TD Midget
| Production | 1950–1953 30,000 |
|---|---|
| Body style | 2-door roadster |
| Engine | 1,250 cc (1.3 L) XPAG type I4 |
| Wheelbase | 94 in (2,388 mm) |
| Length | 145 in (3,683 mm) |
| Width | 59 in (1,499 mm) |
| Height | 53 in (1,346 mm) |
The 1950 TD Midget combined the TC's drivetrain, a modified hypoid-geared rear axle, the MG Y-type chassis, a familiar T-type style body and independent suspension using coil springs from the MG Y-type saloon: a 1950 road-test report described as "most striking" the resulting "transformation...in the comfort of riding". Also lifted from the company's successful 1¼-litre saloon for the TD was the (still highly-geared) rack and pinion steering. In addition the TD featured smaller 15-inch (380 mm) disc type road wheels, a left-hand drive option and standard equipment bumpers and over-riders. The car was also 5 inches (130 mm) wider with a track of 50 inches (1,300 mm).
For the driver the "all-weather protection" was good by the standards of the time. For night driving, instrument illumination was "effective but not dazzling, by a pale green lighting effect". There was still no fuel gauge, but the 11 British gallons of tank capacity gave a range between refuelling stops of about 300 miles (480 km) and a greenlight on the facia flashed a "warning" when the fuel level was down to about 2½ British gallons (>3 US gallons / >11 litres).
In 1950 the TD MkII was introduced, produced alongside the standard car, with a more highly tuned engine using a 8.0:1 compression ratio giving 57 bhp (43 kW) at 5500 rpm. The higher compression ratio engine was offered with export markets in mind, and would not have been suitable for the UK where thanks to the continued operation of wartime fuel restrictions, buyers were still limited to 72 octane "Pool petrol". The TD MkII also featured twin fuel pumps, revised dampers, and a higher rear-axle ratio
Nearly 30,000 TDs had been produced, including about 1700 Mk II models, when the series ended in 1953 with all but 1656 exported, 23,488 of them to the US alone. The main complaint that US owners had with the MG T sold in the US was the British 12 volt system which was hard to service when a head light and other electrical items broke down. Also, they had minor complaints over the lack of a water and fuel gauge. But in general in surveys owners of the Americanized MG T had more positive remarks than negative. 0-60mph time was 22.7 seconds according to Popular Mechanics.
An example tested by The Motor magazine in 1952 had a top speed of 77 mph (124 km/h) and could accelerate from 0–60 mph (97 km/h) in 18.2 seconds. A fuel consumption of 26.7 miles per imperial gallon (10.6 L/100 km; 22.2 mpg) was recorded.
In 1998, the rights, intellectual properties and trademarks associated with the production of MG TD is acquired by TD Cars Sdn Bhd in Malaysia to reproduce the TD series as TD2000.
Read more about this topic: MG T-type