Offered as part of an estate sale, today's Nice Price or No Dice MG TD is a literal garage find that, while rough, seems totally intact and a perfect project for a shade tree mechanic. Could its price prove a solid starting point to get it out of the garage?
When my wife and I were housebreaking... er, potty training our youngest daughter, I happened to be out of the house the first time she dropped a deuce in her little plastic commode. So proud was she about her accomplishment that she demanded that it remain there until her daddy got home so that he, too, could marvel at the achievement. Unfortunately, the dog ate the evidence before I returned, thus spoiling the surprise. Bad dog.
Over-estimating the value of something is a practice we all deal with on an almost weekly basis here. Point in fact, the 1996 Mazda Miata we looked at yesterday, while far from being a turd, asked a jaw-dropping $32,500 for its purchase. It was made clear in the ad that the high-for-the-market price reflected the work that had gone into the car's restoration, but that still didn't make it any more palatable, seeing as there are plenty of nice-enough Miatas on the market for much less. What resulted was a massive 98% No Dice loss.
Read more: These Are The Worst New Car And SUV Deals Right Now, According To Consumer Reports
A True British Classic
When Mazda introduced the MX-5 Miata in 1989, it was seen as a modern interpretation of the classic British sports car, with the MGB and Lotus Elan serving as its spiritual ancestors. If we consider the lineage of the MG—that being the abbreviation for Morris Garages—we see that the B's immediate ancestor is the MGA. That model, launched in 1955, succeeded the MG TF and, with its ponton bodywork, represented the company's first modern sports car. A three-year-only model, the TF supplanted the TD, which in turn was a heavily revised two-seater that replaced the TC after WWII. All of the T-Types could trace their origin back to the TA of 1936, and all carried the series name "Midget." That would be reused in the 1960s for a model smaller than the B.
This 1952 MG TD represents the first model in the series to offer left-hand drive, something necessitated by MG's move to export the cars to North America, at the time a lucrative market for sports cars. While it generally looks like the earlier TC, the model represents a major rethink over that model, not just in the placement of its steering wheel. Underneath the traditional body is a chassis shared with the MG YB saloon, including that model's rack and pinion steering and independent front suspension. Other donations from the YB included the 1250cc OHV inline four, with a single SU side-draught carburetor, and the four-speed manual transmission.
Fixer-Upper
This one is claimed by the seller to have been in the possession of an individual who recently passed away and is now part of that person's estate sale. It's presented as almost complete, although showing the signs of years (or decades) of having sat untouched. Fortunately, it sat untouched in Arizona, so rust doesn't seem to be an issue. Termites might, however, since an ash frame supports the MG's simple bodywork.
Mechanicals are simple as a pimple, and while the seller describes their status as "unknown," and the car obviously doesn't run at the moment, as long as the engine spins and its pistons aren't rusted in their bores, it should come back to life with a little effort.
The aesthetics are better, but the layers of dust and dirt and... what is that, sand? might put off some people. Aside from a sizable dent on one of the headlamp housings, everything looks to be straight. Yes, the paint has seen better days, and the back window in the top is cloudier than a July morning on the San Francisco Bay, but at least it's all there.
How Hard Could It Be?
Cleaning and noodling under and around a car like this is far more fun than sourcing hard-to-find parts. Fortunately, not only is there a fantastic club supporting the marque, but also plenty of sources, like Moss Motors, where parts can be easily found.
What parts would this car need to get up and running? Well, the engine will probably just run with a flush of the fuel system and a new battery. It won't run well, but it will run. The Midget engine is a stout thing. The brakes are another story and will likely need new cylinders at both ends, new soft lines, and likely new shoes. Fresh fluids for the engine, gearbox, and rear end wouldn't be a bad idea either. Nor would lubing the chassis, something that, yes, needs to be done on a car of this age. The only major question here is whether the clutch has welded itself to the pressure plate, but that's far less likely in a dry environment like a garage in Arizona. Other than that, it'll probably take less than a couple of weekends to get this car going again, as long as it wasn't originally squirreled away due to some major mechanical malfunction.
Midget Money
The seller has a clean title for the car, and we can hope that no outstanding back registration fees are hanging over it. The asking price is $5,000, which the seller says is the reserve amount for the car on the estate's auction site. That's about a third of what a decent (but not perfect) driver goes for these days, and sadly, MGs don't tend to increase in value over time, so don't expect this to be a long-game money maker. It will be a fun project and probably a solid sports car if an old-school vibe is to the new owner's liking.
What's your take on this garage-find MG TD and that $5,000 price tag? Does that seem fair given the car's presentation? Or is that too much for a car that could be more of a fumble than a TD?
You decide!
Nice Price or No Dice:
Phoenix, Arizona, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T Don R. for the hookup!
Help me out with NPOND. Contact me at [email protected] and send a fixed-price tip. Remember to include your commenter handle.
Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox...
Read the original article on Jalopnik.
Comments