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MG TD TF 1500 - Modified TD

This is a really interesting car on eBay: 300927765467. The modifications are far too extensive to list, but everywhere you look something has been done to improve on a TD's reliability, power, handling and safety.

I don't think I would do it all, as it seems to me that the essence of a TD is almost being lost, but there is a great deal to think about, and the excellent pictures help a great deal. I for one am going to print them out and study them carefully, because the planning, quality and execution of this car really impresses me, the more I look at it. There's also a lot I don't understand, and some things I would do differently if the car were mine.

Perhaps what I am getting at is that this is the sort of car a racer would have built, if the various and many modifications had been available in the 50's. It's terrifically thought-provoking.
Tom Lange
MGT Repair
t lange

Wow ...nicely done for certain!
David Sheward

And another one bites the dust. Bud
Bud Krueger

What a SWEET piece of work!!!!!!!!!!!! One question,, what is the part on the intake balancer??? Seems like adjustable holes, but also seems quite robust ??? The throttle cable goes past it,,
Only missing Lens stuff along with some of yours Tom,,,,

SPW

STEVE WINCZE

it would have been quicker to just buy a Miata and stick an MG crest on the hood. i can appreciate the work, but i'm with Bud, another one bits the dust. regards, tom
tom peterson

darn spell checkr, i wood fire him if i could find him....LOL..i meant "bites the dust"...sigh.

is that still a single circuit brake system? regards, tom
tom peterson

Steve,
I think that is probably a fixture related to the throttle setup. It looks similar to designs I've seen on some vintage MG racecars. The cable going past it is actually the choke cable.

Very nicely done by someone with access to some pretty sophisticated fabrication tools and skills. Unfortunately, a lot of work yet to be done. And the finished product would be somewhat fish nor fowl-- not really a collector's item and probably not eligible to vintage race. Would be a neat toy, though...

I kind of wish I had gone that way with my TD restoration rather than trying to make it more factory. Something very liberating and satisfying about building a car to your own specifications.
David Littlefield

Yes, Steve, David is right - it is the throttle mechanism. The visible cable is indeed the choke. This is an interesting car because it seems engineered, not merely built.

Tom
t lange

That sure is not your daddys MG.

Tom Maine

Someone buy it and finish it...quickly!
Gene Gillam

He went to great extremes doing this but look at the angle of the two float chambers. They appear to be at a strange angle.
DARNOC31

I think it is just the angle of the photograph, not the angle of the float chambers - they look correct to me, horizontal.

Tom Lange
MGT Repair
t lange

I just caught the line about bringing it back to stock if one had the right parts.. that is a laugh. I would never do that to a T but it is kinda nice and would fit in my garage.
Tom Maine

Well, Bud, I don't look at it as "another one bites the dust" as much as bringing one back from the dust into a real and almost-modern runner. The builder of this eBay car had the same idea as me and I like what he's done [gotta love that Panhard rod - gonna have to thing about that...] But you're right, it was a long and crazy/expensive road - eight years from start to finishing touches. But I've got a hard top, real brakes, 75 MPH cruising in both 4th and 5th, modern cooling and [almost] modern electrics. I don't think I've destroyed the essence of a TD [maybe messed with it a little bit] - but rather I think I've brought the essence of a TD into the 21st century. If you're interested in a chronicle into this descent into modern madness, here's the calendar:

http://classicmotorsports.net/reader-rides/1634/

Cheers,
Dave

ps: And if I had the loot and spousal permission, I'd bid on this eBay TD and do the damn thing all over again...
Dave Jorgensen

Well, I am betting the owners of a lot of the classic cars that are turned into rods say similar things when on of their cars gets modified.

TD's are not all that rare as cars go, so it is probably to be expected that people are still going to make them into different types of vehicles.

The builder had some talent and appears to be doing a good job on this.
Bruce Cunha

It's a long ways from the road. Wonder how many parts are missing. I can see the opening bid's worth it in parts.

Tom- the master cylinder caught my attention and it appears to be single circuit. For my wife's driving, I went dual circuit with MGB discs up front & gearing in back. Gonna need a large inspection cover to check the fluid level. I stuck a glass reservoir on the firewall to peek at.

Dave- nice to see another supercharged hardtop. Ours was so modified/upgraded back in the 1960s, there was no turning back, so I reengineered it for my honey; not close to restored (better than), but it's still TD through & through.

That unnecessary panhard bar caught my attention- as short as that is, the car would suffer nasty heebjeebies on bumps, if it weren't for that worthless bracket it attaches to the frame with.

The aluminum tray is impressive, but it will probably have to go before it hits the roads, or the first bump wipes it out.

All in all, it will make a fun car when finished, if it doesn't just get parted out!

Image customized TD 3236 Circa 1960s


JIM NORTHRUP SR

Image wifey's customized TD 3236 Circa 2013


JIM NORTHRUP SR

Jim, I was going to comment on the frame mount for the panhard rod and you beat me to it! I agree the mount is worthless, the rod is too short and mounted to the rear housing in the wrong place. I didn't see it, but that looks like an early B rear. PJ
Paul sr

Interesting and well done. Why? I guess because they wanted to and could. Should be a real cool ride when finished. I do share a touch of Bud's sentiments as well however. George
George Butz

Maybe a bit OT....but a fun place for a rainy day:
http://eclecticephemera.blogspot.com/2011/02/jungle-wreck-mg-car-found-in-borneo.html

(Link should take you to a interesting tail of a TF)
David Sheward

This thread was discussed between 03/07/2013 and 04/07/2013

MG TD TF 1500 index

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