MG Car Repair: 1954 MG TF 1500

Question
Hello Barrie!  Your name was mentioned amoungst MG enthusiasts here in Tampa Florida...  I am an old school E-Type owner having owned several "E" since my first in 1967. I have been without ANY British Leyland vehicles for over 20 years myself but I love ALL classic British automobiles! I have recently come across a 54 TF 1500 in a garage, sitting for about 20 years. The fello is asking $13000. Very solid body and it runs, however, the original 1500 series engine was replaced I am told, with a VOLVO motor?  Or a Jenson conversion?  I KNOW very little about MG's. SO now I ask you, what would be the issues with buying this car with a wrong Volvo motor?  How would this wrong motor issue effect the value of the car in the end? and how difficult would it be trying to locate an original 1500 series motor, of course it would not be numbers matching, but it would be the correct motor for the car... WOULD trying to do all this ADD more value to the collector?  I have a lot of questions so any help or advise would be VERY MUCHLY appreciated Sir! Thank You for your time and I look forward to your reply!  

Denny, Tampa Bay Florida USA

Answer
Hi Denny.  The TF was originally built in 1953-54 with a 1250cc engine (type XPAG).  In the middle of 1954 they bored the engine out to 1466cc (type XPEG) and renamed the car as the TF1500.  About 3,000 TF1500s were sold to the USA before production ceased in May 1955.

Finding a genuine XPEG engine is almost impossible, but XPAG engines are fairly easy to source for around £3,000 to £4,000 and they look almost identical.  Apart from the engine and the TF1500 badges, nothing else was changed.

As regards value, $13k is a very reasonable price for a TF1500 with a Volvo Amazon engine.

It should be relatively easy to source an XPAG engine and change it over, assuming it still has the original TF gearbox and drivetrain.  This would increase the value of the car a lot - it would be worth the same as a 1250cc TF with the correct XPAG engine, but not as valuable as a TF1500 with an XPEG engine.     

I suggest you buy a copy of my book - The Essential Buyer's Guide to the MG TD, TF and TF1500.  It is available through Amazon for about $15.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/181-4046907-5532008?url=search-alias%3Dst