A rare thing: a genuine home-market, right-hand-drive MG TF 1500 — one of the earliest built — still wearing its original Ivory-over-red and still carrying the original 1500 engine it left Abingdon with. Its story runs from Abingdon in December 1954 to thirty years in New Zealand and home again, and it drives as well as it reads.
From Abingdon to the far side of the world
1954
Built at the MG Car Company's Abingdon works over 14–15 December 1954, finished in Ivory with red upholstery, and — according to club records — one of the earliest of the new XPEG-engined TF 1500s.
To New Zealand
Built for the UK home market — not as an export car — it was later privately shipped to New Zealand, where it spent more than thirty years before returning. That home-market origin makes it rarer still.
1989
Repatriated to Britain. A British Motor Industry Heritage Trust certificate was obtained, confirming its original build details, and the car was restored and re-registered as WSU 141 in October 1989.
Since restoration
Around 9,000 miles in the decades since, accompanied by a comprehensive file of invoices documenting no-expense-spared maintenance and cosmetic upkeep.
Early 2000s
Used for European touring.
2003
Entrusted to the long-established MG specialists Brown & Gammons of Baldock for a series of upgrades: a five-speed gearbox conversion and a polished, ported, unleaded cylinder head, alongside extensive mechanical work — all invoiced and on file.
Today
After careful long-term ownership, the car remains in private hands, presenting in exceptional condition: a high-quality older restoration kept to a standard that belies its age.
Why it matters
Three things set WSU 141 apart. It is a home-market, right-hand-drive TF 1500 — the scarcest configuration of an already-scarce model, the vast majority of which went to America. It is matching-numbers, still carrying the original 1500 engine, in the Ivory-over-red it was built in. And it has been sympathetically improved rather than merely preserved: the Brown & Gammons five-speed and gas-flowed head make it far more usable on modern roads while leaving its character intact. A documented, original-colours, matching-numbers home-market 1500 is exactly the kind of TF that rewards a long search.
A documented, original-colours, matching-numbers home-market TF 1500 is exactly the kind of car that rewards a long search.