After the war, folks were still driving tall prewar cars. Imagine how it must have felt to see a low slung two-seat convertible that looked like a design from the 1930s. These were something new for America, something called “sports cars”. GIs coming home from the war had seen sports cars in Europe and wanted their own. The MG TC was introduced in 1945 and the MG TD came along in 1950. They introduced America to the sports car. The MG TD was designed for the American market. It had several upgrades that made less sporty and more civilized than the MG TC. Upgrades included rack and pinion steering and independent front suspension. It was also about 5″ wider. The biggest complaint about the TD was said to be the 12-volt electrical system because 6 volt systems were still standard in American cars. This MG TD can be found on eBay in Phoenix, Arizona with a Buy in Now price of $11,000. It’s been stored for years, but it is mostly complete and appears solid. It needs paint and an interior. There is no description of its mechanical condition beyond the possibility that the carburetors may need work.
The interior looks usable in this picture. A good cleaning would really help. The instrument panel looks complete.
It appears the right carb slide is stuck open, so the carburetors do seem to need work. It looks like it’s all there so hopefully it won’t take too much to get it running.
The pictures provided of the underside show it to be in great shape. There’s no sign of rust and the wood looks solid.
The missing tail light lenses seem to be all that’s missing. It might not take much to restore this to a nice driver. It does seem overpriced, though. NADA shows low retail to be $15,500 and Hagerty shows average retail to be $16,000, but they just don’t sell for that much. If you look at eBay sold listings, nice, restored examples sell for up to $18,000, but there is a long way and many dollars between this TD and being restored. Bidding is approaching $6,000 at this time, but the reserve is unmet. For the right price and several “ifs” this might make a nice driver. If the engine doesn’t have any expensive problems, the interior is usable and you can live with the paint this could be a fun little car. It may be the case, though, where the seller is stuck at an unrealistic price and one would be better served to buy a nice well-sorted example for about $15,000 like this one that sold recently on eBay. The TD is a fun little car to drive but the owner will encounter the usual English car issues, including the Dark Lord Lucas.
Had a ‘52 TD and it was a blast. The mechanicals are easy to work on. What isn’t so easy is the wood frames. These need to be checked and not always easy to get to. Any buyer should take their time and have the wood checked. Learned that expensive and time consuming lesson.
Now with the warning out of the way, these do pass the Miata test. They are more fun than a Miata.
Ah, the MX5 test. I had a ‘89 NA, great car, did everything well. I sold it and went back to owning a MGA. Inferior in almost every regard except for the feeling of being back in a classic. The noise, the smell, the drafts, the heat off the engine on a hot day. All worth it.
Also had a TD back in the late 60s.
Not just the dark lord,british whitworth fasteners too!
Whitworth fasteners are not a problem. You just need the right tools. I had a ’51 and it was a pleasure to work on because of its simplicity.
…and you get ‘Traditional British Upright Styling’ at no extra cost..!
Yes, they are more fun than a Miata/MX5, especially if you like constant fettling, which also comes standard.
I have wished all my older/vintage cars came from Phoenix but they never did.
My neighbour had one of these, sold it about 8 years ago for less than $10,000 CDN.It was in better shape than this, but that’s all they could get for it.
A regular customer of mine has a ’53 or’
’54 TD. that he’s owned since I met him
nearly 30 years ago. After many visits
to the restaraunt, we became good friends until I lost touch with him after
I retired in 2009. He, his wife, and daughter would sometimes show up
in the MG on nice days. Seemed to
be enough room for the daughter to
ride safely behind her parents without
falling out of the car. His was dark green
with tan leather inside with a real wood
dashboard to boot. I can still see him
getting out of the car wearing one of
those tweed golf caps and a sweater
with patches on the sleeves. All he needed was an unlit pipe in his mouth
to complete the picture that I still have
in my mind of him today. He told me
that his main beef with his car were those
two side draft carbs that either stuck in
the open position, or leaked like seives
when they flooded. Thanks for the memories! Just got off work about an
hour ago and it’s time for bed. Night all!
Shouldn’t have any issues getting this motor started. The carbs can be easily repaired (even temporarily) and running in 10 minutes. The sticking piston is no big deal. Sticking piston could be due to piston/bell interference OR needle/jet interference. A little oil on the piston may help or have to re-center the jet. These cars are honestly the easiest to work on and the carbs are WAY EASIER than working on any American carb from the same period.
True that!
Agreed, SU carbs are easy. Take off the tops, make sure the piston moves, freely, clean the float bowl, and you are probably good to go.Well worn SU’s may have air leaks around the thottle shaft, but they can be rebushed. I still have my SU tools including the air meter for balancing, but a piece of rubber hose for listening will do.
One additional thing to check is little bits of rubber in the carb.
Older rubber fuel lines seem to fall apart with the alcohol in gas. Parts of the carb on my Hudson got difficult to move. Tore it apart and found it had several rubber bits all over the place. Traced it down to one old rubber hose I had missed. Changed the hose, cleaned out the bits and everything moved as it should.
These are my favourite cars. I have one just like this. I have had it for over 30 years, but it has been off the road for many years. I used to drive around in it with my two sons when they were little. They would wave at everyone like they were in a parade. Last year for Mother’s Day, my youngest got it out of storage so he could get it running again. Sadly, he had a fire in his garage before it was finished. It will be running again, but it is now a much bigger project. I have bought another in British racing green, to drive until then. The red one will always be my car.
For some reason, the picture posted upside down, lol.
Great cars…I had one years ago…would love another.
I know where a RHD ’47 (w/ British tag) and a LHD ’49 sit together. In nice, original shape. Owner passed in 2014, wife sold the ’55 to one of his old crew chiefs.