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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 - TF-8200

I’ve done it again. Will somebody please loan me their overbearing wife before I make another purchase. It’s too late for this one. Lol

1955 TF 1500. Been in this garage unloved since 1969 when it was last driven. Family commitments kept it from being disassembled for a freshening. Original ivory with red interior it is on its first repaint done in the mid 1960s by its second owner. The third owner bought it In 1967 in Oakland Ca and drive it daily while in college. Then the PO moved to the Placerville area and it has been laid up ever since. The shows ~ 44.5k miles on the odometer. Interior was dyed black. Car is 99% intact with its original untouched drivetrain. Odd flat spring bumpers with original overriders by a PPO. Missing items are the original bumpers and horns. The drivers seat frame and sliders are AWOL along with a full Tonneau cover. Hoping they will be found buried somewhere on the property. Seat bottom plywood, Dunlop cushion and seat cover are present. All gauges knobs and switches are intact. All XPEG items intact. I couldn’t get a socket on the crank pulley to see if the engine is stuck. Car is setting atop dollies at the moment. 5.50-15 Riverside tires from the early 1960s still hold air.

I was able to contact the second owner if this gem last night. She was a delight to talk with and she is sending me pictures and stories of her ownership so that I can put it in a scrapbook. I will make copies and the originals will be returned to her.

Plans have been made to pick up the car by next week.







W A Chasser

steering wheel of unknown manufacture and a nicely made wood overlay on the dashboard.





W A Chasser

And the journey begins Bill. Looks a good car. That steering wheel looks a bit like an early Nardi. It should have some numbers on it? I have one here.
M Hyde

Mike I’ll be back up to see the car on Saturday. Where should I look for numbers on the wheel. There were no markings on the front of the wheel. No signatures. The one Nardi wheel I had seen had a signature on a spoke
W A Chasser

Bill. You have to start looking for a house with multiple garage space.
Bruce Cunha

Looking at the handbrake on the car reminds me of what I was taught 60 odd years ago. If left for any extended period - over winter for example or even a couple of months, leave the handbrake in the off position in order to avoid binding on and unnecessarily stretching cables.
JK Mazgaj

... Jan, that and holding the clutch pedal down with a stick to prevent the clutch faces sticking together. Ask me how I know what happens when you don't!
John.
J P Hall

Ahhh!!! This comes under the saying:

"Beat me, whip me, make me feel cheap!!!"

This car has been waiting for you. I'm sure your wife understands and will be very supportive.

Keep us apprised of this resurrection.

Cheers

Gary
79 MGB
Gary Hansen

John,
At least on a T Type you can put a blade down the access plate hole to free it off.
I eventually had to drill a hole in a Morgan +8
to get a long terminal screwdriver to free off a clutch that 200 HP would not break.
Ray TF2884
Ray Lee

This morning I returned to the sellers home to prepare the car to be moved. It was a tight fit with a mere inches to spare, but the seller and I managed to get the car turned around on the dollies within its confines. We then lifted the car in stages while disassembling the home made dolly system the seller had engineered back in 1970. While accomplishing that we checked each wheel and was glad to find all of them were free turning. I then worked on freeing the handbrake adjusters and ran the nuts in to insure we had a solid rear brake function before we try to pull this up the extremely step driveway. The seller had aired up the tires several days ago and all were still well inflated. With all of that accomplished and the car firmly on the ground for the first time in 52 years there was a feeling of accomplishment. All the loose items were placed in the tub and it is ready to be dragged out when we return sometime next week.


Bill Chasser
TD-4834
TD-5779
TD/c-8151
TD/c-16920
TD-19408
TD-24060
W A Chasser

The seller contacted me this morning to report that the CHP did their VIN inspection. Everything went well and he has the docs to take back to DMV tomorrow. Looks like I’ll be going back up the hill this week to retrieve the car. A fellow SVMGCC a member has offered to assist me getting it loaded.
W A Chasser

I got the car home yesterday and immediately went to work on her. The carbs were stuck so I douched them with WD40. The shafts are snow free as is one dashpot piston. The other is still soaking. I will do a complete teardown, clean and rebuild them. Any marginal items will be replaced from my stash of spares.

I guess I’m spoiled with my TDs but I fail to see the fascination with the TF. What a PITA to access anything remotely related to the engine compartment. It took me nearly 4 hours just to get the carbs off. With my big hands always in the way … no it’s those damn fixed side panels and my own lack of knowledge when it comes to the TF idiosyncrasies I can say that I had exhausted my cursing vocabulary. I commend those of you who are hardcore TF fans.

There was little indication that moisture had entered the intake manifold but after sitting neglected in the OPs garage for 52 the engine is momentarily stuck. Fingers crossed my concoction of MMO and lawyer thinner will be sufficient to get the XPEG freed. I’m going to borrow my neighbors borescope today and take peek down the cylinders to see what the bore conditions look like. I have removed the front bumper and will replace it with a used piece from my spares. One of my TDs had a TF rear bumper assembly so that will be installed as well. The 60 year old repaint is flaking off in big chunks pulling with it the original ivory and black primer undercoats. But there is no battle damage on the body whatsoever. The grill slats and surround are in absolutely perfect order. No dents, dings, tears and the chrome is beautiful under the dust build up. I’m planning on putting the chassis on jack stands today and with a shop vac clean all the spider condos and webs rom underneath, then do a thorough visual inspection of the underside. In the meantime the carbs are soaking in cleaner and I hope to have them refurbished before I head into surgery midweek

I don’t plan to do any restoration work on this car and I am on the fence at this point if I really need a TF in my stable. I’ve already had some individuals on both sides of the pond interested in this car from but what to investigate the car more so that I can give an honest appraisal on its condition. Surely it’ll require brake servicing, chassis lubrication and fluid changes before it is back on the road. The wiring seems to be intact but I haven’t put a battery to it yet to see what functions. There is an aerial antenna but I haven’t been under the dash yet to investigate any wiring. I do have a period correct HMV4200 radio that will require a restoration that I will include with the car. I have a rebuilder in the UK that can restore it to concours condition. I don’t see any indication that there was a radio mounted into either glove box. Items I know that are not currently present include a TF valve cover, the special air leant mounting bolts, the metal dash panel and the driver side seat frame. The OP is looking for the seat and thinks it may be buried in his basement. The car currently has a one piece solid wooden dash. The car has a clean title and currently on permanent Non-operation status at the DMV. There are no hidden back fees. The seller took care of this as a condition of sale. This is a numbers matching 44k mile car that is 96% complete with only the missing original items mentioned above.
W A Chasser

Two hours sucking up most of the under carriage and engine compartment this afternoon. A lot of oil on the underside of the chassis I would call typical of a daily driven car. The main frames seem solid after poking around a bit. The bottom backboard timber is badly decayed.

I took a closer inspection of the tools that were tossed into the curtain compartment. I discovered buried under the several sets of Gordon wrenches and sockets and Craftsman double boxed and double open wrench sets was a red lined leather tool roll. Inside was a fair selection of original tools. I didn’t immediately recognize them as they all had been chrome plated. Apparently the second owner had “restored” the car in the mid 1960s(?). This was when the car received its only repaint. Along with the tools being chromed so were the tonneau bars, push rod cover, DB 10 cover dated 11-54, I’m guessing the grill as well given it’s condition, the radiator support struts, a jack extension. Odd that both of the extensions were present but no jack. I also found a greaser and tire hammer. Both of them had green paint. I’ll likely pass o. The Gordon tools to the couple that helped me get the car out of the sellers garage.

All bumpers have been removed and originals will be fitted this evening after it cools off outside. It’s currently 100°F and everything is blistering hot to the touch at the moment.

Both carbs have been completely disassembled and are soaking in carb cleaner. Even the stuck dashpot gave way with a little tap with a rawhide hammer. The needles are GJ’s. The only casualty to the carbs was a float bowl lid when trying to get the hose connection broke loose. At this point I’m trying to grind away the remnants of the casting hoping that eventually the bolt will come off. Since it still has original fuel lines I would like to salvage them and keep them with the car.

I’ve added another 30 squirts of my MMO/thinner concoction down each spark plug hole and reinstalled the plugs to let it marinate some more. No joy with borrowing the borescope today.

The exhaust manifold appears to have been ceramic coated black by the second owner. In talking with the seller yesterday he believed that the second owner had done engine work prior to selling it in 1967. I also found out the seller had purchased the TF as his first car when he went off to college.



W A Chasser

Jim Silva. Contacted me several days ago and is donating a pair of TF seat frames to this project. A special thanks goes out to him for this gracious offer.

Also another forum member called me today to say he has a metal dash amongst his spares that he’ll bring up to me in exchange for some assistance with his XPEG overhaul. I’m only lacking an original TF valve cover, horns, and front and rear bumper back bars. I have an original TF rear bumper blade and several TD/TF fronts I’ve accumulated fit for rechroming.

Bill Chasser
TF-8200
W A Chasser

Ok, you peaked my curiosity.

What is the difference between the TD and the TF bumper? Also, is there a difference between the front and the back?

Your welcome to my chrome back bumper. It is in pretty good condition.
Bruce Cunha

I think the front same for both, with the crank hole. The TF rear has holes for the license tag mount plate. George
George Butz III

The TF bumper has a different profile than the TD.
The TD is a smooth curve but the TF has a flatter profile with the top section slightly wider than the bottom.
As far as I know there is nobody supplying them.
Ray TF 2884
Ray Lee

Ray, Both front and rear original TD bumpers also had the much wider and flatter top section. There are some drawings of this somewhere… Repros as far back as the late 70s all had the symmetrical mirror image curve and have been around so long many think correct. The wider top lip on TF face bar results in a very close fit between the face bar and the rear apron. George
George Butz III

Thanks George, I did not realise that.
Every TD I have ever seen had the curved bumper so I presumed they were correct,I have had my TF for 48 years but have worked on T's for longer.
A friend resurrected a correct bumper from scrap at great cost just to be right.
Were the overriders shaped to fit the flatter section ?
Ray TF 2884
Ray Lee

Quote from the archives several years ago regarding TD bumpers: "I've dug out my original bumpers and they are as in Chris's pic but the un-shown bottom section is much shorter. You will note the top has a curved section and then a horizontal "flat", the bottom has the curve but no flat. I tried to take a photo but you cannot see the profile without cutting the bumper in two! After reading this thread I am going to get my original ones reconditioned". I don't know for sure about the overiders but don't think they extend on the top. I have rechromed originals on my car, will look when I get a chance. George
George Butz III

All,

We had some discussion on the bumper profile in May 2005 check it out in the archives. the subject is "TD2000 Replicar" I don't agree with the conclusion that some people came to.


John
J Scragg

George: The shape of the original overriders is not as dramatic as the bumpers with the flat tops. They are a bit more "pointy" on the top than the repos (later versions?) and a tich narrower on the front.

The original overrider is on the right (top).




Christopher Couper

I just couldn’t stay in bed any more after post op + 3 days. Rebuilt the carbs, polished the dashpots and brass. I don’t have the correct washers for the float bowls. I usually switch the hardware for the MGA bits with the rubber isolators. Either way I don’t have everything I needed. I ended up breaking a float chamber trying to get it off the frozen mounting bolt. Then I had to destroy a lid in order to remove the fuel line bolt. I’ve run out of spares to cobble parts from.

The parts supply chain is a disaster. Can’t even get the parts I need direct from Burlen UK.

I then decided to buy industrial strength Simple Green (it’s actually purple) and spritzed down the engine compartment. Wow! That stuff kicks ar*e as the crud began to ooze off every surface the moment the solution touched anything. Huge improvement. There’s actually black, red and yellow paint under all that goo.


Bill Chasser
TD-4834
TD-5779
TD/c-8151
TD/c-16920
TD-19408
TD-24060

TF-8200






W A Chasser

Before surgery I decided to wash away the 50 years of dirt and grime from the exterior. The paint is failing. Big chunks are falling off pulling the original finish and original primers with it in area. There is no rust underneath or fillers. The paint is simply failing. Other areas where the first repaint is flaking off it is even dent that little prep work had been done. No primers between the original finish and it’s repaint. No evidence of sanding to promote adhesion. But the entire car had been resprayed including the firewall, under bonnet, inner and under wings, and under the mudguards and running boards. With black fender welting present it appears the car was semi disassembled in the process.

After washing the exterior I took my power buffer and lightly polished the right side. The paint does offer a shine with minimal work. Reflection can even be seen coming back to life. Here is the the right quarter and mudguard after five minutes with the buffer.

The paint has crows feet on the bonnet and the entire car could use a good claying before any serious rubbing with compound and polish takes place. I will clean the paint as best I can to make the car look presentable as a survivor.






W A Chasser

Here shows the right side bonnet and headlight bulge after a brief buff vs the untouched left side. The shell and grill are absolutely gorgeous. No dents , dings or scratches. All the stainless is scratch free as is the remaining chrome sans the taillight plinths which are beginning to corrode.

Sorry for the turned pic. Right side headlight bulge area buffed vs left side untouched.





W A Chasser

Final shot shows the right quarter polished bs the right door untouched. The existing paint has potential. I plan to Scotchbrite the existing bare metal and clear coat over it to preserve it from rusting.

Again, sorry for the flipped pic. I can’t seem to correct this.





W A Chasser

Since I’m a bit hamstrung until parts arrive I decide to remove the steering wheel today. Sanded off the remaining old varnish and used a dark walnut stain on the wood. I will let it set for a couple of hours and wipe it down to see if I need to reapply it tomorrow. I figured I’d use this wheel as a test mule before I redo my blonde motolita on TD-4834. I also have another wheel to refinish that was on TD/c-16920.


Bill Chasser
TD-4834
TD-5779
TD/c-8151
TD/c-16920
TD-19408
TD-24060

TF-8200



W A Chasser

Sprayed three coats of clear urethane on the steering wheel this AM. Will let it cure over the next three days, give it a light sanding and lay down there more coats. There are a few very minor cracks in the wood which I believe will be filled with the urethane when I’m finished. Overall I’m happy with how the wheel looks thus far. I was concerned the stain would hide the grain too much. The clear has really brought back the grain and the wood’s overall appearance.


Bill Chasser
TD-4834
TD-5779
TD/c-8151
TD/c-16920
TD-19408
TD-24060

TF-8200






W A Chasser

Three more coats of clear urethane on the steering wheel today. Cure for three more days. Most all the voids have filled in. I may do and round of sanding and respraying then.

Ram up to Lawrie Alexander’s this morning to pick up a replacement float lid for the one that I destroyed. Float bowl arrived a couple of days ago. Carb bits arrived from Moss. Carbs are now ready to go back on the car.
W A Chasser

Second sanding and four more coats of clear. Maddie donated a couple of hairs for a custom effect. Lol. Usually my signature is a embedded mosquito





W A Chasser

I’ve come to the realization that I don’t need another project. I had rebuilt the carbs in anticipation of an easy means of getting the engine freed up. Still no movement and I’m not going to investigate it further. I have bumper brackets and TF bumper blades but no back bars for either. The steering wheel has been refinished. The car rolls easy on dry tires. Six wire wheels. Clear CA title and currently on non-op status.

This car is now for sale and I am entertaining serious offers. If this car is of interest please contact me at my email address listed at the top of this post. Simply click on TD4834 on top rt corner of my posts to take you to it. Most answers can be had by reading this thread or on the MGExp site. and looking at the pics. Additional pics on request. No tire kickers need respond. I don’t have time to deal with all the BS.


Bill Chasser
TD-4834
TD-5779
TD/c-8151
TD/c-16920
TD-19408
TD-24060

TF-8200
W A Chasser

This thread was discussed between 03/08/2022 and 06/09/2022

MG TD TF 1500 index

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