MG J-type Midget

MG ZS 180

MG J-type Midget

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MG ZS 180 Cars

MG ZS 180

MG J-type Midget

The MG J-type was produced by the MG Car company from 1932 to 1934. This 2 door sports car used an updated version of the overhead camshaft, crossflow engine, used in the 1928 Morris Minor and Wolseley 10 and previously fitted in the MG M-type Midget of 1929 to 1932, driving the rear wheels through a four speed non-synchromesh gearbox. The chassis was from the D-type with suspension by half elliptic springs and Hartford friction shock absorbers all round with rigid front and rear axles. The car had a wheelbase of 86 inches (2184 mm) and a track of 42 inches (1067 mm). Most cars were open two seaters but a closed salonette version of the J1 was also made and some chassis were supplied to external coachbuilders. The open cars can be distinguished from the M-type by having cut away tops to the doors.

J1

The J1 was the four seat car in the range. The engine was the 847 cc unit previously seen in the C-type with twin SU carburetors giving 36 bhp. The car cost £220 in open and £225 in Salonette form.

J2

The J2 was the commonest car in the range and was a road going 2 seater. Early cars had cycle wings but these were replaced in 1933 by the full length type that was typical of all sports MGs up to the 1950's TF. The top speed of a standard car was 65 mph but a specially prepared one tested by The Autocar magazine reached 82 mph. The car cost £199.

There were a few serious failings of the J2, most seriously that it only had a two bearing crank shaft which will break if over-revved. The overhead camshaft drive is by a vertical shaft through bevel gears, a shaft which also forms the armature of the dynamo. Any oil leak from the cambox seal goes into the dynamo brushgear and likely a fire.

Another problem was that it was not fitted with hydraulic brakes, but had Bowden cables to each drum. These require no more pedal force than any other non-power-assisted drum brake, provided that they're well maintained and aren't sloppy or stretchy. The drums themselves are small and even in period it was a common modification to replaced them with larger drums from later models.

The non-syncromesh gearbox takes some getting used to, as for any car of this period, but with its short gear stick it becomes second nature to double de-clutch and rare to grind the gears.


J3

The J3 was a racing version with the engine capacity reduced to 746 cc by shortening the stroke from 83 to 73 mm and fitted with a Powerplus supercharger. The smaller engine capacity was to allow the car to compete in 750 cc class racing events. Larger brakes from the L-type were fitted.


J4

The J4 was a pure racing version with light weight body work and the J3 engine but using more boost from the supercharger to obtain 72 bhp.

MG J-type Midget

Manufacturer MG Car Company
Production : 1932-1934 (2494 made)
Predecessor : MG C-type Midget and MG D-type Midget
Successor : MG P-type Midget
Class : Sports Car
Body style(s) : 2-door roadster (Salonette)

MG J1

Production : 1932-1933 (380 made)
Engine(s) : 847 cc Straight-4

MG J2

Production : 1932-1934 (2083 made)
Engine(s) : 847 cc Straight-4

MG J3

Production : 1932-1933 (22 made)
Engine(s) : 746 cc Straight-4

MG J4

Production : 1932-1933 (9 made)
Engine(s) : 746 cc Straight-4

Related : MG Rover Group
Related : British Motor Corporation

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MG D-type Midget

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MG D-type Midget

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MG ZS 180 Cars

MG ZS 180

MG D-type Midget

The MG D-type Midget was produced by the MG Car company in 1931 and 1932. It used the engine from the MG M-type in the chassis from the MG C-type and was only available as a four seater. Of the 250 cars produced, 208 were open tourers, 37 were salonettes and five went to external coachbuilders.

The car used the M-type 847 cc engine that was derived from the overhead camshaft engine from the 1928 Morris Minor and Wolseley 10 with a single SU carburettor producing 27 bhp (20 kW) at 4500 rpm. Drive was to the rear wheels through a three speed non-synchromesh gearbox with a four speed gearbox was an option on later cars. The chassis came from the C-type and took the form of a ladder frame with tubular cross members and passed under the rear axle. The suspension used half elliptic springs and Hartford friction shock absorbers with rigid front and rear axles and centre lock wire wheels, the brakes were cable operated with eight inch (203 mm) drums. At 84 inches (2134 mm), 86 inches (2184 mm) after the first 100 cars, the wheelbase was longer than the C-Type to cater for the larger body, but the track remained the same at 42 inches (1067 mm).

In spite of its looks the car was not very fast, 60 mph (97 km/h) being just possible in the tourer, the body being really too much for the small engine. The cars are quite rare today, many having been converted into C-Type replicas. At the same time as the D-type was being made MG was also offering the 6 cylinder 1271 cc F-Type and externally the two are virtually identical. The extra power of the F-type made it a much better car and it proved a bigger seller.

MG D-type Midget

Manufacturer MG Car Company
Production : 1931-1932 (250 made)
Predecessor : MG M-type Midget
Successor : MG J-type Midget
Class : FR layout Sports Car
Body style(s) : four seat roadster
Engine(s) : 847 cc In-line 4

Related : MG Rover Group
Related : British Motor Corporation

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MG C-type Midget

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MG C-type Midget

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MG ZS 180 Cars

MG ZS 180

MG C-type Midget

The MG C-type was produced by the MG Car company from 1931 to 1932. It was designed for competition use and based on the M-Type Midget. A special car, EX120 had been developed from the M-Type for George Eyston to make an attempt on the 750 cc class 24 hour record at Autodrome de Montlhéry in France. The attempt was successful and a series of replica cars were made which became the C-type.

The car used a tuned short stroke (73 mm) version of the bevel gear driven overhead camshaft engine from the 1928 Morris Minor and Wolseley 10 with a single SU carburettor and a new crankshaft producing 44 bhp (33 kW) at 6400 rpm. It could from 1932 be had with the crossflow head to be seen later on the MG J-type and a Powerplus supercharger version was also available with 52.4 bhp (39.1 kW) at 6500 rpm. Drive was to the rear wheels through a four speed non-synchromesh gearbox. The chassis was new and took the form of a ladder frame with tubular cross members and passed under the rear axle. The suspension used half elliptic springs and Hartford friction shock absorbers with rigid front and rear axles and centre lock wire wheels. The car had a wheelbase of 81 inches (2057 mm) and a track of 42 inches (1067 mm).

The body, which had no doors, was metal over an ash frame and had a pointed tail which held the spare wheel and cycle type front wings. Later cars had a more conventional rear with a slab type fuel tank. The exhaust pipe was routed outside the car and finished with a spectacular fishtail. The record breaking cars had a streamlined cowl over the radiator but this was not usually fitted to later cars as it could cause overheating unless high speeds were maintained.

The standard car initially cost £295 or £345 for the supercharged version rising to £490 and £575 by the end of production.

As well as the Montlhéry record, C-Types were used in many other competition events including a works team of fourteen cars entered in the 1931 Double Twelve event at Brooklands where they took the first five places.

MG C-type Midget

Manufacturer MG Car Company
Production : 1931-1932 (43 made)
Predecessor : none
Successor : MG Q-type
Class : FR layout Sports Car
Body style(s) : competition car
Engine(s) : 746 cc In-line 4

Related : MG Rover Group
Related : British Motor Corporation

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