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MG TD TF 1500 - Do I dare??

The Car: 1950 MGTD TD#2644 EXLU Body type 22381 Body#2289/59437 Eng# XPAG/TD/LHX2978......BUT
The engine in the car is (Block and Octagon)13192 The car has been stored since 85. It is in fair shape good metal reasonable crome,relatively complete. Needs the better part of an interior. HOWEVER, on close inspection I have found the right hand bottom main rail is rotted. The rest of the wood seems reasonably sound. I pulled a door and looked at just about everything else. I have read horror stories about wood restoration. Can anyone shed some light on the car or the different engine and comment on the degree of risk and dificulty of replacing the rail and directly related wood parts. The estate appraiser really didn't look closely at the car and stuck me with a 8-10K price. I think he's nuts. Thanks JAP
John Pflugi

The estate dude half right. It will be a 10,000 dollar car after you get it fixed. Good luck. Dave#1
capdave

John,

I agree with Dave. Personally, I'm not that big of a stickler over matching numbers (as long as it is an XPAG and runs), though the mis-match reduces the value. The interior can run you $1,000 to replace. The wood, as you noted, is really the tricky. Having been stored for 15 years, and some signs of rot is not a good sign. Could be other problems lurking that you won't find until you really get in there, and expensive and time-consuming to fix once you get at it. A friend just completed a TD that was a basket case, though pretty complete. Cost him almost $10,000, and he did most of the work.

$8-$10 grand is certainly on the high side. Your offer depends on how badly you want it.

Good luck.

Larry
'51TD
Larry Thompson

Seems that there are a lot of unrestored TD's with the real engines out there for $4-6k US. Look at eBay for an example although it is not a real true test since you cannot see the cars in life and the bids may not be all real.
Chris Couper

Thanks all for the input. I know that I can put a lot of money into the project. The starting point is my concern. Chris, most of the cars on eBay (I have been monitoring for months)picture wise appear to be in better shape than the one I'm looking at AND most of them sound like they are drivable) What would folks recomend as a check list to get the car into a drivable condition. Thanks for your comments. I'm starting to twitch!

JAP
John Pflugi

John,

I just got a car that had been in a barn for 33 years back on the road. I paid less than this guy is asking you. It needed:
-new exhaust system
-cooling system rebuild (hoses, thermostat, water pump rebuild, clean out sludge from engine cooling channels, replace freeze plugs)
-fuel system restore (fuel pumps, flush tank, new hoses, add filters, rebuild carbs)
-restore brakes (wheel cylinders, shoes, hoses, master cylinder)
-replace/flush all fluids (oil, water/coolant, transmission)
-replace tie-rod ends; realign front end
-replace rebound and shackle rubber
-replace battery
rebuild generator, restore horns and voltage regulator
-replace worn out parts (bumpers,2 wheels, hub caps, steering wheel, etc.)
-repair electrical system (turn signals, lights)
-clean and polish chrome
-clean and restore interior
-polish side curtains and rear window
-replace wiper blades, repair and repaint wiper motor
-replace tach cable; sendspeedo and tach out for repai--complete tuneup (plugs, points, condensor, rotor, plug wires, distributor cap, coil)
-reset valves, replace gasket
-new radiator cap and gasket

I'm sure I've left something out, but that's a good checklist to start with.

The parts alone were over $3,000. The car will still need a top and paint. So be careful what you pay to start with. Mine was a lot less than the number quoted to you, and is still costing a lot when finished. Either buy a better car for the money, or spend less and fix one up. In my opinion, the price quoted to you is in the "good driver, needs cosmetics" range, not the "fixer upper" range.

Best,

Ira

Ira Spector

Geez. I spent all that and my car was only sitting for a season. Acutally this stuff just does not last anyway. Plan on this type of attention every 10 years at the least.
Chris Couper

This thread was discussed between 26/08/2001 and 30/08/2001

MG TD TF 1500 index

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