The latest episode of Jay Leno's Garage is all about hot rods, but this isn't the usual '57 Chevrolet or '32 Ford. Instead, Jay has a pan-Atlantic speedster with a 1952 MG TD body mated with a stroked, fuel-injected V8. As he describes it, this droptop makes in the neighborhood of 48 horsepower when stock, but the new mill takes that to around 340 horsepower at the rear wheels, according to the dyno sheets – that's a healthy upgrade by any measure. Also, the looks could almost pass for stock until someone notices the massive rear tires sticking out past the fenders.
In addition to just talking about the car, Leno invites the original owner and builder to come on. The guy found the MG languishing in some bushes in 1970 without an engine or transmission and bought it on the spot. He built himself quite the hot rod and saved all of the documentation about the process.
Of course, part of the spirit of hot rodding is continuously making a vehicle better, and Jay's latest project with this MG is installing disc brakes up front. He went to the guys at Wilwood to figure actually out how to do it, and the result was an interesting segment on how to do these conversions. Check out the video above for a snarling V8 partially hidden in the body of a vintage MG.
In addition to just talking about the car, Leno invites the original owner and builder to come on. The guy found the MG languishing in some bushes in 1970 without an engine or transmission and bought it on the spot. He built himself quite the hot rod and saved all of the documentation about the process.
Of course, part of the spirit of hot rodding is continuously making a vehicle better, and Jay's latest project with this MG is installing disc brakes up front. He went to the guys at Wilwood to figure actually out how to do it, and the result was an interesting segment on how to do these conversions. Check out the video above for a snarling V8 partially hidden in the body of a vintage MG.
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