Lot 737: 1951 MG Midget TD Roadster

�The Midget is the survival of what, in the opinion of many people, is the right sort of small sports car. It caters for those who look upon motoring not as a means to an end, but as an end in itself. Many thousands of these little cars are succeeding admirably in providing their owners with something that will, at one moment, journey forth and do the shopping and, at the next, take part in serious competitive events or tackle a 400-mile journey with zest.� � The Autocar, 15th May 1953.
The penultimate T-Series Midget, the TD appeared in 1949. A larger car than its predecessors, the TD owed much to the contemporary Y-Type saloon, using a narrowed and modified version of the latter�s box-frame chassis, on which sat an all-new body roomier than before but retaining the classic looks of the traditional MG sportscar and the well-tried 1,250cc XPAG four-cylinder engine. This saloon parentage was far from a handicap, for the Y-Type was a later and more advanced design than the TC Midget, employing independent front suspension and rack-and-pinion steering. Although thoroughly traditional both in appearance and its coachbuilt method of construction, the TD body offered greatly increased �elbow room� to its occupants when compared to that of the TC. From August 1951 a larger clutch was fitted and associated changes made to the flywheel and bell-housing, subsequent cars being known as the TD II. A runaway sales success with some 30,000 sold, the TD is, paradoxically, rare in the UK, as most went for export to earn vital foreign currency.
This TD was purchased by its late owner in August 2005, having already been restored by previous owner Gordon Siddle, who had acquired it in 1999. Finished in red with tan interior, the car has covered some 3,000-or-so miles since restoration and is offered with sundry invoices, an incomplete run of MoTs (five in number) for the period 1999 to date, Swansea V5/V5C documents and recently expired MoT (31st August 2007).