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MG TD TF 1500 - Original TD toolkit

Does anyone have a original TD tool kit that they could send me a photo of it and if you could also sent me a copy of the tools. And sizes Whitworth or BSA ?
I have been told that the owners manual is incorrect as it shows the kit for the TC?? Thanks Bill
Bill Mason

http://www.mg-cars.org.uk/mgtd/mgtd_tools.htm
Chris Couper

Thanks very much Chis your excellent reply to my query Bill
Bill Mason

The link that Chris Couper supplied is a copy of the MG TD Drivers Handbook (page 16). Here is the problem. If you take the wrench sizes listed in the handbook, you will quickly realize that the wrenches are a different size than the TC wrenches which are commonly available for TC's. Example: The Handbook refers to it's smallest wrench as 1/4 X 5/16, but the TC small wrench is a 3/16 X 1/4. I have not been able to find a single wrench with the sizes listed in the manual....not one!!! Yet the TD accounted for over 29,000 cars. Where did all the wrenches go.

If you look at the site Chris identified plus others, and, if they contain good quality pictures, you will discover that the actual wrenches shown do not match the Handbook. They do match the TC wrench sizes.

The theory is that the sizes quoted in the Handbook are actually BSF sizes and not Whitworth (or BSW) sizes. Unfortunately the handbook does not state what 'nationality' the numbers relate to. If one assumes that they are BSF sizes and converts those sizes to the equivalent Whitworth system, one ends up with the usual TC wrenches....i.e. suggesting that the TD and TC had the same wrenches and not different ones as the Handbook would suggest....confusing!!! hey they're British!!

The final and real question is simply what tools were supplied with the cars? Were they simply wrenches with Whitworth numbers stamped on them that matched the TC or were they wrenches with BSF numbers or combination Whitworth and BSF insignia combined on the same wrench as they are on most current tool sets today?

That, in a nut shell, is the question. Hopefully, someone has a verifiable 'original' wrench set for a TD and they send us a clear picture and description of what the tools look like.
J Tully

J Tully: On my TD at least, with a confirmed set of original tools, the list in the manual matches. Note the open ended wrenches are stamped with both the BSF and Whitworth sizes. The manual lists the Whitworth sizes.

3/16W x 1/4W, 5/16W x 3/8W, 7/16W x 1/2W

They increase by 1/6 W.

I snapped a picture of the 1/2W (9/16 BSF) open end side so you can see what it looks like. My tube (box) sockets are not marked but I confirmed them to be the same as the open ended spanners.

I added the dimensions to the table in the tools page and moved the table back up where it belonged.

Chris Couper

It probably helps if you consider that both BSF & Whitworth are members of the same family. To further confuse the issue, another name for Whitworth (W) (BSW) is BSC or British Standard Coarse, although this term is rarely, if ever used. So we have two types of Whitworth spanners, BSW (BSC) (W) & BSF (BS) & as Chris demonstrates, they are 1/16" apart. (Chris's 1/6 is a typo & should read 1/16"). This explains why you see both the BSF & Whitworth size stamped on the same end of the spannner. I may be wrong but I believe this has always been the case. (I have quite a few original Whitworth spanners & they are ALL marked either BSW & BSF or W & BS at the same end). To avoid confusion (unsuccessfully!), the terms BSF & Whitworth are most commonly used. (However both can be & sometimes are simply referred to as Whitworth because, after all, they are brothers!). Don't bother looking for a further explanation in the dictionary. It isn't listed. So there you go. As clear as mud. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Hi Bill, BTW, BSA isn't a thread type. It stands for Birmingham Small Arms. They used to make things that go bang & also the BSA motorbike, an English Classic. The BSA twin was much drooled over in my day. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

I should also have mentioned that BSF stands for British Standard Fine!
P Hehir

This thread was discussed between 31/03/2014 and 02/04/2014

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