MG TB Midget

• This is the 21st of only 379 TB's and all were built in 1939. It was built on the second day of production on 2nd May 1939. 18 cars were built in total on that day. Today only 9 exist in the UK.

• Apple green with light tan leather

• VSCC eligible

• 1250cc XPAG engine

• 54 BHP

• Top speed 87 mph

• Manual

• Original RHD with original registration number

• 1,447 hour restoration

Making its first appearance in the TB, the XPAG engine would power almost every MG car and many special racing cars for the next 15 years and MG could not have foreseen that the engine would prove so successful, particularly with the Willie Gardner MG that achieved over 200 mph.
The TB engine was altogether more appealing to the MG fraternity because it was capable of far more tuning than the old TA engine and was much more reliable into the bargain. Everything the TA engine lacked, the TB engine had in its favour. It had the larger bore of 66.5mm against 63.5mm and a shorter stroke of 102mm against 63.5mm, thus allowing faster and safer high revving. Maximum power was achieved at 5,250 rpm against 4,500 rpm of the MP JG unit and the output was a healthy 55 bhp. With the shorter stroke, there was some loss of torque but this was more than compensated for with a lower back axle ratio changed from 4.875:1 to 5.12:1. This extra power and higher rev limit ensured that there was no loss of speed at the top end of the range and the car performed well in the 55 to 70 mph area.
Because the XPAG engine had a stronger block, more efficient cylinder head and stronger counterbalanced crankshaft, the engine was far more receptive to tuning than its predecessor and with a far lighter flywheel the engine was altogether more responsive to accelerator movements. Developed from the Morris 10 engine, the XPAG was specially produced to power the TB. The main new features that were introduced on the MG version were greater rigidity in all moving parts, the already mentioned stronger block and crankshaft, short connecting rods with centre lengths less than four times the crankshaft radius, light alloy Aerolight pistons, shell bearings, larger valves with the inlet being 10% bigger than the exhaust, large capacity oil sump with a full-flow filter system and finally a four branch manifold that fed into a Burgess straight through silencer system. An immediate recognition point under the bonnet was the repositioned air cleaner arrangement. This was horizontally mounted on the TA at the rear of the cast alloy inlet trunking, whereas on the TB it was now mounted transversely on a revised alloy inlet with its top end resting on the rocker cover.

The cooling system on the XPAG is worthy of mention because it was due to the design of the system that allowed the additional performance to be extracted from this now legendary engine. A rather ingenious flow system ensured that the block ran warmer than the cylinder head which was ideal for performance and also kept the mechanical wear down to a minimum at the bottom end of the engine.
There was also a new gearbox which was also employed on the VA saloon, with synchromesh on 2nd, 3rd and 4th instead of just the top two gears, but still in the same familiar casing. The gear ratios were also altered to cope with the lower rear axle ratio and these new ratios gave a road speed of nearly 16 mph per 1000 rpm which produced a very comfortable cruising speed of over 65 mph. An additional feature was the provision of a telescopic steering column which now became standard and was adopted from the TA drophead coupes as was the smaller capacity fuel tank, now reduced to 13 gallons to accommodate the wider TB rear wings and slightly narrower body.

There was no doubt that the new engine and gearbox did wonders for the TB, making it so different from its predecessor, although the TA was extremely popular with trials competitors because of its better torque characteristics and it was the TA that paved the way for the now legendary MG T series cars. The TB enjoyed a very short production life and when war broke out in September 1939; all MG production was brought to a rapid halt. In fact MG's model programme for 1940 was only announced after war had been declared and this meant that no sooner had the public been informed about the TB than they were unable to purchase one. In the four months of TB production only 379 cars were made. (Courtesy of MG Owners Club)
 

After WW2 the MG TC was introduced which was basically the MG TB but with a 4” wider body which can be identified by there being only two rubber strips on each of the running boards and narrower looking rear arches. The XPAG engine remained.

Autocar road testing the MG TC on 17th October 1947 wrote:

‘Owing to the handy size of this car, its ability to pass safely where a bigger car would be held back, and the way in which it retains its cruising rate after it has been checked by other traffic, the Midget is almost as fast a car, over British roads, as can be found today. One feels, too, from its ability to take hard treatment and to hold speeds 60 and 70 m.p.h., apparently for as long as the roads in this country permit such motoring, that stretches of motor road offering far more opportunity of sustained speed than ever is found in this island would not “melt” a Midget engine.’

It cruises very nicely though it comes into its element when driving along country roads whilst watching the sky and trees being reflected in the backs of the chrome headlights. The gearbox is beautifully direct with a mechanical and short action. 

The windscreen folds flat though best if you wear period goggles when doing this, it makes one think of Spitfire pilots and wondering how many drove these cars. 

Many famous people have owned an MG Midget TA/TB/TC, these include Sir Douglas Bader DFO and DSO who had a TA and is famous for flying Spitfires and Hurricanes during WW2.

Indeed, Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh owned and loved driving his TC fast and even courted the Princess Elizabeth in it! Even Steve McQueen the famous actor owned and indeed raced in one.

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MG World Speed Records
MG EX135
In November 1938, Lt. Col. Goldie Gardner took the new car to a specially prepared German autobahn near Frankfurt (above), unleashed the projectile and achieved 187.6mph. When the news was cabled back to Britain, many people steadfastly refused to believe it. Railton, with his new body, had allowed Gardner’s car to go nearly 40mph faster than it had with its previous racer-spec bodywork.
But it was true, and in June 1939, with war clouds already gathering, Gardner returned to Dessau in Germany, achieving 203mph (326.7km/h) with a supercharged 1100cc engine (an XPAG engine derivative) with about 200bhp. That was the occasion when MG mechanics then stripped the engine, rebored it to a mite more than 1100cc and allowed Gardner to take the 1500cc records as well.
EX135 was so versatile, and so well streamlined, that it eventually set new records for the 350cc, 500cc, 750cc, 1100cc and 1500cc categories before being retired in 1952.

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MG EX181
The engine was a prototype 1.5-litre MGA Twin Cam with Shorrock supercharger, twin SU carburettors and 290bhp at 7300rpm.
Stirling Moss steered EX181 ‘Roaring Raindrop’ to its first clutch of records – in August 1957, it covered a flying kilometre at 245.6mph (395.31 km/h). This eclipsed Gardner’s 1939 record by no less than 41mph. It demonstrated, perhaps nearly conclusively, that MG was now so immersed and so successful in the record breaking business, that it was reduced to beating itself.

And so it proved. There were no challengers to beat this new figure, so in order to get some more use out of the expensive little toy, MG was forced to look elsewhere. A year after the MGA Twin-Cam had been put into production, the highly boosted engine was rebuilt into a 1,506cc unit. In September 1959, racing driver Phill Hill piloted it to a set of 2000cc (Class E) records, at up to 254.9mph (410.2km/h)