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Early Days of the MG
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The initials MG, which has become synonoymous with sports cars, stands for Morris Garages. The owner William Morris was the Oxford distributer of Morris cars. Cecil Kimber, manager of Morris Garages in Oxford, was to play a major roll in the creation of MG. It was Kimber who modified the Morris cars and successfully raced them. In 1923, he won the gold metal in the classic London-to-Lands End Trial. |
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"Old Number One" a 1925 MG sports car incorrectly named the first MG |
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The M.G. Car Company was formed in 1928, owned by William Morris. The first production car was launched the same year. It had a 2468 cc ohc Morris engine and bore the famous Octagon Badge. The car came in two varieties, one an open sporting model and the other as a sports saloon. The London Motor Show was the stage for the introduction of the first Midget in 1928. The M-type Midget with a 847 cc engine was an immediate success. It cost about half as much as the larger sports cars of the day with similar performance. This truely was the first cheap sports car. The MG factory with increased production had moved several times in Oxford. In 1930, the MG factory moved to Abingdon. MGs were to be produced there until the last MGB was built in 1980. |
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Assembly line at Abingdon in 1931. Shown here is the racing version of the M-type Midget. |
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Production for the MG was accerating at an amazing pace. Whereas, only 819 MGs had been built in Oxford (1924-1929) by 1935, Abingdon had built 12,876. Abingdon became the largest sports car factory in the world. Competition successes drove demand which in turn increased production. The J2 Midget was introduced in 1932 and the K-type 6 cyclinder Magna was introduced a year later. In 1934, the P-type Midgets arrived. By the mid thirties car sales were down. This was partly due to higher prices and increased insurance premiums based on MG's high performance image. William Morris' decision to sell his private companies in 1935 had an immediate effect on Abingdon and MG. The new company, the Nuffield Organization, wanted MG to be a team player with the other auto divisions. |
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The F-type Magna was simply a six cyclinder version of the four cyclinder M-type |
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Kimber, used to getting his own way, was now obliged to get organizational approval for MG. The incedibly complex range of MGs available was abruptly stopped. The racing division was stopped mid season in 1935. Kimber did get approval for another Midget to replace both the P-type and the Magnettes. The new Midget was the TA, "soft and silent", was quite a departure from the earlier MGs. This was the start of the T series which would last till 1955. Production stopped at the start of World War II. Kimber took it upon himself to get war contracts not waiting for the Nuffield Organization. The factory at Abington was busy during the war servicing tanks, producing ammuniction and various other wartime effforts. |
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The P-type Midget had three main bearings to prevent previous broken camshafts. |
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