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MG TD TF 1500 - 120 MPH Speedometer


I was going through my TD Dash instruments to inventory and clean them up to repackage for later restorations. I just came upon one that I've never noticed before. Its a 120 MPH Speedo with high beam indicator. All of my other ones have 100 MPH markings, so this seems very strange.
Can any of you shed some light on this unusual speedometer? Do any of your cars have a similar speedo? Bye the way, none of my cars are race cars and the most I've ever gotten out of one of my TDs is about 70 MPH on the highway.

Richard Cameron

Another picture closer

Richard Cameron

Richard-
You're right this speedometer face seems odd. All those dished face speedo's I've seen are 0-100 MPH.

Hopefully someone will recognize it from another car or?

Roy

Roy Challberg

Very interesting looking speedometer. Doing some simple calculations I think this speedo will read correctly if a 4.3 ratio diff is used. That is provided nothing else in the speedo is changed. Perhaps someone very talented redid the face when they changed the rear-end ratio. I think I read somewhere on a Triumph site where someone set up a CAD program to make a stencil for the lettering on a TR3 speedo which is of a similiar shape to the dish faced TD face.
Hugh Pite
H.D. Pite

You might have it right there, Hugh. The speed difference between a standard 5.125:1 rear end and a 4.3:1 rear end is 5.125/4.3=1.19. So, a standard TD speedometer would read 19% higher if its owner did a Dave Clark 4.3 conversion. I think 120 mph is close enough to 119 mph to be acceptable. Bud
Bud Krueger

Bud and Hugh-
If I understand it correctly, if you have done a Dave Clark 4.3 conversion you should be able to do about 84-85 MPH.

That is really moving in a TD! Anyone with such a conversion that has actually experienced that actual speed?

Roy
Roy Challberg

Guilty as charged, your honor. Don't let L.E.D. get into this. Bud
Bud Krueger

Bud-
85 MPH in a TD; you're my new hero!
Roy
Roy Challberg

I called it quits when the GPS showed 86 going down a 'hill' in North Carolina. Bud
Bud Krueger

TR2 had the same plate and 120 mph pattern, but I don't find any other cars that used the green dial other than the MG T series.

Wonder if this was special made gauge for a racing car?
Bruce TD4139 Cunha

LaVerne has done 100 mph in the Green Hornet. Mind you he has a blower on it, but just the same, that's pretty quick for a T-Series.

I once did 85 in my blown TD - scared the sxxt out of me.

I also (only) once, did 275 Kph in my Ferrari 275 GTB/4, at which point I could feel the front end getting suddenly very light and had almost no control over the steering.

Getting too old for this speed stuff.

Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué.
Gord Clark


The mystery continues. I wish I could tie this speedo to one of my cars, but I don't believe that's possible and none of my cars have the 4.3 MGA rear gear yet. I think I bought it with some spares years ago.
Any way I removed the mechanicals from the case to see if there were any obvious clues, but It looks like standard TD to me but I haven't had that many apart to compare it to. Some things I noticed are: The trip reset shaft is heavily corroded and I would think a professional restorer would have replaced it if they were doing a custom upgrade. The screws for the face plate look good with no rust stains( they may be too good for an original gauge. The silk screen on the face has a little more green tint than other TD instruments I have (most are a more blue tint). The number 64 is written on the odometer strut and I believe this is normal TD for the number of odometer gear teeth. Everything else looks like original or a professional restoration(no over spray or tool marks. The Z42247 part number on the face is different from all the others I have. Most of the other 100 MPH TD speedos I have seen are X65022/25 or /34.
Here are a couple more photos of the mechanicals--- Let me know if any of you see something strange I missed.

Richard Cameron


Another photo of the mechanicals:

Richard Cameron

Rich - I do run a 4.3 in my "nice" TD, and would find good use for that speedo, if you have no immediate plans for it.

Please contact me off-line; I have a nagging feeling I have to send a box back to you still, and have forgotten to do so.

Thanks.

Tom Lange
MGT Repair
t lange

This thread was discussed between 19/08/2016 and 21/08/2016

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