Lot 333: 1953 MG Midget TD

The pre-war MG Midgets, in their various guises, had proved immensely popular thanks to cheap prices and running costs and their effectiveness for amateur use in virtually any area of motor sport. Indeed, this was a trend that was true of the Midget right up until the 1960s and '70s, and was continued in the late 1930s with the TA and TB models. MG's first post-war sports two seater was the TC, basically a mildly updated version of the limited production TB - like many manufacturers, MG decided the quickest way to get post-war production underway was by using a pre-war design; as such the TC shared a similar chassis with semi-elliptic leaf spring suspension, but located by shackles rather than sliding trunnions, and drum brakes. Power was provided by the same Morris Ten-based, 1,250cc overhead valve four cylinder engine producing 54bhp, via twin SU carburettors, allied to a four speed gearbox. The TD model that replaced it in 1949 shared a similar specification but there was a new box section chassis, in reality a chopped version of the 1947 Y Type saloon chassis with which the TD also shared its new coil spring and wishbone independent front suspension and rack and pinion, rather than gear type, steering. The latter endowed the Midget with much more precise steering than ever before and could, for the first time, also be easily converted to left-hand drive for MG's lucrative export market. Braking was also improved while smaller diameter disc type road wheels replaced the previous wires, the resultant change in gearing accommodated by the wider ratios of the Y-Type's similar gearbox. Sold in October 1965 to Mr Victor Mishcon Esq on behalf of his son, (cars were not allowed to be sold then to young men under voting age) by MG specialist, Parade Motors Ltd of Mitcham, and finished in black with green leather interior, this Midget TD was cherished, driven and maintained by the same man for the ensuing 42 years. The patina acquired by this stunningly original motorcar is not something that can be replicated and the seats alone tell of a thousand journeys and recount trips past when the owner was but a teenager and this car was the very height of sophistication. It comes supplied with the original owner's handbook, workshop manuals and invoices for maintenance undertaken over the last four decades. The spirit of this glorious TD is alive and bursts through every seem. It starts on the button and just needs a new pilot to point it towards the horizon.