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MG TD TF 1500 - MG TD owner looking at MGA

I'm a TD owner looking at a MGA older restoration tomorrow. What should I look for? Areas of rust, etc? Any advice would be appreciated. I posted the same on the MGA BBS
david kirkpatrick

Hi David, I'm in the process of restoring both a TF and mga twin cam. The main areas to look for are rust in the inner and outer sills, the rear doglegs and the rear of the front mudguards. The chassis is fairly robust unless it has had a serious whack at some stage. The channel that holds the floorboards on can also rust but can be replaced. Don't worry if it leaks oil, it shows it has some in it, same as the T types. As a matter of fact everything can be repaired, look at Barney Gaylord's site, it's the best. He goes under MGAguru, and he is.
Regards, Don in the cold hills of Adelaide Sth OZ.
TF4887
YD2 2448
D J Walker

I've seen significant rust on MGA chassis. There was also a period where it was popular to replace the front wings with fiberglass wings if the wings were considered too far gone to repair. Nowdays we would probably repair the metal.

All sorts of dodges have been used to deal with fuel pumps, batteries and ignition systems, most which didn't help the car run better. I think there was a time when these cars weren't valued and so stuff was done that today would seem sacriligious! But that's probably true of a TD or TF as well.

Finally there were two tonneau covers, the so called long tonneau is about an inch longer and goes into studs in the metal, not in the padded wooden rail. Often those studs, being that they were upright, let in water and rotted the wooden rail. Check it out.

The brakes varied from drums to disc, and a later car with disc brakes will stop better. There was also a tendancy to get the wrong disc wheels on those cars... but wires are heavier and require more maintenance.

warmly,
dave
Dave Braun

This thread was discussed on 24/04/2012

MG TD TF 1500 index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG TD TF 1500 BBS is active now.