Lot 038: 1947 MG TC Racecar

Introduced in late 1945, the MG TC struck a chord with the buying public despite being almost wilfully old-fashioned. Boasting a wider cockpit than its TB predecessor, the new model was similarly based around a ladder-frame chassis equipped with all-round semi-elliptic leaf-sprung suspension and nine-inch hydraulic drum brakes. With its dual-cowl dashboard, fold-flat windscreen, cutaway-doors, swept front / rear wings and rear-mounted spare wheel, the TC looked every inch the traditional sports car. Powered by the Abingdon marque's renowned XPAG 1250cc OHV four-cylinder engine mated to a four-speed synchromesh manual gearbox, it was reputedly capable of 78mph. The last MG product to ride on nineteen-inch wire wheels, the TC attracted a strong following in the USA (especially among demobbed servicemen). According to information supplied by the vendor, this particular example was converted into a single-seater sprint / hillclimb car during the 1970s by a retired aircraft engineer in Australia. As well as narrowing the chassis the gentleman concerned reconfigured it so that the engine and back axle were offset; the result being not just a lower seating position but also a reduced frontal area. Based on a Wolseley cylinder block (stronger than its MG equivalent), the XPAG type four-cylinder overhead valve engine has apparently been balanced and blueprinted. Enlarged to 1350cc, it drives the rear wheels via a four-speed close-ratio gearbox. Further benefiting from hydraulic dual circuit brakes (with Alfin drums up front), rack-and-pinion steering, door-less boat-tailed bodywork and a full harness, the much modified MG rides on 16-inch wire wheels. Believed but not warranted to weigh 750kg and to develop approximately 85-90bhp, this purposeful single-seater promises to be great fun.