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MG TD TF 1500 - What Model Year for October 54 TF1500?

Could someone familiar with the MG Factory's model year change-over date(s) provide guidance on the correct model year designation for my mgtf1500?

The Car info is as follows:

Chassis TF7673
Engine XPEG/1498
Build Date 25 October 1954
Car Number HDB 46/7673

Based on the late October date in 1954, I would imagine the car would have been considered by MG to be a 1955 model as opposed to a 1954 model. Is that a correct assumption?

I am wanting to correct the information held by our local DMV office. Thanks in advance.

My vague memory is that the MG Factory's holiday break would take place in August - and that model years changed AFTER the holiday - am remembering correctly?
Thanks again
DLD

In those days, for these cars, the M.G. factory had no model years. The models evolved. Bud
Bud Krueger

Bud - I would imagine that you are correct - I am not sure when they adopted a formal model-year change-over. I do seem to recall that it was in place for the MGB.

So, is there any other feed back? Would I be correct in having the car registered as a 1954 rather than a 1955?
DLD

Bud's right, but the factory was hounded by their US network, because Americans have always had 'model years', and DMVs found it confusing to have two different years for the same model, especially when there was a small period whilst the works closed out inventory on the XPAG alongside the XPEG (TF1500).

So in their later publications, the 1250 was tagged as 1954, and the 1500 as a 1955 model.


Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué.
Gord Clark

Doesn't really answer your question, but my TF was built before yours and is titled as a 1955.

TF7211
XPEG977
23-Sep-1954

Lonnie
TF7211
LM Cook

Lonnie,
Yours is registered as a 55 'cause that is the year that the dealer sold it.

Steve Wincze

My TD was built in Nov. 1950. I did not get it until June 1951. It was registered as a 1951. It would appear that the date of registration was the deciding factor.

George
George Raham

And I have a 1957 TD built in 1952 but sold new in 1957 so that is when it had to be titled. I have tried many times to get it changed including showing proof to the manufacture date, on deaf ears !! Frank
FOG Frank

I spoke with the DMV today and had a nice, cooperative woman working with me. I am to email her information and she is going to review the material. So, I think I will see if I can have the TF changed from 1955 to 1954. My other MGs are all correct and I managed to work with them last year to change the Engine number on the 1950 MGTD registration to the actual chassis number. So, they seem to be listening here in Atlanta GA.

Fingers crossed!
DLD

Frank, a 1957 TD is quite the rarity I would think :)
Geoffrey M Baker

I checked out a TF for a prospective buyer a couple years ago that was a "56" on the Florida title. The salespeople were not happy with my efforts. I noticed things minor things like dripping brake fluid, leaky shocks, etc. I pulled out my phone and ran the chassis number and this was a very early TF produced in Dec. 53 (I think). The older mechanic then commented that explains why it wasn't a 1500! The sellers then left me alone. George
George Butz

I agree with Gord, 1250s were 54s and 1500s were 55s. The DMV stations here screwed the titles up, so what else is new? The first batch of 1955 American cars were built in 1954 and so on and so on.
Paul161

Good luck, there are 50 states with 50 DMV's all different. Here in Minnesota I had what would be a 1953 TD registered as a 1954 TD with a registration # starting with XPAG#####. Because I had a brand new pair of 1953 Minnesota plates I thought it would be nice to correct the title and use the plates. The main DMV office was only a few blocks from my office so I walked over thinking this won't take long. Wrong, the person on the other side of the counter had a limited vocabulary. Now I am not picking on public employees, I was one at the time. First word "no" second word "never" followed by "you need to buy a bond in case you stole the car. So I left the completed forms at the DMV and went back to my office. By the time I got there I decided to tried one more thing, a call to the Commissioners office. And surprise he answered the phone and we had a discussion which included my thoughts on the state employee at the DMV. About an hour after hanging up I received a call to bring a check to the DMV and pick up my paper work. My advice, hang in there. Most if not all states have state statutes on line. Read the statute that applies to what you are attempting to deal with before facing the person on the other side of the counter.
F. Driver

It's highly unlikely for you to find any official, factory, documents stating that M.G. didn't have model years until the MGB. Good luck finding a sympathetic ear at your DMV. The late Don Harmer might have known the secret in GA. He certainly is missed. Bud
Bud Krueger

Well - all done. Mission Accomplished!

The TF was changed from a 1955 to a 1954. Car is now listed properly as a 1954 MG midget Series TF 1500. It was also changed from a "Convertible" to a "Roadster". Color was changed from "Unknown" to "Green".

The 1950 TD is properly listed as a "1950 MG Midget Series TD". It is also now listed as a "Roadster" rather than a "Convertible". The issue of having the Engine number listed as the VIN was corrected last year - so the Vehicle ID Number is now properly listed as "TD 2301"

The 1971 MGB was changed from simply an "MG MG" to a more appropriate "1971 MG MGB".

So, all is right with the world!

You just have to know how to charm the County employees!
DLD

DLD - "You just have to know how to charm the County employees!"

You've got that right. Whenever I needed to get a title straightened out, I would take all of my MG books with the pages marked with me to the State Patrol inspection station. I would tell them what I had, and what I needed to get the car titled properly, showing them all the information about the car and when I saw them getting interested, I would innocently say, would you like to copy those pages? I would always see their eyes light up and they would take everything back and make copies to put in their notebooks and from that point on, they would do just about anything I asked. Cheers - Dave
DW DuBois

Like many of you, my TF #7157, built late September 1954, is titled as a 55 because it was sold new in that year. I have sentimental reasons for considering it a 1954 model since that is also my model year, and found justification in Barrie Jones's TF handbook in which he states that cars built through 12/31/54 are 1954 models. So, when the next MG expert tells me that all TF-1500s were 1955 models, I can produce Barrie's book and quiet them down. It also worked at the Maryland MVA offices when I used the book to justify registering the car with a vintage 1954 license plate.

At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter and falls into one of those conversation pieces like "what does MG stand for?"
Jack Long

This thread was discussed between 03/02/2016 and 10/02/2016

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