1933 MG Midget J2 Roadster
Coachwork by Carbodies
Registration no. FW 3919
Chassis no. 2532
Engine no. 29165A

General Manager of Oxford-based Morris Garages, Cecil Kimber brought sports car motoring within the financial reach of the man in the street with a succession of affordable MGs. These were, naturally enough, based on existing Morris models, arguably the most famous and certainly the most influential being the Midget, which first appeared at the 1928 London Motor Show. The first – 'M' type - Midget was based on modified Morris Minor running gear and used the latter's 847cc single-overhead-camshaft four-cylinder engine, though it was its delightful two-seater body that set the little MG apart from its humbler progenitor. Manufactured by Carbodies of Coventry, it was narrow, light in weight and adorned with a most attractive boat tail.

Derived from the 'M' type and introduced for the 1933 model year, the two-seater J2 established the classic MG look which would characterise the Abingdon marque's sports cars into the 1950s. With its deeply cutaway doors, fold-flat windscreen and fixed cycle-type mudguards, it revealed its race-bred pedigree in every line and set the British sports car fashion for many years. This new Midget was given the factory designation 'J2' and it was announced simultaneously that a new 'super-sports' J3 model and a racing J4 would quickly follow. The Midget's 847cc, overhead-camshaft, Wolseley-derived engine was coupled to a four-speed gearbox and housed in a simple chassis frame featuring half-elliptic springing all round and cable-operated 8"-diameter brakes. Thus equipped, the lightweight J2 possessed exemplary handling and steering by the standards of the day and was good for 65mph. Today the model is one of the most sought after of pre-war MG sports cars.

One of only 2,083 J2 Midgets produced, chassis number '2532' was purchased as a restoration project from a friend of the vendors in 1974, at which time it was fitted with a Ford sidevalve engine and a gearbox of unknown make. A complete 'chassis upwards' restoration commenced in 1978, was continued by Belcher Engineering in 1980 and completed by the latter in 1984. The body's ash frame was renewed during restoration and the car now has an MG engine (built up around an M-Type Midget cylinder block) and the correct type of gearbox, while the brakes have been up-rated to hydraulic operation. Used sparingly since the restoration and benefiting from a recent service by Spencer Longland, the car is offered with a substantial quantity of bills, an old-style continuation logbook (1965), lubrication chart, instruction manual, some expired MoT certificates and the current V5C document.