Highlights
- One of only 526 PB P-Types ever made
- Paperwork going back to the 1960s
- Unmodified original interior
- Competed in many trial events
- Current owner for last five years
The Appeal
Long before the MG badge was slapped onto Chinese EVs, it represented one of Britain’s leading sports car manufacturers. The P-Type was a mid-1930s open-top two-seater, in production for just two years before the T-Type began its twenty-year assault on the nation’s roads and hearts.
This 1935 P-Type was typical of MG’s output at the time. A two-tone cream and brown exterior is reprised throughout the snug interior, across the leather seats and luggage shelf behind them. Just 500 of the later PB P-Types were ever manufactured. This later PB model has the enlarged 939cc engine behind a vertically slatted radiator grille.
The compact windowless suicide doors swing open to reveal a cosy two-seater cabin with a typically outsized four-spoke steering wheel ahead of a bank of instruments spread across the entire dashboard. It’s testament to MG’s sporting heritage that a central rev counter sits directly behind the steering wheel, with a smaller speedo set lower down on a dash which in this case exhibits surface wear and tear. Even so, there are many period details to cherish on this car – the wiper pull-switch marked “RAIN”, the Jaeger dials, a metal MG-branded passenger grab handle and that side-mounted exhaust.
The History and Paperwork
- Registered in January 1936
- Receipts dating back to 1967
- Historic MOT certificates from 1969
- First supplied by C H Mitchell of Huddersfield
- Has averaged one owner per decade since then
- Prescott/Oulton/Shelsey Walsh stickers on door
The Condition
- Original MG car/engine/patent plaques still in situ
- Top-hinged engine cover reveals engine in clean order
- Historic tax disc holder mounted to passenger door
- Period MG branding from doorhandles to hubcaps
- Triple-M MG Car Club badge showing reg no. 1049
Despite being used regularly, this car is described as “a very complete and original car” by its owner of the last five years. The paintwork isn’t flawless and nor is the dashboard, but it’s all highly original, making this a hugely appealing proposition to anyone who prefers patina to perfection. Apart from attending a few trials events over the last three decades (attested to by retained scrutineering stickers on the passenger door), this car shows few signs of heavy use, and is reportedly solid underneath.
The Mechanics
- 939cc engine and four-speed manual transmission
- Period Andre Hartford shock absorbers still fitted
- Inboard mounting and conversion to larger 1-1/2 SU carb
- In-period Marshall 75 supercharger added in early 90s
- Five wire wheels shod in tyres showing plentiful tread
Apart from a couple of sympathetic upgrades, the car’s mechanicals appear to be largely original. The current owner reports it revs well and pulls strongly, holding the road well and providing comprehensive feedback alongside an evocative supercharger-led soundtrack. The starter motor was rewound in 2021, but no work has been needed since; the car has been stored in a garage at all times and only driven on dry roads.
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