Vehicle Description
1951 MG TD Roadster
MG TDs have been owned and raced by some big names. JFK and Jackie
drove one on their honeymoon. Marilyn Monroe and Cary Grant drove
one in the film Monkey Business. Elvis was photographed driving
one. Ronald Reagan was in the passenger seat in the film Tropic
Zone. James Dean famously owned one. World champion racer and local
legend Bob Holbert cut his teeth in a TD and was a pioneer who sold
and serviced MG's in one of the first type shops in the country in
nearby Bucks County, PA.
For consignment, a 1951 MG TD roadster with a title verified 74,453
actual miles. This veteran of several Melee sports car rallies had
an engine rebuilt about 1,000 miles ago and presents in drivable
rather than concours level condition, so don your leather cap and
goggles, this one can be driven!
Exterior
This car is in vogue with some road and time earned patina on its
dark blue painted body, a sharp contrast to the chrome grille
shell, headlight buckets, marker light housing, and fender mounted
mirror. Vertical strakes line the grille mirrored in spacing by the
canted louvers on each of the side engine covers, here with
substantial chipping paint. The windshield is petite by today's
standards, but the sitting position puts you below it and wind
wings cut down on the cross drafts. In profile, the car's lowness
is accentuated by the deep slant of the door dipping to the hinges
of the reverse opening gateway. The tan canvas top is in very good
condition and holds a small plastic window in back. Below it, a
spare is mounted on the slant back, flanked by tiny tail lights and
topped by a chrome luggage rack. The rally decals give this car
some cred and harken back to when these were some of the most
desired racers in the SCCA. Imperfections include chipped paint
throughout and a roughness to the paint.
Interior
A swing of the front handled rear hinged low slung doors, and we
are greeted with smooth blue vinyl door cards and the color
translates to the pleated blue vinyl buckets with a solid bench
back. The steering wheel is a tan banjo styled center 3 spoke
design leading to a dash based in wood housing Jaeger gauges with
white faces and patina silver rims. A black backed mid panel houses
even more gauges all showing some age but fully intact. Chrome
stirrup shaped handles have been added to each side of the wood
dash undoubtedly to assist in entrance and exit. The modest shifter
rises from the center hump and fairly plush black carpet. Behind
the seats are stowed the side windows ready for deployment at the
first hint of rain.
Drivetrain
A flip of the side cowl on the hood reveals a clean and rebuilt 4
cylinder red blocked engine in 1250cc configuration. A silver valve
cover is atop, and this mill is fed by 2 H2 semi downdraft
carburetors, all mated to a 4-speed manual transmission sending
power to the 4.33 gears in back. New front disc brakes are matched
with rear drums to provide the stopping power.
Undercarriage
Surface rust abounds on this driven classic and not unexpected nor
structural. The shining single exhaust flows through a stock style
muffler just before exiting via a straight pipe. Suspension
consists of coil springs up front, and leaf springs for the back.
There's some residual dampness on the pans and rear differential
but does not appear to be actively leaking.
Drive-Ability
A quick starter, and after a nice warmup it ran incredibly smoothly
and had great snappy pickup and suddenly we're at Thompson Raceway,
1954! It handled well and just the open road feel of this car is
worth the price of admission and with the exception of a jumpy
tach, all the functional items work as they should. While Classic
Auto Mall represents that these functions were working at the time
of our test drive, we cannot guarantee these functions will be
working at the time of your purchase.
With the showing of some aging and a few encounters with the
outside world, this car is not perfect but still retains lots of
shine and all of its charm. MG TD's are incredibly significant in
the history of sports cars in America, American involvement in
racing, and that fervent group of British car enthusiasts
throughout the country. Here's a runner you can enjoy, or a car
that would take to a high end restoration very well as it has great
bones and a rebuilt engine to get things started!
Classic Auto Mall is home to more than 1,000 classic and
collectible vehicles for sale via consignment in a climate
controlled 336,000-square foot showroom (that's more than 8
acres!). The largest single location consignment dealer of classic
and collectible vehicles in the country is located in Morgantown,
Pennsylvania, just 1-hour west of Philadelphia off Exit 298 of the
I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. For more information visit
www.classicautomall.com or call us at (888) 227-0914. Contact us
anytime for more information or to come see the vehicle in person.
There is no guarantee of mileage. A $299 Dealer Administrative fee
is not included in the advertised price.
With so many great cars, you know we have a lot to talk about, and
we do that each week on the Classic Auto Mall Podcast with host
Stewart Howden. Stewart discusses new inventory as well as trends
in consignments and car prices, while interviewing celebrities and
automotive professionals about amazing cars and their history. Tune
in each week to the Classic Auto Mall Podcast wherever you enjoy
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