually rolled off the line in May of '50. And I'm so tired of people conflating the TD2 with the Mark II (according to the ad, the Mark II had the larger pan and clutch, which were actually introduced to the Mark II run in September, 1951).

Tom
t lange

It's back, again... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ORIG-CALIF-1951-MG-TD-MARK-II-GROUND-UP-RESTORATION-/180606788764?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item2a0d00e49c
D. Sander

This thread was discussed between 10/12/2010 and 31/12/2010

MG TD TF 1500 index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG TD TF 1500 BBS is active now.