1950 MG TD

Description

MG’s TC roadster sold well initially and proved American demand for an English sports car, but the car’s right-hand-drive configuration and 1930s specifications meant it was ripe for a redesign by 1950. In response, Syd Enever and Alec Hounslow took two weeks in 1949 to strip a four-seat Y-Type Tourer and shorten the chassis five inches. Just like that, the MG TD roadster was born. 

The TD carried a few modifications aimed at the U.S. market, like left-hand drive, rack-and-pinion steering, smaller 15-inch steel disc wheels (no wire wheels were offered), and larger bumpers. The car still employed the 54-horsepower, 1,250 cc inline-four engine of its predecessor, but it was wider and 200 pounds heavier than the TC. 

The new TD’s modifications conspired with a devalued British pound to make the TD an unqualified success, and 29,664 were sold in four years (three times the TC production). Eighty percent of those TDs were imported to North America. 

This 1950 MG TD was restored in 2009-2011, and it has been meticulously maintained ever since. 

Highlights 

• Well-maintained 13-year-old restoration 

• Refinished in white paint over tan leather upholstery 

• Powered by a 1250cc four-cylinder engine rated at 54 hp and 64 lb-ft torque 

• Four-speed manual transmission 

• Two-year restoration included: 

  • Media blasting 

  • Chrome refurbished 

  • Wood rails replaced 

  • Radiator repaired 

  • Steering wheel refurbished 

  • Front bumper refurbished 

  • New hood handle set 

  • New exhaust 

  • New top 

  • New tonneau cover 

  • New side curtains 

  • New seal kit 

  • New carpet 

  • New fuel pump 

  • New seat belts 

  • New starter switch 

  • New wiper arms/blades 

• The chassis number (TD3028) decodes as: 

  • TD - Model 

  • 3028 – Production number   

Features 

• Right-hand-drive, two-door roadster 

• Tan soft top and tonneau cover 

• Windshield-mounted side mirrors 

• Dash-mounted rearview mirror 

• Side curtains 

• Louvered hood 

• Folding windshield 

• Windshield-mounted wipers 

• Wind wings 

• Split bench seat 

• Wood dash 

• Banjo-style steering wheel 

• Jaeger instrumentation: 

  • 105-mph speedometer 

  • Tachometer with inset clock 

  • Water temperature 

  • Amperage 

  • Oil pressure 

  • Coolant temperature 

• Lap belts 

• Door pockets 

• Glovebox 

• Tan carpeting 

• 15 inch silver-finished steel wheels 

• Michelin XZX 165SR15 tires  

• Turn signals 

• Chrome bumpers with overriders 

• Wheelbase: 94 inches 

• Overall length: 145 inches 

Known Imperfections 

• Paint chips on underside brackets of running boards 

Included 

• Spare tire 

• Jack 

• Lug wrench 

• Workshop manual 

Ownership History 

The consigner explains: After a Yugoslav physicist, studying in Bern, Switzerland, met and fell in love with a local lab tech, the couple "embarked across the Atlantic for an American adventure, making their home in East Orange, New Jersey." It was there, in 1970, when the physicist was introduced to this 1950 MG TD (at the time "a red head"), and through his interest in the car he became life-long friends with the owner, who ultimately sold him the MG in 1985. Shortly after taking possession of the car and starting a complete restoration, the physicist accepted a job offer in Geneva, Switzerland, and the car came along— disassembled and in boxes. It crossed the Atlantic once again three years later, still packed in boxes, and remained in storage for two decades. Finally, in 2009, restoration work began, and the now-white 1950 MG TD was completed two years later.