TF3521 (JZ 9119)
Dwaine Hayes from Vancouver, Canada contacted me a month or so ago to tell me that his good friend, Roger Jones had passed away. Roger was, in Dwaine’s words, “an avid TC guy”. I recall that Roger contacted me on a couple of occasions as he was working on a beautiful EXU TC, which he had all but completed just before he died.
Roger originally hailed from Merseyside before emigrating to Canada and when in the UK owned the TF you see in the picture above. The photo was found by his wife when dealing with his affairs and she, having contacted Dwaine, he in turn wondered if JZ 9119 could be located through ‘Lost and Found’.
JZ is a Co. Down (Northern Ireland) registration. It does not show up using the DVLA search facility, but surely the car is still around somewhere?
Any ‘leads’ to the Editor, please at jj(at)ttypes.org [Please substitute @ for (at)].
Dwaine is curious to know if anybody can help with the history of his two TCs – TC2031 and TC2828.
I stand to be corrected, but I think that TC2031 was exported from new to the US. Dwaine bought it in 2013 in Salt Lake Utah; it had come from California at that point and has a replacement motor from University Motors 1954.
TC2838 was originally registered HPT 482 in the UK.
If you can help with information on either of these TCs, please contact the Editor at the above address.
TF3860 (HDP26/3860)
This car was featured in the June issue. On looking into its history further, it seems that I failed to spot that one of the registration numbers quoted (KZ 8734) is a Co. Antrim (Northern Ireland) registration.
The assumption is that the car came to Northern Ireland from South Africa and if this assumption is correct, it would have been registered KZ 8734.
However, the car was registered BSK 391when it was purchased from Coy’s auction house in 2009.
If I have got the story right, I am currently struggling to understand why it became BSK 391 since, again on the assumption that it came across the Irish Sea, I think it could have retained its KZ 8734 registration.
Another mystery to solve! jj(at)ttypes.org [please substitute @ for (at)].
TA1449 (CTB 401)
Paul Taylor would very much like to hear news of his late father’s car. CTB 401, an ex-Lancashire Police TA, was his first car. His mother, pictured above with the car in the 1950s, is now 90 years young and took her driving test in the car all those years’ ago.
CTB 401 comes up from a DVLA search and its current status is that it is on SORN. The last V5C was in 2010.
Your Editor has a very poor (and getting worse) memory, but he does remember registration numbers. Mrs J jokes that although he can’t remember names, he knows the individual’s car and often, its registration number.
Well, CTB 401 ‘rang a bell’ and after a bit of research an email from Rick Buckley was located.
Text of Rick’s email as follows:
“I bought my first TA (TA1449) – (CTB 401) in 1968 when I was 14 and it was in pretty bad shape having originally been a Lancashire Constabulary car and then passing through several owners before I bought it for £25 with a cracked block and the engine in bits. I did some research and managed to get the 2 photos below from Bob Cuthbertson who owned it in 1964. He lived on Ash Walk in Alkington at the time, which is where the street photo is taken.
CTB 401 in the mid-1960s
Needless to say, I attempted quite a bit of work on the car but never got it built up and running and after several years of accumulating parts I eventually sold it to John Beavan of Ross-on-Wye in 1993. John rebuilt it with a 1500 engine and sent me pictures of it finished in black with a blue interior as per the original police scheme. I included in the sale some parts from another badly damaged TA.”
Ed’s note: I asked Rick for a copy of the photo of the rebuilt CTB 401 and he duly obliged with three!
Rick gave John Beavan the log book(s) for CTB on the sale of the car. Fortunately, Rick kept a copy, which shows that Paul Taylor’s dad (Raymond Arthur) owned the car at an address in Bury, Lancashire in March 1957. There was then a change of address to Mansfield, Nottinghamshire in April 1959. He finally parted with the car in October 1959 to an address in Rochdale, Lancashire.
There is a strong possibility that the car is in a museum somewhere as Rick recalls that John Beavan told him when he sent the photos (which date from 1994) that he was considering selling it to a museum. This may explain the very low mileage when you look at the (available through the DVLA site) MOT history from the 2010/11/12 dates.
Rick still has the old aluminium front number plate that can be seen from the 1950s photograph, which he will gladly make available to anybody who might want it.
These photos show John Beavan’s nearly completed rebuild – there were just a few outstanding jobs to finish on the bonnet, grille and radiator surround.
This ‘Lost & Found’ article started with an enquiry from Paul Taylor who wanted to hear news of his late father’s car. He’s certainly got plenty of news now – let’s hope that we can find its whereabouts!
TD13025 (KFG 388) and TD27201 (DNH 487)
Nick Ofield is hoping for news of two TDs he owned in the past.
First, TD13025 (KFG 388).
Nick owned this TD for nearly 18 years from 1974 until 1992 and would love to get in touch with the present owner. The car comes up using the DVLA search facility as ‘Untaxed’ as at January 2003 and the last V5C change is recorded as 30th January 2003.
Better news (in that it has much more recent history) of TD27201 (DNH 487).
Nick owned this car for one year only in 1966/67 (the picture was taken in 1967 on Barossa Common, Surrey Heath). The car comes up using the DVLA search facility as ‘Untaxed’ as at May 2018 and the last V5C change is recorded as 23rd November 2011.
If you can help fill in some gaps about the history of either car Nick is at suphanne(at)hotmail.com [Please substitute @ for (at)].
Engine swap
Simon Burns has been in touch. He is searching for the original engine fitted to his TD (TD11279). The car should have XPAG/TD2/LHX11751, but it has an earlier engine XPAG/TD/LHX5377, which came out of TD5055. I have suggested that the original engine may have ‘given up the ghost’, was replaced, and may have been scrapped….so a bit like searching for a needle in a haystack, which isn’t in the haystack! Nevertheless, as you ‘never know’ I offered to include this in Lost & Found’.
If anyone can help, it would be appreciated. email:
simon.j.burns(at)btinternet.com [Please substitute @ for (at)]. Phone contact is 07970862809.
MGTC (KUP 440)
Cathy Dawe is hoping that the present owner will see this ‘Lost & Found’ item so that he or she will contact her with news of the 1949 TC (chassis number not known) which her father once owned. The car comes up using the DVLA search facility as Taxed and on the road with a ‘Last V5C’ date of 13th March 2012. The following two pictures show her dad at a Bedford Automobile Enthusiasts Club speed trial and her mum with the car.
If you can help, Cathy’s email is: cathy.dawe(at)btinternet.com [Please substitute @ for (at)].
TC4057
The following has been received from Bunny Metz in South Africa:
“As always, I thoroughly enjoyed the latest TTT bulletin. Thank you — your work is greatly appreciated. Not sure that this (very long shot) query is in the right slot, but thought I’d put it out there….! Very nearly 60 years ago, aged 18, I bought my first car, a red TC, whilst living in Salisbury, Rhodesia (Harare, Zimbabwe). I loved that car! I was a member of the local MGCC and the mother Club, with whom I registered the car in 1964. TC4057 / XPAG 4681 left the factory on 17/11/47. I traded her in for a Healey 3000 and the dealer told me he then sold the TC to an American doctor who was stationed in Malawi.
I now live in Knysna, S. Africa, where I asked the local MGCC South Cape’s registrations officer to please enquire of the mother club as to whether they knew the car’s current owner and location. The answer was that it was still registered in my name! My guess is the good doctor returned to the US, taking the TC with him. Perhaps through your excellent publication, I might find out if she’s still on the road.
Incidentally, my love for the marque began long before my first car. About 70 years ago my father bought a new TD in Johannesburg (dark blue / light beige upholstery). Aged around 6 or 7, I spent many happy hours travelling around with my parents, ensconced on a cushion behind the seats!
In my dotage, I am now on my 5th MG, a pristine ‘50 TD, which I’ve owned for the past 14 years. So, virtually a lifetime in our wonderful world-wide MG family! Cheers!”
Bunny’s contact details are: bunnyandjan(at)gmail.com [Please substitute @ for (at)].
Ed’s note: Bunny sent me a picture of his TD, but I rather liked this one which was sent to me back in 2010 by Tony Lyons-Lewis.
The photo was taken in Knysna, a small coastal town on the south east coast of South Africa, sort of half way between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. The area is quite heavily forested and there are a number of lagoons (lakes?) in the area. Knysna is on one such lagoon that is tidal. The gap behind the cars is called The Heads and is a narrow channel connecting the sea to the lagoon.
Bunny’s TD (TD3309) is flanked by an MGA Twin Cam and a TC which, when the picture was taken, had just been acquired by Peter Vadas. I didn’t ever get to know the chassis number of the TC.
TC10148 (UMG 76)
Nick Hayman is enquiring on behalf of a friend for past history details of this TC. The car is in Jersey and the owner is looking to sell. Some history is known, but it would be good to expand on this to go with the sale of the car. nicholashayman(at)icloud.com [Please substitute @ for (at)].
TD26039 (was LDA 444, now YMG 92)?
If the above details are correct and TD26039 was originally registered LDA 444, Ian Ailes has some early service papers for this car. There’s a service sheet from Carr’s Garage in Tavistock (Devon) dated 10th October 1964 and one from C.E. Pulleyblank, Motor Engineer of Plymstock (Devon) dated 10th January 1965. The owner at the time was Mr Murray.
Ian is happy to pass these papers on to the current owner. His contact details are as follows: mgv8ian(at)gmail.com [Please substitute @ for (at)].
Ed’s note: Although some of the service sheets refer to the customer as “Mr Murray”, one refers to “Brigadier Murray”.
CVD 101 (Chassis number not known)
Royston Goodman of the MG Octagon Car Club has bowled me a ‘googly’. An acquaintance has told him that he has a continuation log book and a V5 for an MG. The problem is that we don’t know, for sure, for which model MG!
The registration number is CVD 101, which shows up from the DVLA search facility as ‘Taxed’. Date of first registration is November 1946, year of manufacture is 1931 and cylinder capacity is 847cc. The date of last V5C is 18/12/19. This would possibly indicate an M-type. However, the continuation log book and the V5 make no reference to 1931; both give the date of first registration as 21/11/46. The V5 gives the cc as 8.05 and the log book refers to 8.05 H.P. roystonagoodman(at)gmail.com [Please substitute @ for (at)].