Greetings Kenelm, and welcome to the fold.
>
>I have recently aquired a '52 MG of some sort in fairly good condition,
>and wish to gain more information about this little puzzle. Is it a TB,
>TF, TD? How can I tell? Where can I get more info on identifying this
>thing? I have some knowledge on American cars, but I don't even know
>where to start!
>
The T series MG's are notoriously difficult to describe by year, some things
show up on one car of a certain year and not on another but the model years
are well defined. The TA ran from 1936 to May 1939 when the TB was
introduced. The start of WWII in September stopped production of the TB
after only 379 cars. The TC was introduced in the fall of 1945 and some
10000 were produced ending in 1949 with the intro of of the TD which was the
most popular T series of all and was produced untill the TF took over in 1953.
So if you're sure your car is a `52 then I'M sure it's a TD. It will most
likely have 14" wheels as opposed to the 19" wires on the earlier cars
(TA-TB -TC), probably disk wheels but wires were an option. It should have a
glove box on the dash in front of the passenger, the TC has the speedo in
this space. (for the passengers entertainment I suppose). It may have
bumpers if an export model. Is it left or right hand drive? The TD was the
first T series offered in left hand drive. The TD is noticibly wider than
the TC (which was wider than the TB which was wider than the TA), lower
slung, much more comfortable, and easier to drive. It has rack and pinion
steering, which the earlier cars did not. The drive train is almost exactly
the same, XPAG engine mated to 3 syncho gearbox.
To get more info and help on sourcing parts find a local MG club and or
contact the New England MG T register. They produce several quality books
on history and maintanence. I don't have their address right at hand but
someone here will probably supply it soon. If not, E-mail me and I'll fire
it off to you right away. I might also recommend:
T SERIES RESTORATION GUIDE by Malcolm Green
ISBN 1-85520-2115
Brooklands Books
PO Box 146 Cobham, Surrey
KT11 1LG England
( in the US: Motorbooks International, Osceola, WI 54020)
Good luck and Safety Fast!
___ \______ Ross MacPherson
/ __ \ __ / /------|) arm@unix.infoserve.net
/ (___)---------/ (___) 1947 MG-TC 3528
1966 MGB-GT
|