Hobo Jungle

[MurphOnMillerAve]

That must 've been some wallet!

[Tramp]

Murph, would I make fun of your father's wallet?

[rogruth]

I thought it was a compliment to the size of the wallet.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

I am speechless.

[Tramp]

Lads, I'm joking back. If in doubt, assume I'm kidding. Have a great weekend.

[rogruth]

OK. and I really did LOL.

[John Webster]

Lovely bit of history there. I'd love to hear more.

Pretty sure that's a TD because you can see the upper A arms. The cycle fenders and front end fairing are probably modifications. If there is a supercharger hiding under there that would have put the car in a modified class which would also allow the bodywork mods.

As for the wallet, the best way to make a small fortune in racing is to start with a large one.

[Tramp]

Here's the car with my father at the Montreal auto expo. It was a modified TD (by my father), though he had a TC first, and I seem to remember he preferred it. I believe the hill climb photo was at Mount Equinox in Vermont. I know my father won his class there in 1949 or maybe 50. As to the size of his wallet—he raced for the MG factory, or at least received a budget from them. Eventually he was forced to quit racing because of lack of funds.

[rogruth]

Tramp,

In this photo is he wearing his racing "uniform"?

[Tramp]

Roger, he needed those pants in order to fit the wallet. The jacket hides the bulge.

[E7]

Tramp,

That's a pretty classy looking automobile! It looks to me like that top overlaps the doors (for safety, maybe???), which would make entering/exiting interesting! As for the mechanic, I was thinking more Travis Bickle! (Just kidding, of course!)

Rich

[John Webster]

The mystery gets deeper. The rear fenders have been clipped but the top raises some questions. The top is typical of early streamlining efforts applied to cars like this for use in endurance races like LeMans or Sebring. Could your father have been trying to market it?

[webenda]

It looks to me like that top overlaps the doors (for safety, maybe???), which would make entering/exiting interesting!
Rich

Rich,

The side curtains (door windows to us yanks) on my TR-3 were attached to the door and had the same door overlap. The side curtains opened with the door.

On the TD You can see the line where the door/side curtain combination opens along the front and bottom. The line is hard to see along the top and almost impossible to see along the back (as is the line where the door opens in the back. I believe the side curtain is attached to the door and opens with the door while the top and rear side windows stay in place.

[healey36]

When I was a boy, the guy who lived next-door to my grandparents owned a pair of MG's, a TC and a TD. My recollection of the two cars side-by-side was that the TC had a somewhat spindly look about it, with its narrow trac sitting on nineteen-inch wire wheels, while the TD had a wider trac, a lower center of gravity and sat on fifteen inch disc wheels. At a time when the Corvette Stingray had just been introduced and the Ford Mustang was still a year away, these MG's held little appeal to me at the time. However, I have great memories of hanging out with George in his garage, squandering a hot Saturday afternoon while drinking ice-tea and watching him true a nineteen-inch spoked wheel. Man, I have so much I'd like to ask him now...

Healey

[E7]

Rich,

The side curtains (door windows to us yanks) on my TR-3 were attached to the door and had the same door overlap. The side curtains opened with the door.

Wayne,

Thanks for the explanation......I thought maybe there were some nascar type acrobatics going on to get in/out!

Rich