Following the completion of the TF1500 exercise, I said in the last issue “I am due to analyse the TF1250s next, this will probably need to be done over 2, perhaps 3 issues”.
Before publishing Part 1 of the lists of chassis numbers and their corresponding registration numbers (where known) I thought it would be useful to explain the background to the introduction of the TF. In doing so I apologise to those (probably quite a few) readers who are already familiar with this.
The decision of the then recently formed (November 1951) British Motor Corporation (BMC) to commit capital to the Austin Healey 100 project in preference to Abingdon’s EX175 (MGA), which was on the stocks as a replacement for the TD, presented a real difficulty to the Abingdon management.
Against the background of falling sales of the TD in the USA, Abingdon had planned on the MGA project to reinvigorate demand for its sports car and to compete head on with the products of other manufacturers, the most significant of which was probably the Triumph TR2.
With scarce funding for development work, the decision was taken to ‘facelift’ the TD as a stop gap model. Its most prominent features were a raked back radiator, giving a lower bonnet line with headlamps faired into the front wings. It was built on a Mk II TD chassis, fitted with engine number XPAG/TD3/26849 and designated TF0250, the prototype. Of course, there were other changes, notably at the rear and inside, but the body tub was virtually unchanged so as to allow Morris Bodies to readily adapt to producing the new car. Completion of build was 12th May 1953.
Three months later, 12th August 1953, the second prototype, the pre-production car was built, fitted with engine number XPAG/TD2/29748 and designated TF0251.
One month later, 17th September 1953, the first production TFs were built.
Both TF0250 and TF0251 have survived and were later fitted with XPEG engines by the Factory. TF0250 is KBL 296 and TF0251 is 362 GME; both are taxed and on the road.
When you see the lists which follow, you’ll notice that the chassis numbers start with TF0250 and 0251 and then jump to 501 et seq. Again, as quite a few of you know, the reason for this was that a new unified Nuffield car number prefix system was introduced in April 1952. It was brought into use from this date on Morris and Wolseley cars built at Cowley, but did not find its way to Abingdon until the autumn of 1953, when it was introduced on the TF, the ZA Magnette and the Riley Pathfinder, which were all then going into production.
To quote from Anders Ditlev Clausager’s Factory-Original MG T-Series “The Nuffield car or chassis number system prescribed a five character alpha- numeric prefix of three letters and two numbers. The series of numbers began with 501 which was the traditional starting number for Wolseley and later Morris cars, in the same way that MG’s traditional starting number had previously been 251.”
The first two of the three letters stayed constant as ‘HD’ where ‘H’ signified MG Midget and ‘D’ open two-seater bodywork’. The third letter indicated the paint colour, where A = Black, C = Red, E = Green (to name some popular colours).
The first of the two numbers indicated the market type e.g., ‘1’ for Home market, ‘2’ and ‘3’ for Export RHD and LHD, ‘4’ for North American Export and ‘5’ and ‘6’ for CKD cars, either LHD or RHD.
The second number indicated the paint finish e.g.
‘6’ for cellulose on body, synthetic on wings (standard finish on TFs in all colours other than green); ‘3’ all-cellulose paint finish (normal on green TFs). ‘5’ for primer finish found on CKD cars.
A couple of examples:
HDE 13 (a green Home market car).
HDC 46 (a red North American Export car).
Thanks to the adoption of the Nuffield car number prefix system, the TF is the only model in the T-Series for which we can identify the original colour. We could of course have identified the colours of the earlier models, had not the chassis files been destroyed in the 1960s.
Acknowledgments are due to an article in the 1989 T Register Yearbook by the author of the prototype, and to Anders Ditlev Clausager and his wonderful book Factory-Original MG T-Series.
Part 1 of the lists follow:
VIN Reg. no. Status Remarks
0250 KBL 296 Taxed prototype
0251 362 GME Taxed pre-production
501 RRO 606 Taxed Home
514 ???
522 MSU 363 Taxed
524 671 UYE Taxed
537 656 UYP Taxed
538 DSK 155 Taxed
555 9855 MG Taxed
563 KZ 6886 Untaxed
593 ???
588 XPU 844 Taxed Home
599 ???
650 SUA 718 SORN Home
651 HHS 138 Taxed Home
652 PKC 298 Taxed Home
653 OOF 782 Taxed Home
655 LOU 666 N/T for road Home
658 KAK 81 Taxed Home
659 UJO 10 Untaxed Home
660 UNU 560 Untaxed Home
693 (was ASH 858) Home
694 XS 8350 Taxed Home
695 CYJ 943 Untaxed Home
696 MCR 134 N/k to DVLA Home
697 MFG 51 N/k to DVLA Home
725 KSK 612 Taxed
743 TSU 247 Taxed
773 TGF 67 N/k to DVLA
795 OFF 776 Taxed
916 ???
925 ???
930 198 YUG Taxed
951 DSK 281 Untaxed
1016 JJB 580 Untaxed Home
1030 441 UYF SORN
1042 SFF 634 Taxed
1053 2374 MG Taxed
1054 92 CYX Taxed
1058 522 XUJ Taxed
1108 ???
1110 RSU 533 Untaxed
1148 JSJ 641 Taxed Home
1149 JJB 693 Taxed Home
1172 ???
1209 MNM 899 Taxed Home
1266 SXL 88 Taxed
1267 RSK 833 SORN
1295 WVD 609 N/k to DVLA
1380 FSK 973 Untaxed
1405 RWE 576 N/k to DVLA Home
1406 GFV 725 SORN Home
1407 STB 333 N/k to DVLA Home
1408 OLP 826 Taxed Home
1409 NUF 145 Taxed Home
1411 VLF 261 N/k to DVLA
1441 377 UXL Taxed
1443 NSJ 948 SORN
1448 HSK 229 Taxed
1457 216 XVL Taxed
1488 724 XVC Taxed
1510 NYU 380 Taxed Home
1511 ONF 615 Taxed Home
1514 MWP 401 Taxed Home
1549 ???
1550 966 UYT Taxed
1570 SAE 423 N/k to DVLA Home
1628 UPD 786 Untaxed Home
1629 287 AMG N/k to DVLA Home
1631 MNP 750 Taxed Home
1632 LYS 441 Taxed Home
1656 FSK 609 SORN
1660 ESK 654 Untaxed
1665 936 UXM Taxed
1685 GSJ 109 Taxed
1741 OYR 288 Taxed Home
1776 MWY 759 Taxed Home
1788 ???
1795 ???
1809 XSU 699 Taxed
1812 SSK 135 SORN
1851 GVS 129 Taxed
1854 MSU 590 Taxed
1877 PKH 44 Taxed
1878 OLK 345 Taxed
1896 ???
1898 ???
1918 WSJ 409 Taxed
1920 LDK 5 SORN Home
1921 TEH 678 Taxed Home
1923 BNC 425B N/k to DVLA Home
1925 HCX 376 Taxed Home
1957 SKJ 994 N/T for road Home
1965 938 UYH Taxed
1970 WDF 796 Untaxed
1984 TDH 152 Taxed Home
2021 ???
2034 227 UYE Taxed
2064 RTV 693 Taxed Home
2065 (was 600 BMC) N/k to DVLA Home
2066 MNP 924 Untaxed Home
2073 ???
2094 MFG 55 N/T for road Home
2116 ???
2146 SSU 441 Taxed
2165 345 BRE Taxed
2166 266 BMM Untaxed Home
2168 FO 7394 Taxed Home
2191 XSV 639 Taxed
2198 ???
2214 907 UYH SORN
2215 977 YUR Taxed
2218 ???
2226 TSK 156 Taxed
2227 HDP 461 N/k to DVLA
2238 CSK 960 Taxed
2250 275 UYM Taxed
2262 DSJ 697 N/k to DVLA
2268 MSJ 661 Taxed
2272 CSV 868 SORN Home
2285 KFY 343 Taxed Home
2286 MBY 91 Taxed Home
2289 JBO 769 SORN Home
2291 LRS 202 SORN Home
2293 JCO 717 N/k to DVLA Home
2311 740 XUX Taxed
2317 ???
2338 DAS 796 Untaxed
2340 ???
2355 7 TML Taxed
2368 ???
2405 AAS 462 Taxed
2412 LMR 148 Taxed Home
2413 SWE 17 Taxed Home
2439 XSV 996 Taxed
2443 ???
2461 VPK 631 Untaxed Home
2462 NNP 500 N/k to DVLA Home
2463 XVX 777 Taxed Home
2464 RBP 425 Taxed Home
2465 SCM 646 N/k to DVLA Home
2471 Y 954 N/k to DVLA Home
2472 2106 TF Taxed Home
2525 DSN 186 Taxed Home
2536 CSK 669 Untaxed
2538 URB 414 Taxed Home
2557 OXL 561 N/k to DVLA
2566 ???
2582 HFR 281 Taxed Home
2583 VSU 897 Taxed Home
2584 NWN 284 N/k to DVLA Home
2606 KNT 950 N/k to DVLA
2613 RRO 214 Taxed Home
2614 995 BRE Taxed Home
2615 JSK 858 Taxed Home
2675 KUN 40 Taxed Home
2677 KFJ 818 Taxed Home
2680 155 UYS Taxed
2703 229 UXE Taxed
2722 OOP 834 Taxed Home
2735 746 JGY SORN Home
2737 GCF 285 Taxed Home
2787 SKJ 995 SORN Home
2789 GJT 532 Taxed Home
2793 STC 578 SORN Home
2794 NDF 222 Taxed Home
2820 NXT 337 SORN
2823 GRJ 856 Taxed Home
2824 ECP 295 Taxed Home
2851 UAS 122 Taxed
2853 PZ 6220 N/k to DVLA Home
2867 KVS 893 Taxed
2884 TTD 332 Taxed Home
2885 953 BMG Taxed Home
2886 212 UYM Taxed
2895 ???
2911 ZU 8893 N/k to DVLA CKD
2917 LSF 422 N/k to DVLA Home
2921 MAS 493 Taxed
2937 836 XVR SORN
2956 ???
2964 ???
2994 OVU 774 Taxed Home
2995 OON 20 Taxed Home
2997 LWS 292 Taxed Home
3011 URB 394 Taxed Home
3015 609 XUY Taxed
3063 ???
3065 ??? (was MAA 161)
3093 JBO 499 Taxed Home
3094 416 BMD Untaxed Home
3095 OWK 880 Taxed Home
3096 700 BRP N/k to DVLA Home
3132 YFF 649 Taxed
3135 418 UYJ Taxed
3141 696 XVL Taxed
3171 312 MWP Taxed Home
3192 MSU 796 Taxed
3214 TVT 232 N/k to DVLA Home
3215 UPF 458 Untaxed Home
3216 ??? Home
3217 509 CBU Taxed Home
3218 SUM 5 Taxed Home
3227 VVS 335 Taxed