I restored my 1952 TD in 1978, installed Lucas Sports Coil and have
driven <it daily since. From 1980 until 1991 it was also a Vintage
Racer, did 115 mph <at Road Atlanta, never had a dnf and is still
running strong. Same coil, (same SU fuel pumps and same driver.)
Proper installation and the condition of your whole electrical
equiptment are <contributing factors.
> How did you ever get that kind of speed out of a TD? I would like
>> to modify mine for a decent highway cruising speed (around 70 mph).
>> With the speed limits going up, it won't be long before cars going
>> 60 will get semi's up their fannies. Is the rear end ratio the key
>> here?
>>
>> Bob Donahue - Still stuck in the '50s
>> 53 MG-TD
>> 71 MGB
My 53 TD was a dual purpose car. I drove it to work every day and Vintage
raced it several times a year. It has cycle front fenders and when I went
racing I used and aluminum hood top, removed the windshield, top frame and
passenger seat. This saved some 250 lbs. The engine was from a 1500 TF
with a 9 lb. flywheel, special Crane cam, a great deal of work to the
cylinder head and an extractor exhaust. Compression ratio was 11 to 1.
This was not an engine that was fun to drive in trafic although on the
open road it was a ball. I only used this engine for racing. The rear
end was also from a TF.
If one is about to rebuild his his T-type, it is no problem to make the
necessary modifications to make it a 70 mph interstate car. If you live
in flat country, I know of many folks who have converted to MG-A rear end
gears. A stock TD/F can not pull these tall gears, but with a little bit
of modification you can have a very nice touring car.
The modifications consists of complete rebuild, 3/4 canshaft, 1 1/2" SU
carbs., mild porting of the head and a completd balancing of the engine.
There has been a lot of information published on modifying the XPAG/EG
engine. If you need further information, I will be glad to send you
copies of some of these articles.
Press on regardless,
Blair H. Engle #199
______________________________________________________________
Blair Engle engle@phy.fsu.edu
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