In 1926 a little shop called Morris Garages settled into what became a 54-year home in Abingdon-on-Thames, England. Their first MG auto, an MG Midget, was introduced in 1928. The car's "father" was a fine gent, Cecil Kimber (1888-1945) who, at only 57, was tragically killed in a train accident far before MGs reached world-wide popularity. Many glowing tributes to Kimber are still pouring in to this day.
In 1936 the first of the new T-Series MGs appeared, called the TA. Three years later a new MG-TB came along, but car production stopped in 1939 due to the war. From June, 1936, to April, 1939, 3,003 TAs and 379 TBs came to be. Next came the MG-TC, the model that really started the MG immigration to the United States and the one known as "the sports car America loved first." Production of this version ran from 1945 to 1949. It's hard to say how many of the 10,000 eligible TCs ever actually "moved" to the United States, but today they are prolific throughout the country.
The TD, produced between November 1949 and August 1953, and then the 9,600 TFs - sold for only three model-years - were the close of the "new" MG T-series. The last TF rolled out of the factory on April 12, 1955, and cost $1,995 in this country.
My MG, "MaGgie," was born Feb. 27, 1952, from a litter of 29,664 TDs. My Magnolia history of MG ownership started in 1962 with the purchase of a black 1959 MGA roadster with red interior. Starting in 1955, these were the models that followed the TF.
That particular MG and I only spent about a year together, parting company my senior year at Queen Anne High School via parental authority needing to curb teenage exuberance. I remained "MG-less in Seattle" until 1968, when I bought an MGB (the Bs followed the MGA's production) from my Magnolia pal Pete Lyons, who was about to ship out for the war in Vietnam.... only later, after his safe return, did he confide to me that he never expected to return from the battle.
The next car I bought was a big step for me: a 1932 MG F-2 Magna, one of only 40 produced; it cleared U.S. Customs from England at Seattle's waterfront on my birthday, 1973. It was a "rolling chassis," which means it was only a frame, suspension and wheels, engine and transmission/driveline/rear-end.
Over the next several years I rebuilt everything, including the wood frame for the sheet-metal exterior, plus new seats covered in "hides" dyed apple green from the original English supplier. Many other pieces were imported, including the fenders and panel instruments. I also made an expedition to England to search the country for more F-Type parts.
Just about the time the car was painted and running, financial woes forced me to sell her, having never even really driven her on the open road.
So for the next 30 years my M.G. experiences were all just dreams until TD "MaGgie" came along. And even she almost didn't happen. I first saw her after Connie Warnock bought her for husband Craig at the Palm Springs car auction in 2001. Connie was worried if Craig would like her gift, so without a moment's thought I casually offered to buy it for the auction price (a figure I did not know at the time of my offer) if he didn't like it.
Nothing more was needed. Connie was relieved and we all three of us became dear friends in Palm Springs...
As fate would have it, I was home in Magnolia the following summer dealing with a pile of very difficult issues - including one that might (but didn't after all) have left me close to penniless - when out of the blue Connie called and said they were going to sell the TD and did I mean what I said at the auction? Being in no position to make such a frivolous expenditure, I nevertheless gave it my most serious consideration and realized that, yes, there was no way I should buy the MG, even if it was a lifetime dream.
So I called Connie back and told her I had given her offer very serious though and that there was no way I should be buying a 50-year old car for that kind of money at this time in my life. Then I smiled to myself and did the logical male thing; I said: "Yes, I'd love to buy the TD. When can I pick it up?"
And the rest, as they say, is history.
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