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MG TD TF 1500 - TF body numbers

I've got a body plate to replace the awol plate on the tool box lid and I'm wondering if anybody can shed some light on the body number that I might stamp on it.

HDC46/3973
XPAG/TF/33613
Built March 11 1954

LaVerne
LED DOWNEY

Is that the original car number/engine number... not sure what you mean 'shed some light'?
gblawson (gordon)- TD#27667

1954 TF HDC46 3973 XPAG33613 TF LHD BRG BISCUIT LAVERNE DOWNEY FRUITA C0 U.S.A.
1954 TF HDC46 3973 XPAG/TF/33613 TF LHD BRG? BISCUIT? SAMUEL BRYAN GLENWOOD SPRINGS CO U.S.A.
1954 TF HDC46 3973 XPAG/TF/33613 TF LHD BRG? BISCUIT? BRUCE KLINE /70'S MCPHERSON KS U.S.A.
gblawson (gordon)- TD#27667

Gordon, I'm assuming that the body number has no relationship to the chassis number. I'm looking for a number that I should stamp on the body number plate.
Not this one.

LaVerene


LED DOWNEY

But one like this. Off of another car.


LED DOWNEY

Ahh... sorry... the body number plate... Am afraid there was no real sequence relative to the car/engine number....?
gblawson (gordon)- TD#27667

Is there any sequence at all or should I just pick a random number?
LED DOWNEY

Leo,
Look at the site about MG Body numbers:

www.niagarabritishcarclub.org/mgtnumbers/listcars.php

and click on list cars, scroll down to TF and see some numbers used.

The above were talking about Car (or Chassis) numbers not the body number under the toolbox lid. The site lists some body numbers.



Don Harmer

Would love to have a complete list of the two body numbers, but submissions seem to come in with only the car/eng numbers?
gblawson (gordon)- TD#27667

There is only a very loose relationship between the body number and the chassis number. The body numbers were applied at the bodyworks and by the time they were mounted on the chassis, they were a little mixed up, just like the engine numbers. Chassis 3925 had body number 13449, so that would put you in the right 'ballpark'. Anybody have a high 3000 or low 4000 chassis number to compare?

Cheers,
Matthew.
Matthew Magilton

LaVerne, see http://www.ttalk.info/Tech/BodyPlate.html for where I found the body number on my TD. Not sure how original your wood is, but you might look in that area just in case. Bud
Bud Krueger

Use 13000 or 13XXX
gblawson (gordon)- TD#27667

Thanks all. Bud I tried that trick but the wood rails had been replaced before I got the car. If I can get somebody on the other side of 4000 to throw out a number or if we could get some in sequence to give us an idea of how they fit together would be nice.
LaVerne

Matthew, I found the Original mgtf site a great deal of help when I was working on the green hornet. Are thre any plans to make any further additions? Also I haven't seen any changes to Art Mafli's TF Record site in a couple of years. Any news there?


LaVerne
LaVerne

LaVerne,

TF1500
Chassis#: TF7022
Body#: 17952
Built: Sept. 13, 1954

Jim
Jim Rice

LaVerne: No major changes planned for the Original MG TF site, but there will be minor additions from time to time.

Cheers,
Matthew.
Matthew Magilton

The body plate, under the toolbox cover on my TF indicates that the "Body Type" is "TF", and my body serial number is 14074. My car number is TF4592.

If your car number is 3973, that means there are 619 cars between us and extrapolated, that would mean your body number would be 14074 - 619, should come to 13455.

I'm having trouble understanding how a body number can be so high when only 9600 (all TF XPAG and XPEG) were made. I can only guess that Car Bodies (who I believe, made the tubs for the TD & TF) just continued from the TD body production numbers.

Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué.
Gordon A. Clark

LaVerne,
That is a tough one if you don't have the orginial!
Even on my BMIHT trace certificate the "Body #" shows as "Not Recorded".
Best "idea" I can give you from mine is:
HDC46/7427
XPEG/1212
Built Oct 11&12 1954
Dispatched Oct 13 1954
Has a "Body #" of TF18004
Cheers,
David TF1500 #7427
David Sheward

Chassis 1423 had body 9981 and chassis 1484 had 9901. It looks as if the TF numbers did follow on from something else and these examples show how mixed up they were. I support Gordon's idea of using 13000.

Cheers,
Matthew.
Matthew Magilton

Thanks for the input from all. Went with a 13... something. It escapes me now and it's apparent that it's not that important unless I'm parked next to a TF with the same number. I also put it on the top of the lid instead of under because I like to see the brass when I open the bonnet. Now to replace the broken tachometer cable that let go Saturday.

LaVerne
LaVerne

For what its worth my TF is chassis HDC46/1085 built november of 1953....body number TF 9669
Jeff Payne

With a few more data points, we should be able to do a regression curve on this, and come pretty close to the truth!

Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué.

Gordon A. Clark

LaVerne, I'm not sure if the original body number is stamped into the left hand lower boddy timber on a TF as they were on a TD. The TD number is stamped into the wood just inside the door sill under the floor.
I'm currently trying to learn the height of the original numbers for my car since I replaced the subject wood in my TD.
Jim Merz

It sounds very similar to the correlation between car number and body number for the MGA.
My understanding is that they got bodies made up in batches of 1000 and used those bodies in any order to make up the cars. An extreme example would be cars with adjacent chassis numbers could have body numbers up to 2000 apart. (I've no idea whether this might actually have happened).
Dan Smithers

As I disassembled my 1955 TF, I found neatly folded in the right rear quarter panel, the following tub inspection sheet with a body number of 18931 and an inspection date of Nov 23 1954.

My TF is:
HDE43/8404
XPEG 2403
Build date Dec 20 1954

It appears to have taken three and a half weeks of storage and transportation to get installed on the frame.

More fuel for the quest.

Dick Lambert



S Lambert

Wow, great find Dick!

Cheers,
Matthew.
Matthew Magilton

Dick,

Well done on preserving this piece of Factory history.
Brilliant !

Rob.Grantham
TF3719("Aramis"),TF9177("Athos").
Rob Grantham

LaVerne, here is mine which is close to yours...

HDE 43/3698
XPAG/TF/32760
Build March 3 1954
Body # 13210

John
J OSTRERGREN

John... is your engine number 32760 or 32780?
gblawson (gordon)- TD#27667

Hi Gordon, I double checked and the number is 32760.

John
J OSTRERGREN

This thread was discussed between 29/02/2008 and 09/03/2008

MG TD TF 1500 index

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