1936 MG Midget T-Series Pre-Production Sports

Registration no. JB 9946 Chassis no. TA 0267

Footnotes

Launched in 1936 as successor to the PB Midget, the T-Series Midget (known later as the TA) was an altogether larger and roomier car. The simple chassis design followed established Midget practice with semi-elliptic springing all round, though the use of hydraulic dampers at the front and the adoption of Lockheed hydraulic brakes were new departures. Although styled in a manner MG enthusiasts had come to expect, the new two-seater broke with tradition by employing an overhead-valve engine instead of the previous overhead-camshaft type. Derived from that of the Morris Ten, the 1,292cc four-cylinder engine produced around 50bhp at 4,500rpm, good enough to propel the lightweight T-Series to within a whisker of 80mph.

For many years all MG chassis numbering sequences began with '251' (the factory's telephone number!) making this very early T-Series Midget the 17th car produced. MG Car Club correspondence on file states that this car is a pre-production example and is listed as such in their 2003-2004 Yearbook.

In 1936 'JB 9446' was given to William Brunell and his daughter Kitty to participate in that year's Continental Rally, organised by the MG Car Club. Mr Brunell is notable as the first Englishman to win the Monte Carlo Rally (in 1926, co-driving with Victor Bruce) and Kitty was the first and only female driver ever to win the RAC Rally of Britain (in 1933), a most impressive record for any motoring family.

William Brunell was also a leading motor sports journalist and pioneering photographer of his era; there are numerous charming photographs of the Rally on file, and a full report was published in The Sports Car magazine in October 1936. The National Motor Museum at Beaulieu has the complete collection of photographs of the Rally.

Sold by the factory, its whereabouts are unknown until 1958 when a continuation logbook was issued by County Hall in Trowbridge, Wiltshire. The MG's movements are recorded over the next ten years, during which it has seven changes of ownership in the Southampton and Winchester areas. The TA next surfaced near brands Hatch where an owner ran it until 1970 before stripping it for a restoration that was never completed.

The car changed hands again in 1994, and then again in 1999 when it was purchased by the current owner who had it meticulously restored in the early 2000s as befits an early survivor of this historic MG model. Described by the private vendor as in excellent condition throughout, this wonderful piece of British motoring history is offered with an old-style logbook; sundry restoration bills; an expired MoT (2004); a V5C registration document; and copious correspondence.