MG TD TF 1500 New to the TD world BBS discussion at MG-Cars.net

MG TD TF 1500 - New to the TD world

I just joined the BBS so wanted to say hello and introduce myself. I grew up not far from Abingdon, but have spent the majority of my life in the USA, now based near St. Louis. I have had an Austin Healey 100 since my 20's and it is going through a restoration. A 77B for the last few years, and have really enjoyed mucking about in that car and teaching my teenage boys to drive a stick. Last month I became the keeper of TD/29539 a well preserved survivor from the very end of TD production (July 20th 53 build date). I have been really getting into the details, trying to establish what is original and what has been replaced over the years. Looking forward to contributing and learning from the group. Thanks and best wishes Simon Troy, Il

S Griffin

Thanks for the good wishes and welcome everyone. Len, Chris and I have been corresponding quite a bit over the last month. I went through the "nitty details" section of his site as well as the production anomalies for the late 53 model and sent him the images as he was very keen to see what was original. I really think I managed to stumble upon a bit of a treasure with this car. I can certainly post some of those images here, but they are all going to need editing as Chris wanted big high res files. I think that several of the images will end up on his site. Of particular interest to me is that the car sports a J A Woodward badge, so was presumably sold in Germany to a US forces person in 1953. It is only 379 from the end of production, so whomever purchased it must have known the TF was coming. I then have records of the car from 1965 onwards, when it appears in Tulsa OK. It has been in OK and CO ever since. I love the perished rubber and the original fixing for the corner of the hood. As you can see the paint is ageing, but the car has a lovely patina and feel to it.

S Griffin

Here is the dash. I think that the dash itself has been recovered, it looks aged, but I am not 100% convinced that it is the original covering. The rest of the interior (not the carpet) is I am sure original. I was curious about the dash light dimmer switch, thinking it was a replacement, but it appears that it is the "long" rheostat that is referenced on Chris' site. The ammeter is a replacement and will itself be replaced by an original one that I have found.

S Griffin

Another late model anomaly is the body number in the tool box. Chris confirmed that these are still the original solid rivets. The tool box is still white felt lined, though it is not very white of course.

S Griffin

A pair of engine shots as requested. What I can tell from my limited, but growing knowledge: Flasher has been replaced by a German SWF brand. It looks old and I romanticize that it was fitted in Germany before the car came to the USA. The car is an EXNA car, so was specified for this market. The rocked cover and tappet covers are aftermarket of course. The fuel pipe between the carbs is not correct. The fuel pump is a replacement and a fuel filter has been added.

S Griffin

Here is the other side of the engine bay. Enough for now. Best wishes to all Simon

S Griffin

I have the complete set of Simon's pictures in Hi Res and it's on my ToDo list to make a special page for his car in the next few weeks. It's really a great car and with a few changes to correct some previous owner flumoxes, it will be a very original unrestored car. Of special interest is that it has Andrex shocks on the front but not the rear. This IS NOT a Mk II car. To have Andrex shocks on the front you need the special A arms so I suspect the car either was delivered this way from the factory or was added on by the delivery dealer in Germany.

Christopher Couper

Quote: "Flasher has been replaced by a German SWF brand. It looks old and I romanticize that it was fitted in Germany before the car came to the USA. The car is an EXNA car, so was specified for this market." No need to romanticize here. Factory service letter #112 dated 23rd of April 1953 might give a clue. The SWF flasher itself seems to be a very rare item; most were the well known aluminium cylinder model. Never seen one in rectangular bakelite. Highly likely this was installed by Woodhouse....

Nick Herwegh

Service letter 112 refers to service letter #96 dated 11 December 1952. It seems that here too the flasher unit itself isn't mentioned in the parts list: Hope this helps. Best wishes, Nick (TD3232)

Nick Herwegh

Simon, Welcome and what a great "survivor" car with historical provenance purchased from a dealer in Germany. Like yours, my TF is also a MG that came across the pond to the USA via the American GI conduit who stationed in Germany. The TF is an early '53 TF purchased at the Frankfurt dealer Christian Odendahl. The oval blue badge is on the right side bonnet panel. Do you have a picture of this switch? The switch on mine is German as well but always suspected it was a later replacement. This is what is on mine. Can you share a picture what yours looks like? Thanks, Frank TF1414

Frank Cronin

Back from my travels and was able to grab a not great shot in a dark garage!

S Griffin

This thread was discussed between 30/11/2016 and 06/12/2016

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