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MG TD TF 1500 - TD MKII head questions

Noob here and proud new owner of a 53 TD MkII. I haven't taken posession yet as it's in Maryland and I'm in Florida. My Uncle and I will be heading up there in April to get it. The car's VIN is definately a MKII number but sometime way back in history the engine was changed out as the engine number is a TD2 designation. My Uncle says it is a MKII powertrain though and as I understand it the short block is the same between MKII and std. So my question is how to determine the head is MKII. I know I can measure the carb throats and intake manifold to ensure they are 1 1/2". But how to verify the head without pulling it and measuring valve sizes? Any hints would be appreciated. Since it is higher compression is there a difference in head hieght?

Also, when my Uncle last rebuilt it many years ago he had to put a new crank in it. He keeps referring to it as a 100 ton crank. Apparently he had to wait a while for it and it was one of the last ones from England. I had read about a switch over to a better alloy for cranks I believe to increase strength. I'm thinking that is the same thing although there is no documentation on it.

And lastly, in looking through the Moss parts books it shows separate cylinder sleeves for the engine. Can the blocks be resleeved if need be??

Thanks in advance for your help and I can't wait to get my hands on this ole gal and get it back on the road.
l rutt

Welcome 1rutt

Others on here will have much more experience with the MKII, but my understanding is the carbs and valves were the only difference for the powertrain.
MK II would have twin SU fuel pumps on the firewall and the Andrex friction shocks on the front.
Bruce-C

The engine for the MKII had the same ID as the straight TD until late in life (i.e. XPAG/TD/... or XPAG/TD2/...) At engine number 17029 the prefix for the MKII was changed to XPAG/TD3 (this from the T series Handbook, a book that every T series owner should have). Somebody more conversant with the casting numbers can tell you what that number should be for the MKII. I think that it may be the same as on the early TF engines.

If you go to the MG Car Club T Register at: http://www.tregister.org/ and click on Production Records, you can type in your car number, you can find when your car was manufactured and what the original engine number was.

The 100 ton crank is the later cranks used in the XPAG engines made from EN100 alloy, with a tensile strength of 100,000PSI (also written as 100KSI). I can attest to the strength of that crank. We had a gudgeon pin pinch bolt on the number one piston break whle we were on the highway, traveling at our usual 4200 RPM. By the the time the engine was brought to a halt, the sump was shattered, the lower two inches of the right side crankcase was completely broken off, the cylinder was gouged through to the water jacket - you get the picture. the term "the engine granaded is an apt description. I took the crank out and it had gouges and dings the entire length and I figured that it would be a good door stop. When I got another engine and was rebuilding it, I decided to take the crank in an have it checked for straightness and cracks. With the exception of a couple of minor scratches to the journal for the #1 rod (which as bent into a 'J' shape) the crank was given a completely clean bill of health. It now resides in the engine of a TC here in Washington State. Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

I do understand about the numbering on the engine blocks etc. What I would like to know if there is any external identifier that I can check to verify the head is MKII. I'd doubt any head casting number would be different but maybe they stamped them somehow or maybe there is a measurement I can take or something. With the intake manifold larger for larger carbs, are the intake ports in the head larger? Or...since it is a higher compression engine, would the head have a shorter deck hieght from standard?
l rutt

To add to Dave DuBois' entry; if you want your TD Mark II to be absolutely original, you will want to have the correct inlet manifold, SUs and air cleaner and other items, unique to the TD Mark-II.

• I have been unable to ascertain if TD Mark II is an original factory TD manifold (oem part # SA2440, for 1¼" SUs), bored out, or if it is a separate casting. The TF oem part nbr is SA2440/1 for the 1½" SUs, suggests to me that it probably was using the original casting.

I have all the catalogues of the major (T-Series) suppliers, and the only reference I can find to this is in the MOSS Europe catalogue which shows only the 1¼" manifold (Moss 373-360), but does add the note:- 'Can be used on TD mark II & TF, if the input ports are bored to 1½"'.

I checked my only spare and it's for the TF (casting # 108454), but it certainly has the appearance of having been bored out to 1½". Maybe someone can advise if the TD inlet manifold has enough "meat" to open it to fit 1½" SUs.

• The Oil Bath/Air Cleaner manifold is shown only once in all my catalogues (for the 1¼" SUs), which makes me think that is adaptable, again by opening the throat by boring, as it would appear to have enough "meat" to bore/grind it out to 1½".

• Then there are the twin, low-pressure fuel SU pumps mounted on the Rt side of the tub. Kits to make a proper installation are still. available.

• Some TD Mark IIs were supplied with Andrex friction dampers, and some were not. If you don’t have them and want them, they are getting hard to find, and the mounting can be tricky. These are shown in several catalogues.

• Then there were the "Mark II" flashes on the bonnets; and again only on some cars, a mounting with the "Mark-II" flash in the centre of the rear bumper.

Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué.
Gordon A. Clark

"I'd doubt any head casting number would be different but maybe they stamped them somehow or maybe there is a measurement I can take or something" There is a difference in the casting numbers on the head. I believe that this issue was discussed previously and should b ein the archives (sorry, I can't tell you what the title of the thread is). The inlet valves are larger in the MKII head, which I believe is the same as the TF head. There are a couple of books by Neil Cairns that probably have the answers you are looking for. The first is Engines for MG's, Their Story after 1935. this is availabe directly from Neil, whose e-mail address can be found by going to the Y type web site at: http://www.mgytypes.org The second book is available from BritBooks at: http://store.yahoo.com/britbooks/index.html The title is Living with the XAPG, The Morris 'X' series Engine.

Finally, the intake manifold on the MKII is the same as on the TF to accommodate the H4 carbs. Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

This thread was discussed between 10/01/2008 and 11/01/2008

MG TD TF 1500 index

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