1950/1951 MG TD Right Hand Drive

1950 MG T-Series

The time has come to let go of my right hand drive MG-TD. Phycologists have a term for not wanting to get rid of possessions. They call it "Loss Eversion". I guess they're right, I still hate to sell it thinking I'll once again become interested. Ah well. Don't want my wife to have it hauled off after I'm gone so time to face the fact my interest is over and I'm never going to get it back on the road again.

I purchased the car from a local MG enthusiast. He told me the engine had been rebuilt by the previous owner. Never had a reason to doubt that but I can offer no proof. In the time I drove this I had no issues with the engine other than it running hot. More on that later.

Here is a list of the cars deficiencies as I remember them.

The listed mileage is what is on the odometer. I have no idea of the actual mileage.

The original air filter is gone. PO replaced with chrome side mounts. Those are not presently on the carbs and I'm not sure I can find them. But I never drove the car without the filters on. Those were removed for carb adjusting after rebuild and minutes before setting the car on fire!! 👨🏼‍🚒More on that in a bit

As mentioned, the engine ran hot. This was due to a repaired radiator that greatly reduced its capacity. I have a replacement original complete radiator assembly that I never installed. It will of course come with the car.

It has a Cherry Bomb muffler, not original style.

Windshield wiper motor does not work. I removed the cover and found a broken wire inside so assume it will need to be rewound. Never had it replaced or wound as I just drove it locally and never in the rain.

The title to the car says it's a 1951 model. I never had this corrected. The enthusiast I purchased it from assured me it was a 1950 Model. Indeed, many of the parts I bought (mostly from Abington Spares) for the rebuild had to be for an early TD. And it came with the original two bow top of the early models and the 9 post regulator. The car number XPAG-TD-1024 would make it one of the first few hundred produced.

The two bow top (later td's had 3 bow tops)as well as the side curtains have not been recovered and have the original material. The top certainly is not usable as it is with the old covering. The actual metal and bows are okay. The side curtains are complete as original but look their age.

The car has been stored for many years so it will take some work to get it on the road again.

There is some bondo in the body. Mostly the right running board (probably rusted out) but a bit in the right rear fender. It was there when I bought the car and I think that most everything else is solid. The car was yellow and brown when I got it. I stripped to the frame and repainted it BRG. Not a professional job but it was okay. I did invest in a professional Devilbiss Spray gun. There are chips along the edges from car doors while stored next to my wife's car in a garage over the years.

I had rebuilt both the master and slave cylinders but during storage the left rear wheel brake cylinder has leaked (draining the brake fluid) and swollen the brake pads locking that wheel. May or may not be able to back off the adjuster to remove the wheel without a puller.

When a PO worked on the transmission, or had it worked on, a single part was left off that keeps the car in first gear when driver takes his foot off the gas and takes their hand off the shifter. I learned about what causes this issue when reading something, possibly online or one of the old Sacred Octagon magazines. I can't remember exactly which part number or name it was but it is some kind of keeper and may have been the last part to go on the shaft. Not sure which part exactly but it was inconsequential in cost and to the transmissions operation. I found as long as I kept my hand on the shifter it stayed in gear. Again this was in first gear only. No other issues with the transmission.

There was nothing wrong with the charging system when I drove the car before I worked on it. Afterward the battery did not charge. I had both the regulator and generator tested at a local shop and both were found to be good. I assumed I made an error when rewiring but I just recently read that the old generators had to be polorized to operate and this is not something I did so it may just he that.

About the burned spot on the right bonnet panel. 😡 I had purchased carb overhaul kits and had just reinstalled them. When the car would not immediately start, I disconnected the carbs to reexamine them. In the second attempt I hopped in the car, turned on the key and waited a couple of seconds for the bowls to fill. Unfortunately, I had neglected to attach the fuel line from the pump to the carbs 🙄. When I pulled the starter, the engine cranked a couple of times and then backfired through the carbs setting a small puddle of gasoline on fire under the engine. I got it out fast with an extinguisher but not before it burned the paint in that one spot. The metal where the paint burned is undistorted. I still get embarrassed thinking about it. To make it more embarrassing we had just moved to a new neighborhood. The man next door and his 3 very large sons (none of whom I had yet met) saw the flames (garage door was up) and came running. By the time they arrived seconds later I had already used an extinguisher but it was a heck of a way to meet new neighbors. I never drove the car after this "incident".

In no way am I saying this is a complete list of negatives. There may be other issues I've forgotten. If I recall during the auction I will amend my comments.

Now some good points.The car was totally disassembled. Frame was cleaned and sandblasted then primed and painted. During the rebuild a lot of new parts were purchased. Almost all from Abingdon Spares. I still have copies of several orders. There were lots of small parts like rebound rubbers, bushings, leaf spring rubber pads, door lock. Way too much stuff to list but notably including the following:

Front and rear bumpers and overriders

Complete new carpet set. (Moss Motors)

Wood, RH and LH latch pillars

Wood, RH and LH rocker rails

Wood, RH and LH bottom main sides

Wood, Rear floor board

Wood, tank back board

Wood, bottom back rail

Wood, RH and LH scuttle side rails

Wood, RH and LH floor boards

I have the orders for the above but I believe I replaced nearly all the wood with the exception of the wood inside the door panels, bow tops and dashboard.

A complete BRITISH CONLEY HIDE leather seat and leather interior panel set. Very expensive at the time. Looking on the Abingdon Spares website the panel set is no longer available in leather and the seat ads makes no mention of the leather being made of Conley hides. After it arrived I stored it under our bed. The smell of the freshly tanned leather was wonderful. I've attached a picture of Abingdon Spares order and brochure of the time describing it. The seat cover was installed by a local shop who surprisingly did it for free. When I got the car it had some kind of bucket seats. I purchased an original bench seat and backrest in good condition from an individual that had the original ( horse hair I believe) padding. No receipt for that though.

I added a circuit under the dash that operates the brake lights as turn signals. I believe the circuit was published in Sacred Octogon.

This car came to the US mainland via Hawaii. It still has a partial Hawaiian State safety inspection sticker on the windshield.

This is long and I've tried to honestly describe condition good and bad. I'll answer questions to the best of my ability and can take additional pictures If wanted. There are more pictures eBay won't let me link to. Contact me for the link. They here include many receipts for purchased parts. The included receipt in the listing is for the Conley hide interior.

Payment. I've never sold a car on eBay and I have been advised to only accept a bank to bank transfer or cash paid at a bank if picking the car up personally.

Buyer will arrange for pickup. I will help however I can.

Another issue I just remembered is the hubcaps are not great. Some rust and bubbling of the chrome. There are replacement disks on eBay and the MG logo in the center of the old hubcaps is removable for use in the new disks.

And another. The speedometer does not work. I believe due to a rounded off drive shaft where it screws into the back. I was going to try and build that up with JB Weld but never did.