Calendar-year reference
MG TD 1952: Engine Changes and Late-Year Features
A 1952 TD can sit on either side of important engine and body-detail changes. The dates below describe running changes within the year, not a single specification shared by every car registered as a 1952 TD.
By Jon Cosson · Sources checked
The XPAG block and head changed separately
Roger Wilson's T Register study dates the new TD block to 9 July 1952 at engine XPAG/TD2/17969 and the new standard TD head to 26 November 1952 at XPAG/TD2/22735. The new castings were 168421 for the block and 168422 for the head, with round rather than oval water-transfer holes. Wilson says the Mark II apparently received its new head on 9 June 1952 at XPAG/TD3/17029, when the TD3 engine code was introduced. His qualification is retained: the timing of the Mark II's new block is less clear.
Roger Wilson, MG Car Club T Register: cylinder head and block casting numbers
Later lamps, hood and windscreen wiper
Couper's timeline places the three-bow hood in September 1952 from chassis 20374, round rear lamps in October from 21303, and the centre-mounted windscreen-wiper motor in November from 22315. It also places turn signals at 22315. These are published timeline milestones, not guaranteed cut-offs for every market or every surviving car. Earlier fittings and replaced panels need checking against the car's evidence.
Chris Couper: The Original MGTD, production facts and feature timelines
Standard and competition export cars
The T Register's EXR and EXL codes distinguish right-hand-drive and left-hand-drive exports. EXL/NA and EXLNA are North American markings used after the 1951 transition. TD/C, not TD2, identifies the Mark II. Engine changes are recorded by engine number, so do not read a block's casting number as an annual chassis range.
MG Car Club T Register: chassis and engine identificationRoger Wilson, MG Car Club T Register: cylinder head and block casting numbers
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
- Should every 1952 MG TD have a round-hole XPAG head?
- No. The T Register study dates the standard TD's new head to 26 November 1952 at engine XPAG/TD2/22735, later than the July block change. It reports an earlier new head for the Mark II, with a qualification about the block timing.Roger Wilson, MG Car Club T Register: cylinder head and block casting numbers
Sources and provenance
- MG Car Club T Register: factory production records
- Roger Wilson, MG Car Club T Register: cylinder head and block casting numbers
- Chris Couper: The Original MGTD, production facts and feature timelines
- MG Car Club T Register: chassis and engine identification
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.