The Thigh Bone's Connected to the Hip Bone...

What I don't understand is how an old car could run so well for thirty years with an engine full of worn out parts. And every part interacts with some other parts creating a symphony or, in my case, something that sounds more like a middle school orchestra trying to play  Pachelbel's Canon. It sounds a bit like music; you can recognize the tune; but you really don't want to take this gang on a cross-country concert tour.

The venerable XPAG, as the motor in a TD is designated, is known for three prominent characteristics: it leaks oil by design, having a special "drip hole" in the bottom of the bell housing just for this purpose; it needs rings, valves, bearings and a cam every 40,000 miles; and it has a crankshaft that unexpectedly breaks in two with sufficient frequency that this has been recognized  as the major weak point of an otherwise sturdy 1930's-era power plant.


With this last point in mind, I was strongly encouraged to secure a replacement crankshaft reflecting modern metallurgy and manufacturing. Unfortunately, these are produced one at a time by bands of wizards operating under names that always include the term "motorsport" in them. This in itself is worth money, as evidenced by the routine appearance of the word at places like Indianapolis, Lowes Motor Speedway, and Watkins Glen.


Considering an MG TD was designed for the leisurely byways of mid-century Britain, perhaps it should not be faulted for coming apart when subjected to modern North American speeds and long periods droning on and on at 5,000 RPM. I decided to spring for a machined billet race crank. "Bulletproof," Manley Ford declared, "And only a few bucks more than a replacement from 'the usual suspects'."


Knowing I could recondition my connecting rods and re-ring my pistons, I eventually accepted this upgrade as good insurance. Then I learned the correct bearings were not available in an acceptable quality. Not a problem, the crank can be machined to accept larger and commonly available MGB rod bearings. "It's just a little more work at the machine shop." But now the rods need to be MGB at the bottom and XPAG at the top. That's okay. Other wizards make connecting rods to any specification you can provide: Let me introduce you to the elves that work for Mr. Saenz. But now these little sand cast pistons probably won't hold. Where there's a will, there's a way: an outfit with the confidence to have only two letters in its name, JE, can make forged pistons for anything, even old English cars with wooden-framed bodies and no side windows. Can you say "slippery slope?" Visa or Mastercard?

But wait-- there's more! The factory offered the XPAG motor with a "big valve head" as part of the "Mark II" competition option. This adds all of 2 mm to the intake and exhaust.  Since I already run the larger Mark II carburetors, it seemed like a logical step up. I am a racer, am I not?  Not so fast! You can't just order them out of the Moss Motors catalog. You need stainless steel valves that will stand up to unleaded fuel, the pounding of the heavier valve springs, and long pulls up those western mountain passes with a boot full of spare parts and extra water. Enter MG speed parts purveyor John Targett of Targett Motorsports-- there's that word again! And they're right on the shelf?!  I guess I'll take eight of them. And give me one of those t-shirts, too.