MG J2 Two-seat Roadster

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Considered by many enthusiasts to be the pinnacle of pre-war MG Midgets, the beautifully minimalist J-Type was launched in 1932 and remained in production for just two years.

Four versions were offered, the four-seater J1, the two-seater sports J2, and the J3 and J4 racers. The J2 was by far the most popular, accounting for 2,083 of the 2,463 J-Types produced in total before production ended in 1934.

Developed from the C-Type MG or ‘Montlhery Midget’ as it was better known, the J2 used a traditional chassis layout with semi-elliptic springs all round, Hartford friction shock absorbers, rigid front and rear axles and cable-operated drum brakes at each corner. Its 847cc engine had a simple two-bearing crank, while the cross-flow head was fed by two SU carburettors. Developing around 36bhp at 5,500rpm with a top speed of 70mph, a sensible set of gear ratios in its crash box meant an enthusiastic driver could make the most of the modest power aided by its excellent handling, relatively light weight, low centre of gravity and precise steering.

The earliest cars had cycle-type front wings (as here) but these were replaced with more streamlined swept wings on later models. Other rakish design features included a rear-mounted slab fuel tank, cutaway doors, fold flat windshield and octagonal dash instruments. The car cost £199 at launch (twice the price of a contemporary Morris Minor) and proved very popular in competition from racing through to the ever-popular trials scene.

As a buff continuation log book from 1956 confirms, JW 2266 was first registered on 25th October 1932 and was with an owner in Chatham, Kent, by the late 1950s although the JW prefix means that it presumably started life in Wolverhampton. Old tax discs from 1963 and 1964 suggest that it was in use at that time but nothing else is known about the history of the car (the survival of which was unknown to the Triple-M Register until it resurfaced at this auction, although they have informed us that it was sold new by PJ Evans of Birmingham to a Mr Hickman).

It was acquired by an associate of the current vendor about 25 years ago as part of a deal on a flat radiator Morgan, being recovered from a barn in Cheshire where it had been for many years previously. Languishing in storage elsewhere ever since, it appears to be in reasonable condition but has been fitted with what looks like a Ford sidevalve engine at some point, although an engine which looks to be from the correct era is also included in the sale but this could well be a Morris Minor unit.

It comes with the aforementioned buff log book and two old tax discs, a fuel ration booklet and a key on an MG fob. With top examples now fetching in excess of £30,000, this exciting J2 discovery is being offered here at no reserve and should amply reward the restoration now required.