MG sports car owned and driven by RAF hero Sir Douglas Bader in WW2 goes on sale for £80,000
MG
sports car owned by RAF airman Sir Douglas Bader is to go on sale at
auction and is expected to fetch £80,000
Bader
is one of Britain's most famous WW2 pilots having taken to the skies
despite losing both legs in a plane crash
He
was the first owner of the Midget TA Roadster, which he bought in
1938 and registered to his home in Kensington
The
British car, powered by 1.3-litre engine, will be sold by Bonhams at
its Goodwood Revival sale on September 12
By SAM TONKIN FOR
MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 16:34
GMT, 24 August 2015 | UPDATED: 17:13 GMT, 24 August 2015
He was
Britain's most inspirational Second World War pilot after helping the
Allies beat the Germans in the air despite losing both legs in a
plane crash.
Now, the MG sports
car once owned by RAF hero Sir Douglas Bader is to go on sale at
auction and is expected to fetch £80,000.
The fighter pilot,
who famously flew in the Battle of Britain, was the first owner of
the Midget TA Roadster.
He bought it in
1938, seven years after he lost his legs, registering the open-top
car to his address in upmarket Kensington, West London.
The MG T series is a
range of body-on-frame convertible sports cars that were produced by
MG from 1936 to 1955. The series included the MG TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG
TD, and MG TF Midget models. The last of these models, the TF, was
replaced by the MGA.
The TF name was
reinstated in 2002 on the mid-engined MG TF sports car.
The MG TA Midget
replaced the PB in 1936. It was an evolution of the previous car and
was 3 inches (76 mm) wider in its track at 45 inches (1,100 mm) and 7
inches (180 mm) longer in its wheelbase at 94 inches (2,400 mm).
The previous
advanced overhead-cam inline-four engine was now 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 carburettors, modified camshaft and
manifolding. The engine displaced just 1292 cc, with a stroke of 102
mm (4.0 in) and a bore of 63.5 mm (2.5 in) and power output was 50 hp
(40.3 kW) 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, hydraulic brakes
were fitted with 9-inch (230 mm) drums.
Like the PB, most
were two-seat open cars with a steel body on an ash frame. A
bench-type seat was fitted with storage space behind. From 1938 the
car could also be had with a more luxurious Tickford drophead coupé
body by Salmons of Newport Pagnell and 252 were made.[2] The soft top
could be used in three positions, fully open, closed or open just
over the seats. Wind-up windows were fitted to the higher topped
doors making the car more weathertight and individual bucket seats
used in the fully carpeted interior. Complete chassis were fitted
with a very basic body at the Abingdon factory and driven to Newport
Pagnell to have their coachwork fitted. A closed Airline coupé made
by Carbodies, as fitted to the P type, was also offered but only one
or two is thought to have been made.
The T-type was
capable of reaching almost 80 mph (130 km/h) in standard tune with a
0–60 mph time of 23.1 seconds.
3,003 were made and
in 1936 it cost £222 on the home market, the same as had been asked
for the PB.
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.
Allan Tomlinson won
the 1939 Australian Grand Prix driving an MG TA
The TA was replaced
by the TB Midget in May 1939. It had a smaller but more modern XPAG
engine as fitted to the Morris Ten Series M, but in a more highly
tuned state and like the TA with twin SU carburettors. This 1250 cc
I4 unit featured a slightly less undersquare 66.6 mm (2.6 in) bore
and 90 mm (3.5 in) stroke and had a maximum power output of 54 hp (40
kW) at 5200 rpm. The oil-immersed clutch was also replaced by a
dry-plate type and gear ratios revised.
Available as an open
2-seater or more luxurious Tickford drophead coupé, this is the
rarest of the T-type cars; only 379 were made.
The TC Midget was
the first postwar MG, launched in 1945. It was quite similar to the
pre-war TB, sharing the same 1,250 cc (76 cu in) pushrod-OHV engine
with a slightly higher compression ratio of 7.4:1 giving 54.5 bhp
(40.6 kW) at 5200 rpm. The makers also provided several alternative
stages of tuning for "specific purposes".
It was exported to
the United States, even though only ever built in right-hand drive.
The export version had slightly smaller US specification sealed-beam
headlights and larger twin rear lights, as well as turn signals and
chrome-plated front and rear bumpers.
The body was
approximately 4 inches (100 mm) wider than the TB measured at the
rear of the doors to give more cockpit space. The overall car width
remained the same resulting in narrower running boards with two tread
strips as opposed to the previous three. The tachometer was directly
in front of the driver, while the speedometer was on the other side
of the dash in front of the passenger.
10,001 TCs were
produced, from September 1945 (chassis number TC0251) to Nov. 1949
(chassis number TC10251), more than any previous MG model. It cost
£527 on the home market in 1947.
Fuel consumption was
28 mpg-imp (10.1 L/100 km; 23.3 mpg-US).[5] Its 0–60 mph time was
22.7 seconds, a respectable performance at the time.
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