A TD or TF is a wonderful car to own but a demanding car to use every week on modern roads. A short list of well-chosen upgrades — most of them reversible — makes the difference between a car that stays in the garage and one that goes out on Sunday.
The philosophy: sympathetic and reversible
The best upgrades on a T-Type share three qualities. They address a real weakness of the car in modern traffic. They can be undone without cutting the chassis or throwing original parts away. And they leave the character of the car intact — a TF that cruises comfortably at 60 mph is still a TF, not a hot rod.
Keep every original component you take off. A boxed-up original gearbox, back axle or dynamo in the loft is worth real money to the next owner, and it is what makes an upgraded car easy to sell.
Keep every original part you remove. The next owner is buying the option to put the car back to standard.
Five-speed gearbox conversions
The single most transformative upgrade on a TD or TF is a five-speed gearbox. The original four-speed box has no synchromesh on first, close ratios and no overdrive, so the engine sits at around 3,800–4,000 rpm at 60 mph. That is noisy, hard on the XPAG or XPEG, and the reason so many owners avoid dual carriageways.
The common conversions use a Ford Type-9 or a modern Mazda MX-5 five-speed inside a purpose-made bellhousing and gearbox tunnel. Fifth is an overdrive ratio: at 60 mph the engine drops to roughly 2,700–2,900 rpm depending on final drive. Fuel consumption improves, oil temperature falls, and the car will sit at motorway speeds without protest.
What to expect
A good kit is bolt-in with no chassis modification, uses the original propshaft (shortened) and the original rear axle. Expect to change the gear-lever position slightly and to make or buy a new tunnel cover. The original box goes on the shelf.
Read our TD vs TF comparison for the standard-car figures this upgrade improves on.
Front disc brake conversions
Standard TD and TF front brakes are 9-inch Lockheed drums — perfectly adequate when everything is set up correctly, but heat-sensitive in modern traffic and unforgiving of one dragging shoe. A front disc conversion is the single biggest safety upgrade available.
Most kits use a bolt-on stub-axle and caliper bracket carrying an off-the-shelf caliper (often Triumph Herald / Spitfire or a small Girling). The master cylinder usually needs uprating and a servo is sometimes added, though a well-set-up non-servo conversion is fine on a car this light.
If you only ever do one upgrade, do the front brakes. Everything else is comfort.
Keep the drums serviceable
Keep the original hubs, drums and backplates. They are becoming scarce and are what a future concours owner will want back.
Telescopic shock absorber conversions
The lever-arm dampers fitted at both ends are effective when rebuilt and correctly filled, but they wear, they leak, and rebuilders capable of doing them properly are fewer every year. A telescopic conversion — a bolt-on bracket and a pair of modern gas or oil dampers — gives a more controlled ride and needs no maintenance for a decade.
The rear is the easier and more worthwhile end to convert. The front is more involved and less obviously beneficial, because the front lever-arms also form part of the suspension geometry on early cars — read the specific instructions for your kit carefully.
Electronic ignition
A Pertronix, AccuSpark or Lumenition module inside the original Lucas DKY or DM2 distributor removes the points, removes the need to reset the dwell, and gives a hotter, more consistent spark. It is invisible with the cap on and reversible in minutes — carry the original points and condenser in the toolbox as a get-you-home spare.
See our distributor guide and ignition parts for the theory.
Alternator conversions
The original Lucas dynamo puts out around 22 amps and needs the engine spinning before it charges. Add halogen headlamps, an electric fan and a modern radio and it is quickly overwhelmed. A small modern alternator inside a dynamo-shaped case (often sold as a "dynalternator") drops straight in with the original mounting and gives 45–70 amps from tickover.
The Lucas RB106/2 regulator becomes redundant — bypass it rather than removing it, so the car can be returned to standard. Our ignition & charging article covers the standard system in detail.
Halogen headlamps and LED indicators
The original tungsten sealed-beam headlamps are, politely, poor. Modern H4 halogen inserts fit inside the original chrome shells with no external change to the car and transform night driving. LED bulbs in the side, tail and indicator lamps reduce current draw and are more visible to modern drivers — but check that any LED indicator bulb includes a load resistor or is paired with an electronic flasher relay, or the indicators will not flash at the correct rate.
Cooling: electric fans and modern radiators
An engine-driven fan and a marginal radiator core can make a TD or TF unhappy in slow traffic. A slim electric fan behind the original radiator, wired through a thermostatic switch, will run only when needed and does not upset the look under the bonnet. A recored radiator with a modern high-efficiency matrix inside the original shell is often the better first step and is entirely invisible.
Diagnose overheating properly before you spend money — the fuel & oil additives guide covers what modern fuels do to old cooling systems and what actually helps.
Seatbelts
Neither car was designed with seatbelts. Static lap-and-diagonal belts are the usual retrofit and are easy to fit properly to the chassis (never to the bodywork alone). Inertia-reel belts can be made to work on a TF but are harder on a TD. Whatever you fit, fit it to structure, use grade-8.8 bolts and large spreader washers, and have it checked.
Where to start
If you plan to use the car often, prioritise in this order: front discs first, then electronic ignition, then a recored radiator or electric fan, then halogen headlamps and seatbelts. Only then think about the five-speed gearbox — it is the biggest single change to how the car drives, and it is worth doing well or not at all.
For pre-purchase advice on the cars themselves, see the TD buying guide and the TF buying guide.