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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 Wonder Some Times,

What kinda person who has 1 or 2 rolling sets of wheels in the garage with, power steering, power brakes, automatic transmission, air conditioning, HEAT, GPS, over stuffed seats, a quietness that could put you to sleep if not careful, stereo that you can actually hear and also hold a normal conversation without yelling. This representation of high technology that when you get out of it, it doesn't take you forever to straighten up and walk away? Oh by the way, this high tech, high price beauty never gets covered either.
Then when he wants to ENJOY himself, jumps into this box of wood wrapped in tin that freezes you in the Winter, burns you up in the Summer, gets you wet when it rains, bounces you down the road like it has no springs, is noisy where you have to yell to talk to your passenger and when you try to get out of it after a 50 mile ride, it takes you 10 minutes before you can straighten up. Then after having so much fun, crawl around the garage floor tightning up a loose bolt, wiping up oil from wherever, dust it off,( heaven forbid leaving any dust on it), cover it and wait for the next fun day!
I just told a new TD owner that he was just bit by an incurable sickness that will only get worse! So are we crazy? Maybe so, as I have always heard that crazy people are happy people. My wife has told me that a few times. So I guess that explains it all. PJ
Paul sr

A new car is an appliance. A means to an end. an elevator.

A TD is an adventure in and of itself. Sense of pride just when it starts right off and idles nice. Even more so when it gets you back home and you give it a pat on the boot and tell it thanks for a nice ride.
L Rutt

All I know is I'm 19 again.
What's better than that!

Dan H.
Dan Hanson

A TD is like an open fireplace in the house- smells, smokes, is dirty and noisy and heats only very rudimentary. And needs permanent tinkering. But what a nice feeling compared to maintenance free central heating. Only difference is the oil stains that you don't get from a fireplace ;-)

Mike
Mike Fritsch

My wife says that she envies men the ability to have a happy childhood all their living days. Many female T owners on this list?

Regards,




Jan
Jan Kristoffersen

Now you really have me thinking Paul. I never thought of my TD as a car.

The problem is you are looking for a logic solution to a medical problem. There is one gene in our DNA that consists of a loose nut. Every one on this BBS is afflicted with it.
Mort (50 TD "Mobius")

It's mechanical poetry.
Mike
MJH Mike

Better still, throw the modern thing out and use the space and cash to buy more anachronistic contraptions.

FRM
FR Millmore

Let's face it-it makes us feel superior. To get where we want to go; we know that we must have better than average mechanical ability. Anyone with a fat billfold can drive a Porsche.
David Werblow

She's a refuge, mini vacation, from consuming technology.
Peter Dahlquist

To me MG's are not cars but A WAY OF LIFE!
DARNOC31

Well said...AOTA!
After a day of doing battle with ECM's, Sensors, 3000' of hoses running everywhere on the daily drivers I find the world of "spark, gas, Go" most rewarding.
Much more rewarding than 12hrs to change 3 spark plugs!
David Sheward 55 TF1500 # 7427

Nice writing, PJ!
Dave Braun

I enjoy being able to do everything in the driving experience. Shifting, steering and braking without assist, the ability to "feel" the car through the wheel and the pedals, being in "tune" with every noise the car makes, makes me appreciate just what a fine piece of hand crafted machinery I am fortunate enough to drive.
Nothing beats the convince and accuracy of a quartz watch, yet I still love the mechanical watches.
I also appreciate steam locomotives. They were such a symbol of mechanical greatness and strength. They were also a real nightmare to use. Three grown men would have to constantly labor to keep the thing going. They would have to stop frequently to add water, fuel and service the locomotive. Today, one man can sit in the cab of a diesel locomotive, lashed up to many others and pull a train. He only needs to flip levers and switches and keep an eye on the control panel. Simpler, cheaper and easier, YES! But the diesel just does not have the same charm as the steam locomotive.
What really scares me is the safety, or lack of it. The older I get, the more I appreciate the advances in automotive safety. I used to believe if I was safe on the road, I would be ok. Life experience has taught me otherwise. I have been in several horrific accidents through no fault of my own. I will spend the rest of my days in constant pain due to this.
I was driving a new Subaru (I had owned it for three months) and I was hit head on, then broad sided, then it rolled over. If I was driving an older car, I would not have survived.
Knowing of several bad accidents involving LBCs, I am always very cautious and nervous behind the wheel of the MG.
-David
D. Sander

David,

Although in your case you are indeed lucky to have been in a modern car when you had your accident, I'm not totally convinced that modern cars are so much safer.

Some experts say that the safest car in the world is a Citroën 2CV (or any other easily crumpled car) that has a sharp stainless steel point mounted on the steering wheel, pointed directly at the chest of the driver. In such a car the driver would beware to be in any accident....

This week I drove the new VW Golf VII. It had a 7-speed DSG gearbox that shifts its gears automatically. It also had adaptive cruisecontrol that not only regulates a given speed, but also slows down when the car infront of you slows down. Under 30km/h it even brakes to a standstill and accellerates when the car in front drives away. It also had lane departure control, a system that looks at the borders of the road and corrects the driver if the car comes to close to the side.

With all these systems I was able to 'pick up' the car in front of me and follow it down a winding road that included roundabouts WITHOUT TOUCHING THE PEDALS OR STEERING WHEEL (on the roundabouts one has to assist the steering a bit and the car kindly asks you within seconds to please hold the steering wheel...).

Needless to say I was very impressed by the technology behind it, but also scared sh*tless at the thought that everybody would drive such a car. Nobody will take any notice anymore and will trust the car to drive safely. (Real) Drivers beware!
Willem vd Veer

Paul, I'm not one of the people you mention. You see, I have it so bad that I don't have a modern car at all! ;)

To be fair i should admit that I do have a more modern car than my TC, but it's only a mid-60's MGB. The TC has done much daily driving however. The MGB is just too cushy and overpowered.
Steve Simmons

I just picked up a more modern car. Probably should have invested in another MG but I have a real issue with all the salt we have here in the winter and while I know I can repair salt damage, that type of work is something I would rather not do that often.

If I were in California or Arizona or anywere that did not use salt, There is no doubt I would drive one of my MG;s all the time.

I purchases a used 2005 Mazda RX 8 Rotary 6 speed. While this is a "modern" sports type car. It is interesting that even with it's fancy suspension and 18 x 7 inch tires. I can corner better with my MGB.

Have to turn the traction control off to even make it feel like anything but another sedan.

Oh, it is a fantastic machine. Never had a car with this much zoom zoom. Even back in my youth when v8's were the norm have I had this kind of excelleration.

But while I am sitting here writing this, I am just itching for spring when I can get my TD and MGB on the road.
Bruce Cunha

Willem has just confirmed my worst fears. What does it do when a critter runs across the road - like somebody's kid? Or a patch of ice or a board fill of nails?

I learned about the current active cruise control over Thanksgiving, as the radar detector on a friend's Subaru kept beeping, and he told me it was the Audi in front of me, or the Cadillac, or the BMW beside me. What happens when these things are everywhere and they get mixed up?

Maybe this "Under 30km/h it even brakes to a standstill "
explains the mysterious full stop traffic jams with no apparent cause which made it take a couple of hours to go about 30 miles on the Mass Tpk. last weekend.

I've had a friend get stuck in 2" of snow in my driveway because his traction control cut the power as soon as a wheel spun a bit. I've saved myself from certain disaster twice by spiking the brakes and spinning the car, learned from Colin Campbell's wonderful book, c1957. The last time almost certainly would have killed me and my daughter and whoever we fell on after crashing through a retaining wall onto the Interstate below. Screw 'em!

Wire cutters in hand-
FRM
FR Millmore

Imagine my surprise when I first entered an icy, snow covered empty parking lot with the Subaru I have now, and I thought oh, what an opportunity to blow a doughnut.... And the car shook, rattled and refused to slide as power was cut to the engine and the ABS worked its magic to prevent any wheel slippage. Where is the fun in that?
D. Sander

The technology is there for the folks who are too busy texting to actually do something as mundane as driving a car.

My kids are just old enough to begin driving. I bought a manual transmission Jeep for them to learn. I don't know if it will ever give them the desire to become more connected to the road but at least they'll never be embarrassed over not being able to drive a standard.

They've been driving tractors since they were little but selecting a gear and driving away on something that's about unstallable isn't the same.

It was funny hearing my daughter's first "$hit!" when she stalled at a busy intersection.
J E Carroll

...we have the best of all worlds...

The new cars you can jump in and drive across the country...no trip to the garage to prep.... hardly ever change plugs....no more points to break down on dark nights....fuel pumps that just keep on pumping...and all the comforts....and safety....Not like the old days...

I LOVE the new cars comfort......and dependability....

But... not the fun of the 'little cars'.... or the joy of being stopped to chat about them....

Nope...we have it all.....

(and Bruce, if you take that body off and throw on a 1200 pound one you will have more power then you though posible...gotta love rotaries)
gblawson(gordon- TD27667)

Although not a TD story, I'll tell it anyway: One of my proudest moments was in 1970 what I was stationed in Maine. I had a good friend who grew up in western Mass and was stationed with me. I had a '65 TR-4A and he had a 4-wheel drive Bronco. He kept telling me that I needed a "real" car for the Maine winters. One night we had a party at the O-club and it was getting late and Bruce and his girlfriend still weren't there. Finally we got a call. They had slid off the road on black ice into a ditch and were at a farmer's house. I drove the TR-4A out and picked them up (we were all skinnier then) and brought them safely to the party. Lesson - no matter how many wheels are driven, you still have to know how to drive on ice and snow to get to the party.

Jud
J K Chapin

This thread was discussed between 29/11/2012 and 01/12/2012

MG TD TF 1500 index

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