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 - Origianl cars & owners

Hi All:

Since it is still winter here in Alberta I thought that it would be a good time for a little armchair reminiscing so here are some questions:

How many of you folks are the original owners of your T-series cars?

If not the original owner then: How many of these cars that have always been in your family?

How many of these original owner/original family cars are in original un-restored condition?

If you are the original owner please tell us about buying the car.

My guess is that if you are the original owner of an original car you would perhaps have one of the rarest T-series car left today.

Personally I am the second registered owner of my 56,000 mile TF but it was restored before I got it so I am out on both counts.

Godspeed as we travel in Safety Fast
Jc



John Crawley

I wasn't born when any of my MGs were built, but I do know two people who bought their TCs new on the showroom floor and still drive the same cars today.
Steve S

John.......just took the TF our for a spin, nice sunny day and 43 deg. We still have snow on the ground but not the roads.

TF 6688 has been in our immediate family since 1955. It was owned by my wife's cousin until we bought it in 1997. However, I had driven this car many times in the past and the PO and I swapped cars (AH 110-6) for some weekends. It resided only a mile from our house.

It is a very original car, confirmed by John Twist, and the Curator's Award from Greenfield Village/Henry Ford Museum as the best original and unrestored car in 2007.

It has today 44,000 miles on the odometer.

Colin Stafford TF6688

John,

I am the original owner of my 1951 TD. The car was in it's original condition up to 15 years ago, when I did a frame up restoration. I am taking the TD to Reno in June and will be celebrating 60 years of ownership while in Reno. I think attending the event will be a great way enjoy the occasion.

George
George Raham [TD4224]

There is a one owner TF 1250 in Sydney (or was, I have been out of touch for a few years) Mr B.L. who was very helpfull to me in my TF research. My own TF 1500 is a three owner car (Dad being the second owner).

Matthew.
Matthew Magilton

A 1954 mgtf that has been in the family since 1957. The story is my grandpa saw an advertisement of a MG for sale in RI in the local paper and asked my mom who was sixteen to go with him to check it out. He ended up not just looking at it and ended up purchasing the car. What he paid for it at that time is uncertain. The color is Birch grey with red interior. This is also a GI purchased car from Germany that has the Nuffield Products CHR ODENDAHL FRANKFURT badge on the right side bonnet side panel.

I spend time on here mostly lurking and reading the posts and the archives,the Original MGTF website,and as well as the member's personal webpages here to prepare for future restoration. A great wealth of knowledge here.

Frank

Frank Cronin

My TD came off the assembly line 2 years prior to my birth, but I can say that I have owned it longer than any of the PO's. 36 years and counting.
Bruce Cunha

Im still trying to find the "history" on my TF.
According to the "sale" I was 3rd owner and mileage was "orginial" at time of purchase.
At this time I don't believe that was correct as I have had some corraspondence with with a PO that thinks he was "3rd owner" many years ago.
Been back and forth with the NJ BMV for a couple of months now attempting a tittle search.
Send in their "form" with a check ...they send it back telling me they can't give out the info ...but then call me telling me to send it back and they will process.
So...waiting again to see what happens this time!
Part of my problem has been trying to get them to understand that at some point the vin # was recorded with an error in it.
I'm putting this up here as a heads-up in case someone else has had this problem!
"HDC46/7427" at some point was changed to "HDC4617427"

Might be something you want to consider if you are running into a dead end trying to do a trace on your car!

FYI: I't also a lot of fun trying to convince someone at BMV that hardly speaks english that there really are "enough #'s" in the Vin. She kept telling me there needs to be like 18 digits in the vin#, not 9 or 10. Took about an hour to convince her it's not a Chevy or Ford before she remembered looking at the picture of the car & BHMC certificate she had set back to me.

Wish me luck...I have sent it all back to her ...again...including picture of the Vin plate!
David Sheward

Great to hear there are some original owners... how satisfying that must be!

My MG has been in my family since the 70's. My father bought it from a friend of his in Colorado, who bought it from the original owner. It's unrestored although it was repainted sometime in the late 60s; it was originally a fire engine red but is now BRG. Engine and all parts are original except the battery and the rebuilt fuel pump and modern oil filter system which I have added.

Technically, the car is now owned by my girlfriend, (for insurance reasons) so I'd better stay on her good side!
Geoff Baker

Father bought the TD brand new in 1952. Had a choice of a 52 or 53 since it was the fall.

http://www.mgcars.org.uk/mgtd/mgtd_story.htm
Chris Couper

The posting 'Ottawa TF' is an original owner (now owned by the daughter of the original...same family)
gblawson(gordon- TD27667)

WOW!!!
Great to hear from you folks!

. . . Chris: I loved your story.

. . . David: My TF had the same registration problem as your car - the / was originally registered as a number 1.
In Alberta we must have an inspection done for Out of Province vehicles. I had a heck of a time getting the correct number passed in the inspection and then changed on my registration. I eventually took it right up to the chap who reports to the minister of the Department of Highways and is responsible for all registrations in Alberta. It took two inspections ($135 each) and numerous trips to the city but I got it done. I then decided that I wanted the year changed from 1955 to the correct 1954. I dreaded what I would have to do to accomplish this but started at my local registry office (Privatized in Alberta) and asked the 18 year old clerk how to go about it. She said: “Do you have any proof of year of manufacture?” I showed her a colour print of the little “T Factory Production Record” I got from www.tregister.org and she said: “No problem sir.” and with a couple of keystrokes on her computer changed the date of manufacture and produced a new registration for me – no charge.

Godspeed in Safety Fast
Jc



John Crawley

John,
It definitly depends on "who" is behind the counter on a given day! LOL
I went back and forth to my BMV a bunch of times...armmed with all kinds of documentation (Books/BMHT cert/ect). The car had been inspected (and was on his paperwork correctly) but they would not change the title. Finally hit one that told me if I brought the "vin-plate" into the office (they could not leave counter to go outside and look) they would fix it.
I wasn't about to tell them Moss sells blank vin plates!
Cheers,
David
David Sheward

When I purchased Little-T he was in hundreds of pieces (as he still is). I had the Florida title from 1970 but Ky. will not transfer out of state title without an inspection. I took the vin-plate which had been removed long ago into the clerks office and the girl started whispering to me that I shouldn't have removed the plate from the car, like it was stolen or something. LOL
I tried to get a deputy sheriff (hopefully a man who understood these sort of things) to come and inspect the pieces to confirm it was an actual car but it never worked out.
I finally had to go to the County Court Clerk who cumpletely understood the situation but had to call the capitol to find out what to do. Now, after all that I have a salvage title which is crazy since my car was never wreaked BUT I have been promised once the car is back together and can be inspected they will update titel and remove salvage status. We will see.
I wish now I would have just waited until after the restoration and drove the car to the courthouse had it inspected, transferred title, end of story.
Richard Taylor TD3983

Richard,
"the girl started whispering to me that I shouldn't have removed the plate from the car"...
She was just concerned about your "GUARANTEE" ...you could have shipped it back to Abingdon for re-assembly if you hadn't taken it off!
Don't you feel silly!


David Sheward

LOL, I hadn't thought about that David, maybe they won't notice, I did re-attach it with the original style screws from Moss.
I wonder just what that guarantee covered?
Richard Taylor TD3983

I bought TF 4592 brand new off the showroom floor on June 30, 1954. I still have the invoice.

However its seen lottsa mileage. I can only guess right now and I've had the speedo rebuild twice. Its on its 4th engine. But gearbox is original. probably in the 300,000 mile range

Sadly, the original paint is seriously tatty, and it will have to be done (but only after my PA!). Interior is tatty too. Ahhh - its only money!

I had planned to drive it to Reno, but my kids(? Full grown) have forbidden it, So I'll fly.

My TF is my car of choice in the summer - windscreen down, of course!Its been drive to all 4 corners of North America except Alaska. California, Florida, The Canadian Maritimes and BC.

Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué.
Gordon A Clark

Gordon -
"Sadly, the original paint is seriously tatty, and it will have to be done (but only after my PA!). Interior is tatty too. Ahhh - its only money!"
No, it's history, and a story. Don't touch it! Plenty of "restored" cars around.
Tell your kids you can get at least Cali, BC, maybe Alaska on this trip - don't bother me!

When I was a kid, there were a couple of cars that are almost the only ones I still remember, out of thousands I looked at. When the Hershey AACA National meet was still entirely within the confines of the stadium, Peter Helck would bring Locomobile "Old 16" out and run it at speed around the track, The car was untouched since the Vanderbilt Cup race. And my all time fav was a 1927 BNC that was always in the parking lot instead of the show, rain or shine. It had an aluminum body with a brass slab tank, and the only traces of the original French Racing Blue were in odd corners inside the cockpit. There was always the can of huile, a shop rag or three, a few tools, and a few thousand more miles than last year. No top or other decadent drivel, but the most beautiful original leather seats with all those butt-miles on it. And there was a 1931 Model A Ford Deluxe roadster with all the original stuff including paint, top & side curtains, that was parked every weekday at the train station. The guy bought it new and parked it there while he took the train to work in Philadelphia, every weekday rain, snow or sunshine from 1931 until well after I left home in 1964. I later found out he and it lived about two miles by road/half a mile by bird from where I did.

FRM
FR Millmore

I went in to transfer with no ownership...the p/o couldn't find it, but he gave me a notarized bill of sale. The girl first of all asked for 'more numbers'... 'thats not long enough'.... when I told her 27667 ... Then, after calling the MTO and talking to another woman, she said she would give it to me if I promised to engrave the number on the dashboard.... I of course promised..... and off I went.
gblawson(gordon- TD27667)

Which dashboard?
LOL!

Matthew.
Matthew Magilton

John,
saw the photo of your car, looks smart, the reason I am writing is the colour is the same as my TD 1951 vintage, what colour is it!
I am having difficulty matching the colour. Bought three different reds from Moss, but none of them match. Hope you can help.
As to the original subject, I have only owned My TD for 12 years, but it will be with me until I end up in a box!
Ron.
R Bowden

This thread was discussed between 14/03/2011 and 29/03/2011

MG TD TF 1500 index

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