Cheap Rolling Restoration: 1953 MG TD
You think of all the sportscars and hypercars you see on the road today, from Lamborghini, Koenigsegg, and the like, and they are lustful drool-worthy cars to some. To others, they prefer a more sedate way of moving about, as a lot of us folk who visit the Barn Finds website do. But back in the 1950s, a sportscar was something very different, and the MG TD was one such example – an everyday affordable sportscar, with a drop top and space for 4 – although by the 1950s was not so sporty anymore. If you want a slice of this classic sports car action, head over to Craiglist here for the paltry sum of $2,800 and available to pick up in Sunderland Massachusetts. Thanks to Peter Rettig for this tip!
That’s quite a compelling price, given that good quality MG TDs can go for $30,000 in tip-top condition. Let’s not fool ourselves, however, as this rolling restoration definitely needs some TLC. The seller even offers to sell it without the windscreen for $600 less – so if you have one of these around then you can save a bit more cash. These were originally produced from 1936 to 1955 so were beginning to look quite outdated by the 1950s. The car had a lot of race wins in its time, and continues to be popular to this day, meaning spare parts are easily available thanks to the huge MG owners club who are to help with the restoration.
And what a restoration this will be – even though it’s a rolling chassis, it’s missing its original engine, dash, and radiator so these will need to be sourced – or you could go for something a bit more modern and reliable if you were focussed on driving rather than originality. Amazingly, these cars came with 4 seats – although your back seat passengers need to be brave, given there’s no head protection and extremely limited space for their legs. The MG looks like it was originally red, but may have been involved in an accident as it has been stripped of some body parts which have been replaced in other colors.
The seller states the frame is solid and in good condition – but you would need to know your way around these cars to know if this was worthwhile restoring. You will also likely need to spend more money that it’s worth, depending on the state you would like to finish the car. For simple, top-down classic British motoring though, it doesn’t get much better than this – but do you think this car has the potential?
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Comments
Sure it’s worth restoring as long as a professional shop isn’t involved in every aspect of the restoration. That said I have a nifty 1988 Thunderbird 2.3 turbo 5 speed and a closed loop wiring harness that might make a sweet engine for it. too bad I have too many projects including an MGA. I wonder what radiator is missing?
Or a GNX Buick Turbo V6.
Owned a ’53. Drove it, loved it, but wouldn’t take this one on to get another. Probably cheaper to buy one already in good condition or restored.
Unfortunately this might be too far gone to be saved. Never can be number matching car and missing so many pieces to be cost effective. Now maybe someone has a rusty complete car the would fit the bill. Put together a good looking driver to enjoy.
$12K TO $15K is what these routinely seem to bring when restored.
I don’t know why the market rarely moves on these.
A TD NEVER had space for four unless you strap two to the front fenders like a deer roadkill. Also missing the dash. I bought mine in 1970 and still driving it. The best part of owning a T series MG are the other owners. A great group always there if you need help. We have Pub night, garage night, Zoom tech, Gatherings of the faithful nationally and locally, and Sunday group drives. Seems every week something is going on. Easy car to work on and parts are easy to find. Cheers.
Unfortunately, David is closer to correct on the value of a TD. I would say $13,000 to $20,000. A $30,000 TD would be an immaculate, concours restoration. You will definitely be “upside down” if you restore this one, but it can be done. Parts are plentiful. If you do all of the work yourself, and carefully source parts, this one could be restored. Honestly, the TD is not valuable enough for matching numbers to be a deal breaker. One other point. The TD is not a 4 seater. There is a small, flat storage area behind the seat.
Nothing doing. What’s the point?
I had a ’51 and the sheet metal isn’t even the worst problem. Pretty sure when you pull the nails and remove the body panels, the ash wood frame will be rotted beyond repair. Parts for these are readily available but after all the time and expense, you’d be better off buying a restored runner… It’ll be cheaper.
This is not a 53 the tail lights are not round the 53 has round taillights. Great cars but this is probably just parts.. not worth the cost for restoration.
My ’53 and quite a few of my friend’s TDs had the rectangular taillights. Like you, have seen the round taillights on he ’53s. Maybe there’s a TD guru out there that knows why the two types of taillights.
Tail lights were changed to round about car 21303, October 1952. May have been a supply issue, as the round lights were used also on the 10,000 TF’s, but may have been related to the need for dual-filament bulbs as these cars got turn signals.
In November 1952 the position of the wiper motor was changed from a forehead-banging passenger’s side, to a central position, so this could be a ’53 – I doubt it, tho. Any rear end collision results in new fenders.
I was custodian of a couple of basket cases for a friend, an he had a lot of books for research. To the best of my memory, the rectangular taillights were described as being fitted to “early 1952” cars.
pop cans
Hey guys! We all know that dealers back in the ‘50s usually titled cars in the year they were sold. So, a lot of ’52 models got titled as ‘53s. I have a ’57 MG Magnette, built in February of ’57 but titled as a ’58. Same reason.
The review of this car is one of the most inaccurate pieces I’ve read in a long time. Believe me, there were no TDs built in 1936. No TDs were built before World War II. The factory never built any 4-passenger T-series cars, and the MG Owners Club, though a valuable resource, is just one of many. While other T-series MGs do date back to the 1930s, the TD was not offered or built before 1950, so we are to believe these cars were no longer sporty by the 1950s?
If you’re going to review a barn find, learn how to do some RESEARCH first.
Well said Allen. There was however a four seater TD made by Inskip. It was on the Y chassis. The TD was on a cut down Y chassis so it was fairly easy to build. A guy by the name of Bill Sheriden had one. The car and Bill were regulars at New England MGT Register Gatherings of the Faithful. Google MG four seater to see one. This one isn’t the Inskip TD.
‘ Just read the CL description. It is not the radiator that’s missing, it’s the radiator SURROUND! Also, the seller indicates that he’s not sure of the year but “think”s it’s a ’53. So all the discussion (including mine) about the year is superfluous anyway. Given that nobody knows, with the rectangular tail lights and the passenger-side wiper motor, I too would go with ’52 or earlier.
Our ’53 had the wiper motor on the right.
Unless this pile of rust, tears and disappointment has some remarkable provenance…like it was once owned by someone famous, put your tools down and walk away. It will never, ever be worth more than the time and money required to make it presentable.
The 1936 comment clearly applies to the first T-series car, the TA; then the TB (1939), the TC (1945-1949) and the TD (1949-1953). But to suggest that the TA is in any way related to the TD is incorrect, just as saying that the car could ever seat 4. (Altho my two kids, when small, did love to ride on the parcel shelf, without the benefits of seatbelts!) And the lower-case letters of the MG owner’s club probably points to the New England MG T Register.
And Mercedes – the Inskip was build on a 10″ stretched TD chassis, not a Y-type; they made 12 of them.
Tom
To me, an amateur home restorer (some may abbreviate this as “hack”), this one doesn’t look too bad. But, as mentioned by others, that is going to depend on how good/bad the frame and wood components are. I don’t feel too hopeful about those here, but who knows.
But otherwise, for those of us who like to restore original parts ourselves (vs replace with better or repops), and who care more about drivability than about having a show car, this looks good.
I’d put an MGB engine/trans (or 5-speed trans) in it, fabricate a wood dash, and make a nice driver out of it.
But, that’s me. If it was anywhere near my neck of the woods, this would be in my shop right now, if the frame/wood checked out.
Just a different opinion.
I did some more research. I didn’t realize a decent driver MG-TD could be had so cheap. I’m finding quite a few decent ones in the $10-$20k range. Definitely this one is not worth touching, realizing that… I thought they were at least twice that!
I would love to own a TC but there are too few available and the price on one in decent condition is nearly out of sight. If some one has a 52-53 TD that has been wrecked this might be the way to restore it. But starting from scratch like this one would be too costly to be practical.
MG prices have plummeted in the past few years, for various reasons – a $35k TD 4 years ago is a $20-5k car today. They made 30,000 TDs, so they have never fetched the prices that Jags and even Triumphs have.
And most MG owners are older, and kids just don’t show the same interest, like with Model A’s and wooden boats. They. want to get in and drive, not tinker.
And that’s a shame. Not only are T series MGs iconic, they are a very simple joy to tinker with. After removing the bonnet, I could lift the engine out of the bay with just my two hands.