Calendar-year reference
MG TD 1951: TD2, Export Codes and Identification
Two useful identification changes fall in 1951: the North American export code began to change, and TD2 appeared as an engine code for the larger clutch. Neither makes every 1951 TD a Mark II.
By Jon Cosson · Sources checked
TD2 is an engine code, not the Mark II
The MG Car Club T Register places the TD2 engine-code change at about chassis 10000 in mid July 1951 and explains that it signifies a larger clutch. TD/C is the separate competition version, also called the Mark II, with bigger valves and carburettors and stiffer front suspension. Keep the engine code and the car's competition designation separate when checking a description.
North American codes changed during the year
The T Register says EXLU began changing to EXL/NA in May 1951, with a mixture of both forms continuing into late May or early June. EXLNA was also used later. EXR and EXL denote right-hand-drive and left-hand-drive exports respectively. The overlap matters: an EXLU marking is not by itself evidence that a car cannot have been built in 1951.
Instruments and electrical equipment
Couper's feature timeline places the five-post regulator and separate fuse block at chassis 8142 in June 1951, replacing the nine-post regulator. It places dished instrument faces in October, from chassis 10751 for left-hand-drive cars and 10779 for right-hand-drive cars. The author warns that these dates describe the appearance of new features, not necessarily the last use of the old ones.
Chris Couper: The Original MGTD, production facts and feature timelines
Production figures and dating limits
No annual production total is given here. The reproduced Clausager table and its accompanying text disagree on the model-run total, so the figures have not been silently reconciled. A running-change milestone is not an annual chassis range. The factory-record search reproduces the original paper records, including any inconsistencies. Confirm the record for the individual car.
T Register factory records · Published production table and caveats
Questions about this year
- Is a 1951 MG TD2 the same as a TD Mark II?
- No. TD2 is the larger-clutch engine code associated with the mid July 1951 change. TD/C identifies the competition car known as the Mark II. The T Register distinguishes the two explicitly.MG Car Club T Register: chassis and engine identification
Sources and provenance
- MG Car Club T Register: factory production records
- MG Car Club T Register: chassis and engine identification
- Chris Couper: The Original MGTD, production facts and feature timelines
The year headings organise the evidence by calendar year, not by an asserted US model-year specification. Secondary timeline dates are attributed and qualified rather than treated as universal factory cut-offs.