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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 - TD Parts Suppliers

I've just retrieved a '53 TD2 from back East and it is about 40% complete in the resortation process. I'm wondering what part suppliers there are in the U.S. other than Moss Motors in CA. Also, I'd be interested in hearing your impressions of parts quality, price, delivery, technical service, etc. from these suppliers. I live just outside Milwaukee, WI.

Thank you!
Mark West

Abingdon Spares 800-225-0251 has only T-series parts. Both Moss and Abingdon have excellent quality stuff. Abingdon has more things from England (ie Lucas chrome rims, etc. made on the orig. tooling), a large selection of rebuilt/used things (cyl. heads, instruments), and more individual things (internal fuel pump parts, etc.). Both ship overnite if needed, have excellent return policies. Mr. Seymore (owner of Abingdon) is extremely knowledgeable and helpful. Moss also has various tech people in the know. Sometimes it depends which has something in stock or on sale! We are lucky that virtually everything possible for these cars has been reproduced/manufactured, etc. Gerry Gougen (founder of Abingdon) set out years ago to make available any and all parts - many trips to England scouring old shops, finding and dealing with the orig. manufacturer of things, etc. Moss has discovered manufacturers in China to repro chrome things, switches, etc. Both have access to orig. engineering drawings for mechanical things which together with computer controlled machine tools has allowed repro. of gears and things. In spite of what some think, I feel most prices are really cheap, compared to other collector and modern cars. In the early 80's, stocks of NOS parts were gone, and not that much had been reproduced, so now is a great time to do a TD!
George Butz

Mark, I agree with George's response. Just to add, there are various Moss distributers out there that will sell Moss products at a discount. (ex. Little British Car Co.) As am currently restoring a TF I have found however that everything that I have purchased is not always of the same quality. As I started this project I was looking for the best price I could get for any part. In a total rebuild I was looking for every dollar I could save. I purchased body panels thru Moss. Some were good, some were not. Consensus is Greg Seabrook has good quality panels. I wasn't impressed with the wood purchased at Moss. Classic Wood in N.Carolina was much better.The interior kit I purchased at Moss was excellent. I have also found that parts that are produced in the U.K. are of much better quality than the repros from other countries.

As George pointed out you can get everything you need to restore and maintain your car at reasonable cost.
Good luck with your restore,
Dan H. 54 TF
Dan Hanson

Mark:

The nice thing about these cars is that everything is rebuildable. So, before buying replacements you may want to think about re-building. May of the components can be rebuilt by yourself or sent to shops that specialize in certain parts.

You can have your shocks rebuilt by Apple Hydraulics in New York, or World Wide Auto Parts in Madison, Wisconsin. Whitepost Restorations can rebuild your master and wheel cylinders and re-line and arc the brake shoes. There are several instruments shops that can do wonders for old, damaged, and siezed instruments.

The point is, that while replacement parts are readily available, simply disassembling and cleaning the old parts maybe all that is really necessary. A little elbow-grease, and a fresh coat of paint and lub, will go a long way in reducing the amount of money you need to spend, and you also keep the car as close to as it was when originally delivered from the factory.

Keep asking this BBS your questions. The guys here really do have good info and have been very helpful on whatever questions are asked.


Jim
TF7022 / XPEG852
Jim Rice

This thread was discussed between 10/07/2001 and 11/07/2001

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