1938 MG TA Roadster

1938 MG TA Roadster

Compact, lightweight and looking ready to go, MotoeXotica Classic Cars is pleased to present this rarely seen 1938 MG TA Roadster, which should delight pre-World War II car collectors. Like the previous PB Roadster, most TAs were two-seat open cars with steel bodies on ash frames. This stunning 1938 MG TA Midget had painstakingly restored from the ground up. The restoration was a four year undertaking, beginning in 2008 and finished in 2011.

Nineteen thirty-eight was the final full model year for the TA series. This example is one of 3,003 TAs built between 1936 and 1939 and it was treated to a body-off-frame restoration in 2017.

Dressed in a stately two-tone red exterior (the top of the bonnet is maroon), the car’s paint and trim are in overall excellent order. The only glass panels on the car are a pair of Brookland cut-down windscreens, which are in original shape. Original mounting hardware for the top, frame and windscreen is included.

This TA’s bodywork is straight and solid, its engine bay is extremely tidy and the cargo area behind the seats is in great shape.

This roadster rolls on new Longstone tires, size 4.5-inch and all four corners plus there’s a spare in back. Each tire surrounds a proper, outer laced, grey, powder coated 19-inch wheels. The wheels and tires are all in excellent condition.

Under the bonnet, this MG benefits from a complete rebuild of its 1.3L inline-4 with twin SU carbs of a cost of $7,300 just a few years ago. It was thoroughly gone through, and as a result, is a real pleasure to drive. The motor is buttoned to a fresh, four-speed manual transmission as well.

Inside, the black bench seat looks great and the matching carpet is in excellent order. There’s a storage space just after of the seat and the space is in very good order. Speedometer, Odometer and tachometer are inoperative. A four-spoke steering wheel faces the driver. The wooden instrument panel and correct Jaeger gauges look great while the inner door panels are in great order.

The MG TA Midget replaced the previous PB model in 1936. It was an evolution of the previous car and was three inches wider in its track at 45 inches and seven inches longer in its wheelbase at 94 inches.

The previous advanced overhead cam, inline four engine was by then not in use by any other production car, so it was replaced by the MPJG OHV unit from the Wolseley 10, but with twin SU carburetors, modified camshaft and manifolding. The engine displaced just 1292 cc, with a stroke of four inches and a bore of 2.5 inches and power output was 50 horsepower at 4,500 rpm. The four-speed manual gearbox now had synchromesh on the two top ratios and was connected to the engine by a cork-faced clutch running in oil. Unlike the PB, the Lockheed hydraulic brakes were fitted with nine-inch drums.

The T-type was capable of reaching almost 80 mph in standard tune with a 0–60 mph time of 23.1 seconds.

When first introduced the model was known as the T Type and only after the advent of the TB did the TA designation come into use.

Competition to this MG TA in 1938 included American Bantam’s 60 Roadster and Mercedes-Benz’s 170 V Cabriolet.

Pre-WWII car collectors and European collectors will want to examine this spritely MG closely or send a proxy. In either case, they should head for MotoeXotica Classic Cars at speed or they may find themselves pipped at the post.

VIN: TA1905

This car is currently located at our facility in St. Louis, Missouri. Current mileage on the odometer shows 0000 miles. It is sold as is, where is, on a clean and clear, mileage exempt title. GET OUT AND DRIVE!!!

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