Cherished News

Pete Barrett MG Car Club Insurance Manager Cherished.vehicle@aplan.co.uk

Welcome to this month’s Cherished News. We hope you are all staying safe and well. The good news is that the scheme is proving to be very popular, and we have been extremely busy. We are a relatively small team and if you do call for a quote, please bear with us as we really want to talk to you. For those of you that have called and had to wait for a call back, thank you for your patience.

Agreed values.

One of the benefits of the new scheme is that we can arrange agreed value for your vehicle at no additional cost. This means that if your vehicle is written off the insurers will pay the value that has been agreed minus your excess. This ensures that you will get the value of your vehicle back and the value will not be subject to debate at the time of a claim. To arrange this we just need six colour photographs of your car when we arrange cover. The shots we need are of the front, back, both sides the interior and engine bay. Please email these to cherished.vehicle@aplan. co.uk stating your policy number. Please allow 21 days for agreed value to be applied.

Emma The TF Update

Emma my TF160 continues to fight me! Shortly after I had changed the exhaust, the passenger door handle decided to snap off and the rear screen split! The hard top went back on after this but X-Power grey door handles seem to be a rarity at the moment, so I purchased a nice chrome set. The passenger one was relatively easy to fit but I haven’t got around to the driver’s side yet. My fuel consumption has not improved since fitting the TT Mk7 exhaust and panel filter.. I am really enjoying the noise it makes at higher revs although it is nice and sedate below 2000 rpm so it doesn’t annoy the neighbours. On that note, if you do modify your car, please let your insurers know as this could invalidate your policy. The MGCC insurance scheme will consider most modifications except nitrous oxide, so if you do change your car from the original specification let the team know! With a bit of luck, the team will be at the MGF25 meeting at Gaydon along with Emma so please pop along and say hello.

The team and I look forward to talking to the members as their policies come up. Please give us a call when they are due.

The Benefits of the policy include: • Free and simple Agreed Value service - Completed in house by our specialists • Member to member cover • Reinstatement cover available • Salvage Retention – Subject to qualifying Criteria • Modification cover • 90 Days European Cover – included as standard • Multi Vehicle Cover - we can look to put all your vehicles, even non-MGs, on the same policy • Laid Up Cover – if it’s not on the road it can still be insured • Spare parts cover – up to £1,000 cover for your spares • Occasional Wedding Hire - can be arranged on application • Business Use – can be arranged on application • Limited Mileage discounts • Young Accompanied Driver cover from age 18 • Track day Cover- can be arranged on application

This is administered as part of the A-Plan Holdings who have a whole panel of insurers and can give you independent advice for your Private Car, Buildings and Contents, Commercial, HGV, Life and Travel Insurance. Please note that the MG Insurance scheme powered by Cherished Vehicle insurance uses one insurance provider only, KGM Underwriting Services who we have selected due to their experience in the classic car market.

Please note there is a promotion specifically designed to reduce MGCC members’ Home Insurance. This gives a £25 discount off the standard administration charge for new policies if you are an existing MGCC member. Just call 01905 930747 and let the team know you are a MGCC member.

And that is it for this month! If you’d like any more information on any of the above, feel free to give any of us a call here at Cherished Vehicle Insurance on 0345 2508282 - we’d all really love to hear from you.

MG Car Club Limited is an Introducer Appointed Representative of A-Plan Holdings. The MG Classic Car Insurance Scheme is managed and administered by A-Plan Holdings Ltd. Cherished Vehicle Insurance Services is a trading name of A-Plan Holdings who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

ONCE AGAIN –

The MG Midget was announced in June 1961. To celebrate the 60th anniversary, this article heralding the exciting new MG Midget was printed in the July 1961 issue of Safety Fast!

Well, here it is! After a lapse of more than six years, the MG Car Company is once again manufacturing a sports car bearing the famous type-name, ‘Midget’. Once again there is an MG that is just right for the younger enthusiast – inexpensive, compact in dimensions, but offering better performance than ever before.

It was with the Midget series that the MG Car Company really made its name, and, whatever other models were marketed, a Midget was always included in the range from 1929 to 1955. The first was the famous M type, with its 847cc engine, three-speed gearbox, and maximum speed of some 62mph. The last was the TF 1500, with 1466cc power unit and maximum of close on 85mph. The Midget had grown up, its engine capacity almost doubled, and

the TF was succeeded by the faster, sleeker and more comfortable ‘MGA’ range.

It is, in fact, exactly 25 years since the last Midget of under one litre capacity; the well-loved PB which ceased production in 1936. That is perhaps the most significant feature of the latest Midget – that it really is a small car, measuring not much more than 11ft overall.

But it is also a real sports car, for the small dimensions have not been achieved at the cost of poor performance.

The new model is actually the fastest unsupercharged MG Midget ever produced. The top speed probably 10mph higher than that of the last one-litre Midget, and it is even higher than that of the TF 1500, although the engine is less than two-thirds the capacity. Early tests indicate that the MG Midget of 1961 will have a maximum speed of more than 85mph in production form.

The 948cc engine gives a gross power output of 49.8bhp at 5,500rpm, and is a development of the unit used in the BMC record car, EX219, designed by Sydney Enever of the MG Car Company.

This car, it will be remembered, established new International Class G records at speeds of up to 147mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats in the late summer of 1959, and averaged 138.75mph for 12 hours.

The gearbox, too, has a competition background. It is a close-ratio type, developed as the result of experience gained by the BMC Competitions Department in sporting events of all types, and the ratios are therefore ideally suited to the engine. Maximum speeds in the gears, without excessive rpm, should be at least 25mph in first, 45mph in second and 65mph in third.

The two-seater body, also engineered at Abingdon, sets a new standard in the shape of small sports cars, while the comfort of driver and passenger has been studied to an extent undreamed of in the days of earlier Midgets. The bucket seats are individually adjustable, and behind them is space for additional luggage or an occasional small passenger.

The side screens are sturdily made with sliding Perspex panels and polished aluminium frames, and the neat hood stows completely out of sight in the luggage boot, which is of ample size and provided with a separate, lockable lid. It goes without saying that the driving position is just right, while the instruments (speedometer, tachometer, fuel gauge, oil pressure and water temperature gauges) are easily read and provide all the information that the driver is likely to require.

Safety belt anchorages, three to each side, are incorporated in the body during manufacture, and safety belts of the correct type may be obtained through BMC Service Ltd. A particularly handsome hardtop has been designed and will be available as an optional extra. When the MGA series commenced six years ago, it was not without regret that we bade farewell to the Midget. Now, however, we have the best of both worlds with a choice of two open twoseater MGs: the MGA with a new and much more powerful engine of 1622cc capacity, and the nimble little Midget – fast, economical, and ideal for the

younger man.

SPECIFICATION

Engine: Four-cylinder ohv with chain-driven camshaft. Three-bearing counterbalanced crankshaft. Aluminium flat-topped pistons with clamp-type gudgeon pin. Bore, 62.9mm (2.478in). Stroke, 76.2mm (3in). Cubic capacity, 948cc (57.87 cu. in.). Compression ratio, 9:1. Gross bhp, 49.8 at 5,500rpm. Maximum torque, 52.5 Ib. ft. at 2,750rpm. Lubrication: Camshaft-driven concentric mechanical pump and full-flow external filter with replaceable element. Sump capacity, 6 pints (3.41 litres). Filter capacity, one pint (0.57 litre). Cooling: Pressurised radiator with centrifugal pump and fan. Thermostatically controlled circulation. Capacity, approx 10 pints (5.7 litres). Ignition: Lucas 12v coil ignition and distributor with automatic centrifugal and vacuum advance control. Fuel system: Twin S.U. type H.S.2 (1 1/4in.) semi-down-draught carburettors with paper element type air-cleaners. Camshaft-driven mechanical fuel pump. Fuel tank capacity, six gallons (27.28 litres). Chassis: Frame welded integrally with body. Transmission: Single dry-plate clutch, hydraulically operated. Four-speed gearbox with synchromesh on second third and top speeds; ratios 3.2, 1.916, 1.357 and 1:1 (reverse 4.114:1). Remote gear lever, centrally mounted. Gearbox oil capacity, 2 1/3 pints (1.33 litres). Open propeller shaft with needle-roller universal joints; sliding splines at gearbox end. Three-quarter floating rear axle with hypoid bevel final drive, ratio 9/38 (4.22:1). Axle oil capacity, 1 3/4 pints (one litre). Suspension: Independent front by coil springs and wish-bones. Quarter-elliptic leaf springs at rear. Hydraulic shock absorbers front and rear. Steering: Rack and pinion 2 1/3 turns lock to lock. Two spoke steering wheel. Brakes: Lockheed hydraulic with 7in drums, two leading shoes on front. Pullup handbrake operating on rear wheels through compensator. Lining width, 1 1/4in (31.8mm). Wheels and tyres: Pressed steel ventilated disc type wheels with tubeless four-ply 520 X 13in tyres. Electrical: 12v dynamo and starter motor. Compensated voltage control. Battery, 38 amp. hour capacity. Seven-inch dia. headlamps with foot-operated switch to double dippers. Combined side and flasher lamps. Combined stop/tail lamps with flashers and reflectors. Fascia warning lamps. Twin windscreen wipers. Single wind horn. Instruments: Speedometer with trip and total mileage recorder. Fuel gauge. Combined oil pressure and water temperature gauges. Tachometer (standard equipment). Bodywork: Two-door two-seater with space for occasional seats or luggage at rear of seats. All-steel monocoque construction integral with chassis frame and floor. Rear hinged bonnet top with lock controlled from inside car. Separate luggage boot with hinged, lockable lid. Curved, toughened glass windscreen with polished aluminium frame. Interior trim in vinyl-treated fabric with fitted carpet in rear compartment. Foam rubber cushions on seats with rubberised hair squabs. Both seats adjustable fore and aft. Rubber mats on floor. Open stowage pockets on doors. Vinyl treated fabric hood which, with hood-sticks and sliding sidescreens, can be stowed in luggage boot (special bags provided). Dimensions: Wheelbase, 6ft 8in (2.03 metres). Front track, 3ft 9 3/4in (1.16 metres). Rear track 3ft 8 3/4in (1.14 metres). Overall length (with bumpers), 11ft 4in (3.45 metres). Overall width, 4ft 5in (1.35 metres). Overall height (hood raised), 4ft 1 3/4 in (1.26 metres). Overall height (hood lowered), 3ft 7in. (1.09 metres). Minimum ground clearance, 5in (0.13 metres). Weight approx 12cwt (609.6kg).

FOR THE LOVE OF CARS

by Jake Wootton

he love of cars started early

Tfor me. I used to travel with my Dad, Uncle and Grandad around the race tracks in the UK with a succession of modified road cars from when I was seven or eight years of age. They would find a patch of grass and allow me to drive in a straight line to get me used to changing the gears, even though I could barely see out of the windscreen. I could not wait to pass my test and managed it within four months of turning 17!

My Grandad on the other side of the family is also a petrolhead and has owned old motorcycles and rebuilt cars all of his life, so I think it must be in the blood. He currently owns an MGB and this may partly be the reason that this MG Midget caught my eye!

I am a 19-year-old apprentice Vehicle Engineer. I realised early on that working on classic and performance cars was for me, so I applied for work experience with Aldon Automotive and after working there for a week I was hooked. I kept turning up at their premises in Brierley Hill until the owner, Alan, eventually took me on as their apprentice. I now get to work every day with some of the best in the business, and some of the most beautiful machines in the UK. I also had the opportunity to travel to Spa in Belgium and support the team mechanics on a Sebring Sprite at the international classic event. Spa was an amazing opportunity to work alongside other teams on some unique classic racing cars, but just going in to work in the morning to see what will come through the door next means I am living my best life every day!

That said, I always had the thoughts that I would do things a little differently if it was my own car in the workshop. I have admired many of the modified cars that are brought to Aldon and have always enjoyed working on the lovely, restored Midgets and Sprites, both race and road cars. But the thoughts got the better of me, and with that in mind I felt as though I should take a chance to build one just the way I like it, but on a budget. I spotted this one in December 2019 for £1,000 as a standard 1976 car and thought I could put my ideas into action in my spare time.

As it turned out, 2020 was about to throw a lot of spare time at me! So this little MG became my furlough project. I kept my usual working routine and got up at 7.30 every morning, into the garage by 8.00 and managed to work on it daily from April to get it looking how it does today!

After getting what I thought was a solid car home, I realised it needed a lot more work than first thought! Inevitably, once I started working on any part of the car it led to a dozen jobs I hadn’t planned for. I realised that most of the front end was too far gone (this may have been because it had spent some time three feet underwater). So I called upon my mentors and the 100-plus years of combined working experience on high-performance cars and asked the lads at work! Andy, who formerly owned Archers garage, suggested I start with a one-piece front end which worked a treat and saved a lot of welding work.

Further project work included installing an electronic ignition system, refreshing the engine and creating a fully reworked bespoke water system, which was essential as I had to cut off the front chassis legs when replacing the front end. This still utilises the original manifold to run a bleed back up to the expansion tank that is attached to an aluminium radiator for extra cooling. I then added a 10 row oil cooler which successfully keeps the temperature down.

The heater has been removed and replaced with a bespoke laser-cut piece of aluminium and a lithium-ion battery along with the expansion tank – I wanted to try this as I haven’t seen it done on any other MGs. I also decided to fit an earlier frogeye-style front wiring loom that I managed to get hold of and I think it tidies the engine bay up nicely.

I then rebuilt the original set of 1 1/2” SUs with some 3” ram pipes (that make it sound fantastic). I removed the rear back boxes and converted it to a 1275cc exhaust system. I smoothed the bulkhead to get a cleaner look to go with the raceinspired one-piece front end. I did away with washer bottles, heater cowling, filter boxes and other bits, which meant the engine bay was nothing but the raw engine which looks great in my opinion.

I then lowered the suspension all round, which was needed after removing the 200kg of bumpers, front end and interior. The setup I went with was 500lb 7

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Telephone 01206 Fax 01206 500180

We reserve the right to charge for any alteration to this proof which is a departure from the original copy Engine bay now complete, brakes and suspension all assembled. Doors furniture and interior next !!

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1/4” springs on the front, along with 3/4” lowering spacers and 1275 rear springs with lowering blocks on the back, as well as an 11/16 anti-roll bar so the car handles really well. I then added new brakes and a tandem master cylinder to make it more reliable on the road.

One of the 21st-century modifications I have made to the car was the method I used to smooth the back end after removing the heavy rubber bumpers. Some very in-depth measurements were taken of either side from the light to the rear bodywork and I worked out a way to improve the look of the car after removing the bumper. This was done by 3D printing the shape and mounting it to the car. Luckily I have a family member who is very useful with CAD and was happy to help (for which I thank him!). They turned out perfectly, and after some work mounting them to the car and a few layers of P38 and P40 filler, it was finished off with a beautiful layer of Ford Colorado Red. Apologies to the purists, but the colour worked so well on the test patch that I had to have it! 3D printing didn’t stop there, as a switch panel also became a concept. Don’t dismiss modern tech on an old beauty, it’s a full-on enhancement I think and a lot less fabrication and welding costs.

I finally finished the car off with a set of 13” anthracite Minilite-style wheels and a custom set of handmade headrests to match the seats fixed to an MSA roll bar.

Early use led to the phone call home to be rescued after the head gasket blew. I replaced it and reworked the head with new valves and it ran well, but it set a new thought going: what could I do to increase power and stabilise reliability? Winter was approaching and it felt more exciting to plan phase two than just mothball my new best friend for months with blankets, trickle chargers and humidity devices – she deserved more than that, and a plan to try a hill climb at Shelsley Walsh through the MAC (Midlands Automobile Club) in 2021 was hatched.

I was more than happy with how the standard 1500 was running, but not many people seem to modify the 1500 and the 1275 tends to be the power plant that gets more attention in the performance scene, so I spent some time researching best options and stripped the engine to component form in my garage.

This research led to many decisions on how to tackle the re-build, and the long, cold evenings and weekends started.

A TH2 cam shaft with a 25006500rpm power band was the first addition, closely followed by a big valve kit, bronze guides and the necessary unleaded inserts. I ported and polished the head and manifold (and that is a far more time-consuming affair than most people give credit for) and after all this effort, I now had better fuel/air flow. Next job was to look at getting rid of waste just as quickly, so a four-branch maniflow downpipe was added and modified to join in with the already re-routed exhaust I mentioned earlier. The head was skimmed to match the previously rebored block, giving a new 10:1 compression ratio under test. I have not yet managed to get the power run on the rolling road done – that is planned for the spring before the hill climb – but previously the 1500cc engine had 65bhp at the flywheel but losing 20bhp drag through the very tired clutch and some hydraulic issues. I am pretty sure this will be a distant memory as a starting benchmark now, since the clutch has been replaced and I know the drive already feels much more positive and responsive.

Another task for the engine was to drop some excess weight, so I decided to machine an aluminium rear cover (as I could not find one available on the internet) so I worked with Midtherm’s cutting department and had ten made (as I was sure somebody else would want them if I did) and the front cover was also replaced with an aluminium version. This was an available aftermarket performance option for the Spitfire and I liked how it looked. The distributor pedestal, alternator bracket and water pump were all swapped to alloy – a total 15kg in discarded weight was saved all in, and it looks very nice too! Dropping weight in terminology means the obvious had to be done as part of the plan so I balanced and lightened the crank and flywheel. It’s ounces in real terms, but just feels good to smooth the running at high revs.

A point to note in case you think I was very brave to attempt all of this work from a virgin start: this is my second Classic, my first was a 1981 VW Jetta purchased when I was 17. Getting used to a lack of power steering, assisted brakes and driving it to work every day in the winter with no heater was tough, but it started my love of Classic cars early. It was an emotional connection to the simple nature of no-frills, all-thrills motoring. So the repairing and modifying and getting used to carrying a tool kit wherever I went for that inevitable tweak at the side of the road is not a new journey.

I would like to mention some of the businesses who saw a 19 year old wander in asking for help on a tight budget and went out of their way: Fix Auto UK for the paintwork, Midtherm for the powder coating and alloy machining, my cousin who has spent hours of his time developing a multitude of 3D parts that he’s printed and we now use on other classic cars that come through the workshop, and obviously Alan, Andy and Roger at Aldon Automotive who help me out and answer a never-ending list of questions – they were and still are always on hand with advice!

Photography courtesy of info@cedar-media.com

A MIDGET INTERVIEW WITH DON HAYTER

In 2001 to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the MG Midget, Graham Springthorpe and Dennis Wharf sat down and interviewed the great Don Hayter who was so instrumental at MG during his life.

Don started at Abingdon in 1956 after completing his apprenticeship at Pressed Steel where he worked on many motorcar and aerospace projects. The Gloster Meteor,

Supermarine Attacker and Vickers

Wellington all benefited from Don’s input, as did the Hillman Minx and Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud, along with many other car designs, whose manufacturers used Pressed Steel. During his time with MG he rose to the position of Chief Design and Development Engineer before retiring when the factory closed in 1980. He was intimately involved with the Midget throughout its production life and offers a rare insight into its development, and problems that were encountered along the way.

“Don, many thanks for allowing us to record some of your reminiscences for the Midget Register. To start, how did Abingdon feel about having to produce a car that had not been designed there?”

It’s hard to say really, a job was a job to the factory. We operated not on a budget of our own but on an imposed budget, in terms of what we could spend

A quarter scale wooden model, used in the development of the new MG Midget, photographed in the Design office at Abingdon. and how that related to other parts of the organisation. Because we were so dependent on other departments for axles, body bits and things like that, we always had to decide how we would affect the organisation as a whole. On top of that, of course, there was the engines branch and axle/transmissions who designed their parts for use at Austin and Morris and then adapted them so we could get the best from them at Abingdon.

The production programme for the 1500 MGA which began in 1954 was just finishing, and the 1600 model was about to start production, so the line did see-saw a bit with some spare capacity. At the time, our Z type Magnette was still running, as was the Pathfinder, although at quite a low volume. We had finished the RME/RMF although some were still running around the factory, as were TFs also. When Lord and Healey agreed upon the Sprite I presume they looked around the organisation and decided to build the new car at Longbridge. Now, what happened at Longbridge to change this decision I don’t know, but it was political, and having decided that Longbridge hadn’t got the room – they would have been looking at the forthcoming new Mini, and I guess the A40 at that time – they reassessed the situation and Abingdon with its spare capacity (we only had three lines with room for more) got the job; it was just imposed on us.

It came down as a fully engineered and, allegedly, tested motorcar, so we began by laying out a production line and some stores space. The drawing office obtained all the drawings from Arthur Vale and his team to take control of the modifications and we started testing some of the first cars to see if they met our standards. Alec Houndslow got hold of a few of the first cars to be built and had them out on the road immediately. Warwick said they had been tested, but all they could have done was to have driven the two prototypes down the road a bit and possibly around the circuit at MIRA, although I don’t know even if they did that! We had our own programme which involved 500 miles fully loaded on the pave, so we loaded the thing up

with a full fuel tank and luggage rack on the back, which it hadn’t had before, with 45lbs of luggage and hammered it around the pave, and very soon it started breaking up. The back end was dropping. At this time I was working at Coventry on the replacement for the MGA and I was given one of the first Sprites, a green one I think, to use as my daily transport from Abingdon to Coventry, simply to get some mileage on it. I was taking this thing up there every day and within ten days a crease appeared along the sloping rear door line, and the rear wheel opening line. The whole back had started to drop and crack. I was deliberately running with a full tank most of the time, plus some things in the boot to provide a load. The problem was being caused due to the quarter elliptic rear suspension being attached to the rear bulkhead, which was taking all the stresses. To overcome this we upgraded the bulkhead thickness, produced tauter sills, and incorporated upper torque reaction arms. However, by this time we were producing cars quite nicely down the line, so a big panic ensued and we stopped production.

That’s the only time the Abingdon production lines ever went backwards. All the cars had to be taken out of the compound, put back on the line and everything taken off in the reverse order to which it had been put on. Carpet and things like that had by this time been stuck on and all this, too, had to be removed. Syd and Alec devised an add-on system to stiffen all around the back and so the first 200 or more cars had 16 gauge welded around the spring hangars and the back end of the car. Then we modified the designs. Finally it passed our tests.

Then Healey came down with a modification for long front wings. The car was designed with pop-up headlights to begin with, but these were never fitted due to production costs and problems with reliability of the pop-up system. Originally, Healey envisaged the car with its new front end mated to the original back, but Syd didn’t like that idea because of the access to the boot and said it needed a proper boot lid, so he had a new rear end designed. It happened that Dennis Williams was given this job about the same time that I had completed the design for the MGB, so Dennis just took my lines, scaled them down for the Sprite and that was where the Mk2 Sprite came from. Syd also said that this would make a marvellous MkI Midget, sold his idea to the management and we had another MG. Later we decided to get rid of the quarter elliptic suspension and its bending problems, consequently we extended the rear side member all the way through to fit the half elliptic springs, and out of that grew the MkII Midget and MkIII Sprite.

“Healey in his book said that he designed the front and Abingdon were tasked with designing the rear – that must have caused some headaches?”

It wasn’t quite that simple. Syd was involved in the negotiations at the time and I don’t think he got on all that well with Healey, who was a bit autocratic and thought it should be his design, but Syd wasn’t going to produce anything at Abingdon as an MG that he wasn’t happy with.

“There was also talk of a much faster Sprite around this time, a Super Sprite I think?”

That’s right. At this time Bryan and Geoff Healey produced the Super Sprite after playing with the Sebring Sprite. The Super Sprite, with its tuned A Series engine, was quite a rapid car and I had a red one for a while, the first one with a diaphragm clutch. I went on holiday to Cornwall with my wife; hurling it up and down the hills

Running adjustments being made to a Midget on road test

Midget having fun at Longbridge in 1962 competing in an MGCC InterCentre Driving Test.

was great fun, but we only just made it back to Abingdon because the clutch was slipping so badly and it barely made it over the railway bridge back into the village. You put your foot down and the revs went up but the car hardly moved! I think that was responsible for the uprating of the diaphragm clutch on A Series engines.

The Midget and Sprite then trundled along in parallel very happily for quite a while; it was really just a case of badge engineering.

“Was there ever any favouritism towards the MG in the factory?”

I don’t remember any problem in the factory, they were just motor cars; we were building ours and the other one for Austin Healey which of course is where it came from originally. There were people coming in, like Sprinzel, to do competition work and wanting to do it in either an MG or Healey, but that only meant doing a frontend job and tuning the engine; all the other stuff, axle and gearbox, etc, was common.

“Was there any real difference between the production cost of the two cars?”

No, nothing really, the Midget probably cost around £40 more.

“And yet the Midget always outsold the Sprite?”

Yes, it did. We had built a market over in the States with our distributor network. AH tried to go in the States but never matched our sales and the Midget volume went up quicker.

“Of course, the MG name went back much further than that of Austin Healey, they only started in 1949?”

Yes, that’s right. The other time we got involved with Healey was when they changed the BN4 to the BN6 and put in the six-cylinder engine. This was built at Abingdon, so we had two Healey lines running simultaneously for a while.

“Once the Midget was underway, did the changes to engine size, comfort, etc, come from dealer pressure or rather the design department?”

That’s a natural development that responds to pressure from outside, because you have to have something different and better to sell, and also to internal pressures which determine what resources are available to you. For instance, all the A Series engines were built up at Longbridge, so we had to have something that was compatible with what they wanted to produce. Now we always had twin carburettors to get more power, whereas the saloons only had one. We also had a special camshaft, things like that. We did a lot of development on our own testbeds, but there was a lot going on at Engines Branch on the Austin testbeds as well. Syd was always rushing about to find what we could get out of the group, and how many bits we could change without messing up anybody else’s

“When work on the Jacobs Midgets was completed, was there any consideration to make a Midget Coupe?”

They wanted the cars to go into a particular class to compete with the Alfas, and it’s obvious if you build a car like that, it might be a production proposition. We had also built the Sebring Sprites but I don’t remember Donald Healey coming down to the factory saying we should put it into production. Certainly, once they were finished we thought that’s a nicelooking little car, but the problems arose in how to manufacture it. We had grafted the alloy roofs on with Araldite and rivets, which wasn’t an economic production proposition. If we had built the car in steel it would have been much heavier and not offered the right levels of performance. It was a shame because they were cracking little cars, much prettier than any of the competition, and maybe even the BGT.

production. We had a market on the Continent as well, so we had to keep an eye on what the opposition were doing. There weren’t too many small sports car manufacturers at the time, Fiat and Alfa being the main opposition. There was always something going on at the motor shows, which were much more important then, particularly for the styling exercises. At Abingdon, operating on a minimum budget, we didn’t have money for any styling exercises. In fact, we never had a styling department, we were it!

“When the 1275 came along, was Abingdon unhappy it didn’t get the Cooper S engine?”

Well, I think Syd was. He wanted the big valves and more performance. Our engine didn’t have the more expensive nitrided crank and was a detuned version which was cheaper. There has been some suggestion that it was done to distance the Midget from the Cooper S, but Sales and Marketing was firmly in Longbridge by then, so we weren’t aware of the planning process or any discussions around volumes, market share and product positioning, but I don’t think the two cars would have been in competition anyway, one being a sports car and the other a saloon. More likely, a faster Midget would have threatened the B!

“You mentioned the back end came under scrutiny again in safety testing?”

Yes, in 1968 or 69 the NHTSA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations, were being introduced. First there was the emissions testing, which necessitated the air pumps on the engine. Then there was the low speed crash testing, later came the full impact barrier and pendulum testing. Finally, in 1974 we had to fit the rubber bumpers. I was very much involved in all that testing. When doing the pendulum test you swung a big block of steel with a reproduction American Bumper on the front of it. It had to swing it into your car so it arrived at 5 mph, and between 16 and 20 inches above the ground, because that was the height of the average American car. Of

A Dick Jacobs Midget

course, with a European small car at 20 inches it went straight over the bumper and kept going! You had to have a reasonable overlap for it to work at all, so that dictated the width and the height of the bumper. If you put a bumper up at that height it blocked off the radiator, but worse, it was out of line with the frame so you were into an enormous triangulation problem. If you look at the B, you can see a rising bit on the front member, so the easiest way to get around it was to raise the car. On impact testing you just pushed the car backwards, but any impact while allowing minimal body damage was required to leave the car functioning safely. With our small cars compared to their great big tanks it gave us enormous problems. You also had to run the cars into the barrier at 30 mph and still be able to open the doors. You have to make sure that there is enough crumple in the car using every inch of the design before the doors, to absorb the energy. On the Midget and the B we made sure the first bit of body is the softest, that’s the bumper, then it meets up with the engine which starts to move, but only minimally, because it has lots of inertia. The idea is to design the car so that after the bits in front of the engine have been crushed you hit the tyre, which is a marvellous shock absorber. If the back of the tyre hits the sill the energy is absorbed and the car is kicked backwards. We did manage to comply OK, we could always open our doors.

“Didn’t the US regulations cause the return to the square rear wheel arch as well?”

Well, that’s another story. We didn’t want to alter the wheel arch in the first place, but as I said earlier we were part of a much bigger organisation which included Pressed Steel, who supplied our bodies. They had a chief engineer called Ken Osborne who decided the Midget would look much better with a round wheel arch and everybody there agreed. We didn’t like it, but on normal roads it was OK. When it came to the rear impact testing, however, it didn’t have a chance. The impact ruptured the fuel tank so the square rear wheel arch was reintroduced but with a heavier panel as well. It’s only half a gauge up but it was stiffer and got us through the test.

Press photo of Midget with MG1, which was owned by Don for a while

Crash Testing at Abingdon, 1979

“Were there any other problems with the later much-modified model?”

Oh yes. One of the other jobs I acquired when I became chief engineer was to redesign the Midget to accept the 1500 engine when that was imposed upon us. The Spitfire and the Midget were within about 50lbs of each other at normal running weight, and if you used all the information on your submission for emissions on a weight class, we could get both cars through on the same approval at the same time – halving the work. That was what gave us the Spitfire engine. I was given a pile of engines and told to put them in a car. I said yes, ok, but I didn’t like them very much and when we started testing we liked them even less. At MIRA they started running their bottom ends. Alec stripped out the engines, and I asked why when we were only running at the same speeds as the Spitfire, did we have such problems. To which he replied, did I know they were running out the bottom ends on the Spitfire as well! The finish they were getting on the cranks was down to 20 microns. They were machine grinding the cranks and then hand finishing with strips of emery, which of course often resulted in an unacceptable finish. Triumph had to refinish their crank line to put this right.

The other thing with the 1500 was that it had no positive cooling flow through the block and it was awful on cooling. We modified the water system with a bigger radiator. The static tick over test also created problems. The high tick over caused the car to boil so we had to reduce the tick over speed from 950 rpm to 850 rpm, which just about cured the problem. It was marginal and there are conditions out on the road where the later Midget is marginal – we always knew that.

“Was any consideration ever given to

fitting the overdrive to the 1500?”

Yes, we looked at the Laycock overdrive but it meant quite a big on-cost with the tunnel alteration. The 1500 did have more horsepower, so one thing we did was to fit a higher ratio differential, which helped a lot with high-speed touring.

“As you’ve driven all the various Midgets over the years, what is your favourite?”

I would say the best fun I ever had was with the Super Sprite – it was the lightest, and by far the quickest of them all. The Standard 1275 was also nice as a road car – I even had one with the number plate MG1 on it for a while.

Thank you, Don, for a most interesting afternoon and for sparing us the time to hear your recollections.

Last Midget on the line displaying the words ‘gone but not forgotten’ on the windscreen

BJN 590K Dennis’s first MG Midget pictured near Tewksbury in October 1972

FIFTY YEARS ON, WHY STILL DRIVE A MIDGET?

By Dennis Wharf

In 1958 when I was nine, a near neighbour owned an old pre-war sports car, and although by then probably considered by most an “old banger”, as I cycled by on errands for my Mum it always appeared intriguing, like an old competition car, or at least something which had been exciting in the past. I only ever dared look at it over the gate until one memorable day, with parental permission granted, I was invited to go for a ride alongside its owner. Along the way I learned it was an MG J2 dating from 1932, and although I knew little what MG stood for, or how those letters would become such a large part of my motoring life, looking back, while things could have turned out worse, that little old sports car has had much to answer for down the years…

I was already car mad, knew all the makes and models and adored motor racing, which for that matter I still do, but this old car had an impact far greater than I could ever have imagined, for although by then about 25 years old, compared to my Dad’s quite new, but rather sluggish Austin A40, it seemed very exciting. From

XYK 824G the second far more reliable and much nicer Midget here queuing for the Fowey Ferry in Cornwall September 1973

then on it became an overriding ambition that, when old enough, I too would own something equally as exciting. This was fuelled regularly by not only seeing the old MG, but also a fabulous local Aston Martin DB2/4 MkIII, a Triumph TR3A owned by our dentist who used it for competition and replaced it with an early Lotus Elan in 1962, plus the sight of an always immaculate Dove Grey MGA fixed head coupe when visiting my Grandparents. It was however pretty much sealed beyond any reasonable doubt when my Mum’s younger brother purchased a brand new Old English White MG Midget in May 1964 (GPU 523B), coming to show us the day after he’d collected it. The smell of a new car in those days was heady stuff, and to this by then impressionable fifteen year old, a new sports car, an MG no less with wire wheels, was the stuff of dreams. And then a few weeks later when visiting that same uncle, he took me along to meet a chum of his who owned a Lotus Seven. Another exhilarating ride followed, the year finishing off with me sitting in a beautiful Ivory white Porsche 356C at the London Motor Show in November.

The fifties and sixties were in fact a fabulous period for young petrolheads like me; motor racing and sports cars were arguably at their most exciting. I listened intently to the BBC’s hourly radio reports from Le Mans, and the regular updates during the Monte Carlo Rally. Take for example the European Hill-Climb Championship, comprehensively reported throughout the season. I would read avidly about the latest super-lightweight works cars from Porsche, Ferrari, Abarth, and Elva, all driven by the world’s best drivers, and at such exotic sounding places, too. I could only imagine OllonVillars, Gainsberg, Schauinsland, and Casana-Sestriere, as they were never mentioned in school geography lessons, more’s the pity, but collecting my copy of Motor Sport, Motoring News, and Autosport from the local paper shop, plus receiving the odd issue of Road & Track from the States via someone in my Dad’s office, I could at least imagine the scene, for I devoured everything published in the English language back then. The Championship of Makes, later the World Endurance Championship which naturally included Le Mans, and the Targa Florio I found especially exciting, sports car racing always surpassing single seaters for me. It was also a time of rapid development for road cars, with forward-thinking engineers incorporating some of the latest racing principles into their designs, the Lotus Europa being a prime example. But despite their modest underpinnings and pretty basic design, my soft spot for MGs remained, and by 1971, with apprenticeship and college studies finally over, I could at last replace my reliable 1500 VW Beetle with a brand new sports car, an MG Midget of course – what else!

I can’t remember what expectations I had the day before delivery, but I’m pretty sure they didn’t include some of things I encountered on that first drive, as the bonnet stay fell off, the passenger door refused to stay closed, and a worrying clonk developed from beneath. With all my savings spent, I justifiably had every reason to question what had I bought? But even at this stage there was something about it. Couldn’t ignore the pin-sharp steering and responsiveness, as BJN 590K was like nothing I’d ever driven before (although admittedly I’d only driven my Beetle, Dad’s A40, and his newly arrived Triumph 1300). I loved how it responded to the lightest touch, and enjoyed it immensely when fragility allowed, considering if a relatively inexpensive little MG could be this engaging, what about those more specialised offerings?

Summer 1975 at Thorsby Hall in Nottinghamshire for an MG Car Club event PAR 177H the rally car, here being checked before rally preparation on the lonely road to Cader Idris Snowdonia in 1975

Because of my interest in cars, and a few willing colleagues, I very occasionally had the opportunity to drive other sports cars. An MGB, Triumph Spitfire, a rather old Healey 100/4, even an Alfa Spider once, but by far the most impressive was a workmate’s Lotus Elan SIII, which was in another league. Not unlike a Midget in size, but more comfortable and of course with greater performance, its overwhelming and outstanding feature was its unbelievable handling – Colin Chapman sure knew his stuff. Sadly, though, they were fragile. For as my Midget was proving, Elan owners had to return home via their outward route to collect all the bits which had dropped off earlier. Plus, there was something rather off-putting, not to say scary, when at night waiting to turn out into traffic, seeing the headlights of passing vehicles shine through the plastic doors. Chapman’s theory of “adding lightness” quite literally clear for all to see! They were and are still, however, fabulous cars to drive and I’ve always understood their ongoing appeal to enthusiasts.

Returning to BJN 590K however, as described, it was a very poor example and not a good introduction to MGs by any measure. Ordered new in November 1971, it arrived in late March the following year, being first registered on April 1 – very appropriate! Initially suffering just the annoyance of various bits coming loose, suggesting it hadn’t received a pre-delivery inspection, compared to all the warranty work the supplying dealer, Kennings, were required to carry out – including a re-paint due to fading – it hardly mattered. Remaining out of action for weeks I decided to walk away from MG entirely. Less reliable than even my colleague’s Elan, but now armed with an extra few months of savings, I was convinced a TVR Vixen would be the ideal choice and headed for my local dealers just outside Braintree. So imagine my disappointment on discovering their demonstrator was even worse than my MG. Not only did the doors not fit, but it had a damp, smelly interior and wouldn’t even start! I also considered a Ginetta G15, an interesting alternative built at Witham, not far from my parents’ home. But close up it seemed almost homemade, not unlike the TVR and my chum’s Lotus, in fact. A used Triumph TR6 was fast, but felt vintage and not at all what I expected from a thenmodern sports car, and the Ford Escort Mexico, while fairly quick and impressive, wasn’t what I wanted at this particular time. Although way beyond my pocket, a friend let me loose in his 4.2 E-type Jaguar one day. Riding behind that silky smooth straight six, by 1275cc Midget standards it’s enormous power and torque was electrifying, but large and heavy it lacked the agility I had become accustomed to,

KOR 161L the fourth Midget. The only round arch owned by Dennis and Linda, which compared to the others suffered greater road noise for some reason. KOR 161L in final sprint mode, the Wharf’s owned this car for 17 years.

or I lacked the skill or courage to exploit it, but either way left me wondering how many other fabulous-looking and powerful cars might only be at their best on long straight roads… In discussion with my Dad he quite sensibly reasoned I should give MG another chance, and by the following spring Kennings had a one-owner 1969 Mineral Blue MG Midget, XYK 824G in their showroom, which looked perfect.

I’d learnt much about Midgets by this time, but it was still with considerable feelings of relief that I swapped BJN for XYK, the immaculate low-mileage three years older model instantly proving to be the complete opposite of its younger sibling. It had a solid “all in one piece” feel about it, allowing me to finally enjoy MG Midget motoring with confidence. I’d also discovered Dick Jacobs Mill Garage by this time, the staff there far more interested in customers MGs than the large main BL dealer I’d been using. As my everyday transport XYK was put to a variety of uses, in 1974 with the roof folded down it transported carpet and underlay back from the shops when buying our first house, a loft ladder and steps too, but also won concours trophies and in contrast autotest awards, because typically being an MG, it wasn’t too precious for anything. A year later we added a second, rather tatty, Blue Royale Midget, (PAR 177H) which we used for all-night road rallying. Only mildly tuned, we couldn’t compete with the RS1600 and RS2000 Escorts, Holbay Avengers, and 2.3 Vauxhall Firenza “Droopsnoots”, which were dominating, but did generally finish quite well up the results due to many of the quicker teams becoming intimate with the scenery. (The

The present car LYL 411D alongside Dennis’s J2 in 2003

times we’d see spotlights arc across the night sky as yet another expensive car rolled into a ditch was extraordinary!) It was good fun, though, our pair of Midgets proving the versatility of these simple yet addictive and highly competitive cars.

They were both swapped for a late chrome bumper MGB GT, (GMH 67N) in 1976, but once sold, I missed Midget motoring massively, so within a few months we had KOR 161L, a 1972 Blaze round arch Midget to live alongside our GT, this car remaining with us for the next 17 years.

With work taking me to Buckinghamshire in 1983, I began visiting Peter Woods (the MGA Twin Cam expert) for spares and advice from time to time, where I’d noticed tucked away in a corner of the workshop LYL 411D, his own 1966 BRG MkII Midget. Always preferring the MkII’s simpler lines, after some lengthy negotiations I finally purchased the car from Peter, a decision I’ve never regretted. Original in appearance it does in fact enjoy much-improved performance, the engine modified and enlarged to 1330cc’s produces over 80% more power than when in original 1098cc spec, while a few suspension modifications by Malcolm Beer has resulted in the car having plenty of power with handling to match. (I met Malcolm in 1974 at the family garage, Beer of Houghton, the same year Dick Jacobs Mill Garage was compulsory purchased and demolished to make way for the M11, Malcolm helping me ever since).

So having owned a few modern sports cars alongside the Midgets, plus other MGs too, I’ve been asked more than once: “Why still drive that old Midget?” A good question, and easy to answer, for when drawing comparisons it becomes clear just how brilliant the model was when first introduced and has remained so since. All of our MG Midgets, being A series models, not surprisingly have enjoyed a similarity in feel. Each possesses that light, precise steering allowing easy, controllable oversteer, and the characteristic noisy

Touring the Alps in the mid-nineties. first gear, but compact and balanced. They’ve been miles ahead of some other cars we’ve owned, including a few MGs from our own J2 to an MGB GTV8 in terms of the their shear sporting appeal. In standard form none had power to spare, but the willing “A” series always offered great tune-ability. Indeed, these cars can be transformed into seriously quick machines; class A race cars for example, able to reach 0-60mph in just a sniff over 4 seconds, but just mildly tuned and balanced they become smooth and responsive, and far more than just another form of transport, perfect if creature comforts are not high on your list of requirements. The excellent handling and instant response emphasises just how good Donald Healey’s original concept and layout was, especially so given the restrictive budget imposed by BMC for the design. Refined and improved by the Abingdon drawing office, but always relying on quite simple components, MG constructed low-priced sports cars enthusiasts could enjoy and compete with very successfully, too, it they wanted, and all for a comparatively small outlay.

Never used for anything more strenuous than a few Club auto-tests, LYL 411D has taken us several times across Europe, on more than one occasion climbing a number of Alpine passes in a single day, visited en route some old circuits including the Nürburgring, Rheims, Rouen, Chimay, and Spa-Francorchamps, and a few old hill-climb courses also at Cenis, Susa-Mont and Klausen, and generated enjoyment way beyond anything its modest specification might suggest. Quite simply they are one of the nicest sports cars you could ever wish to drive, which I’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy almost unbroken for nearly 50 years. Regrettably, I cannot look forward to another 50 years driving an MG Midget, or anything else for that matter, but will nevertheless continue for as many as I can before my motoring days are finally over.

Like I said at the outset, that old prewar MG all those years back has had much to answer for, but would I change anything... Not a chance.

Footnote: When BJN 590K was just a couple of weeks old we attended Brands

In the pretty town centre of Arras on our way home from the Switzerland in 2001.

Hatch for the MGCC’s 1972 April race meeting. Sitting in the car while eating our sandwiches during lunch I was introduced to the Club by Mike EllmanBrown, something for which I’ve ever been grateful. Mike opened up to me a hitherto unknown world of other like-minded enthusiasts, and thus the opportunity to meet so many other lovely people, a number of whom have become life-long friends – thanks, Mike.

NEWSLETTER

WELCOME TO THE TRIPLE NEWSLETTER

Hello and welcome to the Register’s quarterly four-page spread! Spring is finally properly here, pubs provide pints, races and trials are being enjoyed; all is well in the world. Well, getting there anyway…

For starters, I’d just like to share this photograph of the two gentlemen who have done so much for the current racing crowd. It was Mark Dolton (right) who first initiated the plan to try to revive Triple-M Racing’s heyday. Of course, a couple of stout ones never stopped racing, but the times when grids of 20 Triple-M cars competed at MGCC events were long gone when Mark first got his licence. He set about attracting some sponsors, enthusing potential drivers and getting the Club to allocate us grids at the Silverstone and, later, Brands Hatch and Donington race meetings. Since then he’s passed the baton to his mate Duncan Potter (left) who is doing as sterling a job as Mark did before him. Apart from me wishing to thank them for their efforts, I’d also just like to point out that both lads are very young still and even though they did not ‘find’ the marque by themselves but rather by way of their dads, Tony and David, ‘infecting’ them at a young age, they do clearly show there’s hope for our Register yet!

Due to Covid, this year’s Mary Harris Trophy at Brands Hatch on April 25 was the first one of the ‘revival races’ I’ve had to give a miss, and boy, did it hurt, but I’m so glad the chaps and chappesses got to go out and enjoyed themselves regardless. By the sound of it, all 25 entrants have yet again had an absolutely marvellous time with young Oliver Sharp winning both races in a not-so-standard NA0395 first owned by his grandad and now by his father, and Nigel Stroud securing the Mary Harris Trophy for improving most on his handicap in his basically standard J2414. Congrats all round!

Duncan Potter and Mark Dolton at Brands Hatch 2021

A BROOKLANDS FATALITY

As I recently found, it’s not all happy discoveries when you delve into the MG world of the 1930s. Well, not all that recently of course, I am indeed aware of plenty of stories of racing drivers and mechanics who did not survive their cars somersaulting, catching fire, topping the famous Brooklands bankings or even simple test runs across the Isle of Man going horribly wrong. However, the story I’d like to share with you this month is of a more modest nature; Arthur Ewart Stephen Walter was not a famous racing driver nor was he a real part of Brooklands’ elite. I imagine he was simply an ordinary citizen, a young chap, newly wed to his beloved Hope Clayton, fooling around with his small Midget at the weekend by entering club events at the Weybridge track and plodding up the odd hill. It was during the Brighton and

(The Scotsman, September 8 1930)

(Northern Whig, September 8 1930)

(Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic News, September 13 1930)

Hove Motor Club’s Brooklands Meeting on Saturday September 6 1930 that 25-year-old Arthur hit a sand bank, and subsequently died in hospital soon after. The thing that strikes me most is that his young bride was there to witness the whole thing. How cruel! Anyway, I thought I’d share so that young Arthur’s memory lives on, in some sort of tiny way anyway. Unfortunately, with most of the M-type factory files being absent or at best incomplete, I have no idea which car Arthur owned, let alone what happened to it after the crash. However, Mike Dalby, our intrepid M-type Registrar/detective/explorer, has found our Arthur also taking part in the 1929 Brighton to Beer Trial and in the 1930 MCC Land’s End carrying number 205 in the latter. Anyone with a photograph tucked away of said event and number, please? Otherwise, it’s off to join all the other as-yetunidentified M-types, I’m afraid.

(Uxbridge & West Drayton Gazette, September 12 1930)

MY HONOURABLE J1

Anyone remember these notes of November 2020 when I wrote to you of my incredible luck in coming upon two 1939 pictures of my car, J0577, and on Facebook too, of all places? I have now ... Drum roll, please! … found another two of when it was even newer! Seeing as I’m not one for summaries and it really is a wonderful tale of the Marque of Friendship at work, I’ll happily take this opportunity to bore you with the full story as to the how and why and who and such: For starters, we need to return to my December 2019 scribbles in which I wrote of Gordon Rhodes’ J2048 and its second owner, the Hon. Andrew Dalrymple, younger brother to ‘my’ Hon. Hew Dalrymple of Lochinch Castle up in Galloway, Scotland. Back then I did not communicate directly with Gordon but with the son of a 1950s owner of his car, so the first time I actually spoke to Gordon himself was months later when I had found some further pictures of his J2 in action in 1933 with Miss Dickson behind the wheel and which I thought

My Honourable J1 in its infancy. I know there’s not a lot to go on, but does anyone recognise the location? Cambridge perhaps?

I’d pass on to him. We ended up chatting about both noble chappies and one thing leading to another, Gordon sent me copies of the research the former owner of his car, Iain Wright, had done in the 1980s. Amongst this stuff was a letter from Hew in which he said “I am very sorry I cannot remember the registration number of the MG which once belonged to my brother but enclose unwanted photos of my own J1. I have another showing its number plate FS 6208.” All excited at the prospect, it turned out Gordon only had copies of the letters and knew of no photographs

… And so the next step was to try to trace Iain, a former Scottish Triple-M Registrar and still an active Club member, to see if the photos Hew mentioned had stayed behind with him. A post on Facebook enquiring after Iain’s whereabouts failed, as did an old-fashioned letter to the address the Register had on file. Luckily the people who now live in his old place returned my letter, otherwise I would not have known it never reached him and I’d be waiting still. Another enquiry, on our own forum this time (Why did I not think of that in the first place?) supplied

NUVOLARI!

Well, I never! Ask for Triple-M models, locations, events or people and the odd five or six members will take part, but post a pic of a certain Italian bloke and all of a sudden everyone is fighting to reach my inbox first! The answer to February’s quiz was indeed the tiny yet great Tazio Nuvolari! For completeness, the event was of course the 1933 Ulster TT, the car K3003 and the riding mechanic Alec Hounslow. Probably MG’s most famous win and rightly so. One of the quiz’s competitors was Edward Kirkland who sent me his photo of the master. Would you just look at that inscription? How marvellous! Going by the arm band, the photograph seems to date back to 1931 when Nuvolari’s Alfa Romeo was allocated number nine, but he did clearly wear the same jumper on both occasions. Another one of his many mascots?

Edward is actually related to our ‘Founding Father’ by way of his marriage to Mr Kimber’s second wife Gillie’s granddaughter Easter which is how he came by this rather lovely memento. Though I heartily thank Edward for his contribution, the prize goes to Søren Elnef from Denmark. Søren owns a whole range of MGs, but not a Triple-M, so I’m hoping his prize, which comes in the shape of one of our yearbooks, might entice him to join the ranks. Congratulations, Søren, and thank you all for taking part!

Thinking of Nuvolari, I could not resist a quick scan through the British Newspaper a quick response from Colin McLachlan who came up with a four-year-old email address. Worth a try, obviously, because lo and behold, there he was, within 12 hours Iain replied saying he’d be going up the attic shortly to have a look for me and a couple of hours later still, there he was again. With the original letter and the original photographs! Iain had kept them safe all those years just in case an owner would one day pop up. How fabulous is that? I am indebted and grateful to you all, Gordon, Iain and Colin, for collectively making my day! So, my message? That even though we’re almost 90 years on, stuff will still turn up, so if you’re thinking that researching the early history of your car isn’t going to be worthwhile; think again! As an aside, both Hew’s son and his grandson have kindly informed me that they do not have any photographs of their (gran)dad in an MG and so this is where I really ought to give up on finding that one last picture Hew himself mentioned back in 1984 … or should I? A visit to Lochinch Castle to go and see for myself is called for, I’m thinking! Just waiting for our white metal man to get on with the engine…

Mascot no. 1 (Belfast News-Letter, August 31 1933)

Though he be but little… He will have been somewhat of a ladies’ man! (Belfast News-Letter, August 24 1931) Mascot no. 2 (Belfast News-Letter, September 1 1933)

Nuvolari wearing the same jumper in 1933 as he did in 1931. Or did they just use an old photograph? (Belfast NewsLetter, September 1 1933) (Northern Whig, August 31 1933)

Archive where I found some more gems. I wonder how it came about that Whitney Straight, who did not actually own K3003, entered the car for the TT. Could it be Kimber asked him to enter one of the Works cars in his name so as to avoid having to enter a car in the MG Car Company’s name, in turn avoiding speculation on who the driver of such a Works entry would be while he was still negotiating things with Nuvolari? After all, an eventual no from the Italian star would no doubt have come out, which may have been something Kimber wanted to avoid. And then there’s the clipping where it is stated nothing further had been heard of young master Whitney Straight since he entered both cars, but isn’t that him standing right there between McConnell and Nuvolari on August 31, two days prior

(Northern Whig, August 22 1933) (Leeds Mercury, September 1 1933)

Mascot no. 3. Unbeknownst to Nuvolari himself, it seems… (Belfast News-Letter, September 4 1933) to the event? Indeed it is! The Maserati is recorded as being a non-starter, but he clearly did travel to Ulster in support of

The elusive Whitney Straight squeezing in. (Belfast News-Letter, August 31 1933) ‘his’ entry after all. Funny how he is the sole one who remains nameless in the caption…

QUARTERLY QUIZ

Your next assignment is to name the track, the event and, finally, I’d like a count of the number of MGs on show, please. A date would be nice, too. And just because it’s you, I’ll give you a hint: our racing boys and girls will return to this very circuit next month where the Register will be celebrating a certain model’s 90th anniversary. Ready? Set! Go!

Until next time; Safety Fast!

WELCOME TO THE Y TYPE NEWSLETTER

Welcome to our six-monthly Newsletter. In these trying times it does look as if the hard work of our scientists and the NHS may not only have provided us with protection against Covid but also an opportunity to travel and meet up once more.

This issue includes a couple of articles, which I hope you all may find of interest, plus some artistic delicacies that some of you may never have seen, In this context I would draw your attention to impressions and paintings of MGs that the Car Club are promoting and may be on display at the combined Triumph and MG Event to be held at the Three Counties Showground, Malvern, over three days: Friday 13-Sunday August 15 this summer.

The articles include an excellent submission by Mike Silk, an entertaining recollection by Peter Sharp, artistic impressions of a well-known YT and YB.

A humorous note, by Peter again, on the simple spare that you must have. Then finally a plea for someone to run the Y Type Register spares shop for us please.

AN IRISH MG YT

I am sure that most of you are aware of Mike Silk’s wonderful YT which he has owned for 50 years. He has kindly written a highly informative article about the car, how he discovered it, the restoration undertaken and the regular use that he and his wife Sue have put in it over the years.

IR 4304 - MG One-and-a-Quarter Litre Tourer (YT) - 1949 Chassis Number:- YT/EXR/2744.Engine Number: - XPAG/TR/12665.

My YT was originally an export to Ireland and was previously owned by Dr Brendan O’Hara, later on a well-known figure in vintage racing in the Dublin area. As manufactured, she was painted black with beige upholstery. It is thought that some – if not all – Irish Tourers might have been assembled in Cork from CKD (Completely Knocked Down) kits. So perhaps he was supporting local industry!

He had bought IR 4304 new in November 1949 while he was living in Tullamore, County Offaly, where I believe he also worked. He only owned her for about six months and he told me once–- or I might have been told – that it was the only new car he ever bought. He had not been greatly impressed with the performance, so she was sold locally and was last taxed in October 1965. Not too long afterwards he acquired one of the prototype TR2s – TS2 which was over there for an Irish motorshow. Brendan was a member of the Irish Veteran and Vintage Car Club (IVVCC) and that is where I met him. I had joined the IVCC through a friend with a TD, Trevor Storey. I was living and working in Dublin from early in 1971 and had failed to find an MG T Type at the time. There were hardly any out there and certainly not one in my price range. Importing one to Ireland may have been a possibility at the time, but wasn’t something that would have been very easy to do on my very limited budget.

IR 4304 had been bought for Trevor Storey’s mother as a second car. (Trevor’s father had just finished restoring a 1920s Star tourer and was setting about a Lancia Lambda). She did not really like that idea and settled on an MGA instead. Although I saw the Tourer quite regularly, I never thought to ask about buying her. In fact I had never seen one before and didn’t even know the model existed. When Trevor’s father offered her to me for £90 I jumped at the chance. She appeared to be reasonably sound, and an MG – what more could you want?

A bank loan for the purchase was arranged – and enough to replace the

IR 4303 residing in a lock-up in Dublin

hood as well. And so as a non-runner, complete with nearside front wing dent from its initial tow to Dublin, she was moved into a lock-up. The seized clutch was freed after removing the gearbox, and the car got into running order – of a sort. The day after it was finally ready for the road was race day at Mondello Park near Naas. The car was already entered in the ‘MG Veteran and Vintage’ handicap race at the ‘Crawford’s Golden 1000’ race meeting. I had acquired a racing licence and it was to be the car and driver’s one and only race – so far! She was driven to the race on her first significant run, then

Entry list for Crawford’s Golden 1000 stripped of passenger seats, windscreen and everything that wasn’t essential and passed scrutineering. After practice, it was unsurprisingly in ‘pole’ position on the grid and there was quite a long wait before the next cars set off. The grid included Dick Lovell-Butt in his single-seater K3 (K3006) and the Tourer’s original owner in his streamlined ‘flat-iron’ Fiat Balilla Special. The K3 had a couple of laps to make up and it appeared at one point that it was going to be a close finish, until a con rod bearing went and we returned to the pits with a lap to go. Not the best start to ownership!

I used her for everyday use whilst in Ireland, including a two week tour of the northern part of the country.

Somewhere in Donegal, August 1972 Trevor Storey in the MG N Type previously owned by Dr. O’Hara

I brought her back to the UK when I returned in 1973. She was resprayed red not long after and used as everyday transport in the early and mid-seventies. Sue learned to drive in her and we left her parked at Luton airport for two weeks while we were away on honeymoon. I’m not sure I would do that now!

I finally got around to fitting flashing indicators for the London traffic – it had been hand signals until then. After a couple of years, the YT was really ready for a restoration, but with a young family, the car gathered dust and was laid up in various garages from the late seventies through to the early nineties. A start on restoration was made in the mid-80s, but a move to West Yorkshire in 1987 meant that it wasn’t until 1993 that a complete restoration was started. This was completed very slowly. By early 2004 she was now finished in sequoia cream with a green interior and still has the original engine and back axle, but the gearbox had been replaced by a Hi Gear five-speed conversion. Although I have done a lot of the work myself, chassis and body restoration were carried out by Naylor Brothers of Shipley, and all the trimming by Mike Collingburn of Richmond, North Yorkshire.

She had her first real run to Oxford from West Yorkshire in April 2004 on the MGCC Y-Type Register Spring Run, and won the NTG Cup. In subsequent years she has regularly attended Register Spring and Autumn Runs. She has been back on the road about 16 years now and is a fairly practical car – especially for two passengers. We have toured Brittany – 1,400+ more or less trouble-free miles – the Loire Valley, and in 2019 the Isle of Man. A return to Ireland is long overdue!

The Link to Triumph Roadster TS2

I had never heard of TS2 and certainly didn’t know that Dr O’Hara had owned her until I was passed by some Irish TR owners in mid-Wales in 2012. TS2 originally had the registration number IR 6360. This subsequently became 773 EWO in the UK for some reason. (When in Ireland it seems to carry its original registration, but in the UK it carries 773 EWO.) They noted the similar Irish registration number of my car and made the connection through a website where I had entered a few details of IR 4304, including its first owner. In 2014 the two cars were lined up at the annual Triumph Register day in Harrogate. Unfortunately the Irish registration number plates were not available for an otherwise memorable day.

Mike Silk

ADVENTURE IN A Y TYPE

When I was 19, I was at college in London (Leicester Square, in fact, but that’s a whole lot of other stories). At the end of my first year, I decided it wasn’t for me and moved back to my home town. Having a need for a car (the Morris Minor convertible I had as a schoolboy had dissolved in a heap of rust some time before) I searched the classified ads in the local paper. There I found an MG ‘Y’. I had no idea what that might be but a friend’s brother had a pile of bits in his garage which he was slowly putting back together, a sporty looking number with cycle mudguards that he called an MG P type.

I assumed the Y type would be something like this so I went to see it. What I found, of course, was not a low, sporty roadster but a small, cheeky-looking saloon car. It belonged to a youngish schoolteacher who was moving to New Zealand with his wife and young family. They obviously loved the car; I drove it and loved it too, there was something about it that made me smile. I bought it for £35.00. It was black and a total contrast to all the other cars on the road then, the Minis and Ford Anglias and Cortinas. The leather seats and the wooden interior trim gave it a distinct look and smell. The walnut dash and octagon control switches and dials gave it class. The steering wheel was adjustable, the windscreen opened (the dashboard also moved. It was loose so that pulling the choke pulled out the starter, something it took me some time to realise wasn’t intentional). The Jackall system raised the car on all fours. It was like a fascinating new toy to me; my friends were amazed by it, girls seemed to like it. I drove it as an everyday car, I didn’t think of it as a classic. Well, I didn’t always treat it as an everyday car, time will forgive me the occasions when I drove down the town High Street with a friend standing on the passenger seat, saluting out of the open sun roof. Or when we screeched to a halt next to a bus queue and dragged a girl in through the back door after watching The Untouchables (we did know her). We were only young.

My girlfriend at the time had family who lived in Devon. During the Christmas holidays I arranged to stay there between Boxing Day and New Year. I set off in the Y with a change of clothes and a toothbrush, a few quid in my wallet and little else. I can’t recall checking the oil or greasing the king pins or putting any air in the tyres. I had a full tank and it was only 240 miles. I can’t remember the route I took but it wasn’t on motorways, which didn’t join up like they do now. Remember going through Frome and Devizes but not much else, apart from the fact that it was freezing cold and getting colder and snowier every mile I drove. Just before my destination just outside Barnstaple, I hit a patch of black ice while going down a steepish hill. The car turned a couple of circles before slamming to a halt against a high nearside kerbstone. After this the steering was a bit stiff, with a distinct swing to the left. Something had been bent but I decided to struggle on.

After about six hours driving, cold, hungry and tired, I arrived. My girlfriend had told me I could park on their driveway but the gates were locked. Before I could knock on the door she came out and got in beside me. Her mother, it seemed, had decided that I was no longer welcome and she would not allow me in the house. To explain: the time was 1969, I had shoulder length hair, an afghan coat that had a tendency to smell of goat in warm weather, patched jeans and cowboy boots. She came from a highly respected Devon family and sometimes wore pearls and tweed skirts. We were very much in love, but ill-matched. Nothing we (or her father) could say would sway her mother. I said I would go to the nearest town (a seaside resort) and find a B&B. I drove off into the night, girlfriend waving me off beneath a streetlight flecked with snowflakes. I didn’t find a B&B; they were all dark and shut up for the night. I slept in the car under a single thin blanket, awaking at first light to find my hair frozen to the glass of the side window. I had to cup my hands and huff onto my hair for a time before it thawed enough to let me move. I had no money; I’d spent what I had on petrol and expected to get more from the bank when it opened on Monday (no holes in the wall then) but I was hungry and freezing cold. I got out to stretch my legs; noticing that I had stopped beside a municipal park with an ornamental pond. People like to throw coins into such ponds, possibly confusing a shallow grey concrete pit with a romantic fountain in Rome; how or why I have no idea. In this pond there were a fair number of half-crowns, florins and shillings glinting among the pennies in the early morning light. Taking my boots ands socks off, I braved the needle sharp cold of the water and soon had a couple of handfuls of silver. I dried myself on the blanket, stuck my numb fingers under my armpits and went into the first open greasy spoon I found. I’ve eaten many full breakfasts with tea and two slices since then, but none have compared with that one. The bacon and fried bread warmed me from within and grasping the pint mug of hot tea warmed my hands from the outside.

My experience soured our relationship, though it wasn’t her fault. Her mother would never have let it work. I did stay in a B&B for a few days; the Y went into a local garage for some TLC to the front suspension and a new set of points and plugs. The journey back was warmer and uneventful.

The car developed a few serious faults over the next few months which, when I went to a new place at university, I didn’t have the facilities or money to put right. It eventually went to someone who was rebuilding a Y Type, as a donor car.

Do I remember the registration or the chassis number? Do I have a log book or any photographs? No, I don’t. Do I remember it fondly as the source of experiences, fun and memories? Yes, I do, and that’s what owning cars is all about; isn’t it? (Many years after this, I came across a die-cast model of an MG YA at a toy fair. Asking how much it was, I was told £35.00; exactly what I’d paid for mine and in the same colour, too. I bought it and not long after, bought my second real one – same colour, too.)

Peter’s YA on a cold winter’s day

Peter Sharp

Y TYPES IN ART

A couple of examples of Ys in art. Peter Vielvoye’s YT is a lovely example and painted by his sister. Little Gem is a YB that was left to the Car Club by a long-term member who died in 2009, maintained by the Y Register through the care and attention of Neil Cairns. It was finally auctioned in 2016 at MGLive! and acquired by Paul and Maggie Grafham, both Y Register Committee Members. The painting was commissioned by the Register and hangs in Kimber House. The artist is Kevin Parrish, who is well known for his excellent railway images.

PETER VIELVOYE’S YT

An example of the rarest post-war MG. I have owned her since 2001 and over the years have restored, repaired and improved her lovingly. This watercolour picture was painted by my sister Sally Ann Mancell for my 70th birthday. Sally was a Spode/Royal Dalton designer and now practises as a freelance

THE NAMING OF LITTLE GEM

Artist Kevin Parrish. http://www.kevinparrish.co.uk In 2009 MG YB MDF 630 was bequeathed to the MGCC and for seven years she was used to promote Club activities. When she first arrived at Kimber House Y Register members paid her a visit. From left to right: Suzie Arnell, Peter Arnell, Jack Murray, Ted Gardner and Jerry Birkbeck. Suzie remarked “She’s a Little Gem” and the name stuck. After Little Gem was sold, the Club commissioned this oil painting to commemorate her. She is now owned by Paul and Maggie Grafham’s grandson… who is all of ten years old!

A USEFUL MG TOOL

The one problem I have with my MG YB is the fact that the choke will not lock on. I was finding it inconvenient holding it out while pulling the starter and getting the engine warmed up/the oil pressure to the right level, so I looked around for a solution. I discovered a specialist firm making ‘Choke Assistance Devices’. These are customised for different makes and marques of vehicles and are available to order. I have attached a photograph of mine; it retails at £22.50 (inc. VAT). Perhaps the Y Register shop could stock them?

Peter Sharp

YOUR REGISTER NEEDS YOU!

As you are all aware, the Register is once more allowed to sell its Regalia. These are parts that are not manufactured by any mainstream supplier. However, Mike and Sue Silk, who have been running the Shop for well over a decade and a half and have been primarily responsible for finding appropriate and trustworthy individuals and organisations to recreate some parts, are looking to retire from the post.

Hence we need someone to take over the reins and to continue to distribute the spares and seek potential suppliers. It is a low-level commitment and the service is run online.

Have a look at the range we offer on our Register website www.mgccyregistershop.co.uk.

If you are interested then please contact Mike – mikesue4304@gmail.com

WELCOME TO THE ZRZSZT NEWSLETTER

Welcome to our second newsletter of 2021. It seems the Government’s Covid-19 roadmap is still on schedule so hopefully by the end of this month we should be able to feel a sense of normality returning at last. Please see below our confirmed events for the remainder of the year. The BMC & Leyland Show is a late, but welcome addition to our events calendar. Thanks to all those members who answered our call for display cars at such short notice. The six that were chosen should make for a very colourful display. Our display area at MGF 25+1 is beginning to fill up, too. If you would like to bring your Zed this event it’s not too late register your interest. Please contact Rob Johns at thezedregister@hotmail.com and let him know.

Sun July 11 BMC & Leyland Show NMM Gaydon, Warks Sat 17-Sun July 18 Donington Racing Round Donington, Leics Sat July 24 MGF 25+1 NMM Gaydon, Warks Sun August 15 Zed 20 Burghley House, Lincs Sat 4-Sun Sept 5 Snetterton Racing Round Snetterton, Norfolk Fri 10-Mon Sep 13 ‘Zeds at the Lakes’ Road Trip Kendal, Cumbria

ZED 20

Our plans for Zed 20 continue to shape up and it’s looking to be a great weekend. The only thing we can’t plan for is the weather! Changing the venue has given us the opportunity to go bigger and bolder with our ideas over two days. The weekend will include: • Dedicated Parking Areas for ZR, ZS, ZT, 260s, and ZR Express • Monogram Showcase Parking • Show & Shine Competition on Sunday • 51st Street Display Area • Indoor Display Area • Register Merchandise available for sale • Build Data Available on Request • And Much More!......... The 51st Street Display will be a dedicated parking area for the owners of Zeds that are 20 years old this year. If you own a Y-Plate or a 51-plate Zed we look forward to seeing you both on the day.

Our Show & Shine competition will be taking place on the Sunday. All Zeds present on that day will automatically be entered into the competition. Judging will take place during the early part of the afternoon, with winners presentations taking place at 4.00pm. The categories will be: Best ZR, Best ZS, Best ZT/ZT-T, Best ZT/ZT-T 260 and Best Monogram Zed.

We have also created a Facebook page dedicated to Zed 20. Please feel free to join the group and post some pictures of your Zeds. Look out for further announcements and information being posted for this event.

ZEDS AT THE LAKES & ZEDS IN THE NORTH

£299.00 Per Person - 10th to 13th September 2021 - 4 Day, 3 Night Tour(Price is per person, based on 2 persons sharing a car/twin/double room. £398.00 per person in a double room for single use)

Our four-day road trip “Zeds at the The Lakeland Motor Museum Lakes” which was sadly postponed last year now takes place this Price includes the following: 3 Nights at the 3* Riverside Hotel, Kendal 3 Breakfasts & 3 Evening Meals at the Hotel Entry to the Lakeland Motor Museum Complimentary Car Parking at the hotel Road Book featuring Maps, Great Drives & Event InformationSeptember as we head to the ‘ZED’S At The Lakes’ Commemorative Tour Rally Plate 24 hour out of hours helpline whilst on the tour beautiful Lake District. The revised dates for our trip are now over This tour is operated for the MG Car Club by our Travel Partner Scenic Car Tours - www.sceniccartours.com Bookings are made with our travel partner Scenic Car Tours and are bound by their conditions of booking BOOKINGS FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED - CALL: 01732 879153 OR BOOK ONLINE: https://www.my-holiday-booking.co.uk/availability/check/index/i/13/t/LAKES-MGZR the weekend of Friday 10 to Monday September 13. This is something the Register has never done before and we are delighted to include this tour in the Zed’s 20th anniversary year. We have jointly organised the trip with Scenic Car Tours. This weekend also includes our now-traditional regional event; “Zeds in the North” will take place on Sunday 12 at the Lakeland Motor Museum. For those on the road trip admission to the museum is included in the price of the weekend. Those just wishing to attend the museum will receive discounted entry on the day. If you would like to join us for the road trip, please contact the Scenic Car Tours sales team directly and register your interest. They have suggested that this is done sooner rather than later – due to the Government’s restrictions having been lifted, the hotels they use are popular and may get booked up well in advance with other guests. This will help them ascertain the number of reservations required.

A TALE OF 2 ZEDS

Having owned a few Rover Group/MG Rover Group Cars over the years, it was almost inevitable that I would own a Zed car at some point.

My first encounter with the Zeds was a 2002 Solar Red MG ZR 105 base model – despite its basic specification, I was hooked on the driving experience and excellent running costs.

After few different vehicle changes (all MG or Rover Cars) I really wanted to get hold of a Monogram ZR (specifically a MkI) and a MkII MG ZS 180.

The first arrival was my 2004 MG ZR 105 3-door in Biomorphic Green. I paid approximately £450.00 for it in 2016 from a fellow enthusiast on the MG Rover Monogram page on Facebook.

The car came without MOT and was in need of some work, such a replacement fuel tank and a few other

The MG ZR, slowly being restored to be a show car

The matching interior of the MG ZR bits before going through its first MOT in September of that year. I have slowly been incorporating additional options to the car, along with some customized parts. Modifications include:

Fitment of an early MkI Rover 25 dashboard with the dash insert and heater surround being colour matched to the car; door cards and rear interior trim cards from an early MkI 25; half leather and Grey Alcantara seats (both front seats have height and lumbar support) with rear headrests to replace the original base spec matrix seats; Rover 200 BRM centre console; speaker and tweeter grilles from a BRM fitted to the door cards and an early MkI Rover 25 leather steering wheel fitted.

After much thought, I decided I wanted to make some modifications to the car, but I didn’t want to go down the standard route of taking out the 1.4 engine and replacing it with a 1.8vvc, so following discussion with the MG Rover specialist who looks after our cars (MJS Auto & Marine) I opted to go for the following, all of which was carried out in August and September of 2019.

I purchased a 1.6 litre K series engine with only 23,000 miles on from an X reg Rover 25 which was being broken for parts. This was then fully rebuilt with MG TF 135 Cams, head was ported and polished with new head gasket fitted as a precaution, MG TF alloy manifold, ITG Induction Kit, the ECU remap by Kmaps, modified MGF exhaust manifold, pre cat deletion and a Cobra centre exhaust and Oval back box fitted.

The suspension was also replaced all round with GAZ adjustable coil overs lowering the car’s stance by approximately 20/30 mm.

After a year of enjoyment driving the car, it became clear that although the mechanicals were now spot on, the bodywork was beginning to suffer in all the usual places. Both rear wheel arches have started to go rusty, front driver wing was just starting to bubble and the MOT found that the rear section of the front subframe was badly corroded. The front bumper also had some damage and following a gust of wind catching the bonnet one day, this now has some damage around the hinge fittings leaving a large gap over the front bumper.

As a result, the ZR is currently off the road and I have purchased the following parts: a replacement rear and front subframe, brand new front wings, brand new front bumper, repair panels for both rear arches, brand new indicators, headlights, and fog lights. The car is currently in the body shop having the first phase of its body repairs done, with both rear wheel arches having the bad metal cut out and the replacement panels fitted, and colour matched.

My ZR will eventually be a show car only, so I will be spending the next 12 months having all the above replaced the car painted and eventually finishing off with the alloy wheels being fully refurbished.

As if having one rather large project car was not enough, approximately two years ago, when a friend in the MG Rover community was moving their garage to smaller premises, they had to clear their yard which was full of a multitude of MG Rover cars, I noticed parked in the corner a pearl black MkII MG ZS 180 Saloon which had been with him for some time, having been taken to his garage with clutch issues. Unfortunately, the owner had seemingly abandoned the car there for some time, and following discussion it was decided that they would be happy to sell it on rather than fix it.

A price of £450.00 (seems to be my lucky number!) was agreed. The car had one key and handset and no service history provided – the price taking this into account.

After being moved from a friend’s yard to another temporary storage facility of theirs, I arranged for the car to be transported to a garage I had rented to dry store it and put the money by to have the work done.

Knowing that there was a lot of work that would need doing on the ZR to make it into the show car I wanted it to be, and having bought a lot of parts for the ZS over the intervening few months, during the lockdown release in the summer of 2020 I arranged with Mike at MJS to come and pick the car up from its storage and take it off to be fully serviced and the initial recommissioning to be done. Once Mike had finished the car it then went on to another mechanic we know, Martin at M Baker Auto Care, who then did a full clutch replacement while completing welding to both front jacking point areas (usual places for rust to set in), replacing one of the brake lines and fitting a new rear back box.

Other work carried out includes replacement half Alcantara and leather seats

Out and About in the MG ZS

with rear headrests, replacement headlights, and early MkI ZS door cards with grey trim inserts. I also have rear electric window set up to be fitted later, along with getting the headlining replaced (again a common fault as it’s starting to sag!).

The ZS passed her MOT in October of 2020 and is now being used regularly as my daily car (although working from home means it is not used daily, given the current circumstances!).

Progress on both my MG projects can be found on a dedicated Facebook page:Project Bio ZR & Project ZS 180

As part of my duties on the MGCC ZR/ZS/ZT Register committee, the ZS will be attending a few events this year as part of the ZED 20 celebrations, including BMC day at the British Motor Museum, MGF 25+1 also at Gaydon, MG & Triumph Weekend where the main ZED 20 celebrations will take place and the ZEDs in the North and Driving weekend in the Lakes this September.

Rob Johns

MG ZS in good company, look out for it at MG shows this year

A MkII MG Midget with an Ashley Hard Top

BUYING AN MG MIDGET

If you’ve considered buying an MG Midget, but not sure where to start or what to look for, here Mark T Boldry gives you hints and tips to get you started

BODYWORK

Apart from the Mk1 Austin Healey Sprite, the body shape on the rest of the Midgets and Sprites looks the same. That’s as far as it goes, as there are quite a few changes as production and models move through the years. However, there are many publications that go into great detail on all the minute changes, so I will just touch on a few more important ones. When looking at a Midget or Sprite attention should be paid to two main areas, corrosion and body damage/repairs. Starting at the front of the car, we have quite a few things to look at. The bonnet is often an area that has had some attention at times. Due to its design and the way it is held open, the whole assembly flexes. This causes stress in the front of the bonnet and where you have stress, you get corrosion. This, with the fact that the reinforcements of the panel at the front are a water trap, means that this is a serious corrosion area. Likewise, the lower front panel is vulnerable to corrosion, plus the lower parts of the front wings. On a detail note here, it is worth researching the model year of your car, as in 1968/69 there was a change in sidelight position. The later cars were fitted with the light unit slightly lower in the wing below the headlight. It is amazing how many cars are fitted with either the wrong wings or even odd wings! Look also to the front of the wheel arch – if it is out of shape or appears to be pushed out slightly, this could indicate accident damage. Moving back, the rear of the front wings is also a mud trap where it meets the top of the sill. This area will rot away and also the footwell panel and sill with it. In extreme cases, the inner sill and front floor can be affected, too. The ‘A’ posts (door hinge panels) are very susceptible to rust, again a stressed area and a water trap. Pay particular attention here, as unprofessional repairs in the past have been common. The doors are often an area to be aware of rusting; pay particular attention along the bottoms and the front lower corners. Because

There are quite a few things to check at the front of the Midget. The bonnet is often an area that has had some attention at times

The rear of the front wings is a mud trap where it meets the top of the sill. It’s worth checking the sills thoroughly as well of the nature of these little cars, being a convertible, they have often been used in wet conditions; ingress of water through open-top motoring, or just leaks, can often lead to constantly wet carpets and thus, over time, rusting floors and sills. Because the roof is NOT a supporting panel, the main strength of the shell is in the inner and outer sills and the gearbox tunnel. It is very rare that the gearbox tunnel will be found to have any corrosion, due to engine and gearbox oil leaks over the years protecting it. The sills on the other hand are a key area of corrosion. Badly fitted sills or a damaged car can quite often be noticed when opening and closing the doors. The gaps should be neat and equal and the door should open and close with ease and should certainly not nip.

The next areas of concern are the rear spring mountings. The early cars with the quarter elliptic are more vulnerable to corrosion as all the stress of the mounting is taken up in one area at each side of the car. Look for collapsed spring box mountings or an uneven ride height as an indication of trouble. I have come across some frightening so-called ‘professional’ repairs in this area, most of which were totally unsafe. The later cars with the semi-elliptical springs are still a cause for concern, but less so. Rear wings and inner arches are quite often rusted away – pay particular attention to the area behind the back of the rear wing where it is a double skin and comes up to meet the boot floor. Finally the boot floor itself. Areas of corrosion are common along the back of the

The A Series engine came in various sizes, and is pretty reliable. There are a few things to check though Ingress of water through open-top motoring, or just leaks, can often lead to constantly wet carpets boot floor where it meets the rear panel. Check for poor repairs here also.

ENGINE

In most cases, Midgets and Sprites had the trusty BMC ‘A’ series engine fitted. It came in various sizes ranging from the early cars with 948cc and then 1098cc to the later models with the larger 1275cc unit. From there a major change was made and in 1975 the ‘A’ series engine was replaced with Triumph’s 1500cc unit.

In general the ‘A’ series engine was a trustworthy lump but as in all cases, neglect and over-enthusiasm often brought them to their knees earlier than desired. Look for low oil pressure particularly when the engine is fully warmed up; a worn engine will breathe and you can smell burnt oil and fumes from under the bonnet as well as the exhaust. One engine that perhaps should be mentioned to pay particular attention to is the early 1098cc version fitted to the Mk2 Midget and Mk3 Sprite. These engines shared the same crankshaft as the Austin A40 and Morris Minor 1000 and whilst seemingly OK in these models, was not a strong unit in a Spridget. A more substantial crankshaft was fitted to the later 1098cc engines (with engine number prefix 10CC) and this shared the larger journal sizes of the Mini Cooper S range. The 1275cc engine was and still is a tuner’s delight, it is one of those engines that can be bored and stroked to nearly 1600cc and develop very healthy power. I will not go down the route of tuning here, except to say beware of tuned and tired engines. None of these engines have the life of today’s engines and one would expect to be rebuilding an engine at about 70-80,000 miles of normal use.

The later 1500 engine when in good fettle is a good unit and develops good power and torque. However, it has a weakness. Its crankshaft journals are small and therefore their life is not long. I have heard of modifications to the lubrication system that drastically improve matters, but this is not an everyday modification.

GEARBOX

The early cars were fitted with what is known as a ‘smoothcase’ gearbox, easily distinguishable by its smooth appearance. These gearboxes are weak and spare parts are almost impossible to obtain now. However, those with early cars do have less powerful engines and tend not to suffer too much trouble. The later gearbox is the ‘ribcase’ and again it can be easily identified by its appearance. A much stronger gearbox and one that can be rebuilt. You may find some cars that have had various five-speed gearboxes fitted. Beware of this if you are after a ‘pure’ car, that is all I am going to say about five-speed conversions.

Another thing to be aware of is worn synchromesh and gearbox internals

Going back to the standard gearboxes, the problems to be aware of are noisy first and reverse gears. These gearboxes have a straight cut first and reverse and do have a ‘whine’ of their own, but this should not be mistaken for worn gears and bearings, which is much more pronounced. Another thing to be aware of is worn synchromesh and gearbox internals. These gearboxes both ‘smoothcase’ and ‘ribcase’ are pleasant and easy to use. They have NO synchromesh on first gear so it is not advisable to try to change down to first whilst on the move. The later gearbox fitted to the 1500cc models are a lot stronger but carry a weight penalty; they certainly are not a cause for major concern.

AXLE, STEERING and SUSPENSION

I have grouped these together as I feel it is one area of the car that can be covered as a whole. The front suspension and steering is often the MOT tester’s favourite area on these cars, if you decide to take your Midget for one, and particular attention must be taken to inspect these items carefully. Wear and corrosion cause problems here and this is usually down to poor and irregular maintenance. There are between three and four greasing points on each front suspension and steering unit. These need lubrication very regularly and NOT with grease but with thick oil or a waterproof grease. The most common cause of MOT failure here is what is known as ‘Kingpin’ wear. Most cases that I have had to deal with over the years show little or no wear at all but excessive corrosion to the bottom of the ‘Kingpin’. Likewise, the ‘Fulcrum’ Pin suffers in the same way. Other problems to be aware of may be track rod ends and play in the rack ends, but neither of these are major areas of concern. The front springs give little trouble but the rears start to sag after time and may require re-setting or replacement. The rear axle usually gives little or no trouble but listen for a noisy differential. Occasionally the rear hubs may leak oil into the rear brakes but this is usually due to lack of inspection and servicing and is easily sorted.

BRAKES

The brakes on these little cars are very reliable when in good condition. Drum brakes all round on the early cars, and disc/drum combination on all models from the 1098cc engine onwards. Bad maintenance and worn parts can lead one into thinking that the brakes need uprating. The fronts require inspection now and

There are between three and four greasing points on each front suspension and steering unit

again and the rears require regular adjustment to keep them performing well.

EXTERIOR TRIM

The trim on the outside of the car is an aesthetic thing only. Sprites were fitted with no fancy strips on the bonnet or waistline, whereas the Midget was until 1969 when the trim vanished in stages of production. Later cars were fitted with a sill finisher and sill lettering. Careful inspection may reveal corrosion around the fittings for these trims.

INTERIOR TRIM

The trim changed slightly almost from model to model, so if you are looking for an accurately detailed car, your research should be thorough. Many cars over the years have been messed around with and items swapped from model to model.

MAINTENANCE

As with any car, servicing and routine maintenance is compulsory and certainly aids the reliability and enjoyment you will get from your trusty steed. The engine requires oil and filter to be renewed every 6,000 miles or 12 months (whichever occurs first) plus air filters, plugs, points and condenser should also be renewed at the same time. Gear oil is usually fitted for life, but regular changing can’t do any harm at all; likewise the rear axle oil. Brakes, as mentioned above, require looking at frequently even if only to dust them out and adjust them. However, more importantly, remove the front brake pads and push back the caliper pistons every now and then, just to be sure that everything is free and working.

Looking after the bodywork is easy. Regular washing under the car and cleaning out trapped mud and deposits will help prevent corrosion, and touching up stone chips will do likewise. Remember, cellulose paint and chrome are both porous so regular waxing will also help these areas. Finally, an underbody wax such as Waxoyl or Dinitrol is also a good deterrent against corrosion.

Points of reference taken from “Original Sprite & Midget” by Terry Horler Thank you to Nigel Guild of Former Glory for allowing us to take the photos, to see Nigel’s current stock of MGs for sale please visit www.classicmg.co.uk

Ben Tovey (57) in his MGB GT V8 leads Guy Samuels in the MGCC BCV8 Championship. Photo: Dickon Siddall

BRANDS HATCH SPRING OPENER

By Graham Keilloh

The MG Car Club held its 2021 racing season opener on a sunny spring weekend in Kent for condensed dicing on Brands Hatch’s Indy circuit. Six of MGCC’s race categories were present and, underlining the Club’s variety, cars from pre-war right up to the modern day were catered for. And, adding to the assortment, they were joined at Brands by no fewer than eight packed and eclectic Equipe Classic Racing contests, as well as by the Morgan Challenge.

MGCC MG Cup powered by Cherished Vehicle Insurance

We are long used to Mike Williams winning MG Cup races, but don’t be fooled into thinking the two more that he won at Brands Hatch were straightforward. Firstly, due to 11th hour technical problems with his Metro and then, having resolved those, he had a new on-track challenge in the shape of Morgan Short, son of famous racer and team boss Martin.

Morgan raced in a Class A Rover 216 GTI last year, and he has now upgraded to a frontrunning MG ZS 180 that he raced for the first time at Brands.

Matt Simpson led from the start in his Tomcat, while poleman Williams dropped to third behind Short. The Metro man passed after a few laps’ battle, but soon had to do it all again as the race was red flagged when Ian Boulton went off at Surtees, and Williams dropped back behind Short on countback. Both Short and Williams vaulted past Simpson at the restart, and a few laps later Williams got the lead from Short exiting Graham Hill Bend. Short dropped to third behind Simpson by just 0.039 seconds with a lastgasp track-limits penalty.

Iain Dowler, in fourth place overall, comfortably won the Class B contest in his ZR 170, while Jon Gil got the Class A win, and Driver of the Race with it.

It looked like race two would be more straightforward for Williams as he led from Short, but at mid-distance he spun at Graham Hill Bend, letting Short by into first. Williams, though, was able to quickly hunt Short down and pass him for the lead, again on the exit of Graham Hill Bend, aided by the fact that Short’s MG ZS was surging due to being short on fuel.

Darren Harris won Class B, and took the Driver of the Race award, after passing Dowler mid-race. Gil again won Class A.

Hickford Construction Limited MGCC MG Metro Cup

The MG Metro Cup shared the track with MG Cup and provided plenty of its own drama. In the opening race’s opening stint Mark Eales, Dan Willars and Tim Davies led the way, but then in the restart all three came together in the run to Paddock. The trio continued, albeit well down.

That left Phil Goodwin in first but he soon pulled off when he lost drive, which he suspected was due to a gearbox seizure. Tim Shooter then led and kept the

Nigel Stroud MG J2 (8) ahead of Fred Boothby in his MG J2 and Barry Foster in his MG Montlhery Midget. Photo: Dickon Siddall

place to the end, and the birthday boy got an additional present of Driver of the Race.

Eales recovered to second and was chasing Shooter, but spun at Paddock on the final lap when a car ahead put fluid down. He was not able to re-join due to a cracked radiator from the restart incident and this kept him out of the second race too. David Javes and Richard Garrard completed the race one podium, while Les Tyler also spun on the treacherous Paddock surface and recovered to finish fifth.

Shooter made it a double in race two. Davies led from the off and Javes jumped Shooter for second when the latter lost momentum after attempting to pass Davies. Javes and Shooter soon cleared Davies then Shooter took the lead he wasn’t to lose from Javes at Paddock. Tyler completed the top three and fourth-placed Davies got Driver of the Race.

MGCC The Boretech Engineering MG Trophy

Sam Kirkpatrick at Brands continued his strong form from last season by taking two wins from pole position in his ZR 190. And it was two young guns who fought for first in both races from the front row. In race one Kirkpatrick just held off his fellow young gun Fred Burgess, who also continued his good 2020 form.

The MG Trophy’s qualifying was disrupted by many incidents as drivers reported the surface offered little grip at that point, and this resulted in a somewhat jumbled pair of grids. Doug Cole was one impeded by this but he recovered to finish third in race one.

James Dennison beat Fergus Campbell to the Class B win, pipping him in a thrilling run to the line, and Dennison got Driver of the Race with it. James Moreton in his ZR 160 won the Class C race.

Race two was a similar story at the front though this time Kirkpatrick beat Burgess with a little more comfort, managing to get Burgess out of his slipstream.

Adam Jackson – newly graduated to Class A – completed the podium, climbing from a 14th-placed start amid the disrupted qualifying. He finished eighth in the first race as he’d left the track avoiding the suddenly slowing fourth-placed Patrick Booth ahead whose car had seized.

Dennison made it a double Class B win in race two, winning by 9s, and he was awarded Saturday’s Driver of the Day. Moreton made it a clean sweep of MG Trophy doubles in this meeting by winning Class C’s race two, he also got Driver of the Race.

MGCC BCV8 Championship

Reigning champion Ollie Neaves was another at Brands to start 2021 in a similar vein to 2020, in his case continuing his allconquering form. He won both races, in both being decisively clear of his closest chaser Russell McCarthy. Neil Fowler, learning the set-up ropes of his new MGB V8, completed the symmetry with third place in both races.

Reigning class champion Jim Bryan was race one’s Class C victor after long-time class leader James Wheeler retired late on when his coil lead detached. Reigning AB class champion Russ McAngus comfortably won his class contest.

Simon Cripps had a particularly eventful meeting. He started qualifying in a Class D MGB GT V8, but its clutch failed early in the session then he had a collision when pulling off the track. He therefore dashed away to fetch a Class B MGB, and he won in class in race one despite a quick pitstop to check his pressure gauge. After returning to the track he swiftly recovered his lead. This all got him Driver of the Race.

Wheeler made up for his race one disappointment by winning Class C battle in race two, holding off Andrew Young, though Young got the compensation of Driver of the Race. And McAngus doubled up in Class AB, winning by 1.4s from Simon Tinkler.

MGCC Lackford Engineering MG Midget & Sprite Challenge

The MG Midget & Sprite Challenge, also competing for the Steve Everitt Memorial Race, didn’t let us down in the drama stakes. The opening counter had a thrilling four-way all-Midget fight for first between David Weston, Martin Morris, Richard Wildman and Michael Chalk.

Chalk led early but then was jumped by his three pursuers leaving a Paddock Hill Bend yellow flag zone, and not long later had a quick gravel detour at Clearways. This left Morris and Wildman disputing the lead, but the pair at half distance touched at Paddock and Weston got momentum on both to take a lead, while Morris immediately parked on the outside of Druids. Weston won with Wildman and Chalk still close at hand, and the victor got Driver of the Race too.

Pippa Cow won the Class E contest in her Austin-Healey Frogeye Sprite. Dean Stanton in his Healey Sprite comfortably won Class D.

Race two featured a straightforward win for Chalk as the only one from race one’s frontrunning quartet to take part, with Wildman and Morris sitting out and Weston’s son Edward taking over his car. Chalk won by 10s over the Class E battle that Walker edged from a closing Cow, Walker relieved by a late spin from his opponent. Cow, though, got Driver of the Race for her effort. Stanton was again a clear Class D winner.

Baynton Jones Historic Motorsport MGCC Triple-M Racing Challenge for the Mary Harris Trophy

Brands was the scene of a welcome return of the pre-war Triple-M Challenge contest, and it too provided its share of thrills. The first race had a diverting victory fight between Oliver Sharp’s Class C MG N Type Magnette and Tony Seber’s Class D Wolseley Hornet Special. Seber seized the lead from Sharp early on but Sharp was able to stick with his opponent. Then Seber sensationally spun at Surtees on the last lap, letting the closely chasing Sharp by to win. Sharp also got Driver of the Race.

Harry Painter’s MG PA was a clear third overall and an equally clear Class B winner. Barry Foster in his Montlhery Midget just beat Fred Boothby’s J2 by 0.5s to win Class A1, while Simon Jackson in his MG PB was a clear Class A2 victor.

Sharp won again in race two, and it was less dramatic this time as he led throughout from Painter and David Seber who had taken over Tony’s car.

Foster again beat Boothby in the Class A1 bout, this time by 4.2s, and Jackson also doubled up in Class A2. Andrew Long got Driver of the Race after finishing sixth overall and third in Class C in his KN, while Sharp was delighted to receive Sunday’s Driver of the Day for his double triumph.

The Equipe races and guest races were equally exciting; a full report featuring these and driver quotes can be found at www.mgcc.co.uk/motorsport/

The MG Trophy grid power around Paddock Hill Bend with the MG ZR 190 of Fred Burgess leading the way. Photo: Dickon Siddall