The meaning of the letters MG does not stand for Morris Garages,
although it was intended as a tribute to William Morris and his company
Morris Garages. M.G. is just a title rather than an acronym. You can
read more about it here.
What ever happened to the MGTE?
There never was an official model of an MG named the MGTE. After the
MGTD came the MGTF. The MGTF was basically a slightly modified MGTD with
a few stylized refinements to the body in the form of swept fenders with
integral headlamps, sloping hood, and bucket seats. There were original
plans for a follow on to the MGTD that was code named the EX175. This
car was never built because of internal politics within the BMC
organization and their investment in the Austin-Healey 100. Perhaps this
was to be the MGTE.
MGTDs were offered with wire wheels as an option in 1953
The answer was no. Wire wheels were not offered by the factory until the
production of the MGTD ceased. It was in 1954 when the MGTF offered wire
wheels as an option that the factory may have offered an 'upgrade' kit
for the MGTD. No evidence exists to me that there actually was a formal
kit. It is possible that some of the 1953 MGTDs could have been
retrofitted by dealers with these wire wheels before being sold for the
first time.
Wood dashboards were offered for the MGTD originally
The answer is none. The MGTD has a plywood dashboard that was always
covered in vinal cloth (rexine) to match the interior fabric. In the
period, as is today, wooden dashboards were very popular accessories.
Bucket Seats were an option for the MK II
Bucket seats were never offered for production MGTDs. There were a few
factory special racing cars used internally that sported bucket seats.
My 1953 car does not have the features you mentioned
I am sure my car is a 1953 because I have the first registration and
I talked to the original owner. Your data is wrong because my car does
not have the three bow top, the central windshield wiper motor or
round taillamps. While sales of the MGTD were very brisk for much of the production
they certainly did sit on the lots for some time during the later years.
I have seen many MGTDs that were first registered a year or more after
their production date. The first registration is not a good indicator of
the model year of the car.
