The best-seller and, for most people, the sensible choice: roughly 29,664 built between 1950 and 1953, with independent front suspension, rack-and-pinion steering, left-hand drive available, and the widest parts supply of any T-Type.
What you're buying
The TD kept the TC's separate chassis and ash-framed tub but took the front suspension and steering from the Y-type saloon — a set-up closely related to what the MGA and MGB would later use. The result is a far more agile, more comfortable car with markedly better handling. Power came from the same 1,250 cc XPAG at 54 bhp, later raised to 61 bhp with bigger carburettors.
It was also the first T-Type offered in both right- and left-hand drive, with mirror-image dashboards.
A well-sorted TD or TF probably offers the best back-roads driving of any T-Type. The rack-and-pinion and IFS make the difference.
Know your codes before you look
TD chassis numbers run 0251 to 29915. Two types exist: plain TD, and TD/C — the competition version with bigger valves and carburettors and stiffer front suspension, also called the Mark II. This is routinely confused with TD2, which is not the same thing at all: TD2 is an engine code from around chassis 10000 in mid-July 1951, signifying the larger eight-inch clutch. Know which you're being offered.
Export cars carry EXR (right-hand drive) or EXL (left-hand drive). North American cars used EXLU early, changing from May 1951 to EXL/NA and later EXLNA, with both in use until around early June 1951. Left-hand-drive engine numbers are prefixed LHX.
What to check
All the universal checks, plus one TD-specific point: cracks in the chassis below the scuttle, where the main rails change from box section to channel section. Look there deliberately.
Practicality
The TD has the best parts availability of any T-Type, and its Y-type-derived front end shares a lineage with the MGA and MGB. If you want to use a T-Type regularly, this is the easiest starting point. TF wire wheels fit a TD, if that's your taste.
Who it suits
Almost anyone. It is the most numerous, the best supported and among the best to drive. If you're buying your first T-Type, start here.