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Mg Midget Cars

The MG Midget Cars is a small two seat sports car produced by MG division of the British Motor Corporation from 1961 to 1979. It re-used a famous pre-war name used on MG M-type, MG D-type, MG J-type and so on.

The J1 was the four seat car in the range. The engine was the 847 cc unit previously seen in the C-type with twin SU carburetors giving 36 bhp. The car cost 220 in open and 225 in Salonette form.

The J2 was the commonest car in the range and was a road going 2 seater. Early cars had cycle wings but these were replaced in 1933 by the full length type that was typical of all sports MGs up to the 1950's TF. The top speed of a standard car was 65 mph but a specially prepared one tested by The Autocar magazine reached 82 mph. The car cost 199.

There were a few serious failings of the J2, most seriously that it only had a two bearing crank shaft which will break if over-revved. The overhead camshaft drive is by a vertical shaft through bevel gears, a shaft which also forms the armature of the dynamo. Any oil leak from the cambox seal goes into the dynamo brushgear and likely a fire.

Another problem was that it was not fitted with hydraulic brakes, but had Bowden cables to each drum. These require no more pedal force than any other non-power-assisted drum brake, provided that they're well maintained and aren't sloppy or stretchy. The drums themselves are small and even in period it was a common modification to replaced them with larger drums from later models.

The non-syncromesh gearbox takes some getting used to, as for any car of this period, but with its short gear stick it becomes second nature to double de-clutch and rare to grind the gears.

The J3 was a racing version with the engine capacity reduced to 746 cc by shortening the stroke from 83 to 73 mm and fitted with a Powerplus supercharger. The smaller engine capacity was to allow the car to compete in 750 cc class racing events. Larger brakes from the L-type were fitted.

The J4 was a pure racing version with light weight body work and the J3 engine but using more boost from the supercharger to obtain 72 bhp.

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Related : Mg Midget

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MG Midget Cars

The MG J-type was produced by the MG Car company from 1932 to 1934. This 2 door sports car used an updated version of the overhead camshaft, crossflow engine, used in the 1928 Morris Minor and Wolseley 10 and previously fitted in the MG M-type Midget of 1929 to 1932, driving the rear wheels through a four speed non-synchromesh gearbox. The chassis was from the D-Type with suspension by half elliptic springs and Hartford friction shock absorbers all round with rigid front and rear axles. The car had a wheelbase of 86 inches (2184 mm) and a track of 42 inches (1067 mm). Most cars were open two seaters but a closed salonette version of the J1 was also made and some chassis were supplied to external coachbuilders. The open cars can be distinguished from the M type by having cut away tops to the doors.

The MG Midget is a small two seat sports car produced by MG division of the British Motor Corporation from 1961 to 1979. It re-used a famous pre-war name used on MG M-type, MG D-type, MG J-type and so on.

Related : MG Midget Mk1 ~ The MG Midget MkI (1961-1964)

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MG Midget Cars

The MG F-type Magna was a six cylinder engined car produced by the MG Car company from October 1931 to 1932. It was also known as the 12/70.

Looking for a car to fill the gap between the MG M-Type Midget and the 18/80, MG Cars turned to another of the engines that had become available from William Morris's acquisition of Wolseley. This was the 1271 cc 6 cylinder version of the overhead camshaft engine used in the 1929 MG M-type Midget and previously seen in the 1930 Wolseley Hornet and had dummy side covers to disguise its origins. Fitted with 1 in (25 mm) twin SU carburettors it produced 37.2 bhp (27.7 kW) at 4100 rpm at first, later increased to 47 bhp (35 kW) by revising the valve timing. Drive was to the rear wheels through a four speed non-synchromesh gearbox of ENV manufacture. The chassis was a 10-inch (250 mm) longer version of the one from the MG D-type with suspension by half elliptic springs and Hartford friction shock absorbers all round with rigid front and rear axles. Wire wheels with 4.00 x 19 tyres and centre lock fixing were used. The MG Midget cars had a wheelbase of 94 in (2,388 mm) and a track of 42 in (1,067 mm).

With its sloping radiator and long bonnet the MG F-type is an attractive car capable of reaching 70 mph (110 km/h). 188 of the cars were supplied in chassis form to outside coachbuilders such as Abbey, Jarvis, Stiles and Windover.

The MG Midget is a small two seat sports car produced by MG division of the British Motor Corporation from 1961 to 1979. It re-used a famous pre-war name used on MG M-type, MG D-type, MG J-type and so on.

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MG Midget Cars

The MG Midget Cars is a small two seat sports car produced by MG division of the British Motor Corporation from 1961 to 1979. It re-used a famous pre-war name used on MG Midget M-type, MG Midget D-type, MG Midget J-type and so on.

The MG D-type Midget Cars was produced by the MG Car company in 1931 and 1932. It used the engine from the MG M-type Midget in the chassis from the MG C-type Midget and was only available as a four seater. Of the 250 MG cars produced, 208 were open tourers, 37 were salonettes and five went to external coachbuilders.

The MG Midget Cars used the MG Midget M-type 847 cc engine that was derived from the overhead camshaft engine from the 1928 Morris Minor Cars and Wolseley Cars 10 with a single SU carburettor producing 27 bhp (20 kW) at 4500 rpm. Drive was to the rear wheels through a three speed non-synchromesh gearbox with a four speed gearbox was an option on later MG Midget cars. The chassis came from the MG C-type Midget and took the form of a ladder frame with tubular cross members and passed under the rear axle. The suspension used half elliptic springs and Hartford friction shock absorbers with rigid front and rear axles and centre lock wire wheels, the brakes were cable operated with eight inch (203 mm) drums. At 84 inches (2134 mm), 86 inches (2184 mm) after the first 100 MG cars, the wheelbase was longer than the MG Midget C-Type to cater for the larger body, but the track remained the same at 42 inches (1067 mm).

In spite of its looks the MG Midget Cars was not very fast, 60 mph (97 km/h) being just possible in the tourer, the body being really too much for the small engine. The MG Midget Cars are quite rare today, many having been converted into MG Midget C-Type replicas. At the same time as the MG Midget D-Type was being made MG Cars was also offering the 6 cylinder 1271 cc MG Midget F-Type and externally the two are virtually identical. The extra power of the MG Midget F-Type made it a much better MG Midget Cars and it proved a bigger seller.

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MG Midget Cars

The MG Midget C-type was produced by the MG Car company from 1931 to 1932. It was designed for competition use and based on the MG Midget M-Type. A special car, EX120 had been developed from the MG Midget M-Type for George Eyston to make an attempt on the 750 cc class 24 hour record at Autodrome de Montlh?ry in France. The attempt was successful and a series of replica cars were made which became the MG Midget C-type.

The MG Midget is a small two seat sports car produced by MG division of the British Motor Corporation from 1961 to 1979. It re-used a famous pre-war name used on MG M-type, MG D-type, MG J-type and so on.

The MG Midget Car used a tuned short stroke (73 mm) version of the bevel gear driven overhead camshaft engine from the 1928 Morris Minor Cars and Wolseley 10 with a single SU carburettor and a new crankshaft producing 44 bhp (33 kW) at 6400 rpm. It could from 1932 be had with the crossflow head to be seen later on the MG Midget J-type and a Powerplus supercharger version was also available with 52.4 bhp (39.1 kW) at 6500 rpm. Drive was to the rear wheels through a four speed non-synchromesh gearbox. The chassis was new and took the form of a ladder frame with tubular cross members and passed under the rear axle. The suspension used half elliptic springs and Hartford friction shock absorbers with rigid front and rear axles and centre lock wire wheels. The MG Midget Car had a wheelbase of 81 inches (2057 mm) and a track of 42 inches (1067 mm).

The body, which had no doors, was metal over an ash frame and had a pointed tail which held the spare wheel and cycle type front wings. Later MG Midget Cars had a more conventional rear with a slab type fuel tank. The exhaust pipe was routed outside the MG Midget Car and finished with a spectacular fishtail. The record breaking MG Midget Cars had a streamlined cowl over the radiator but this was not usually fitted to later MG Midget Cars as it could cause overheating unless high speeds were maintained.

The standard MG Midget Car initially cost ?295 or ?345 for the supercharged version rising to ?490 and ?575 by the end of production.

As well as the Montlh?ry record, MG Midget C-type were used in many other competition events including a works team of fourteen cars entered in the 1931 Double Twelve event at Brooklands where they took the first five places.

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MG Midget MKII Cars

Externally the main changes were to the doors, which gained wind-up windows, swivelling quarter lights, external handles and separate locks. The windscreen also gained a (slight) curvature and was retained in a more substantial frame. The hood (US - top), though modified, continued to have a removable frame that had to be erected before the cover was put on. The rear springs were replaced by more conventional semi-elliptic types which gave a better ride. The engine block was strengthened and larger main bearings were fitted, allowing the power to increase to 59 hp (44 kW) at 5750 rpm and torque to 65 lbf·ft (88 Nm) at 3500 rpm. 26,601 were made. ~ MG Midget MKII

Related : MG Midget Mk1 ~ The MG Midget MkI (1961-1964)
Related : MG Midget ~ The Early Days of MG Midget Cars
Related : MG Midget Cars ~ The MG Midget Cars Design

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MG Midget MKI Cars

The first version was essentially a slightly more expensive badge engineered version of the Austin-Healey Sprite MKII and retained the quarter-elliptic sprung rear axle from the original Sprite. The engine was a 948 cc A-Series with twin SU carburettors producing 46 hp (34 kW) at 5500 rpm and 53 lbf·ft (72 Nm) at 3000 rpm. Brakes were 7 in (178 mm) drums all round. A hard top, heater, radio and luggage rack were available as factory fitted extras.

In October 1962 the engine was increased to 1098 cc raising the output to 56 hp (42 kW) at 5500 rpm and 62 lbf·ft (84 Nm) at 3250 rpm and disc brakes replaced the drums at the front. Wire-spoked wheels became available.

The doors had no external handles or locks and the windows were sliding Perspex side-screens. A heater was an optional extra.

A MG Midget MkI with the 948 cc engine was tested by the British magazine The Motor in 1962 and had a top speed of 87.9 mph (141.5 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 18.3 seconds. A fuel consumption of 40.2 miles per imperial gallon (7.03 L/100 km; 33.5 mpg-US) was recorded. The test car cost £689 including taxes on the UK market.

Related : MG Midget Mk1 ~ The MG Midget MkI (1961-1964)
Related : MG Midget ~ The Early Days of MG Midget Cars
Related : MG Midget Cars ~ The MG Midget Cars Design