1953 MG T-Type TD

MG TD.

An outstanding late production 'home' TD (RHD) exported to the USA in 1955 presumably by an American owner unwilling to leave his/ her car behind! The car was returned to the UK in 2013 when the new owner, a retired aircraft engineer, commenced a complete restoration although at the time the car was still in good running order. The restoration continued until the owner sadly passed away in 2023. The car was sold uncompleted to a gentleman in London and, although the intention was to finish the rebuild, he never actually made a start due to lack of time and an upcoming house move. I am a serial rebuilder of MMM and T-Type MGs and acquired the car earlier this year. I was impressed by the standard of work already achieved.

My detailed inspection of the car revealed a chassis and running gear resembling a new car just off the production line - even down to the TD stencilled on the diff. cover! There is some dust but no road dirt of mud anywhere to be seen. I have never before seen an undercarriage in such good order on a car of this age.

The gearbox has the slight stiffness in shifting so typical of a new item indicating that it has been properly rebuilt. The brakes are excellent and are again indicative of a thorough rebuild. A nice touch is the provision of a remote fluid reservoir thereby making filling and inspection of the master cylinder a joy as against the misery of attempting the same task using the standard arrangement!

The engine is interesting: apparently the last American owner purchased a 'factory reconditioned' engine from the UK which was installed in the car and which now has completed about 14000 miles. I cannot see how it could be a 'factory' reconditioned engine unless someone had one stored away for many years. Nevertheless, the engine has plates attached bearing a 'C' prefix and confirming that the crank and bores are all standard sizes. The block is in fact an XPAW item which MG fans will know comes from a Wolseley but which is identical to the XPAG bar one small casting addition. It is quite usual to substitute this later block for the XPAG item when rebuilding. All that said, inspection of the valve gear reveals an obvious low level of running time which together with the engine's performance, leads me to believe that the engine has indeed been completely reconditioned.

The car drives really well and everything works normally. The bodywork is excellent in every respect and there is no corrosion

anywhere in the car. The interior is leather and in new condition.

There is a new hood and side screens, not currently fitted, and a used full tonneau.

I have had a few TDs come my way over the years but this one is easily the nicest.

If you fancy something a little older, I have a lovely 1934 PA listed on here too!

Experience tells me that seriously interested parties always call for more information but, if you email, please ask what it is that you need to know!