MG TC Midget

History

CC Entry 1946 MG TC Midget OCR 318 In 1936, following the establishment of the Nuffield Organisation, a radical new MG Midget was announced, and it was one that encompassed a large number of parts from the current Morris range, being designed in Cowley, not Abingdon, and using a modified Morris 10 engine. With this car, known as the ?T? type, MG cars had great success, as it did everything that its overhead camshaft predecessors did, but with far less fuss. It was also very robust, a good deal larger all round and embodied many up to date features to make it easier to live with. This car was followed in 1939 by the TB Midget, with a new engine and gearbox; the XPAG engine was higher revving, having been fitted with a counterbalanced crankshaft and developes 54 bhp at 5400 rpm! This engine, its Borg and Beek day clutch and improved gearbox with sporting ratios, was to remain the backbone of the MG sportscar range for the next fifteen years. On the cessation of hostilities in 1945, MG were quick to resume production of a marginally different car, now called the TC and produced in large numbers for export around the British Empire and North America ? principally because these exports qualified MG to reserve supplies of steel. OCR 318 is one of the earliest of cars, having been first registered in April 1946, to a lady owner who specified red wheels to match the radiator slats. After spending a short time in Jersey, the car was the acquired by a lady from the North of England, who kept it or 46 years, by which time she was herself in her eighties. The car was carefully preserved, and lightly used, including a yearly visit to the church fete. During its ownership the car received a replacement Gold Seal Engine in the late 1950s, and the body was resprayed in its original black and the upholstery replaced with the correct red hide at some time in the 1970?s. The Midget passed into the hands of its present owner, a long time MG Enthusiast, some 3 ? years ago, and has since been carefully used, and has received a carburettor rebuild by Burlen Services, plus replacement clutch and engine mountings, king pins and bushes and new front brake cylinders. A new stainless-steel exhaust system in fitted. OCR 318 has a light tan hood and sidescreens with a signalling flap, and has all the correct original lamps and instruments and still has its Lucas Alto horn and period locus spotlight on the badge bar. The original Duckhams ?NOL? oil can is still in the bracket on the bulkhead! An ?optional extra? Brooklands sprung steering wheel is fitted. This is an extremely original early car, with just three very careful owners, and with all numbers matching except of course the period Gold Seal engine. All the correct fittings and accessories are still present, and the car is in wonderful patinated condition, and the performance is sparkling. The Midget has never been restored, as she has never required restoration. It is taxed, has a long MOT certificate and a large file of old certificates showing careful use over a long period. Estimate ?13,500 - ?15,000