Body and door fittings cover the functional hardware that secures, seals, and operates the body panels and doors. TD and TF doors share the same fundamental construction, two hinges per door, upper and lower, each handed, an exterior chrome pull handle, an internal door lock with chrome cover, a catch plate on the body, and a check arm. Door hinges were always painted body colour, and the door sills should be plain, without the model lettering found on some later MGs.
Hinges, Handles, Locks & Catches
Each door has an upper and a lower hinge with separate handing for left and right, four per car total, and a complete door fittings screw set covers hinges, handles, locks, and strikers across both doors. Hinges worn at the pin allow the door to drop and misalign with the body aperture, a dropped door being one of the most visible signs of attention required, and one that can also prevent sidescreens sealing correctly. Each door has an exterior chrome pull handle with body gasket, and the door lock is handed with a chrome cover, with mounting plates and shims allowing the lock to be fettled to the catch plate position, the catch plate itself being a separate handed assembly. A door check arm limits opening travel, and four rubber door buffers cushion the door against the bodywork when fully open, catalogued individually and as a four-buffer set.
Sidescreens, Splash Aprons & Running Boards
Sidescreens locate to the doors at four points per car, with sockets at the front mounting and stud plates at the rear, securing via wing nuts on the stud plate threads, with a triangular backing plate behind the door trim panel providing the structural mounting point. The splash aprons fit between the chassis and the body, sealing the body to the chassis and protecting the cabin from road spray, the TD having both front and rear splash aprons while the TF retains only the rear apron, the TF body's revised design having absorbed the function of the front apron into the bodywork itself. Running boards are bolted between front and rear wings with pads sealing the joints, and each carries chrome tread strips, six per car on both models but with different patterns, both sets using the same stud plates, washers, and nuts, with a threshold plate set inscribed "The MG Car Co Ltd" finishing the running board's inner edge.
Wing Piping & Period Accessories
Rubber piping seals the joints between wings and body, wings and running boards, and at the rear of the bonnet where it meets the scuttle, supplied as a complete car set in 9-yard lengths in seven colours, black, red, British Racing Green, Apple Green, Suede Green, beige, and tan, to match body colour or specify a contrasting period scheme, the TF rear wing having a flare at the front to join the running board, sealed with the same piping. A range of period-style external badges and accessories is available to dress the body, including a chrome armrest set fitting to the door tops, Union Flag enamel badges, chequered flag self-adhesive badges, and GB letter sets in chrome or stainless steel. Door hardware is largely shared between TD and TF, the same hinges, locks, catches, and exterior handles, while splash aprons differ, the running board tread strip sets are model-specific, and wing piping colour is customer choice.