The TD was the first MG T-series with standard bumpers, the TC having relied on a slab fuel tank and spare wheel. Both front and rear bumpers are chrome-plated steel blades on spring bars and brackets, with overriders for point-loading protection, and the fundamental architecture is shared between TD and TF, the principal difference being the rear blade, redesigned for the TF's deeper valance and relocated number plate.
Front & Rear Bumpers
The front bumper specification is shared between TD and TF, the chrome blade mounting to a spring bar via packing pieces, with the spring bar mounted to the chassis via two brackets secured by handed bolts, with distance tubes maintaining bracket-to-chassis spacing and two front overriders bolted to the blade, each seating through two seals. The rear bumper architecture mirrors the front but with model-specific blades, the TD and TF rear blades differing to suit the different rear-end styling, the TD using fewer packing pieces and bolts to the spring bar than the TF, with the same overriders and seals used at the rear and a separate rear spring bar with its own brackets and distance tubes. Overrider nuts can be supplied in BSF original or UNF modern-replacement threading depending on the car. The TD Mark II has a Mark II medallion on the rear bumper supplied with a plinth and sleeve nuts, the same medallions appearing on each bonnet side, TD-Mark-II-specific and not fitted to standard TDs or to the TF.
Number Plate Supports
A black-finished front number plate support is shared between the TD and TF, mounted on a pair of brackets. On the TD, the rear number plate mounts directly to the rear spare wheel carrier, a distinctive TD arrangement with the spare on a chrome carrier above the rear bumper, the plate-to-carrier bracket being handed for RHD and LHD, with a bracket carrying the number plate lamp above the plate. On the TF, the number plate mounts on an oblong support centrally above the rear bumper with the lamp above, fundamentally different from the TD, the support secured to the body and cushioned by rubber washers, with TF cars for the USA using a different support to suit the larger American plates. Corrosion-resistant stainless steel number plate supports are available as a pair for owners building for durability rather than originality.
Badge Bar & Restoration
A chrome badge bar was an original optional extra, mounting across the front for motoring and club badges, with badge bar clips available in chrome or stainless steel, and it remains a popular period addition. Chrome bumpers and overriders are often the most damaged items on cars used in traffic, with dents, pitting, and flaking chrome common after decades, so brackets should be inspected for distortion and corrosion as a bent bracket holds the bumper at the wrong angle, and rubber overrider seals deteriorate with age and should be renewed during any restoration. The front bumper blade, spring bar, brackets, and overriders are common to TD and TF, with the rear blade the principal model-specific item, not interchangeable between the two, and the rear number plate mounting fundamentally different, TD owners needing handed spare-wheel-carrier brackets and TF owners the body-mounted support.