1933 MG J2

This is a photograph I took at the Northern Classic Car Show at Belle Vue, Manchester in September 1984.

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It's a 1933 MG J2 Sports and has a 4-cylinder inline supercharged 847cc engine. 2083 examples of the J2 were built between 1932 and 1934.

1933 MG J2 Sports

This car competed in a 2 hour long VSCC Team Relay Race for Pre-War Sports Cars at the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in May 2011.

It's the 1933 MG J2 Sports of David Downes and has a 4-cylinder inline supercharged 847cc engine. 2083 examples of the J2 were built between 1932 and 1934.

MGs at Oulton Park

Oulton Park hosted the VSCC's  Hawthorn Memorial Trophies race meeting on 18th July 2015 with the usual mixture of vintage sports cars, and here are photographs of some of the selection of MGs that took part in the races.

Race 4 was Part 1 of the Bill Phillips Trophy Race for Standard & Modified Pre-War Sports Cars, and I watched this race at Druids Corner.

Fred Boothby in his 1933 MG J2 being passed by Nicolas Rossi's 1930 Alfa Romeo 8C 1750 GS

Mark Dolton in his 1935 MG PB being passed by David Lamb's 1929 Riley Brooklands

Miss Anne Boursot in H H McNinch's 1935 MG PA

Fred Boothby again in his 1933 MG J2

Andrew Morland in his 1933 MG L1

Mrs Sarah Foster in J Foster's 1939 MG TB

Race 9 was the Hawthorn Memorial & Spanish Trophies Race for Pre-1961 Racing Cars, and I watched this race from Lodge Corner.

Thomas Hardman in the 1935 MG Bellevue Special

Race 3, a Short Handicap Race for Pre-War Cars was red-flagged after an accident at Druids Corner and re-run after race 9, and again I was at Lodge Corner.

Harry Painter's 1934 MG PA

Mike Painter's 1935 MG Kayne Special

MG J2

This is a photograph I took in June 1987 at a 'Vintage & Historic Vehicle Display & Run' organised by Saddleworth Museum. It was taken at the King George V Playing Fields in Uppermill.

The car is a 1931 MG J2 and the programme of the event says this about the car:

1931 MG, 1275cc, 6 cyl, JW 3166. Rare model MG. Restored by owner and wife from box of bits.

The names of the owner and his wife aren't given, but I have found a reference to the car in the MG bulletin of 20 September 2009 bulletin of the Triple-M Register (which is part of the MG Car Club) and in 2009 the car was owned by Steve Clarke.

Wikipedia says this about the J2:

'The J2, a road-going two-seater, was the commonest car in the range. Early models had cycle wings, which were replaced in 1933 by the full-length type typical of all sports MGs until the 1950s TF. The top speed of a standard car was 65 mph (105 km/h), but a specially prepared one tested by The Autocar magazine reached 82 mph (132 km/h). The car cost £199.

The most serious of the J2's technical failings is that has only a two-bearing crankshaft, which can break if over-revved. The overhead camshaft is driven by a vertical shaft through bevel gears, which also forms the armature of the dynamo. Thus any oil leak from the cambox seal goes into the dynamo brushgear, presenting a fire hazard.

Rather than hydraulic brakes the car has Bowden cables to each drum. Although requiring no more pedal force than any other non-power-assisted drum brake if they are well maintained, the drums themselves are small, and even in period it was a common modification to replace them with larger drums from later models.'

MG Montlhery & J2

I took this photograph in the paddock at Oulton Park at the Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting in June 1982.

Both the MGs featured here took part in the first race of the day, a 5 lap handicap race. The car in the foreground is the 847cc 1932 MG J2 of Duncan Cotter, and behind it number 115 is the 747cc MG C-type Montlhery of Barry Foster. Oulton Park paddock looked a far more homely place then than it does now it's been covered with tarmac, though I suppose it's better for everyone now when it rains.