MGA E-Book

David Knowles

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

The MGA truly marked a revolution in MG sports car design, with its appearance quite unlike any previous production car from the celebrated British marque. Entering production in the summer of 1955, it broke with the time-honoured tradition of narrow-gutted, flat-sides, upright styling, with the distinctive large grille, exposed headlamps, separate wings and sharply cut-off tail that had serviced the majority of MG sports cars for well over thirty years. Many die-hard MG enthusiasts of the time were understandably outraged, but the decision to break with tradition proved to be a good one: over 100,000 cars were produced over the model's seven-year lifetime. This book, from celebrated author David Knowles covers: the circumstances that led to the momentous decision to make such a fundamental design change; the production, publicity and evolution of each and every MGA variant from launch in 1955 to the end of production in 1962, with specification tables for each model; profiles of the people who had crucial roles in the development of the MGA and finally, the largely untold story of overseas assembly in Australia, Ireland, Mexico and South Africa. It offers comprehensive coverage of racing and rallying in Europe, including the MGA entries at Sebring Twelve Hour race and where many of the cars ended up, and will be of great interest to all motoring enthusiasts and those particularly interested in MG. It is extensively illustrated with 200 colour and 300 black & white photographs, much of it drawn from archives and family collections, as well as photoshoots specially commissioned for this book. David Knowles has been researching and writing about British cars for over twenty-five years.

Leseprobe

MGA

The Revolutionary MG

TITLES IN THE CROWOOD AUTOCLASSICS SERIES

ALFA ROMEO 916 GTV AND SPIDER

ALFA ROMEO SPIDER

ASTON MARTIN DB4, DB5 & DB6

ASTON MARTIN DB7

ASTON MARTIN V8

AUDI QUATTRO

AUSTIN HEALEY 100 & 3000 SERIES

BMW CLASSIC COUPÉS 1965–1989

BMW M3

BMW M5

BMW Z3 AND Z4

CITROEN DS SERIES

CLASSIC JAGUAR XK:THE 6-CYLINDER CARS 1948–1970

CLASSIC MINI SPECIALS AND MOKE

FERRARI 308, 328 & 348

FORD CONSUL, ZEPHYR AND ZODIAC

FORD ESCORT RS

FORD TRANSIT: FIFTY YEARS

FROGEYE SPRITE

GINETTA ROAD AND TRACK CARS

JAGUAR E-TYPE

JAGUAR MKS 1 AND 2, S-TYPE AND 420

JAGUAR XJ-S

JAGUAR XK8

JENSEN V8

JOWETT JAVELIN AND JUPITER

LAMBORGHINI COUNTACH

LAND ROVER DEFENDER

LAND ROVER DISCOVERY: 25 YEARS OF THE FAMILY 4×4

LAND ROVER FREELANDER

LOTUS ELAN

MAZDA MX-5

MERCEDES SL & SLC 107 SERIES 1971–2013

MERCEDES SL SERIES

MERCEDES-BENZ ‘FINTAIL’ MODELS

MERCEDES-BENZ CARS OF THE 1990S

MERCEDES-BENZ S-CLASS

MERCEDES-BENZ W113

MERCEDES-BENZ W124

MERCEDES-BENZ W126 S-CLASS 1979–1991

MG T-SERIES

MGA

MGB

MGF AND TF

MORGAN 4/4:THE FIRST 75 YEARS

MORGAN THREE-WHEELER

PEUGEOT 205

PORSCHE 924/928/944/968

PORSCHE BOXSTER AND CAYMAN

PORSCHE CARRERA:THE AIR-COOLED ERA

PORSCHE CARRERA:THE WATER-COOLED ERA

RANGE ROVER:THE FIRST GENERATION

RANGE ROVER:THE SECOND GENERATION

RELIANT THREE-WHEELERS

RILEY:THE LEGENDARY RMS

ROVER 75 AND MG ZT

ROVER 800

ROVER P5 & P5B

ROVER SD1

SAAB 99 & 900

SHELBY AND AC COBRA

SUBARU IMPREZA WRX AND WRX

STI SUNBEAM ALPINE & TIGER

TOYOTA MR2

TRIUMPH SPITFIRE & GT6

TRIUMPH TR: FROM BEGINNING TO END

TRIUMPH TR6

TRIUMPH TR7 TVR 1946-1982

TVR: CARS OF THE PETER WHEELER ERA

VOLVO 1800

VOLVO AMAZON

VW KARMANN GHIAS AND CABRIOLETS

MGA

The Revolutionary MG

David Knowles

First published in 2019 byThe Crowood Press LtdRamsbury, MarlboroughWiltshire SN8 2HR

This e-book first published in 2019

www.crowood.com

© David Knowles 2019

All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication DataA catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 78500 568 8

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

MGA Timeline 1950–1962

Introduction

CHAPTER 1

THE MG LEGACY

CHAPTER 2

THE AERODYNAMIC SPORTS CAR

CHAPTER 3

CALL IT MGA

CHAPTER 4

THE MGA 1500

CHAPTER 5

THE MGA 1500 COUPÉ

CHAPTER 6

THE MGA TWIN CAM

CHAPTER 7

THE MGA 1600, ‘DELUXE’ AND 1600 MARK II

CHAPTER 8

ASSEMBLY OVERSEAS

CHAPTER 9

SUCCESSION PLANNING: FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THE MGA

CHAPTER 10

THE MGA IN MOTOR SPORTS

Appendices

Index

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

It is always right and proper for an author to acknowledge the assistance he or she receives in the course of researching a book of this kind. Any names which may have been inadvertently omitted from this list have been missed by accident rather than intent, and the help of all the contributors is genuinely appreciated. Some of their revelations were remarkable, but I will leave it to you, the reader, to find their gems. I am indebted to the following:

Michael Allison, MG historian and former MG Car Company employee; Mick Anderson, MGA Twin Cam specialist; Brian Aslett, MGCC South Africa; Lino Baggio, owner of the ‘Canadian’ 1957 Sebring MGA No. 49.

Robin Barker, owner of 1960 Sebring MGA, and seasoned MGA Twin Cam expert; Vernon Barker, Riley Register; John Barrett, MGA Deluxe enthusiast and expert; Geoff Barron, MGCC MGA Register Chairman; the family of Tony Birt, formerly of BMC Hambro; Mary Blaksley, widow of MGA racer John Blaksley, of the Fitzwilliam race team; Richard Blaksley, son of racer John Blaksley; Rutger Booy, Dutch MG historian; Ken Breslauer, Sebring historian; family of Phyllis Buckle, owners of Harry Herring MG models; Hugh Burruss, owner of 1962 Sebring MGA No. 52.

Ruth Cathir, Pathé; Sue, Bill and Bruce Chapman, Nancy Mitchell family; Pete Cosmides, Motorcar Garage LLC; James Cottingham, DK Engineering (owners of Sebring MGA);Tom Coulthard, MG enthusiast; ‘Jim’ (Sydney John) Cox, MG Car Company; Pat Coyne, MGCC South Africa.

Michael Dale, former BMC apprentice, leading ultimately to Jaguar Cars Inc. President; Lady Mary Barbara Damerell, daughter of Robin Carnegie; Roger Daniell, owner (for many years) of the ex-Dick Jacobs MGA Twin Cams 1 MTW and 2 MTW; Pedr Davis, celebrated Australian motoring journalist; Andreea DeMiere, Daniel Schmitt & Co. (Robert Redford MGA); Stefan Dierkes, Frua Register; Steve Dixon, custodian of MGA racers UPO 929 and SRX 210; Philippe Douchet, owner of MGA rally car MRX 42; Thomas Durham, DK Engineering; George Dutton, co-author of the book about the MGCC NW Centre, which supported the Le Mans MGA of Ted Lund.

Michael Eaton, NAMGAR historian and owner of 1957 and 1959 Sebring MGAs; Derek Edwards, Chairman of the MG Car Club South-East Centre; Gus Ehrman (and family), former Hambro, Inskip, BMC & BL Director and MG race driver and record breaker; Jill and Graham Eke, owners of the Glacier Blue MGA 1500 Roadster featured in this book; Ian Elliott, former Austin apprentice, BMC and BL publicity; Michael Ellman-Brown, who acquired the last MGA Twin Cam; Roger Enever, son of Syd Enever; Norman Ewing, MGCC South Africa.

Tanya Field, MGCC; the family of Richard ‘Fitz’ W-Fitzwilliam (Robin and Amanda); Roger Allan Foy, BMC Australia expert; Terry Frisch, owner of the fourth MGA Twin Cam; Carla Frua, niece of Pietro Frua.

Jennifer Galpern, research associate/Special Collections – Rhode Island Historical Society; Barney Gaylord, MGA enthusiast and ‘The MGA with an Attitude’ website owner; Julien Giambagli, ‘Supercars.net’ website; Bo Giersing, South African MGA enthusiast; Mervyn Gillespie, MGA and Dundrod fan; Simon Goldsworthy, editor, MG Enthusiast magazine; Adrian Goodenough, MG Car Company 1960–80; Paul Goodman, co-author (with George Dutton) of the book about the MGCC-supported Le Mans MGA of Ted Lund; Lynn Herson Grad, daughter of Joe Herson of Manhattan Autos; Frank Graham, owner of the 1961 Sebring MGA Coupé ‘43’; Malcolm Green, MG author; Michael Green, son of ‘Dickie’ Green (of BMC Comps); Joe and Cathy Gunderson, owners of the unique MG EX 186 prototype.

John & Sharen Halfpenny, owners of the 1962 MGA Coupé Deluxe ‘151 ABL’, raced at events that year; Rupert Hambro, son of Major Jocelyn Hambro; Peter Hamilton, Riley Register; David Harrison, motoring enthusiast and writer; Don Hayter, MG Car Company design team; Bruce Henderson, Nigel Herring, grandson of MG’s model maker Harry Herring; Mark Hester, MGCC MGA Twin Cam Group; Samuel and Pierre Heuer, driver (Samuel) of MGA EX 182 Twin Cam at Orton-Villars in 1958, and other Twin Cams at various events, and his son; Chris Higginbotham, MG enthusiast; Rob Higgins, former MGCC MGA registrar; Jane Hogan, Bonhams (for KMO 326 photos); Brian Hogg, South African MGA owner and enthusiast; Robin Howard, owner (2018) of MJB 191; Piers Hubbard, MGCC MGA Register; Lisa Hudman, Archive Department, British Motor Industry Heritage Trust; John Hughes, MGA Twin Cam owner; David Humphreys, MGA Twin Cam owner with ex-Sebring 1960 engine.

Geoffrey Iley, MG Car Company and BMC Management, 1955–68.

Barrie and Maggie Jackson, MG Car Company Development Department; Stephen Michael Johnson, MG and Dick Jacobs enthusiast.

Gregory Keenan, Australian CKD MGA restoration expert; Rowland Keith Jnr, son of MG racer Rowland Keith; Jürg Keller, son of Swiss MG agent, Heinz Keller; Garry Kemm, MGCC Australia, MGA expert; Alistair Kennedy, Marque News, Australia; Bill Kirschner, TWA Retired Pilots Association – newsletter editor; Stephanie Knott, Providence Public Library, Reference Department.

David Lee, present owner (2018) of the ex-Peter Seymour MGA Coupé PBL 497.

Eddy Maher, son of Eddie Maher of Riley and Morris Engines; Adrian Malthouse, owner of the MGA Twin Cam and MGA 1600 Mark II featured in colour; Neil Manchester; Colin Manley, MGCC MGA Twin Cam Group; Roger Martin, MGCC MGA Register; Pam McCarthy, owner of first production MGA Twin Cam ‘PMO 326’; John McLellan, MG author; Peter Millard Jnr, son of Peter Millard of BMC Canada; Theresa Mitchell, daughter of Terry Mitchell; Terry Mitchell, MG Car Company design team – Chief Chassis Engineer; Peter Morgan, MGCC MGA Register; Peter Morrell, Riley Register.

Peter Neal, MG Car Company design team, later MGCC archivist; Dave ‘Kahuna’ Nicholas, one of the ‘BARC’ boys, contemporary US MG racing enthusiasts; John Nikas, motoring author and historian; Doug Nye, motoring author and historian.

Bill Oesterle, owner of 1958 Paris Salon MGA Twin Cams; Jim O’Neill, MG Car Company design team – Chief Body Engineer; Terry and Sandi O’Neill, son and daughter of Jim O’Neill; Brian Osbourn, Dennis Ferranti Ltd.

Colin Panter, PA Images; Mike Peters, owner of MGA Coupé ‘PRX 14’; Jim Plowden, owner of 1962 Sebring MGA No. 51; Alec Poole, son of Billy Poole of Booth Poole & Co. Ltd of Dublin; Jon Pressnell, MG, BMC, Morris (and many other marques) – author and expert; Ian Prior, owner of 1961 Sebring MGA No. ‘44’; Jon Proctor, TWA historian; Stephan Pröpsting, owner of 1960 Sebring MGA ‘UMO 96’ (Race No. 39).

Howard Quayle, MGA Register; Bruce Qvale, son of US importer Kjell Qvale.

Pablo Raybould; Peter Reason, owner of racing MGA Twin Cam ‘VXT 280’; Tim Reid, son of MGA racer Mike Reid; Phil Richer, (late) MGCC Twin Cam Group; Roberto Rigoli, nephew of Pietro Frua; Hamish Riley-Smith, original owner of a Dublin-built MGA; Phil Robinson, owner of ‘MJB 167’; Graham Robson, author and former industry ‘insider’.

Jeremy and Jon Savage, owners of ‘LBL 301’; Paul Scholes, Riley Register; Hermann Schwartz, Salzburg Rallye Club; Stuart Seager; Bob Seymour, formerly at Nuffield Exports; Peter Seymour, formerly at Nuffield and BMC; Roger Sharpe, website ‘mgbsmadeinaustralia.org’; Steve Simmons, ‘MG Nuts’ website; June Simpson, daughter of Alec Hounslow (along with her sisters Jennifer and Lesley); Roger Skinner, owner of the Fitzwilliam Team MGA Twin Cam ‘WGN 734’; Christopher Skomp, son of Fred Skomp, former owner of the 100,000th MGA; Donald Smith, former owner of MGA Twin Cam ‘ORX 885’; Larry Smith, MG Vintage Racers (present-day racer of 1962 MGA Sebring car); Robert Smyth, Canadian MGA Sebring enthusiast; Bob Somerville, MGA Twin Cam website in Australia; Jonathan Stein, author and MGA Coupé expert; Koen Struijk, MGA Register (Holland); Cliff Summer, MGA Twin Cam owner.

Peter Thornley, son of John Thornley; John Thornley OBE, former Managing Director of the MG Car Company; Richard Trasler, relative of the Buckle family, owners of Harry Herring models of EX 181 and EX 172; Steve Tremulis, nephew of car designer and salesman Alex Tremulis; Stuart Turner, former BMC Competitions Manager.

Jerry van Kalleveen, MGA Register (Holland); Pim van der Veer, formerly BMC and BLMC Netherlands; Willem van der Veer, Dutch MG enthusiast; Marc van Zoest, owner of a Mexican CKD MGA Twin Cam; Edward Vandyk, MGA Twin Cam enthusiast, owner and MGCC ‘Safety Fast’ scribe; Robert Vitrikas, motoring author and historian.

Basil Wales, former Morris Engines apprentice and MG ‘Comps’; Craig Watson, ‘Autofan Media’ (Australian writer on MG); Hilary Watts, niece of Syd Enever’s secretary, Isla Watts and Doug Watts of ‘Comps’; Mike Watts, son of Doug Watts; Bob West, leading MGA restorer and expert; Richard White, MG enthusiast; Parker Whiteway, who spotted a Cuban MGA whilst on vacation in Cuba; Bob Willcutts, TWA Retired Pilots Association – webmaster; Denis Williams, MG Car Company design team – body design technician; Maynard Mark Williams, owner of the first production LHD MGA, ‘100106’; Tom Wilson, MG enthusiast and historian; Steven Woodward, owner of 1960 Sebring MGA No. 38; Dickie (and Mrs Susan) Wright, MG Senior Engineer from 1956; John Wright, owner of 1962 Sebring MGA Coupé Deluxe;Tim Wright, son of Dickie Wright.

A brief note on terminology: This is a British book about a subject of great interest to an overseas audience. Spellings are, for the most part, inevitably anglicized, but where it has been felt important to stress a difference, the local terminology has sometimes been retained. The author has also used ‘MG’ – that is, without full stops (‘periods’ if you prefer) – even though he knows full well that this will not meet with the approval of some enthusiasts. Similarly, there is a perennial argument over whether or not the open MGA should be referred to as a ‘Tourer’ or a ‘Roadster’: the author has decided on the latter.

MGA TIMELINE 1950–1962

3 January 1951

The Morris Motors Board agrees a funding contribution of £850 that allows work to begin on ‘EX 172’ – a Le Mans car for George Phillips.

23–24 June 1951

1951 Le Mans ‘Grand Prix d’Endurance’ – 24 Hours: George Phillips (co-driver Alan Rippon) drives his special-bodied MG TD Midget (EX 172; ‘UMG 400’; Car No. 43), reaching up to 116 mph on the Mulsanne Straight. Car retired following engine problems.

14 November 1951

Morris Motors Board authorizes £350,000 for a new MG Magnette for the 1952 Motor Show and a Wolseley for spring 1953 – one week before the merger is announced.

23 November 1951

Nuffield Group and Austin announce a merger, to be consummated the following spring.

28 November 1951

As a consequence of the merger, all future model plans are ‘placed in abeyance’ by the Morris Motors Board.

20 February 1952

As MG at Abingdon conceive a ‘1,500 streamlined Midget’ – the basis of ‘EX 175’ – the first drawing is EX 175/1, dated 20 February.

21 October 1952

1951 Earls Court Motor Show; Donald Healey’s ‘Healey 100’ becomes the ‘Austin-Healey 100’ overnight and an announcement is made at the Show on 23 October.

24 October 1952

MG’s EX 175 proposal for a streamlined sports car with XPEG engine is shown to BMC management but is rejected for investment.

3 November 1952

John Thornley – assistant General Manager since 1948 – takes over from Jack Tatlow as General Manager at MG, Abingdon.

17 December 1952

The Morris Motors Board Minutes record that Lord Nuffield has resigned his role as Chairman (and becomes Honorary President); Leonard Lord takes over as Chairman of BMC.

12 February 1953

The Morris Motors Board sanctions the tooling cost for the ‘Project No. 41 MG TF Midget’ of £27,000.

11 June 1953

The Morris Motors Board considers and approves in principle ‘DO 1049’, which is Gerald Palmer’s MG Midget proposal, with a provisional tooling cost of £250,000.

17 September 1953

The MG TF Midget enters series production (TF0501). On the same day, the Morris Motors Board authorise expenditure for a ‘high performance version’ of the BMC B-Series engine – which becomes the MG Twin Cam engine.

21 October 1953

1953 Earls Court Motor Show: MG ‘Z’ series Magnette and MG ‘TF’ Midget (1250) appear at the Motor Show. Triumph TR2 appears at same show.

1 June 1954

Drawing office established at Abingdon, with several key staff transferring from Cowley.

3 June 1954

First entry in MG at Abingdon’s records against the Cowley Design Order Number, ‘DO 1062 – New MG Midget’ – for what would become the MG Series MGA.

29 June 1954

John Thornley writes one of his many memos – this one to R. F. Hanks – about his proposals for Le Mans 1955, in which MG would enter ‘

substantially standard DO 1062s, the object being to give a demonstration of high-speed reliability of the new model and qualify for the biennial cup. This is a thing one can only do once. In 1956 we must enter to win our class, and a pretty stiff class it now is.

’

8 September 1954

The Morris Motors Board formally approves ‘DO 1062’ (the future MGA) with a tooling estimate of £70,000. Abingdon had already been working on it for at least four months.

1 December 1954

The MG Competition Department is recreated, initially sharing the workshops of the Development Department, pending the completion of a new workshop next door.

4 April 1955

The final MG TF 1500 goes down the line at Abingdon (Chassis No. 10100 – after a production run of 9,602 cars).

16 May 1955

First production MGA starts down the line at the MG factory at Abingdon-on-Thames.

27 May 1955

The first production left-hand-drive MG MGA (an Orient Red car with black trim, Chassis No. HDC43/10106) begins assembly at Abingdon; build lasts until 8 July 1955 and the car is despatched on 13 July 1955.

11–12 June 1955

1955 Le Mans ‘Grand Prix d’Endurance’ – 24 Hours: a three-car team of ‘EX 182’ prototypes is entered. Two cars finish in 12th (‘LBL 302’ – Car No. 41; Ken Miles/Johnny Lockett) and 17th places (‘LBL 303’ – Car No. 64;Ted Lund/Hans Waeffler). Third MG (‘LBL 301’ – Car No. 42, Dick Jacobs/Joe Flynn) burst into flames after leaving the track in the sixth hour at Maison Blanche (‘White House’), soon after the Mercedes tragedy. Fourth car – ‘LBL 304’ – was not raced.

13 July 1955

First US export specification MGA, an Orient Red LHD car HDC43/10106, is completed at Abingdon.

16 July 1955

First production RHD MGA leaves the factory, ahead of the September launch.

21 September 1955

One of the MGA show cars is airfreighted from London Airport to the Frankfurt Motor Show by TWA. The event is recorded in a short colour Pathé news film.

22 September 1955

Formal launch of the MGA, at the Frankfurt Motor Show (22 September–2 October 1955). An Orient Red car with wire wheels, flown in by air from London, is shown alongside another car.

7 October 1955

42nd Paris ‘Salon de l’Automobile’ (6 October–16 October 1955) opens to the public, who mainly flock to see the striking new Citröen DS19. The MGA is the only all-new British car on display.

19 October 1955

1955 Earls Court Motor Show (‘40th International Motor Exhibition’, 19–29 October): MGA makes its UK show debut at Earls Court; three cars are shown; red, white and blue specimens.

11 January 1956

The Minutes of the Morris Motors Board meeting approves tooling costs for the MGA Hard Top of a modest £5,000.

24 March 1956

1956 Sebring 12 Hours race: a three-car team of white MGAs driven by an all-American team of drivers wins the ‘team prize’. Results were 4th in class and 19th overall (Kincheloe/Steve Spitler – Car No. 50), 5th in class and 19th overall (David Ash/Gus Ehrman – Car No. 49) and 22nd overall (Fred Allen/John Van Driel – Car No. 51). MGAs would compete at Sebring in 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961 and 1962.

7 May 1956

The Morris Motors Board formally authorises tooling costs of £8,000 for the MGA Coupé.

27 July 1956

The first CKD MGA kit leaves Cowley for Australia, to be assembled eventually at the Pressed Metal Corporation in Enfield, Sydney.

13 September 1956

Various BMC Executive changes are announced: George Harriman becomes deputy chairman and joint managing director with Sir Leonard Lord, J R Woodcock is deputy managing director of BMC (but retaining his post of deputy chairman of Morris Motors) and John Thornley, general manager of MG and Riley since 1952, becomes a director of BMC.

12 October 1956

Production version of Vanden Plas alloy hardtop for MGA announced (similar to version already seen on Alpine Rally in July). This had the MG project code of ‘EX 196’, dating from 7 February 1956. MG ‘ZB’ Magnette was also launched, with earlier version being known as ‘ZA’. MG MGA Coupé‚ announced; this project received the MG code ‘EX 197’.

17 October 1956

1956 Earls Court Motor Show (17–27 October): the MGA Coupé (an Old English White car with wire wheels – Car No. 20672) and ‘ZB’ Magnette make their public debuts. Display also includes a LHD MGA roadster with transparent bonnet on a rotating turntable.

22 April 1958

MG MGA Twin-Cam enters production. Car YD1-501 – mounted on the line 22 April, despatched 28 July 1958.

14 July 1958(Monday)

MG MGA Twin-Cam launched. A ‘demonstration day’ is held at the Ministry of Supply Fighting Vehicles Research and Development Establishment at Chobham in Surrey, at which over 100 journalists are given the opportunity to try the new car.

31 July 1959

MG MGA 1600 (with 1,588 c.c. ‘B’ series engine) launched. Production started in May. The MGA 1500 had already earned some £21.5 million in US revenue for BMC.

6 April 1960

The final series-production MGA Twin Cam (YD1-2610, a Chariot Red roadster with red interior) starts its build at Abingdon. One more car, YD1-2611, would be specially built after formal end of production for Michael Ellman-Brown in May/June. Surplus chassis, with front and rear disc brakes, used for ‘MGA De-Luxe’. Last MGA Twin Cam built May 1960 (

see

entry below).

18 May 1960

An MGA Twin Cam Roadster (YD1-2611; Engine No. 2245), specially finished in Woodland Green with Beige Interior for Michael Ellman-Brown, begins assembly at Abingdon, being finally marked as despatched on 14 June.

28 June 1961

MGA 1600 Mk. II launched, with 1,622 c.c. ‘B’ series engine.

12 March 1962

100,000th MGA produced at Abingdon (GHNL2-107989); the car is finished in metallic gold with cream leather interior trim and gold-painted spoked wire wheels. Exhibited at New York Motor Show, seemingly with chrome-plated wire wheels.

14 May 1962

The last MGA 1600 Mark II Roadster, Chassis No. 109070 starts assembly and leaves the production line on June 7th 1962, marking a total of 101,081 MGAs built.

22 May 1962

First production MGB – a left hand drive Iris Blue car, GHN3-102 – is built. A total of 12 production cars are built in May (including a single right hand drive car, GHN3-101) and production builds up for the September launch.

20 September 1962

ADO23 MG MGB launched. MGB features new 1,798 c.c. version of the ‘B’ series engine.

INTRODUCTION

In many walks of life, whenever dramatic change happens to something with a passionate following, there will be significant risk of a backlash from those loyal fans who resist the new in favour of what they already know and love. Such was the challenge faced by John Thornley and Syd Enever when they unveiled their new sports car in 1955. The aerodynamic form of the MGA owed little to the upright pre-war style of its predecessors, even if it drew on some of MG’s record-breaking and racing exploits – with a clever Le Mans 24-Hour race angle.

It was a gamble because the stakes were high: MG was synonymous with sports-car culture, and such a bold deviation from the past could easily have upset the faithful – acolytes of the ‘sacred octagon’. However, change was inevitable because the progress in automotive technology and evolving customer expectations meant that the spindly, square-rigger style of the old MG Midget, no matter how pretty, was outmoded and out of step with the rest of the market.

Even so, getting to the point of revolution was a protracted process: there were moves to reinvent MG, which began as the parent organization emerged from the end of World War II, exports in mind, just ten years before the launch of the MGA. It is therefore important to understand the forces at work over that crucial decade, and the context of how the ‘new line’ became possible, as well as the people who made it possible – or threatened to get in the way.

For this reason the first chapter of this book delves into the background in unprecedented detail to show what preceded – and precipitated – the genesis of the MGA. Of course the bulk of the book covers the whole story of a car that went on to sell in unprecedented numbers, with more than 101,000 examples emerging from the famous Abingdonon-Thames factory by the time that the baton was passed to a worthy successor. Peter Thornley, John Thornley’s son and author of an excellent biography Mister MG, credits his father with creative thinking so that projects such as the MGA moved forwards ahead of formal authority:

Most of Pop’s development projects were created exbudget; if it had not been for a creative and amenable chief accountant Abingdon would not have survived as long as it did. And Pop would not have had half as much fun!

This is where the MGA began its journey – on a sheet of paper laid on this dining table in Syd Enever’s home in the Oxford suburbs. The scale model seen here is Enever’s design for a further record breaker, EX 233, which was never developed.ENEVER FAMILY

There should be no doubt that the MGA was an important car for many reasons: it broke with the past, won new friends, and provided a sound platform for an MG business and factory, which would go on to even greater heights during the subsequent eighteen-year production of the MGB. Remarkably it was conceived originally by MG’s Chief Engineer when he sketched out his basic idea for a new aerodynamic MG on his dining-room table at his home in the Oxford suburbs.

It is also a fact that many modern designers cite the MGA, rather than its successor, as their favourite MG of all time, and some of them even feel that it could also form the basis of a pattern for the future of MG sports-car design. This then, is the story of ‘the first of a new line’, a truly revolutionary MG.

In March 1962, Syd Enever, MG Chief Engineer, made the following statement in the press release for the 100,000th MGA, Nuffield Organisation, with regard to the MGA and sports cars:

We aim to give sports-car motoring to as many people as possible, and to give it to them at the right price. We do not wish to make a small quantity of high priced, specialized cars for the few. At the same time, we set out to provide the fastest possible car combined with the greatest possible degree of safety.

And in an interview in 1970 he said:

A sports car, in appearance, performance and personality, should epitomise the character of the sport... the MGA started life on my dining-room table... nowadays, designers are part lawyers.

The following is a quote from John Thornley, MG General Manager, on clever production expansion at Abingdon:

We made our assembly lines by building little low brick walls with pre-cast concrete channels on the top, that a motorcar would roll along: it was a channel one side, and a flat platform the other – so this would take varying tracks, and cars were propelled from one workstation to the next by the good old way of pushing! The benefit of this arrangement was that if, in looking at the factory layout, we decided that, if we shuffled those three lines up a little bit closer together, we could get a fourth line in here, you see, then all we had to worry about was the electrics and the compressed air; everything else was just standing on the floor. So five o’clock Friday, everybody stops, the maintenance boys move in, knock the whole bloody place to pieces, and by eight o’clock on the Monday morning, we’re in operation with four lines instead of three, you know? Six months later, we had five lines instead of four – and this is how it went, by and large. And how, in this marvellous period that I could live over and over and over again, really... not easy though: we were designing over the other side; I was trying to produce more and more motor cars all time...

.... taped interview, 1974, courtesy John McLellan

    CHAPTER ONE    

THE MG LEGACY

The story of the origin of MG has been told many times – how it began as an offshoot of the early Oxford-based garage enterprise of William Richard Morris, managed from 1922 by Cecil Kimber (he joined in 1921), who developed the business, with the benevolence of his patron, into a sports-car manufacturer of international renown.

From the earliest days there was something of a creative tension between the fairly mundane source material and the rakish, sporting creations drawn from them. From time to time, MG’s exploits have perhaps veered too far towards the realms of the exotic and bespoke, and on nearly every such occasion the process has ended in tears: MG has been at its best when operating in the modestly priced section of the market, offering a hint of the exotic for a reasonable outlay.

Thus, for example, when Kimber gradually allowed enthusiasm and expenditure to burn through the budget, with a multiplicity of specialized models and much racing activity, the outcome in 1935 was to close the racing shop and abandon the prevailing model range. However, such is the appeal of a modest, everyman’s sports car – typically in the guise of rugged giant-killer – that the MG badge lived to fight again, and has survived more than ninety years of history.

OXFORD TO ABINGDON

What became, almost by osmosis, the MG sports car, was created out of various Morris Garages premises before moving to a new £20,000 factory at Edmund Road, Oxford, in 1927 and then, just two years later, to a larger site in Abingdon-on-Thames, Berkshire, which evidently cost ten times as much. The site had formerly been occupied by part of the Pavlova Leather Works, demand for whose military leather coats had understandably dropped after 1918, but who nevertheless remained neighbours for many years in their reduced operation. So began the association of MG production with Abingdon, which would endure for fifty years.

For a long time prior to the story of the MGA, about which this book is, of course, mostly concerned, and especially before World War II when the range was at its most diverse, the Abingdon factory’s overall output volume was seldom at the forefront of the parent organization’s practical production considerations. However, the six years of war brought a great many changes throughout industry and society in general, not least the recognition, as the conflict drew to a close, of the importance of tapping into a growing demand overseas for the kind of sports car for which the MG name had become famous, as a way of earning much needed export currency.

During the war itself, the MG factory adapted to the changed circumstances with admirable efficiency, but an unfortunate consequence of Kimber’s independent manner, which saw him and his management go out and seek gainful work contracts rather than gratefully accepting the sweepings from Cowley, was his effective dismissal in 1941, ostensibly for being too much of a free spirit in a corporate environment. Tragically he was to die in a train accident just four years later, and so never saw MG’s post-war recovery – but also bear in mind the sobering thought that he died only ten years before the MGA appeared.

With the desire to build MG up again after the war came an almost inevitable series of tussles as various forces within the parent organization, some benign and some less so, sought to influence how the forecast increase in demand could be addressed. The decade before the MGA first arrived on the scene is consequently a very important period to understand: some of the key players in that period certainly shaped the MG Car Company in a way that made the first aerodynamic MG sports car a possibility, and its ultimate sales success so impressive.

LORD NUFFIELD, CECIL KIMBER, MILES THOMAS AND HAROLD RYDER

Without William Richard Morris or Cecil Kimber there would never have been any MG cars, let alone an MGA, so their story bears brief reflection.

William Morris, later Sir William and ultimately Lord Nuffield was the founder of Morris, Morris Garages and in consequence MG.AUTHOR’S COLLECTION

WILLIAM RICHARD MORRIS

William Morris (10 October 1877–22 August 1963) was born in a modest terraced house in Comer Gardens, Worcester, to Frederick and Emily Morris; when he was three, the Morris family moved to James Street in Oxford, and there began his lifelong association with the City.

Despite his mechanical aptitude and nascent business acumen, some of Morris’s early business relationships faltered. Morris nevertheless bounced back – and thereafter built his enterprise through stealth and cunning.

According to Morris historian Peter Seymour, the fact that Morris had not only been a motor dealer, but had retained his own car retailing business, provided him with a level of insight into the business denied some of his rivals; Seymour maintains that ‘all the dealers worshipped him because, fundamentally, he understood their business.’

CECIL KIMBER

Cecil Kimber in ‘Old Number One’ in 1925.AUTHOR’S COLLECTION

Cecil Kimber (12 April 1888–4 February 1945) was born in the London suburb of Dulwich. The family moved to the North West, and Kimber attended Stockport Grammar School.

An increasing interest in the modern marvel of cars led him to get a job working for Sheffield-Simplex around the time that World War I began.

In 1921, Kimber had started work at Morris Garages. It was here that Kimber forged the basis of the ‘Morris Garages Specials’, which eventually evolved into the first true ‘MG’ cars – a dividing line that has long been hotly debated by historians. At Morris Garages, Kimber developed a range of special bodies for Morris cars, eventually leading in 1928 to the founding of MG as a separate marque specializing in sports cars. The new company moved from Oxford to Abingdon in 1929, and Kimber became Managing Director in July 1930.

Throughout the following decade the reputation of MG grew, and the factory spent quite heavily on racing and the creation of an increasingly complex model range – such that the range expanded again in the lead-up to World War II.

With war under way, car making at Abingdon ceased, and soon fed up with having to make do with the crumbs of war work passed down from Cowley, Kimber – aided by leading staff Propert and Cousins – began to seek out new contracts. This proved to be his undoing, as he was visited by Miles Thomas in November 1941 and forced to resign from the business he had come to love. Kimber soon found employment elsewhere, but he would never live to see MG’s post-war reconnaissance, because he was one of two victims of a freak railway accident just outside King’s Cross Station on the evening of Sunday 4 February 1945.

WILLIAM MILES WEBSTER THOMAS

(William) Miles Webster Thomas, later Sir Miles Thomas, and, from 1971, Lord Thomas of Remenham.AUTHOR’S COLLECTION

William Thomas (2 March 1897–8 February 1980) was born at Cefn Mawr, Wrexham, in Wales. Thomas was educated at Bromsgrove and later Birmingham University. During World War I, he gained the DFC in 1918.

After the cessation of hostilities he found employment as a motoring journalist with Motor, and then became editor of Light Car in 1923, when he came to meet William Morris. Morris employed him to start a dedicated magazine, The Morris Owner, which began publication in 1924.

In the meantime, however, Thomas moved upwards through the ranks of Morris’s organization, becoming General Manager and later Managing Director of Wolseley in 1933 and 1937 respectively. Eventually Thomas became Vice Chairman of the Nuffield Organisation in 1940. Thomas’s relationship with Lord Nuffield became somewhat frayed. Morris historian Peter Seymour feels that the act that sealed Thomas’s fate was becoming involved with the Colonial Development Corporation in October 1947, which Lord Nuffield probably viewed as a product of the Labour Government, and therefore anathema to His Lordship. The following month, Thomas left the Nuffield Organisation and pursued a career in other industries, including the BOAC Airline.

His legacy includes helping to identify the importance of the US market, and a modernizing shake-up of the old orders and designs, which led eventually, after he had gone, to the further changes that made the likes of the MGA possible.

HAROLD ALFRED RYDER

Harold Ryder (23 September 1888–10 October 1950) was born in Aston, Birmingham. During World War I he took charge of Doherty Motor Components, suppliers to William Morris; in due course he moved to Oxford and became a partner in Osberton Radiators at Osberton Road.

Morris bought the business in 1923 in order to expand it, and kept Ryder in charge, making him a director in 1926. Thereafter Ryder became one of Lord Nuffield’s few truly trusted associates. When Nuffield’s Vice Chairman Oliver Boden died in 1940, many expected Ryder to take his place; instead Miles Thomas was given the senior job, while Ryder was put in charge of Cowley and, by association, MG. It was Ryder who helped Abingdon get started again with car making post-war, and MG enthusiasts – including MGA owners – owe him a debt of gratitude if only for that. He was removed in 1947 after the management purge that followed Thomas’s departure, and died just three years later atYarnton, near Oxford.

H. A. (Harold) Ryder was a trusted associate of William Morris; when Kimber left, MG at Abingdon fell under Ryder’s purview and he was instrumental in helping Cecil Cousins and Syd Enever to restart MG Midget manufacture at the end of the war.AUTHOR’S COLLECTION

MG MIDGET – THE GIANT KILLER

The concept of an MG Midget sports car is perhaps the idea most closely associated with the MG marque, but its early success was enhanced by the comparative misfortune of some of its larger and more expensive brethren. Cecil Kimber had presided over the evolution of the early ‘Mark’ MGs which had evolved from Morris underpinnings, and if Kimber had had his way, they would have led to a kind of ‘Junior Bentley’ with a more thoroughbred countenance and far fewer mundane Cowley roots on show.

The ultimate incarnation of this attempt to claw the marque up-market came with the large and imposing MG 18/100, known as the ‘Tigress’, which was supposed to propel MG into a more exotic part of the market. Meanwhile, however, the MG Midget had been created on the basis of the contemporary Morris Minor, and was beginning to show its colours as a trusty and affordable means of entry into motor sports.

Kimber had great hopes for this grand sports car, the MG 18/100 ‘Tigress’ – an exotic car with thoroughbred aspirations that was rather more in the mould of a Bentley than a Morris – but it was outshone by the smaller MG Midgets and was soon abandoned.

From modest beginnings as an offshoot of the Morris Minor, the early 1930s MG Midget evolved into a feisty light sports-car range, including this racing J4 Midget.ENEVER ALBUM

The race debut of the 18/100 did not go well, however, and as a consequence the project went no further; by contrast the little MG Midgets became more numerous and successful and so cemented the basis of MG’s future prosperity. Over the ensuing period of the early 1930s, MG went from success to success, and the model range expanded, the MG M-Type Midget giving way to the J2 and then the PA and PB Midgets, while there were 6 cylinder-engined Magnas and Magnettes sitting above the Midgets, with many parts in common.

The style of the J2 largely defined the ‘form’ of the MG Midget, even through into the Cowley-designed T Series, which, after the upset of MG racing activities being curtailed by Len Lord, replaced the P Types in 1936; with the intervention of World War II just three years later, the evolution of the pre-war style of the TA and the rare TB into the post-war TC would prove to be hardly noticeable to the untrained eye.

For many MG enthusiasts, the ultimate expression of the marque in the early 1930s was the K3 Magnette, seen here in 1933 Mille Miglia guise.ENEVER FAMILY

After the departure of Cecil Kimber, life at Abingdon continued – there was a war on, after all – and supervisory management was ceded to Harold Alfred Ryder, an old associate of William Morris, who had been in charge of Morris Radiators at Cowley from 1919. Responsibilities during those years were very different to the pleasant peace-time task of turning out sports cars, but the men and women of the MG plant set to and contributed nobly to armament and other specialized operations.

However, with a likely end to war-time activities foreseen as early as the spring of 1943, the forward programme for Abingdon began to be a subject of debate. Despite his de facto role as Kimber’s sucessor, Harold Ryder, who was no great enthusiast of sports cars, but nevertheless recognized the need for MG to get back into production. Miles Thomas contacted the heads of each of the Nuffield Organisation subsidiaries in March 1943 and Ryder responded by suggesting that the 1¼ litre MG saloon (a prototype of which – DO 811 – Thomas had been driving, and which would eventually emerge as the MG Y-Type) would be the best place to start.

By the autumn of the same year, tentative thoughts were already being formulated as to how MG would be organized after the war was over, perhaps with less of the independence of pre-war days. In October 1943 Harold Ryder wrote to Miles Thomas setting out his thoughts on the matter:

Because MG is a small factory, it makes sense to put Nuffield Mechanisations at Cowley, and reinforce the policy of all MG design to happen at Cowley under Mr Oak and the Drawing Office and Experimental Department at Cowley. If MG is not allowed by government to make cars after the war, the factory can be used to make parts for other cars.

In other words, if the plans for the 1¼ litre and a handful of Midgets were not viable, the factory could simply become a satellite of Cowley.

SYD ENEVER

Syd Enever was the principal author of the MGA, but he cut his teeth at Morris Garages in 1920, and as well as MG’s racing and record-breaking endeavours he became adept at successfully finding solutions where others failed.ENEVER FAMILY

Hampshire-born Albert Sydney (‘Syd’) Enever (25 March 1906–9 February 1993) was absolutely crucial to the creation and development of the MGA, being Abingdon’s celebrated chief engineer for a period that spanned both sides of the model’s production story. Born in Colden Common, near Winchester, Syd was the last born of five children; his four sisters were Florence, Frances, Gertrude (who died young) and Leonore – so Syd was the only boy.

His parents separated in 1909, and his mother Maud set up home nearer her family’s roots in Oxford. Syd was educated at South Oxford School, and while there he came to the attention of the headmaster, Mr Benson, who had the foresight to help secure a place for his promising young student at Morris Garages in Queen Street, Oxford, in the spring of 1920. This was before Cecil Kimber was employed there as manager.

After a year, Enever transferred to the Clarendon Yard premises in Cornmarket. Soon coming under the wing of Cecil Cousins, Enever became adept at servicing and repairing customer cars using all the equipment in the workshop. He also became well known in the garage for being an expert at diagnosing problems and fixing them in record time. At the age of twenty, Enever joined the MG Car Company’s Experimental Department; when MG moved to Abingdon in October 1929, Enever was made head of the department – a meteoric rise for a twenty-three year old.

Over the following decade, Enever, along with the likes of ‘Jacko’ Jackson and Cecil Cousins (see profiles later), was right at the heart of the MG factory’s racing and record-breaking exploits; this included a part in the design of Goldie Gardner’s EX 135, and culminated in the last successful pre-war record-breaking attempt at the Autobahn in Dessau, Germany, in May 1939. Meanwhile in 1935, when the changes that led to the closure of the MG racing department took place, and principal design responsibility moved to Cowley, Enever stayed at Abingdon. With his aptitude and knowledge (much of the latter gleaned from visits to Oxford Reference Library), Enever was at the forefront of all the development work at Abingdon and an active participant in many of MG’s endeavours, including, as we shall see, several factory-built specials.

When MG got its design office in 1954, Enever really came into his element, and as this coincided with the gestation of what would become the MGA, his story is absolutely fundamental to its development. As well as the MGA, Enever would go on to contribute to the MG Midget, the MGB and the MGC, as well as a number of one-off ‘EX Register’ concepts, although he retired just too soon to see the birth of the MGB GT V8.

After being precipitated into retirement in May 1971, Enever was invited to work as a consultant on Jensen and Jensen-Healey products, no doubt encouraged by Kjell Qvale. That venture did not last, however, and final retirement in October 1974 was not the happiest prospect for a man whose whole working life had been MG and who had no hobbies.

John Thornley often praised his friend and colleague, calling him a ‘man of genius’:

It is not correct to describe him as an untrained engineer because he trained himself; he had an insatiable curiosity about why things happened, a curiosity that went far beyond purely engineering and automotive matters, so he had knowledge of a wide variety of subjects, which would hold one spellbound – if only one could get him talking. By nature he is a quiet man – except when something stings him – and it is because of this taciturnity that he was not more widely recognized in his heyday.

Syd’s wife Ivy died in September 1992, and Syd himself passed away the following February. In an obituary written for Safety Fast! Enever’s colleague Don Hayter wrote of his former boss and mentor:

Syd had the ability to transmit his ideas and enthusiasm to all he worked with, and his attention to even the tiniest detail was legendary. He always said that information on any aspect of engineering or materials was available somewhere in a book so that it could be taken and adapted to design use.

ALEC HOUNSLOW

A formal portrait of Alec Hounslow, taken in the 1960s.AUTHOR’S COLLECTION

Alec Leslie Hounslow (11 April 1911–17 October 1976) was born in Oxford. He joined MG in April 1925, aged just fourteen. However, his mechanical aptitude soon prompted his move to the racing department in 1931, where he remained until shortly after its closure in 1935. His major claim to fame in this period was that he acted as riding mechanic to Nuvolari, who won the 1933 TT. He left MG in 1935 after the closure of the racing shop, and moved to work for a short time at the short-lived Squire Cars at Remenham (near Henley-on-Thames); when that company folded in 1936, he worked for Billy Cotton and Arthur Dobson as a racing mechanic.

After World War II, Hounslow came back to Abingdon in 1946 as a service tester, and stayed there for the remainder of his career; after a brief spell in the Service Department in St Helens, he came back to the main Marcham Road factory, where, for example, he worked on the three MG TC Midgets that were raced by Ted Lund, Dick Jacobs and George Phillips. He also accompanied Captain George Eyston on his US MG record attempts (all qv).

Alec Hounslow worked hard and played hard, and expected the same level of dedication from his colleagues; he was seldom seen without a cigarette dangling from his lips (‘apprentices used to bet on how long the ash on his fag would get’ Henry Stone later wrote), and his capacity for liquid refreshment was legendary. Out of the factory he was an amazingly cheerful man and more than somewhat sociable.

When Marcus Chambers arrived at Abingdon at the end of 1954, Hounslow was somewhat sceptical as to the necessity for this new colleague, and it is fair to say that the two initially merely tolerated one another, rather than becoming firm friends. Eventually they forged a mutual respect for each other – but even so, the competition department was swiftly separated from Hounslow’s development fiefdom, much of the actual work involved in doing this being undertaken while part of the team were away for the June 1955 Le Mans race. It was Hounslow’s team that built the various running prototypes that contributed to the MGA story.

When it came to motor-sport endeavours – mostly the record-breaking attempts, once the competition department was split off from development – Hounslow’s commitment to getting the job done was total and absolute, and he would lend his support to various extra-mural racing activities.

He retired in 1974, having come up with the novel carburettor installation on the MGB GT V8, an answer to a problem that had eluded everybody else – this was typical of his genius. Unlike some of his contemporaries, Alec Hounslow appears to have slipped fairly happily into retirement: his daughter says that he was always busy in his workshop and enjoyed fixing cars for friends. He died in Wallingford in October 1976, aged just sixty-five, from lung cancer.

JOHN THORNLEY

In the history of MG there have been a handful of people in control of the business who justify the epithet ‘Mister MG’. Before the war it was unquestionably Cecil Kimber, but in the wake of his enforced departure in 1941, the mantle eventually passed to John William Yates Thornley (11 June 1909–16 July 1994). Even though Thornley was not initially the man in charge at Abingdon, nor the only man, by a long way, who deserves respect for his loyalty to MG, he was certainly its most prominent defender. Born in London in June 1909,Thornley was educated at Ardingley College and the University of London, before starting work as an articled clerk. After trading up from a motorcycle to an MG Midget at the age of twenty-one, Thornley wrote to Kimber and eventually persuaded the original ‘Mister MG’ to give him a job at Abingdon, where he started as service receptionist on 3 November 1931, moving up to the position of service manager two years later.

During the war, Thornley served in the RAOC and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel, before rejoining MG in 1945. With the transfer of Riley production to Abingdon in 1949,Thornley was promoted again to ‘Assistant General Manager, MG Car Co. Ltd and Riley Motors Ltd’. Thornley was not at heart a purely corporate man: he knew how to defend his corner in the context of the parent organization’s machinations, but it was with MG at Abingdon where his heart and loyalties lay. He was a great ambassador for MG, particularly in his ability to forge alliances at all levels, because he managed to earn and exploit the respect and trust of the people both at the top of the parent organization and on the shop floor.

After he succeeded Jack Tatlow as head of MG’s Abingdon operations at the end of 1952,Thornley forged a positive dialogue with the Cowley mandarins, in particular Vic Oak and Sidney Smith, starting a long-running series of internal memoranda that contained many of his well written ‘thought pieces’, in which he offered up advice, usually with a careful corporate bent but clearly promoting the ‘Abingdon angle’ as much as possible.

John Thornley, at the left of this 1954 photo of the record breaker EX 179 (which shared its chassis with EX 175, the forerunner of the MGA) assumes the position and role that Cecil Kimber might have taken in similar circumstances before the war. To Thornley’s right are Syd Enever, Captain George Eyston, Alec Hounslow and Reg Jackson.ENEVER FAMILY

The upheaval of the BMC merger might have threatened to see MG and Thornley incur the wrath of the Corporation’s new head, a man who could be as mercurial in his own way as Lord Nuffield himself. However, Thornley ensured he made an early positive impression on the new master – he once told the author:

Whenever I see the name of Len Lord – Sir Leonard Lord – Lord Lambury – in MG writings I always sit up a bit straight… by and large he has been much maligned in this context. Over the years he has been depicted as the big bad wolf, when in fact his overall attitude to us [MG] – and to me in particular – has scored above the line. Decisions that seemed to go against Abingdon’s interests were naturally resented, but there was never anything discriminatory or spiteful about them. Most of his decisions, when viewed with hindsight, are seen to have been well justified.

John Thornley’s first introduction to MG came with his acquisition of an MG M-Type Midget, like this 1929 car.AUTHOR’S COLLECTION

Thornley claimed that the Morris Motors takeover of MG in 1935 was an example of this: ‘He wrote “finis” to all that we have come to know as “Triple M”, and all hell broke loose. But by reverting to the old basis of quantity-produced units, sales took off.’ At the same time, profitability also lifted – and with it the continued existence of the MG factory.

As we shall see, John Thornley and his principal ally Syd Enever did much to secure the future of Abingdon as a sportscar centre of excellence, and they ensured the success of both the MGA family and the products that followed. His book Maintaining The Breed was written in 1950, revised in 1956 and 1971, and reprinted in 1990, the later editions covering the MGA.

POST-WAR REBUILDING

Whilst most of the important corporate activity in the Nuffield Organisation in the 1940s tended to focus on Cowley and Coventry, the fact remained that once the war was over, Abingdon was another factory looking to pick up where it had left off in 1939. Although there had been a fire at St Helens where some of the pre-war parts and equipment had been stored, the German bombers had paid little attention to the MG factory, and its facilities remained intact; sadly the Morris Bodies facility at Coventry had fared less well, and some body-making equipment associated with pre-war MGs had been destroyed by the Luftwaffe.

To some purists, the MG T-Type was an abomination, with its Cowley-designed body and chassis and Morris engine, but in truth it revitalized MG and formed a platform for increased sales and a head start after the interruption of the war years.AUTHOR’S COLLECTION

As we have seen, Ryder initially approached Vic Oak at Cowley, but he also wisely sought counsel with Cecil Cousins and Syd Enever to establish what could be achieved. It is to their credit that they were able to dig out enough of the local jigs and production data for the pre-war TA and TB, and use them to lay out the basis of what would go back into production in September 1945 as the MG TC Midget. Sales of that model took off modestly but encouragingly, with exports to Australia and South Africa being most important.

The MG TC Midget was the first post-war MG sports car, and its success has become a legend that has almost outgrown reality. Nevertheless, MG sportscar enthusiasts everywhere have much to celebrate; the TC was the first race car for such luminaries as Phil Hill and Carroll Shelby. It is easy to forget that the MGA arrived just ten years after the TC...AUTHOR’S COLLECTION

Interest in the USA began to build, but as we shall see shortly, the limitations of the import and distribution arrangements contributed to the fact that just six TCs went Stateside in 1947. Of course the TC would go on to become part of the great American love affair with MG sports cars, and the Collier Brothers who had the agency in New York were well placed to help foster the interest among well heeled sports-car fans, but it would be other factors (and new people, and a new investment model) that would drive the major MG successes to come, including of course the MGA. Even so, the path to MG sports-car enlightenment would, for the time being, involve a slightly challenging journey.

In his response of 2 May 1947 to an enquiry the previous month from a Mr Elbert of Clinton Missouri, F. E. James of Nuffield Exports explained, apologetically, that the company was only able to ship small numbers of MGs via Motor Sport Inc (the Collier Brothers’ company at 745 Fifth Avenue, NYC). James explained that:

…lack of adequate representation throughout the USA is mainly due to the fact that pre-war there was little or no demand for British cars in that territory. Now that there is some demand we are faced with a shortage of supplies, and our present production is insufficient to warrant the appointing of any new Distributors. I trust that at some future date it will be possible to quote for your requirements.

Just eight years later, the MGA would be on sale.

REGINALD HANKS

Reginald Hanks became deputy to Lord Nuffield when his former boss, Miles Thomas, left the Nuffield Organisation. He was seen as a ‘safe and steady’ character but was instrumental in driving significant changes, recruiting key personnel; he might have stayed at the top had the merger with Austin never happened.AUTHOR’S COLLECTION

Reginald Frederick Hanks M.I. Mech. E., MIPE (27 April 1896–15 December 1976) rose to become the effective head of the Nuffield Organisation, second only to Lord Nuffield (William Morris). He survived the union with Austin that created the British Motor Corporation (a merger he detested), only to return eventually to his first love, the railway industry. Born in Oxford, and redoubtably Edwardian, the young Hanks attended New College School (a private preparatory school dating back to 1379), and afterwards joined the Great Western Railway at the famous Swindon engineering works as an apprentice. This experience was enhanced in the usual manner with further education at the Oxford City and North Wiltshire technical schools.

After World War I, Hanks moved to Morris Motors, starting in the Service Technical Department in 1922. He progressively rose through the ranks: in 1933 he became assistant service manager, three years later he was chief inspector, and in 1937 production manager. Upon the outbreak of World War II he became general manager of the civilian repair organization, RAF, later fulfilling the same positions at Nuffield Mechanizations Ltd at Birmingham and Coventry. Next he was appointed to become general manager of Nuffield Metal Products, an important cog in the Nuffield empire.

The Commercial Motor of 23 November 1945 reported that Hanks had been appointed director and general manager of Nuffield Exports Ltd ‘in succession to Mr S. G. K. Smallbone, who had resigned after thirty years’ association with Nuffield companies’. Hanks had already assumed the role of general manager in May 1945, following a special export mission to India, in which he became staff captain, GHQ Mechanical Transport Inspection Directorate; in November he became a director for the first time. It was in this Nuffield Exports role in 1946 that Hanks and Nuffield Sales Director Donald Harrison began making exploratory trips to North America (Harrison would make several more). The Morris Motors records include an interesting letter of 29 October 1946, sent from Hanks to Sir Miles Thomas (at that time still Vice Chairman of Nuffield) during one of his trips to the USA. Hanks wrote: