Post War Sports Car: 1949 MG TC
Barn Finds reader Bill C has been scouting around and found this wonderful MG TC for us to write about, so my thanks go to Bill C for that. This MG TC is listed for sale here on Craigslist. Located in Floyds Knobs, Indiana, this classic little British gem comes with a clean title. The seller has set the price at $15,000.
Of course, as an Australian, the first thing that I notice is that the steering wheel is on the right side of the car. I know that there are people who are unsure about driving a car that is right-hand drive after a lifetime of experiencing the opposite, but from experience, I have found that it isn’t that hard to adapt to driving on the opposite side of the car. The first few times you may go to shift gears and accidentally wind the window down, but after that, it’s plain sailing. This particular barn find has been sitting for more than 40 years, and is just waiting for someone to revive it.
The MG TC was the first car produced by MG following the end of World War II. Built in the UK, it was exported to the USA even though it was only ever built in right-hand drive form. There are a few notable differences between the UK and the US versions. One of the most obvious is that the US version has smaller headlights, coupled with twin tail-lights, turn signals and chrome bumpers with over-riders. Looking at this particular TC makes me think that it may be a private import due to the lack of correct bumpers or turn signals for the US market. The body appears to be in quite good condition, but the paintwork reinforces the seller’s claims that it will need a complete restoration. Of course, the most important area to check on this car would be the frame, although the TC doesn’t seem to be as prone to corrosion as some other offerings from MG.
The interior of this little MG may require a bit of work, depending on individual tastes. The seats look like they may be quite serviceable if treated to a deep clean. The dash is the sticking point for me. Apart from the fact that there are a couple of non-original gauges in there, the red paintwork just jars on me. It appears that at some stage the original timber may have been painted over. This was not an uncommon practice many years ago if the original polished finish started to become tired looking, as it was a quicker and cheaper option than having the timber professionally re-polished. I personally would be trying to return the dash to original if possible.
The MG TC featured a number of engine upgrades when compared to the TB. The engine was broadly the same at 1,250cc, but the TC engine featured slightly increased compression which saw the engine output increase by a half a horsepower in base form, although there were some performance upgrades available from MG. The big changes were designed to improve reliability and included a 12-volt electrical system and automatic advance on the ignition system. Unfortunately, this shot is as close as we get to an engine photo in the ad. The seller doesn’t indicate whether the engine turns freely or not, but given the fact that it has been sitting for more than forty years I would be banking on dismantling the engine for the sake of peace of mind. What this does tell us is that this is the standard spec engine, not the up-rated XPAG version, so horsepower will be around 54.5hp.
The MG TC is never going to give a Miata a run for its money in performance terms, but it does hail from a totally different era. This car is less a performance car, but more designed to be an elegant and relaxed top-down tourer. An MG TC which was a really nice older restoration was recently sold for $27,000, which I guess places a question mark over this particular little car. If the body and frame are solid, then there is nothing that would prevent a person who is handy with a spray-gun from bringing the body back to life. If this MG TC doesn’t need a significant amount of mechanical reconditioning then it may well be a good little car to buy. Relaxed weekend touring sounds like a nice option in this day and age.
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Comments
Actually, the TC never did come from the works with a “timber” facia. It was always covered with a sort of fabric material in a color to match the rest of the interior. In this case, it would appear that the red door panels may be original which would make the red covered dash very much correct. I think it is the seats that have been changed or recovered in a tan of some sort and are non-original to this particular car. Of course, Adam is quite right about the two extra gauges being added. Other decidedly non-original bits included the grill (vertical slats having been replaced with a mesh panel), the steering wheel (from a TD I believe), the road wheels which are 16″ rather than original 19″ wheels, the fog light which has been replaced with a Lucas flame-thrower, and the radiator cap which appears to have been replaced with a “quick-release” type cap.
I just had a look at the original Craigslist ad which does have more pictures and it appears the original plywood dash has indeed been painted red, after the original fabric covering has been stripped off. In addition, the car seems to be a bit of a conglomerate because it sports the high-mounted little round taillights that came on late ’49 export cars but with the early 8 inch headlamps with cat’s eye lenses.
The car was apparently imported from Cuba as I think the license plate says Havana from what I can make out so it’s probably held together with tape and bailing wire. Watch out.
A pity there are no engine photos other than the vin tag
The plate says “Indiana”, consistent with where the car is being sold according to the ad.
Yeah, you’re right Bill. My bad.
For a few grand more you could have this Nifty 50
https://houston.craigslist.org/cto/d/1950-mg-td/6652222082.html
The TD is a very different car Phil.
Or for a few less pick up the 53 with SBC
https://houston.craigslist.org/cto/d/1953-mg-td-v8/6659745834.html
60 years ago I was hooked on barn finds via the book “The Red Car”, about a kid who found a trashed red MGTC in Frenchy’s Garage. I suspect many of you are also traipsing down memory lane about now!
Me too Milt. I don’t know how many times I read that book but it was a lot.
I read that book in grade school ! Thanks for that memory !
That’s what got me into cars oh so many years ago.
First place I read any mention of Whitworth wrenches!
It was in our high school library, as I recall. Must’ve read it at least three times. Aside from the attraction of the car itself, it was a welcome relief from Henry Gregor Felsen’s hot rod books, which would get you all attached to the characters and their cars and then have them (and maybe their girlfriends too) killed off in a wreck.
All TCs had the XPAG (1250cc) engine, the MGTF 1500 had the slightly larger (1500cc) XPEG engine. MGs had 12 volt electrical systems going all the way back into the 1920s (American cars were woefully behind in that regard). All “T” series MGs (as well as earlier cars) had automatic advance distributors.
“This car is less a performance car, but more designed to be an elegant and relaxed top-down tourer.”
Not at all true Adam. The TC was meant as a performance car from its inception and many of them were raced and raced hard. Indeed many top racing drivers got their start in TCs including Carroll Shelby, Phil Hill, and many, many, many others.
Those 16″ wheels on this particular car are an indication that it may have a racing history. Back in the day, those were known as competition wheels and were intended to give the car a lower stance as well as increased traction.
USAn here. I drove a RHD Fairlady Z as a daily driver for a while, here in the States. Getting used to RHD was pretty easy. Got lots of strange looks. I don’t think passengers in the left-front seat were ever really completely comfortable.
I had a very large Saint Bernard dog that used to enjoy riding in my TC on the passenger (left-hand) side with the windscreen folded. It used to freak people out to see us drive by because they automatically assumed the dog was driving and I was the passenger.
Ha! Yeah, I sometimes thought about getting a large stuffed animal for the left front seat, myself. (Lived in an apartment at the time and couldn’t have a dog.)
Or a blow-up doll!
One great thing about these cars is that it is possible to be in a 4 wheel drift and still be below posted speed limits, thanks to skinny bias ply tires….. The 16″ wheels were used for racing partly because they could take more lateral force than the 19″ wheels before they turned into potato chips…. ( look at a wire wheel
from the rim that is out of true, and its like looking at the edge of a potato chip )
Bicyclists call a wire wheel like that “taco’d”, because it looks like a taco.
Nice little car, and I just learned a lot from the ad and the comments! Thanks guys or gals!
The first TC I got to know personally belonged to a guy in Anchorage who ran it on 16″ wheels. It was both his driver and race car; I don’t recall ever seeing it on a track (of which there really weren’t any, other than something some ASCC guys carved with a road-grader in a local gravel pit), but after a hillclimb or something he’d “forget” to put the headlights and bumpers back on for a while.
The timber I would be concerned about is the body’s frame, which was all real tree wood until the MG-A came along. One easy way to get some idea of its condition is just to open the doors and see if they drop any, and how much.
I bought my TC (Chassis # TC-10009) in 1960 for 600 hard earned summer job dollars. I really wanted an MGA but they were still in production and out of my price range so I had to settle for the TC. I ended up keeping it for 40 years and it was mostly my only transportation for the first 20 or so of those years, summer and winter. I did just about everything you can do in a car in that TC, raced it, rallied it, dated in it, took it on long trips, restored it – twice!, and much more. After 40 years of ownership, I was hardly using it anymore and I had other cars so, I dusted it off, put it on eBay and sold it. I think it went to Michigan someplace but I have no idea where it is now. I don’t think I want it back but I’d like to know where it is and how it’s doing.
If you have the VIN number you can find it usually!
My ’39 MG SA was 12 volt, two 6 volt batteries under the back seat. Hundreds of feet of wire coiled up under the hood to reduce the voltage to run the 6 volt Buick headlights, and the 6 volt Ford truck taillights, but the White truck starter and generator matched up to the Hudson 326 cu Super Six (3 speed with overdrive) were 12 volt, so somehow it all worked. 12 volt MG (probably Lucas) fuel pump, so it always started, dash lights and tach worked, trafficators worked. Only one under hood fire in the 5 years and 4000 or so miles I drove it. Put it out by opening the hood, and yanking the offending wire loose, and off we went. 4.75 x 19″ wheels were not made for fast corners, but good in snow on the rare occasions that I had to drive it in the winter.
I had a gorgeous original SA in about 1980. Wonderful car. I traded a TD straight up for it to a weird character named Rocky Carr. Yeah, in deep snow you want tall skinny wheels and tires. Wide tires are exactly what you don’t want. Sounds like you had one very strange car there.
Dirk, you’re right about skinny tires in the snow … or ice, for that matter. The most unstoppable winter car I have ever had was a Fiat 128 with 145×13 street radials. I spent an hour romping around a 4WD playground next to Old Hickory Lake one afternoon, through foot-deep snow. And by feather footing just right, I could climb any ice-covered hill in the neighborhood, even when the locals were trying frantically to get me to turn around.
My SA was a drophead, 3 position Tickford top, body by Salmonson or something like that. Spare in the right front fender sidemount. Originally, as you know, had a pushrod 6. Previous owner had brought it back after WWII and had to replace the engine with what, in l950 or so was the best 6 there was, a Hudson Super Six. Not a successful conversion, MG radiator much too small, engine much too long, a home made fire wall push back to accomodate the engine and transmission. Turns out, now, that although MG only made about 500 cars with the 6, there were tens of thousands of the engines made, and parts were available, since it was the Woolsley engine used in British police cars in the 30’s and 40’s. I bought it out of long term garage storage in l966, sold it in l972, no idea what ever happened to it after that. Ran when parked, towed my 1960 Jag XK 150S fixed head (which did not run when parked) to the barn they were stored in, sold as a package deal.