Looking at pictures of this somewhat forlorn 1953 MG TD from Midlothian, Texas, one could be forgiven for wondering how such a car was indicative of the British sports car “invasion” that took place in the US after World War II. This particular TD is listed for sale here on Facebook Marketplace and is priced at $12,500. Let’s delve into this iconic car a little further and see if it’s worthy of purchase consideration!
As hard as it is to believe, MG was audacious enough to associate the TD upon introduction with a jet airplane. “Safety Fast” was the MG slogan at the time, and while the TD wasn’t actually fast, it did feel fast to an American public used to mushy-suspended rolling living rooms.
I can get behind the “racy lines” in this brochure page, but “nippy in acceleration” should never have been used to describe a car that made it from zero to 60 in 22.7 seconds (per Popular Mechanics). Is a T-Series your “dream come true”?
Unfortunately, we don’t have a whole lot of information on this car beyond the three pictures shown. The owner is said to be contemplating a repaint, which to me would be a shame unless the rust is significantly worse than shown. At any British car show, there will be several T-Series MGs restored to perfection — but hardly any that look like this. The car comes with some new components such as a top, and the seller claims to have the original bumpers and other parts stored away (it looks as if the car has been outfitted to be towed).
Would you like to tow this “dream come true” home? Or even be really brave and try to drive it home? I’d love to be along for that trip (although maybe in some warmer, drier weather than we’ve been experiencing)! Tell us about your T-Series experiences in the comments, and let us know if you would repaint the car as the seller proposes, or drive it as-is!
Given the lack of details in the ad description and the pics with the cover on it.. I wouldn’t entertain this unless I lived a short drive away. One red flag – ad says ‘automatic’ transmission. I am a fan of these, but I have never seen an automatic. Was that even an option?
Speaking of options… the red paint on the grill… was that a buyer-selected option or did MG include them with certain color schemes? I’ve seen many with the red grill.. it can be striking with the right car.
The grill was to match the interior color.
The color of the grill typically matched the color of the interior from what I’ve seen. An automatic was not an option on these cars. Either it’s been modified, or the seller doesn’t know.
Default for FB listing is automatic unless specified by the person writing the ad. A LOT of cars end up listed as automatic that aren’t. Unfortunately that ruins one of my chief search parameters used to weed out cars I’m not as interested in…
i’m looking for a automatic. if you know i can find any for sale could you please let me know
thank you
Don’t paint it. Others at the cruise in’s and car shows really like the driven look. I bought my TD in 1970. I last washed it in 1976. In the summer It is a daily driver. I have driven the snot out of it over the years. If I revealed the mileage you wouldn’t believe it. Drive them and enjoy.
I wish I could give this comment 10 thumbs up!
Normally, I am firmly in the “keep it as it is” camp. However, I see enough surface rust on this poor thing that I’d have to do something about it. However, I would lean far more towards the brush-paint-from-a-can method and less towards the almost-too-nice-even-for-Pebble-Beach level. I rather doubt what is shown here is original paint, and I think the car deserves the preservation and protection from a decent, careful respray. That said, I love TDs and probably would drive it as much as possible until I was ready to do the paint!
As to the price, this car is at least 24 photos (and several thousand $$$) shy of the asking price.
Any bets on how rotten the wood framing is?
Not to mention the wooden automatic transmission . .
The price looks pretty salty. A completely and beautifully restored TD sold for $15,500 in our market recently. The market of folks looking for these cars is fading away.
Wood framing? It’s not a Morgan.
The TD and Morgan both had a wood structure that held the sheet metal and both had a steel frame underneath.
Saw one at a car show. Had dual exhaust. Under the hood was a Ford 289 or 302. Only give away was the Mustang auto shifter. car was pretty nice and owner said fast. He wanted 80000 for it. Should have bought it. Would have been a lot of fun. Friend had one with a Volvo engine(popular swap at one time) It was pretty quick
$80000 or $8000? If it’s 80 I’ve got one to sell you.
This car is missing the top mounted windshield wiper motors and wipers. The paint job looks like weathered fibreglas. I’m beginning to think that this is a well worn replica.
Way overpriced
No automatics for me…it’s more fun to “row” through the gears which is part of the charm of the old LBCs (Little British Cars). One simply feels more “in touch” with the cars. Today’s cars with their over-engineered 15-speed/variable drive trannies further isolate one from the driving experience, but I guess it is necessary as so many folks cannot separate themselves from their cell phones. The hand typically used to shift gears is now busy texting while driving.
Regarding the painted grille slats…that harkens back to the TC and perhaps earlier, too. My TC has beige grille slats which match the interior color and this was very common as they left Abingdon. To the best of my knowledge, this practice ceased with the TD and examples such as this were painted by their owners–not the factory.
My Grandfather owned a Pontiac dealership in Texas in the late 40s early 50s.He was supplementing his income by importing and sell MGs on the side.
We had one for a family car when I was very young. The only thing I remember my Dad and Uncle talking about was how cold it was with no heater picking them up at the Port of New Orleans and driving them back to TX in the winter.
Pontiacs and Mg’s, who knew? Cool story.
All grille colors for TA-TD matched the interior, except for the later Mark II (TD/C) cars with the “bling” package, where the grille was chromed.
IMHO this is a $6-8k car, no more – and certainly NOT $12k! A very pretty one sold (with fender spats!) yesterday for just over $12k, and worth it. This one isn’t, especially with no pictures of the interior, no engine pix, and no idea if it even runs! The bricks prove it has no handbrake, which suggests it is not in good shape.
Jamie, when reading “nippy in acceleration” , you have to consider the country, and the era: their everyday autos had aged engineering in their motors, so this “new car” would have nippy acceleration, in their view.
Excellent thought, Michael. Then it would make sense if the car has an automatic transmission being a Pinto-based drivetrain.
On the other hand, not sure then what to make of the rust blisters on the front wings. In this crazy day and age, some people (not me) like the rat rod look and I wouldn’t be surprised if someone were to make the effort to make it appear as though it was corrosion. Whoever thought automakers would be painting their cars in flat colors?
Most likely this is the real deal, but definitely overpriced.
Clearly an unrestored neglected old original car – no kit MG ever had the level of detail this has, plus the genuine ye olde English rust!! See right rear photo if you didn’t notice it elsewhere.
How can I see it? I’m in north texas.