Trying to find the original owner

[Efourie]

Hi,

I recently became the owner of an MG TC (TC8294, XPAG7236) and was hoping to find out more information about the car including the original owner (I’m owner 4 and have the names of owners 2-4 but missing the original). It also has a 30mph light, so I'm thinking it was originally a UK model however it seems to have been on some journey with owner 2 buying the car in the US and owner 3 importing it to Australia. I would also love to know if it was a UK model and then imported to the US or if it was always a US model and during one of the two rebuilds (1990 & 2011) it has been swapped to a 30mph from a second map light.

Thanks very much

[Steve Simmons]

Welcome! Without an original UK plate number it will be tough. If you had that, you could contact the county it was originally registered in to see if they have any info. If it was sold new in the US, I'd say you're out of luck since the records will be long gone, and even if they weren't the DMV wouldn't share it with you.

I searched the TC Motoring Guild records and found one entry on the car from about 15 years ago. The entry states that it was a two owner car at the time. The second owner had it for 30 years. The car was restored around 1990 and in good condition, but needing tires and carpet plus some tuning. It was sold on eBay in April 2011 for $19,710.

[Duncan M]

TC8294 was not originally an EXport to the USA (EXU). There are accurate lists of the EXU cars, and this one is not one of them. TC8294 was built on March 28, 1949 and came with XPAG #7326

[Steve Simmons]

Although, non-EXU cars were imported and sold here.

[Duncan M]

This article--
https://www.corvettemuseum.org/mg-tc-an ... 0privately.

gives the number of MG exported new TC's as 2,000 units, with an additional 1,500 exported by other means. Of those 3,500 the article does not mention that only 494? TC's were actual EXU cars. My understanding is all the other ones imported to the US as new cars were standard home market cars with all the features one would find on cars being sold in Britain. Of course there were many used TC's exported to the US before 1950, also.

Many of the EXU cars were "fixed" by "expert" restorers early on who restored them to Home Market configuration. You still see EXU's pop up for sale with various or numerous EXU items missing.

[Steve Simmons]

Sounds right to me.

[Efourie]

Thanks Steven and Duncan, truly appreciate it. Will read through these articles now. It's a real shame all the records seem to have gone missing or been deleted, as everything from owner 2- is so intact.