Morris Garages

          One of the featured exhibits at this year's 35th Annual Ault Park Concours d'Elegance was a look at the history of Morris Garages. Better known as MG, I have written quite a bit about this iconic British marque (if you're interested you can check out these past blogs: http://turnerbudds-carblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/from-dealer-to-manufacturer.html and http://turnerbudds-carblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/midget-with-giants-success.html).
        Unlike last year's Concours where the featured badge was Ferrari and you were easily overwhelmed by the shear number of those machines, for the MG exhibit they simply chose one example of each of the amazing cars that have made MG such a popular automobile over the years.

         The oldest MG that was on display was a 1933 L1 four seat open tourer. There were 578 of these cars manufactured between 1933 and 1934 and this was number 162. With a 1086 cc supercharged engine, this machine pushed 41 horse power. Co-indecently, this car was actually delivered 79 years ago on the day of this show.

          A 1934 NA Evans-Wilkinson Special that was on display is a very rare car with a racing history. One of only three such cars built for racing by Wilkie Wilkinson, this car was originally owned and driven by Doreen Evans who drove it to victory in her class at the 1935 RAC Rally. A supercharged straight six generates a growling 120 horse power.

          One of only 98 NB Magnette two seaters, this one built in 1935, was also on display. With a 1400 cc OHC inline six that generates 75 horse power, this beautiful machine was almost completely derelict at one point in time but underwent an eight year total restoration that included maintaining the original color scheme of Oxford blue and Cambridge blue. Last year this car won Best in Class as a pre-war sports at the prestigious Amelia Island Concours.

          This 1935 PA Airline Coup is one of only 24 such cars ever produced. With a 843 OHC inline four it produced all of 36 horse power. It has had the same owner for over 40 years and was completely restored in 2004. It has since won Best in Class at three different Concours events.
          A 1938 SA Tickford Drophead Foursome is an example of the largest car MG ever built. It is one of only 93 surviving SAs and actually has the MG logo on it in 15 different places. It has undergone a complete restoration which has taken 30 years.

          After the war in 1945, MG, like many manufacturers, started rolling cars off the line. Their first model was the famous TC Roadster. This example was actually the 22nd car MG made once it began building again. With a 1250 cc inline four and dual SU carburetors, this car that is driven regularly by the owner, gets all of 55 horse power.

           Another TC Roadster, this one a 1946, was the 1106th of the 10,000 cars of this model ever built. A complete restoration was finished in 1988 and this car has all of the original electrical system. It also sports 54 horse power generated from its 1250 cc overhead valve four cylinder engine.

          Between 1947 and 1953 MG built 6158 YA models such as this 1950 YA Saloon. They all had a 1250 cc inline four cylinder engine ; this one generating 46 horse power. These cars were unique in that they used an early type of independent front suspension and many also had the "Jackall System" which was used to actually lift the car. This model is on display at the British Transportation Museum in Dayton, OH.

           Back in 1987 this example of a 1951 TD Roadster was found totally disassembled in a barn in West Virginia. Between 1989 and 2002 it was completely restored. The TD was the successor to the very popular TC models. This car is a former Best in Class winner at the Indy Grand Prix Concours.

          Using a TD Roadster chassis, Chicago car distributor "Wacky" Arnolt had 100 of what was called the MG Arnolt built. Thirty-six, like this 1954 model, were drop head coupes. The body was designed by the Italian company Bertone and made this perhaps the most unique looking MG ever.

           The last two MGs that were on display were beautiful examples of the company's most successful models: the MGA and the MGB. They were the fitting "cap" to a remarkable collection and fitting trubute to this wonderful car manufacturer.