Re: MG brass plate with "body type" and "body number ?

[FDShade@aol.com]

The gentleman that sold me my TC just sent me a brass plate dimensions 4
inches by 1 1/2 inch. It is embossed with

The M. G. Car Company Ltd.,
Abingdon-on-Thames.
BODY TYPE [ B280 ]
BODY NO. [ 7116 A 33101]

(The numbers are stamped onto the plate)
(The plate has a small hole on each corner to accomodate a rivet - or screw)
(I can find no four holes on the scuttle or battery box that would match
these four holes on the plate)

I presume that this plate came with the car when he bought it, but the car
number is TC - 7344 and the engine number is XPAG 7422 ----- so my
questions are:

Could this plate belong to my car ? and if so, where should it go ? If not,
how can I identify what car it belongs on?

Jim Shade, West Covina CA

[Frank O_ The Mountain]

In a message dated 3/20/00 3:00:50 PM Pacific Standard Time, FDShade@aol.com
writes:

>

Jim, this is your body number plate....you will find those four holes under
the scuttle on the left hand side (at least for the TA, thats where they
were). The plate was screwed to the main wooden support for the forward end
of the scuttle. It had only to do with the body, nothing to do with the
engine or chassis number.
Terry

[Dean Jensen]

Just to add a little bit more, I believe that it was held on with two
nail, in opposite corners, one nail was on one upright, and the
other nail was on the other upright wood part, the nails were very
short, not more than 3/4 inch long, maybe l/2 inch

Dean
-----Original Message-----
From: FDShade@aol.com
To: mg-tabc@egroups.com
Date: Monday, March 20, 2000 4:58 PM
Subject: [mg-tabc] MG brass plate with "body type" and "body number ?

>The gentleman that sold me my TC just sent me a brass plate dimensions 4
>inches by 1 1/2 inch. It is embossed with
>
> The M. G. Car Company Ltd.,
> Abingdon-on-Thames.
> BODY TYPE [ B280 ]
> BODY NO. [ 7116 A 33101]
>
>(The numbers are stamped onto the plate)
>(The plate has a small hole on each corner to accomodate a rivet - or

screw)

>(I can find no four holes on the scuttle or battery box that would match
>these four holes on the plate)
>
>I presume that this plate came with the car when he bought it, but the car
>number is TC - 7344 and the engine number is XPAG 7422 ----- so my
>questions are:
>
>Could this plate belong to my car ? and if so, where should it go ? If

not,

>how can I identify what car it belongs on?
>
>Jim Shade, West Covina CA
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>eGroups.com Home: http://www.egroups.com/group/mg-tabc/
>http://www.egroups.com - Simplifying group communications
>
>

[Dean Jensen]

not me, dont put me in that group, amen *.*
-----Original Message-----
From: FDShade@aol.com
To: djensen@accessus.net
Date: Tuesday, March 21, 2000 11:32 AM
Subject: Re: [mg-tabc] MG brass plate with "body type" and "body number ?

>In a message dated 03/21/2000 6:06:28 AM Pacific Standard Time,
>djensen@accessus.net writes:
>
>> Just to add a little bit more, I believe that it was held on with two
>> nail, in opposite corners, one nail was on one upright, and the
>> other nail was on the other upright wood part, the nails were very
>> short, not more than 3/4 inch long, maybe l/2 inch
>
>Guess I'd upset a lot of people if I strayed from original and used a 1"

nail

>?!
>
>Jim thanks
>

[MikeMarjot@aol.com]

Its a bit late in the day but can I add my 2 pennyworth.

In 'Original MG T Series' by Anders Clausager he says that the top number is
the body type (self evident really) that is B269 for TA, B270 for TB and B280
for the TC.

He says the number on the left below the body type is the 'Body serial
number' and is related to the body type.

Thus TA bodies for body type B269 started at 100 (!!) and went through to
1090. Then the TA changed to body type B270 and the numbers started again
from 100. Anders does not say what they reached but at body 1790 the D type
tail lamp was introduced possibly around TA chassis TA3200 or possibly this
could be the first TB body (which continued as body type B270 of course).

Since there were only 369 TBs then the body serial number for B270 must have
tailed off around 2159! Anders doesn't say but presumably the TC also
started as body style B280 at body serial number 100!?

Note that the like engines and chassis the body numbers do not tie up in
sequence necessarily with the chassis.

The final number on the right is the body makers batch number. Anders doesn't
give any details as to how this was composed.

Taking Jim's TC chassis 7344 this makes his car about the 7092 TC off the
production line. His body number is 7116 which is 24 different or if TCs also
started at 100 would make it 76 different. Not particularly close but close
enough?

Unfortunately Anders doesn't say anything extra about TC bodies. He says lots
about TBs which is why I like him!!! He does make the general statement that
there are no official records tying body serial numbers to chassis.

Remember bodies were supplied by the Morris Motors Bodies Branch in Coventry
though the bulkhead was supplied by Abingdon. So there is no reason to
suppose the A in some batch numbers means Abingdon though it may have
signified that if the A stood for the destination of the body. (incidentally
Anders says this is why TAs and TBs had black bulkheads whatever the body
colour).

Mike Marjot