Ruby

EDH 458

1937 MG TA ‘Special’

Ruby, a deep red MG TA Special with cycle wings and a tapered tail, parked on grass at a classic car rally, a passenger and a small dog in the cockpit.
Chassis TA1324, registered EDH 458.
Chassis
TA1324, first of a batch to TA1361
Build date
13/05/1937, rebuilt 2013
Registration
EDH 458
Original engine
MPJG1550, 1292cc
Current engine
XPAG 1350cc (mfd. 05/02/1955), BMC Replacement Unit No. F23602

About Ruby

What is original?

  • Chassis/ID, with minor modifications to fit the body
  • Front and rear axles, springs, trunnions, mountings etc.
  • Handbrake and hydraulic braking system

Period modifications

  • XPAG engine from a 1955 MG TF Midget
  • Gauges
  • Alfin brake drums
  • Brooklands steering wheel (reproduction)

Non-period modifications

  • Mirage Garage supercharger, an Eaton-style blower
  • RAF WWII boost gauge, likely from a Spitfire
  • Ford Sierra five-speed gearbox conversion
  • Volkswagen steering box

Provenance

EDH 458 was issued by Walsall County Borough Council and stamped into the register on 31 May 1937, eighteen days after the chassis was built.

  1. 1937 First registered at Walsall
  2. 1937–45 West Midlands
  3. 1945–58 East Midlands
  4. 1958–66 Southern and eastern England
  5. 1966–68 East Midlands
  6. 1968–2011 No record
  7. 2011–13 Oxfordshire
  8. 2013–22 West Midlands
  9. since 2022 Scottish Borders
Walsall County Borough register of index marks, page 115. Tap or click to enlarge.

The rebuild

2011–13: restored and rebodied by Steve Baker MG

The original 1937 MG TA donor car was acquired by Steve Baker in October 2011 in the Oxford area. The restoration took 24 months.

Ruby was commissioned by Peter Simkin, Chief Engineer at JLR. She was delivered in late 2013.

The bespoke aluminium panel work was begun by the late Peter Gregory and completed by renowned aluminium fabricator Max Szewczyk (now MJS Panels). It is not “correct” to any MG design, but bears a strong resemblance to the MG Q-Type racing cars produced in 1934 — only eight, possibly nine, were made.

The new aluminium body sitting on the MG TA chassis in a workshop, still in bare unpainted metal.
The new body on the chassis, still in bare metal.

2013: XPAG engine, rebuilt by Peter Edney

Engine performance was improved by increasing displacement from 1250 to 1350cc and fitting a modern Mirage Garage supercharger, an Eaton-style “roots” type blower similar to period units.

The crankshaft is a reground original forging, and it has an original matched set of TC con-rods.

The XPAG engine in the chassis with a Mirage Garage supercharger mounted alongside it.
The XPAG engine with its Mirage Garage supercharger.

The MG TA

The first of the famous MG T-series line, the TA was introduced in 1936 and priced at £222. Larger, faster and more comfortable than its PB predecessor, the newcomer was powered by an MPJG 1292cc OHV four-cylinder engine that developed some 50bhp @ 4,800rpm. Allied to a four-speed manual transmission (synchromesh), it endowed the two-seater with a nigh-on 80mph top speed.

The TA’s chassis was of traditional MG design, but the tubular crossmembers seen in previous models had been replaced by less stiff channel sections. Also, the forward portions of the side rails had been made as box sections to stiffen them, which was needed as the engine mountings were of rubber. Suspension was by the now familiar leaf springs front and rear, but the brakes were hydraulically operated for the first time on an MG.

The mechanical specification of the TA made it a much easier car to drive, whilst still maintaining the reputation of its predecessors. This opened up a whole new appeal of sports cars to a much wider market than before. The TA had accounted for 3,003 sales by the time production ceased in 1939.

A pale blue 1937 MG TA in standard factory bodywork, registration CTT 603, at a show.
Ruby as she would have rolled off the production line. This is TA1323 — the chassis before Ruby, built on 05/05/1937.
1937 MG sales brochure cover, showing an illustrated M.G. Midget Series T two-seater on a turquoise ground with the MG octagon badge.
1937 MG sales brochure.

Photographs

During the build

The new body on the chassis, still in bare metal
The hand-formed tail, before paint
A panel under trial fitting
Engine-turned dash panel and gauges
In the workshop after paint
The XPAG engine with its Mirage Garage supercharger
A front cycle wing and its stay
Radiator grille, badge and headlamps

Other photographs

The spare wheel, strapped to the tail
Rear three-quarter
The engine bay from above, supercharger at the top
Cockpit, with the hood folded away
Front three-quarter, EDH 458
In company with a pre-war saloon
Front three-quarter on the drive
The ignition side, bonnet panel propped open
Front three-quarter, aero screens fitted
From the side, showing the length of the tail
From behind: the tapered tail and cycle wings
Looking down over the radiator and headlamps