1934 MG PA Midget
38 MGEAUGUST 2019 http://www.mgenthusiast.com1932 cars got the bigger 8” headlights.”
Since owning this Midget, Bill has
managed to trace some of its history.
“It was first registered to Mr SN Ghose
of South Park Avenue, Glasgow, and
has had four known owners. There
was a lapse until the late 1960s
to 1970s, where a chap bought it,
stripped it and partially restored it.”
Bill finished the restoration in 2017
and, with the build complete, the PA
can be enjoyed. “I just need to get a
few miles on it now and tweak things.
You’ve got to have a bit of passion for it
and drive it within its limits. I’ve done
over 1000 miles in it now, staying within
local counties. As with the other car,
which we’ve taken all over Europe,
and the previous PA, we find as we get
older, after about 85 miles, we have to
stop and have a stretch. It is cramped
in there but then it is called a Midget.
I’m very proud of my grandson, Lyall,
who’s helped me over the time. He’s
now a Toyota apprentice. He’s into bikes,
as am I, and more modern cars.”
“People say the car isn’t original but
you show me any pre-war car that is
original in real terms. I know a lot of
these pre-war MGs are overhead cam
engines, and people didn’t know how
to deal with them so many of them
ended up having a side-valve engine,as they were reliable. Most people
were amateurs who worked on these
cars and couldn’t set up the camshaft
timing and put a side-valve engine in it
when the original engine went wrong;
a hell of a lot were like that. In fact I
found a letter from 1947 with someone
writing to MG about this car looking
for a new engine, which obviously they
didn’t do by then, and quoted several
months and about £49. So many have
had engines swaps but what do you do
when a car hasn’t got a body? To be
honest it’s got to be better than when it
was built, with the modern technology
that’s been put into it,” laughs Bill.
He is quite rightly pleased with
how the Midget has turned out, and
appreciative of the help he’s had getting
it built. “I’m very lucky to be able to
do them. Anyone that buys a project
like this must know what they are
doing, or have an awful lot of money to
pay someone to do it. I’ve got a lot of
friends that have helped me, giving me
technical advice over the years. And I
think we are lucky in the MMM Register
to have such a trade group supporting
us, such as Barry Walker, Sports &
Vintage Motors, Vintage MG Parts and
Andy King, amongst others, along
with technical advice and know-how
freely given by those that have been
repairing and restoring these cars. This
enthusiastic group spans the world.”Bill Cullen would like to thank: “My wife Joanne
for all of the patience over the many years that she
has shown for my MG passion and of course for
joining me on our many trips, and all the friends
that have helped me with the project.”ABOVE: The year-correct Lucas Altette
horn was an amazing autojumble find.
as they were reliable. Most people
were amateurs who worked on these
cars and couldn’t set up the camshaft
timing and put a side-valve engine in it
when the original engine went wrong;
a hell of a lot were like that. In fact I
found a letter from 1947 with someoneLEFT: Bill’s superb PA won the Concours
Cup along with the Peter Best Award at
the 2017 Queen Victoria Car show.