1934 MG PA Midget
36 MGEAUGUST 2019 http://www.mgenthusiast.comsteering box was also fully overhauled.
Originally, this PA had a four-seater
body but the ash frame had long since
gone, as Bill explains: “MG never
preserved the ash frame so, naturally,
wood rots over time. It did come with
a body top, made in ash. For years I’ve
been good friends with a really nice
bloke called Les Keeling, who was a
skilled coach builder, and who even
built a Delahaye. Les skinned the car
for me and I spent time over at his
workshop learning a new skill, even
at my age! He’d make up the skin for
the door in about three quarters of a
day. It would take me three days and it
still wouldn’t be right. Unfortunately,
Les passed away and he is another
person of great skill we’ve lost.”
“The bonnet was again another
sad story. I stripped the paint off,
and found it had been fibreglassed
and rotted through so I had to make
another steel bonnet top. Les did the
aluminium sides with louvres in them.”
Bill had steel wings for the car
but decided against fitting them. “I
decided to keep it as light as possible
by keeping them aluminium. The rear
wings were salvageable but I was
going the whole hog.” Les was called
upon to make a complete set of wings
and TIG-welded the complex shapes
together as they are made in sections.
Bill, with help from Lyall, dry-built
the car and stripped it again before it
was painted. “We put it all together
to make sure all the panels would fit.
As anyone who’s restored cars will
know, you think: ‘that all fits alright’,
take it off, get it painted then put it all
back and think: ‘hang on a minute’. It’s
always the way and it takes ages.”
Les, and his son, Ross, painted
the MG in Joanne’s favourite hue
of Oxford Blue. All brightwork was
re-chromed and Bill had the radiator
re-cored. “It was in reasonable
condition but was leaking here andABOVE: Rare Lucas FT27 spotlamp was
an optional extra on these cars. Bill
found three of them at autojumbles.ABOVE: The engine block had to be
replaced as it was found to be cracked.
A replacement crank, rods and pistons
were also needed for the rebuild.
RIGHT: The twin 1” SU OM carbs were
replaced with sportier 1^1 / 8 ” SU HVs.
ABOVE: This pre-war mascot led to
Bill’s grandchildren calling the MG
‘Dora’ after Dora The Explorer and
bedtime reading memories.