1950 MG TD

edited by David Barth, 22 February 2009.
Courtesy The Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Photos were taken in January 2009.

Sponsor: Bill and Annette Biche

Sponsor statement:
"We bought the TC on April 29, 1967 as a fun, summer driving vehicle. In Rochester, New York, this kind of car was not practical as a daily drive except in fine weather, about six months of the year. It also was the first time there were two cars in the family. Up until that time, our only car was a station wagon. Our family consisted of four sons and four daughters. Our youngest son, Greg, was two when we bought the TD. He now owns it.

"Bill had great fun driving this car to work every day, but the story we all remember is how the smaller children, one, two, or three of them would ride in the "Scuppers," the small space behind the seat, around the neighborhood or even to the grocery store. One of the older kids would ride in the front seat. Forty years ago you could do that.

"Greg now has children of similar ages, and he wanted to take his children riding in the TD as he did 40 years ago. He can now take the TD with one or two of his children in the "Scuppers," around the neighborhood."

The year of the first MG is somewhat uncertain. Cecil Kimber, general manager of Morris Garages in Oxford, England, began putting two-seat roadster bodies on Morris chassis in 1921 or 1922, but the first car with the distinctive MG octagon logo may have been built in 1923. Through the 1930s MB built some highly successful race cars, but concentrated on family cars and "Midget," two-seat roadsters made almost entirely for British consumption. In 1946, MG began exporting its series TC midget to the U.S. This car is given credit for starting the sports car craze. It was cute, cheap, fun to drive, and was very different from anything coming from Detroit. 1949 brought the TD series. It had improved suspension and steering, minor body changes, and left-hand drive. In the four years of its production, nearly 20,000 TD were sold in America.

This 1950 MG TD has had one owner and is unrestored.

Model: TD
Body Style: Roadster
Original Factory Price: $1,850
Brake Horsepower: 54
Displacement: 1250 cubic centimeters (76.28 cubic inches)
Bore: 66.6 mm (2.62 inches)
Stroke: 90mm (3.5 inches)
Cylinders: 4, in-line
Wheelbase: 94 inches
Manufacturer: MG Car Company, Ltd.
Location: Oxford, England;
Abington-on-Thames, England
Years of Production:
1924-1926 (Morris Garages, Oxford)
1928-1970 (MG Car Co., Abington)
1970-1975 (Austin-Morris Division, British Leyland Motor Corporation)
1975-1980 (Leyland Cars, British Leyland Motor Corporation)

Donor: Mr. and Mrs. John S. Clark