Running, driving, project cars are few and far between – either the car is so much a project that it can’t be safely run, or it’s not a project at all. Here’s one that fits the bill – a useable 1953 MG TD owned by one family and now up for sale in a no-reserve auction here on eBay. Bidding has reached $5400; the car is located in Solvang, California. This MG enchanted a serviceman who purchased it new in Frankfurt, Germany, and imported it when he returned home to California – a path trod by many a British roadster emigrating to the US. The TD was specifically aimed at American buyers: unlike its predecessor, the TC, it offered left-hand drive, a slightly wider cockpit, bumpers, and a softer ride. Rack and pinion steering necessitated disc wheels but the updated chassis did wonders for roadability.
With its larger body and heavy bumpers, the TD is no lightfoot. The four-cylinder power plant is not identical to the TC’s – sharing instead several components with the Y-type – but the displacement and output are the same at 1250 cc’s and 54 hp. Consequently, the TD is slower off the line though its top speed in the neighborhood of 70 mph is similar. The seller notes that after a long slumber in the owner’s garage, the car has been treated to a new fuel pump and lines. It now starts, shifts, and brakes well.
The interior has that honest, slightly shabby but completely tolerable appearance, with the finish slightly worn on the steering wheel boss and the instrument panel. Despite the seller’s claim of “all original” I bet the seats have been re-upholstered. The gauge faces are bright and clean, and it’s conceivable that the top is original. No sign of side curtains. The top frame shows surface rust, and the front bumper is likewise corroded, with one crooked overrider. But the all-important vertical-slat MG grille is in fine condition.
The undercarriage is reassuringly dry with a dash of grease here and there. The frame rails, cross members, exhaust – everything is straight as a pin. The car comes with an owner’s manual, registration slips, even the original brochure from the dealer in Germany. Though early MG prices have drifted down over the last few years, the current price seems too good to be true. This TD offers plenty of opportunities to improve its cosmetics and mechanicals, work that’s within the scope of the average amateur’s skillset.
Our ’53 was a lot of fun. If you haven’t driven one go do it, you will see what I mean. Among others, our biggest memory of fun with our car was sitting in it on top of the land fill in Fallon, Nevada on new years drinking a bottle of champagne waiting for the new year sun to come up.
A friend currently has one she bought in college in 1969 almost identical to this, save the fact that in 1970 it needed an engine overhaul at which time her fiancé (her husband to this day) installed a replacement motor-from a Volvo.
Sacrilege!
Fun, personally to me anyway I like it better because its left hand drive I
A couple of small corrections – the XPAG engine of a TC is indeed the same as that in a TD, with tiny carb changes, and changes in location of the block drain. The seats of this car have indeed been replaced, as have the top and the exhaust.
It has also been re-painted, as the fender welting and the chrome on the gas tank end panels shows. The engine may or may not have been rebuilt; the valve cover has been re-painted, but the oil pressure line is original. The price is up to $9,100, a fair price.
But it looks like an honest, largely unmolested, ’53
The mounts are different, too, I believe.
Can someone explain why “Rack and pinion steering necessitated disc wheels “
Here you go. It is really the combination of the suspension AND steering, that posed a problem MG did not fix until the TF.
https://www.mg-cars.org.uk/mgtd/mgtd_redesigned.htm
Interesting rear spring area of the chassis in that diagram.
I am sure that my MG Y sedan had an “under-slung” rear end. That is, the chassis went under the banjo.
It also had built-in jacks.
It didn’t. The TF had the exact same chassis, and had wire wheels as an option, unlike the TD. Any time you see a TD with wire wheels, you know they are not original.
This subject has been discussed here previously, but the young person’s book from long ago “The Red Car” which featured a red TC is what helped many of us at an early age to become lifelong enthusiasts.
Me included !
From Michelle above, “…a problem MG did not fix until the TF.” For no valid reason MG made this claim during TD production, but in 1954, when the TF with the identical chassis, suspension, and disc wheels as the TD was offered with optional wire wheels, a kit to retro-fit them to TD cars was offered. Since the TD and TF were identical, the kit included NO suspension or chassis parts, but wheels, brake drums and hubs, and knock-offs.
Cute lil bugger ain,t it?….
I betcha the side curtains are there. They are stored in a tidy compartment at the back of the parcel shelf. You can look right at it and not see it. Plus, I don’t think 97% of people ever use the stupid things. The they could be stored in there for years and no one would notice.
Sold, sounds cheap to me. US $10,600.00
27 bids.