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A few months ago, someone asked about the wood in an original TD.
Looking for body & top color combinations this afternoon, I ran across this picture of a chassis, with the wood restoration completed. So…now we know…
Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
Paul,
It was I who said that I wasn’t aware that the original TD used so much wood. This photo puts into perspective how much wood was actually used. Thanks for the photo.I wonder if they kept with the wood because they were still recovering from the devistation of WWII?Thanks for posting the photo.Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackI believe it’s not so much “they kept the wood because they were still recovering…from WWII.”
It’s more that they kept the entire car design! British industry was decimated during WWII. As companies began to rebuild, they needed product, of course. The quickest way back into production was to build what they built before the war. For MG, that was the TC, just slightly updated from the pre-war TB.
Compare the T series cars across the war years. Not much changed!
The “T” series began in 1936 with the TA, built until 1939:
The TB from ’39 to ’40:
The TC from ’49 to ’50:
The TD from ’50 to ’53:
And the TF from ’53 to ’55:
PMOSSBERG2012-10-20 18:21:27
Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
Boy, the TD looks like a radical departure, eh?
It was, too: wider, rack & pinion steering, the steel wheels. The rear suspension was different too.
I think the wood was held over in small part because steel was a bit scarce in the immediate post-war years. Coal and steel were both spotty across europe for years after the war.
Holy crap! Just noticed: did the TB have cowl-mounted wipers?
They went from top-frame mount, down to cowl, back up to top for the TC and TD, then back down to the cowl for the TF and ever after?
OK, that one’s a Tickford drophead coupe (the TB). Heavier, more luxury. Apparently the cowl wipers went to these, Saloons, etc. The normal roadster TB had ’em up top.
The MGs weren’t the only English cars made of wood – The Morgans were too, and still are, even the frames.
That’s correct Ed! Good eyes!
Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
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