Dating and factory records

What Year Is My MG T-Type?

Enter your chassis or engine number below and the tool will tell you which model it belongs to and the production span it falls in, narrowed wherever a dated factory change allows. For the exact despatch date, the MG Car Club's T Register holds the factory production records, searchable by any owner using the same numbers.

Build totals at a glance
ModelYearsBuilt
MG TA1936–1939≈3,003
MG TB1939379
MG TC1945–1949≈10,000
MG TD1950–1953≈29,664
MG TF 1250 (XPAG, 57.5 bhp)1953–1954≈6,200
MG TF 1500 (1,466 cc XPEG, 63 bhp at 5,000 rpm)July 1954 – April 1955≈3,400 (of 9,602 TFs)

TF chassis numbers ran TF250 and TF251, the two prototypes, then TF501 through TF10100, 9,602 cars in all; the MGA that replaced it began at 10101. See Production & Survivor Numbers for sources and the survivor estimates.

Date your car by its numbers

Enter the chassis (car) number or the engine number as it is stamped, and this will give the production span it belongs to, narrowed where a dated factory change makes that possible. It is a first sift, not a substitute for the factory record.

Include the prefix. Chassis numbers use TA, TB, TC, TD or TF; engine numbers use MPJG, XPAG, XPAG/TD2, XPAG/TF or XPEG.

How to search

The database accepts chassis numbers and engine numbers. Enter them exactly as described below; the format varies by model and by whether you are using the chassis or engine number.

Chassis numbers

Type the letter prefix immediately followed by the number, with no space after the prefix. A leading zero is optional for three-figure numbers.

  • TC models: TC0508 or TC508
  • TF models: TF0648 or TF648
  • TD models: TD25509 or TD/C22580

Engine numbers

For TA, TB and TC engines, enter the prefix, then a space, then the number.

  • Example: XPAG 9211

For TD and TF engines there is no space, but there are forward slashes between the components.

  • Example: XPAG/TD2/23015

Left-hand-drive TDs are a special case: the engine number is prefixed with LHX.

  • Example: XPAG/TD/LHX4950

Where to find your numbers

Chassis number

The chassis number is stamped on the outside vertical face of the left-hand front dumb-iron. Turn the front wheels to the left, reach in behind the wing, and be prepared to clean away years of grease and underseal to read it clearly.

Engine number

The engine number can be found in three places:

  1. On the octagonal brass tag on the right-hand side of the engine, below the number one exhaust manifold branch.
  2. On the guarantee plate mounted on the firewall.
  3. Stamped on the block plinth just above the brass tag.

For the guarantee plate codes, the body number and a full walk through the prefixes MPJG, XPAG and XPEG, see the chassis and engine number decoder.

Search the database

The T Register's production records tool is hosted by the MG Car Club. Use the link below to open it in a new tab.

MG Car Club T Register production records tool →

Browse by year

Once the tool has given you a span, the year pages set out what was being built in each year from 1936 to 1955, the dated factory changes that fall in it, and the traits a car of that date should show. MG T-Series year by year →

Once you know your car's story

When you have your factory details, please consider adding the car to the Registry. The Registry is a community record of surviving T-Types, chassis numbers, histories, provenance and photographs, and every entry helps build a clearer picture of the marque today.