Beautiful older restoration with freshly rebuilt engine. New stainless spoke wire wheels and radial tires. Fantastic color combination. A reliable, fun, entertaining driver that delivers the authentic MG experience.

This appealing MG is instantly recognizable, and even people who don’t know much about cars seem to know that this is an MG and that an MG is special. The brilliant Signal Red paint certainly helps, because, after all, if you’re going to have a sports car, you may as well go with something flashy. The high-quality workmanship is visible throughout, with a deep gloss to the paint, laser-straight sheetmetal, and excellent fit and finish that shows in the way the doors open and close and how easy the hood is to latch. It’s difficult to resist running your fingertips down the long hood and while the TD was a notable update over the TC, it still has that old-fashioned MG look with separate headlights, an upright grille, and flowing fenders. This particular car is nicely dressed with chrome bumpers, accessory mirrors, and a Boyce moto-meter atop the radiator which is a wonderfully old-fashioned touch. The chrome was all restored with the rest of the car and remains in very good condition. It was not restored to be a trailer queen, so there are a few signs of use, but the quality is visible throughout and it works quite well.

The interior is trimmed in black vinyl that’s durable and comfortable, with a traditional look that suggests old world craftsmanship. Interestingly, MG used individual lower seat cushions but one single backrest, which is adjustable for angle, so it’s easy to get comfortable, even for taller drivers. There’s also a steering column that’s adjustable for reach, which is a nice feature on an early car like this. The seating surfaces are supple and smooth with only moderate signs of use on the driver’s cushion, and the door panels are beautifully fitted with built-in map pockets. The lovely wood-rimmed steering wheel was replaced during the restoration and all those lovely green-faced gauges were rebuilt and remain fully functional. The other switches are familiar, from the pull-out starter knob to the rotating headlight switch. For weather protection, this car has a nicely fitted black canvas convertible top that folds and stows behind the seat, as well as a full set of side curtains and a full tonneau for the passenger compartment. There is no trunk, but the area behind the seat is neatly finished and includes a narrow compartment for storage.

Mechanically, the TD wasn’t all that different from the TC, including the recently rebuilt 1250cc inline-four cylinder engine. It makes a rather sprightly 53 horsepower, but in such a lightweight package it’s plenty energetic and makes wonderful sports car sounds. Fed by a pair of side-draft carburetors breathing through cool competition-style air cleaners, it’s correctly finished and nicely detailed, from the MG Maroon paint on the block itself to the polished aluminum valve cover on top. A cowl-mounted SU fuel pump keeps the carbs fed and a few flashes of color like the yellow cooling fan and ignition wires look racy. During the restoration, it was fully rebuilt to factory specs and it runs superbly, starting easily and running down the road with a gutsy sound that is a big part of the MG experience. It shows a few minor signs of use the quality of the restoration work is evident throughout. Again, this one was built to drive, so it’s not perfect, but you’ll never hesitate to open the hood at shows and show it off a little bit. The 4-speed manual gearbox is probably the one thing that makes people fall in love with MGs. With light throws, just the right gear ratios, and a wonderfully precise feel, you’ll find yourself shifting just for the sheer joy of it. The engine is torquey enough to pull 4th gear even from very low speeds, but the fun is in running it through the gears with enthusiasm, letting the engine sing its surprisingly deep baritone song through the single tailpipe out back. It’s not fast, not by today’s standards, but the fun is in driving it at 8/10ths and still running at a moderate pace without endangering everyone else on the road. You feel like you’re exercising the car and having a ball doing it. The suspension was upgraded on the TD and the rack-and-pinion steering is a wonderful addition, giving improved precision with less effort. There’s a recent exhaust system, the wood floors are obviously new, and the structural pieces are in excellent condition throughout. Upgraded shocks were included with the TD and the standard drum brakes are plenty powerful and with the light curb weight, even those skinny 165R15 blackwall radials on shiny wire wheels are grippy enough to be entertaining.

This is just a wonderful little car that looks great and drives even better. Fully sorted and reliable, it’s an excellent car for the novice or experienced hobbyist and the cheerful look will win it fans everywhere you go. These cars are demonically expensive to restore properly, so it always makes sense to buy a good one, and we can’t find many things to fault here. Call today!

Harwood Motors always recommends and welcomes personal or professional inspections of any vehicle in our inventory prior to purchase.