Description
MG PA AIRLINE COUPE. PA 0837. One of about 15 known survivors of the 47 MG Airline coupes built, of which only two are known to be roadworthy in the UK. Current owner since 2019.
An all matching numbers car, possibly the most original surviving roadworthy Airline coupe. Sympathetically restored, over some 35 years by previous father and son owners, Ronald and Richard Cass. It was returned to the road with an MOT in 2011, although the car still lacked some original equipment. It had little use until I bought it from Richard in 2019.
Known ownership history with the possible exception of the war years. Good history file including the ‘Continuation’ buff log book issued by Surrey CC in 1947, photos of the restoration, invoices, original manual and parts list, articles about the car in magazines, etc. Also copies of factory file and Heritage Certificate from MGCC.
Supplied to its first owner, Alfred Lansdell Mizen, on 14 December 1934 by T Hawkins & Sons (Epsom) Ltd; the dealer plate is still on the dashboard. It was fitted with the ‘Deluxe Extra Equipment’ package, - bonnet strap, headlamp stone-guards, quick-release filler caps on radiator and petrol tank, radiator and oil thermometers (with glove pockets blanked for these instruments), and 8-day clock mounted on a bracket underneath facia board.
The Continuation Registration Book issued by Surrey County Council in January 1947, stamped (stamped ‘Old Book Retained’), lists three owners of the car up to Ronald Cass, who bought it in 1962 as a ‘runner but only just’ for a ‘nominal sum’! He used it as a runabout until the mid-1970s, when he started a restoration that was to take 35 years! In 1992, the partly restored car passed to his son Richard, who completed the restoration in 2011. The ownership of the car between 1934 and the Continuation Book being issued is uncertain.
As much of the original car as possible was retained during the restoration with parts repaired rather than replaced. This included the Ash frame, where only those parts beyond repair were renewed. Old (dead) woodworm holes remain in the nearside door frame and the original Carbodies body number can still be seen (with difficulty!) on the cross member below the windscreen. It was re-painted as close to its original colours as possible.
I bought the car from Richard in August 2019, roadworthy, but little used since 2011. I recommissioned it over the winter of 2019-20, and sourced and fitted the missing original items, adding a few things to improve safety in modern traffic, including LED lights, discreet flashing indicators in the side lights, high level brake light, driver’s sun visor and period mirrors.
Apart from the safety additions, the car is now close to its original specification, including colour.
The car has covered about 3000 miles in my ownership, including several round trips of over 100 miles to Brooklands and Greenacres, where it has twice won the Pride of Ownership award for 4 cylinder cars. It also won the best pre-war MG at the MG100 event at Beaulieu last September.
I have continued to improve and maintain the car regardless of cost. It had 5 new Blockley tyres in 2020, a stainless exhaust system in 2021 and a new battery earlier this year. In my ownership it has been through an annual MOT test, even though exempt. The current certificate runs until May 2025. The car remains in very good, useable condition with patina commensurate with its age.
The car is currently insured with an agreed value of £100, 000. This is the sale price at auction in the USA in September 2022 of what I think was the last Airline sold.
I am selling it reluctantly to fund the purchase of another MG.
There is a video of the car on Brooklands TV on YouTube, filmed in 2022 - - details above.
