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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 - I picked it up today....

Well, i'm sure you have all been there... some a long time ago, some not so long ago.
I picked up "my" (that sounds pretty good) 1953 MGTD this morning and trailered it home.
It had been put away in 1978, unfortunately in a barn, and with the top stowed.
Going to be an interesting upcoming few years, but it is really solid and all the parts are there.
Am sure i will be asking lots of questions over the next while (like where can i have a key made...the original ones have gone missing, and how do you stretch a canvas top?) and look forward to contributing what i can as i gain knowlege.

http://www3.sympatico.ca/gordonblawson/td/td.eht
g.b.lawson

Yea! & Congrats! Join the NEMGTR. Who needs a key? My brother stole his 1st car, (a TD) just by removing the fuses, & putting one in between the space between the two. {we were about 10 years old, the owner was dad}, we wanted to drive the car in the back of dads used car lot!!!! He alo crashed it!!Dad got us back by passing on the dreaded LBC gene! Keep the shiny side up & the rubber side down. Len
Len Fanelli

Gord,

I see you live in 'vaaxine' country.

You've got a GREAT source of T-Series parts in Paul Montgomery in St. Catherines. In fact, that all he sells, plus a few MGA parts. Sources most of his parts from the UK. None of that cheeep !%@# stuff! Also, he's a Moss sub-dlr.

As for the key - simple my dear Watson. Look VERY carefully at the face of the lock cylinder and note a faintly-inscribed number. One of the members of the Montreal MG Car Club can reproduce an original key just with the number.

Contact me off line for his coordinates.

And oh yes, as Len has reccommended, be sure to join the NEMGTR (www.nemgtr.org).

Gord Clark #100
Rockburn, Qué.
Gordon A. Clark

Gordon - Go to the classified adverts. on the MG Cars Enthusiast Club (same outfit that hosts this BBS), under USA, parts for sale. Usually toward the bottom of the list is an advert for keys made. Contact that gentelman about making keys for you. The classified index is at:
http://www.mgcars.org.uk/class/index.html
Good luck (and congratulations) - Dave
David DuBois

CONGRATS. LAST FALL I PICKED UP MY 50 TD IN MARYLAND AND TRAILERED IT TO ILLINOIS. I HAVE BEEN WORKING ALL WINTER ON THE RESTORATION. I AM AT THE POINT OF STRIPPING OLD PAINT AND GETTING IT REPAINTED. UNFORTANATELY, AN ILLNESS HAS SET ME BACK A BIT. ONE OF MY LIFE'S GOALS HAS BEEN TO REBUILD AN OLD SPORTS CAR. THE TD IS FUN. THERE IS LOTS OF HELP OUT THERE. I FOUND THAT ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS ASK.

GOOD LUCK. HAVE FUN....ENJOY
J FLESHMAN

Welcome to the "illness" ....looks like a well preserved TD. Nice to see somebody was smart enough to put plastic under her in the barn...lucky you!
Ahhh another "phoenix" rissing from her sleep...warms the heart!
Cheers,
David 55 TF1500 #7427
David Sheward

Ahhhh if only... no it sat in an unprotected state in the original barn... the plastic i did in the barn i put it in...good thing i have a concrete floor and a bit of insulation. Actually its not to bad underneath... no major rust and most parts are there... am able to save most of the chrome with "autosol"... some is flaking off, but not bad. Now to drain the gas tank and clean out the lines/pump/carbs... the we can see if it will start.
g.b.lawson

g.b.
Don't know what your gonna use to clean out fuel lines but what I used on my Rover 3500S was a 20ft length of speedometer cable hooke into my cordless torque drill.. It acts just cleaning the toilet. It also helps the carb cleaner find it's way down inside.
Greg & Grimm
G.J. Cenzer

g.b.,
Oops I see now, that was an "after she came home" pic.
w/the plastic. So your the smart one! Good call on the "hood fix" as well. Welcome aboard....we've got lots of questions for a smart guy like you! Nice to have you with us.
Cheers,
David 55 TF1500 #7427
David Sheward

Another pretty good day... got the upholstery out and started cleaning it... it had been pretty moldy and hardened... Have treated it with a couple of things... zymol (didn't do much), leathertique cleaner and oil (little better)... and i had some other cleaner that seemed to clean the best...duh! i forget the name. anyway have added even more photos on the site.
g.b.lawson

This thread is great for the soul. It's kind of like waiting in the delivery suite, for the next report from the Dr./Midwife/Nurse, The enthusiasm from G&G, is what got us into these cars.

My 1st, a '53, was test driven at about 11:30 PM, at the home of a used car salesman, (it was his girl friend's car). I was accompanied by MY girl friend, now my wife of 30 something. Unfortunately it is gone, but my MKII came shortly after we were married and is still here.

Press on. G&G.

Safety Fast

Paul
Paul Gaynor

Hey Gord: You have an original MGTD footwell. Don't through it away. If you don't want it I will take it from you.

Notice the little indentation on the lip. That is where it was sewn into the carpet. I am going to post this pic on the MGTD web page.

Chris
Chris Couper

What webpage is that?
I hadn't even looked down into the footwells...just from under the car (it was pouring rain the first day i saw and photographed it)... what a surprise to find perfect side curtains and that little rubber footwell boot.
By the way... neetsfoot oil (horse people do their tack with it) seems to be softening the seats... have applied a couple coats so far and think another few should do the trick... love the old patina (and a good thing with the price of kits...) Anywhere i can get patterns for the carpeting?
g.b.lawson

Gord:

http://www.mgcars.org.uk/mgtd/

Enjoy.

Chris
Chris Couper

Gord: Unless you are going to do a show car you really don't need carpet paterns. Its real easy. You cover the transmission housing with one piece, the drive tunnel with another (emg brake is on top of carpet), you cut out carpet under each seat, there is a little carpet tunnel underneath that cutout on the seat back on top of the drive shaft. Then cover the foot rest with carpet, and the area on the floor in the passenger area. The driver side goes up around the stearing column with a cutout. Lastly there is one piece that covers the area under the firewall where the accelorator shaft is. The carpet on the floorboards covers the others and pretty much snugs up against the panels and trans/drive covers. There are also cutouts where the set rails attach if you want to be a purist.

Chris
Chris Couper

g.b.
On carpet I have a complete set that came out of my TF.
Black. I had it listed on ebay once as "the carpet from hell"...no takers. It has a nastie "orange foam backing" that is seperating from the carpet and blows around the cockpit getting in your eye's and mouth...
(has a loverely "old car taste" to it). The Carpet itself looks very nice. If you scrape the backing off and glue something else on there you would have some nice looking carpet. It would take some work but if you pay the postage it's yours. If you decide not to go through the work on the backing fix you would have a good pattern. Contact me if interestead.
Cheers & keep us updated...the enthusiasm is indeed good for the soul for those of us that have been here!
David 55 TF1500 #7427
David Sheward

Thank you David...just sent you email
Just spent the morning at the barn (8:00 till 11:00)... used a leather cleaner (Eagle one...black spritzer bottle...the one that got a lot of the stains off the leather seats yesterday)... on all the vinyl (what is that neat name?) and a soft scrub brush, the dirt that came off was incredible... got everything done but the dash... that i will do this afternoon...
Used penetrating oil on all the bolts under the hood and then used the overspray as a cleaner...hmmm... shone up pretty well.
Not sure what kind of fuel pump was put on last, but it certainly isn't stock...not attached to anything except the fuel lines...
Anyway... more adventures at the barn (posted a neat photo of the barn/car on that website.

http://www3.sympatico.ca/gordonblawson/td/td.eht


g.b.lawson

I used STP inerior cleaner and about 8 rolls of paper towels on mine. Then Leatherique in the sun. Then a product called MOC, which is neatsfoot and mink oil combined. The leather seats that were sitting for 33 years now look rather nice. The folks at Leatherique can sell you dye to touch up any bad spots.

I saved my interior. The leather is a bit stiffer and thicker than new ones. It looks like you can do the same, that is, salvage/restore the interior. Doing so is fun and saves a lot of cash.

Congratulations! Only 3 1/2 years ago I started a similar journey, and am now on the road (most of the time) and having fun.

You have joined a great fraternity on this board.

Ira
Ira Spector

g.b.
You might have been luckier than you thought with your TD stored in a barn since '78. If the barn was also used to store hay, the hay pulls the moisture out of the air and reduces the rusting/rotting effects. I recently ran across a '80 (ugh) MGB in long term storage in such a barn. No sign of corrosion...dirt - but no corrosion.
Good luck up there.
Walter
51 TD
Walter Thompson

Thanks all... i seem to have been pretty lucky... what i thought was going to be a year or two of savings to replace paint, interior, rechroming , rebuilding...might have been reduced a fair amount. Have spent 3 days (gee, did i just get it Friday) cleaning, and although everything isn't in the best of shape (i like to think of it as "old MG patina"), i think i might be on the road without the rebuild i had planned...
Haven't gotten into the mechanics... the wheels and brakes are next, but i'm a bit ahead of where i thought i would be.

http://www3.sympatico.ca/gordongblawson/td/td.eht
g.b.lawson

g.b.,

Don't restore it! Get it mechanicaly in good shape but why destroy the patina? You'll attract all the crowds in a row of gleaming trailer queens!
Willem van der Veer

Your right... the patina is really beautiful...

I just got back from the barn and have a whole new respect for Morris Garages... I have owned an MGA coupe and Bugeye, but never seen something like this.
I'm cleaning the dash/facia ...all the chrome has a haze of oxidation and crud on it... the green covering is really dirty. Sitting on the floor without the seats propped against the bare tunnel (thats a pain...darn emergency brake cable ends) i start at the passenger side... the green covering cleans up just like the side panels. The chrome around the glove box gleams and the choke cleans right up... at that point i looked up at the rear view mirror and it was terrible...got underneath the dash upside down (i'm 6'4")...my legs hanging over the door (this all with the top up as i'm still stretching it...)
I get the bolt under the dash easily... I take the corroded rear view over to the bench...
Now, it seems to me the MGA mirror was clipped from behind by 4 tabs folded over a piece of mirror (this was a long time ago)....
I remove the four tiny little screws on the top and bottom...as i got the last one off i felt a bit of pressure... i carefully remove the mirror rim from the back and there is a "spring" in there...and a little sheet of card/paper to protect the back of the mirror...instead of a rubber gasket, it just presses the mirror against the front of the rim... amazing...that thing is made up of 9 pieces... "9" !!!!!!!! what a solid little piece of design. Spent an hour on it... it now gleams with that old deep shine look.
What fun....
g.b.lawson

Have had a couple requests about the file i use on my site... .eht (extended html) seems some browsers are trying to download it...think the new Netscape... anyway... have added another in .html

http://www3.sympatico.ca/gordonblawson/td/td.html

That should fix the problem....
g.b.lawson

This level of enthusiasm is so neat...wasn't too long ago I was here doing the same on this BBS...(except I had a bunch of really dumb questions!)..and evebody was helping me out. I still find myself staring at my "T" finding it hard to belive she's mine(er..rather...I'm hers). A lot to be said for the "patina" on one of these cars. The big decession for me to take mine down to bare metal was made after seeing just how much body filler the PO used in an effort to make the car "perfect"...(it was cracking under the paint) When I put it back together this go around we left that out. I love the "imperfections" in the body..one of my favorite spots...just behind the passanger side door on the tub...you can see where someone 50 years ago "formed" the curves with a ball pien hammer...it was covered up before...but to me that's the beauty of a car that was hand made! I have 1 piece of "repro chrome" it's small and I won't tell what it is...but it's my least favorite part of the car! My favorite piece of chrome...the "missing" dash surround that was given to me for free by another T brother on this post..he said it would need re-chromed....it polished up just fine...you still reading these post Larry? KEEP IT REAL>>>KEEP IT STEEL>>>SHINE IT UP AND GET IT DIRTY!!!!

I can't belive it...everybody wants the "carpet from hell" now...sorry guys it's going to g.b. you missed the chance! Hummor Break:
I had to look...yep ...still have the text from the ebay add....this had an opening bid of $.01 on it and a reserve of $.05:
MG mgtf MGTD CARPET SET / USED LOW $$!!
On a tight budget? …Need a “pattern” to make your own? Best described as “the carpet from hell”! The “carpet side” is really nice looking and the nap and edges look great. The “backing” is horrid.. some unique formula of “orange foam crap” that appears to be somewhat “bio-degradable” in composition, it is “shedding” and will drive you nuts with the mess it makes! If somebody has the time and desire to scrape it off and/or glue something new to the back of it the “nap” really looks nice. ( I highly recommend NOT doing this in the living room) It was driving me nuts getting in my eye’s “whilst cornering robustly” and it really taste bad as well! It has wonderful “old car smell” to it. The reserve is low ….very low….don’t get crazy and bid accordingly so you are not disappointed!
Cheers,
David 55 TF1500 #7427
David Sheward

This thread was discussed between 22/05/2004 and 25/05/2004

MG TD TF 1500 index

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