1. An MG VA drophead coupe.
A photo from our family album now, this one showing a fine MG VA drophead foursome coupe, bodied by Tickfords and powered by a 1.5 litre engine I believe. This particular car belonged to dad's uncle, although the photo is undated so I can't be sure when exactly he owned this smart dhc MG. It no longer shows on the DVLA website, so I doubt MG 5560 still exists.
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The MG VA (or 1.5 Litre) was only produced for 2.5 years, from Feb 1937 to September 1939, and was understudy to the larger-engined, six cylinder, SA and WA models. Three versions were offered, a saloon, a tourer, and the Tickfords-bodied drophead coupe, as shown above. In 1939, the drophead coupe cost 360 GBP. This was the final year of VA production, and this season's cars ushered in a number of improvements to the previous year's offerings. The engine now had a counterbalanced crankshaft, a new type of camshaft, and a dry-plate clutch. Luvax hydraulic shock absorbers were now fitted, and the Jackall built-in jacking system was now standard fitments on all MG VAs. The interior of the foursome coupe had also been improved slightly to improve accomodation.
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The drophead foursome coupe was the top model in the VA range, and offered three roof positions: fully closed, fully open, or with just the front seat occupants exposed, in coupe-de-ville style. |
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The four cylinder engine had a displacement of 1548cc, overhead valves, twin semi-downdraft carburettors coupled to a four speed gearbox with remote gearchange. 19 inch wheels were fitted, shod with 5.00x19 crossply tyres.
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2. MG VA tourer.
Interestingly, late in 2008 Naomi dropped me a note with this photo of her grandfather's old MG, reg, EPO 119. A little investigation shows that this too is an MG VA, although this time a Tourer, rather than a dhc. This car still shows up on a DVLA search, now painted white. Naomi adds: "When my granddad owned her, she was metallic blue, so she has obviously had a paint job as she is now white according to the DVLA records. I was
wondering whether you could help me locate her?". Does anyone know of this car, and where it might be now?
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Return to Old Vehicle Photos Page 8.
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