1939 | MG TA

1939 MG TA Tickford Drophead Coupe
The current owner is 6' 4" / 1.93 metres tall - so TA Tickford legroom is not a problem for tall people. (Adjustable Steering column rake)
Owned TWICE by the present owner firstly from 1964 to 1966 - as shown in the black and white photo - and re-purchased in 2008 from the previous owner / restorer.
BOUGHT NEW BY WWII RAF pilot FLYING OFFICER J C EDMONSON - it was indeed an expensive and special car at that time, over and above the standard TA. He was stationed at the beginning of WWII at RAF Shawbury, near Shrewsbury, still an active station today.
Flying Officer J C Edmonson lived at 207 Alkington Road, Whitchurch, Shropshire – local to the Manchester registration number. Please see here a photo of Alkington Road, Whitchurch today, and also Flying Officer JC Edmonson's RAF war record below
Owned TWICE by the present owner firstly from 1964 to 1966 - as shown in the black and white photo - and re-purchased in 2008 from the previous owner / restorer.
This actual car is specifically featured in the authoritative work on the MG TA "Original MG T Series" by respected Anders Ditlev Clausager on pages 49 to 55.
A lovely and very stylish Tickford MG - the special body created by Salmons and Sons Ltd of Newport Pagnell - an offshoot of Aston Martin Lagonda extant today.
Revealed to the public in August 1938, production continued to August 1939 - just days before the outbreak of WWII.
Bulkhead chassis plate reveals TA3217 March 1939, Tickford production starting with TA2187 in March 1938 and finishing with standard MG TA3253 in April 1939, with a very short production run of the TB commencing in May 1939, ending in October 1939, a month after war started.
However :- It appears that somewhere in the mists of time before the owner's first brief ownership of this car as a student in 1964/5 - that the chassis was changed to an earlier TA model as TA1144, this number being on the front dumb iron today, the original 1939 body and FVU 867 registration being on the car today.
This elegant Tickford body features straight door tops and wind-up windows. To complete the opulence compared to the standard TA two-seater, the Tickford could be configured - with the padded hood - as a coupe or left half open in Sedanca style using curved landau irons to prevent back-draught - as seen in the photos – or lowered all the way down, also as seen in the photos.
The MG TA Tickford 3- position drophead coupe really is several steps above the standard TA sports, some say like a scaled down 3-position Derby Bentley of the day.
EDITORIAL SEPTEMBER 2020 MG Car Club SAFETY FAST! : One whole page editorial on this very car reads : When I passed my driving test in 1964 I asked my father if he would lend me some money to buy a car. He replied "My son, if you want a car you have to earn some money in the school holidays" - which I did, working as a post boy for the Post Office, and whilst delivering mail one day I noticed a wreck of a car which turned out to be a MG TA Tickford in Buckingham, registration number FVU 867. I tracked down the owner who asked £30 for the wreck which I paid for with my hard earned wages. I had the vehicle towed back home and with some help to de-rust the cylinders, it fired back into life, and after passing an engineer's test, she was back on the road. I drove her all through 1964 until I left school in 1965 and sailed off to Australia. I stayed in Australia for 7 years,and during that time I wrote to my brother with explicit instructions (I still have on file!) to sell the car on my behalf. It was sold by my brother and passed through a couple of owners and eventually sometime in the late 60s, the car was rescued by Simon Gibbard, just in the nick of time as it was about to be broken up. In the intervening years I have owned two TCs, and two MGB GTs, so you can see I have MGs in my blood! It was not until the late 1990s / early 2000s that I started to think again of the MG TA Tickford. I joined the MGCC and went to MG events at Silverstone, hoping that I might find my old TA Tickford. Eventually luck was on my side! On thumbing through Safety Fast! there was my old car advertised for sale in the classified ads. In 2002 I contacted the then owner, still Simon Gibbard, who lived relatively close by and I visited him and viewed the car. Simon had lovingly and extensively restored the car to a very high standard over many years, but at the same time the asking price was more than I could afford. It was not until 2008, having been encouraged by my wife and brother, that I made contact with Simon again. Yes....the TA Tickford was still for sale and within 48 hours she was mine again! The MG gods must have been on my side! FVU 867 is featured in Clausager's book 'Original MG T Series' from pages 49 to 55 with many fine photos from around 1989 when it was fitted with Ace wheel discs.
Service history :-MG TA TICKFORD 1939 FVU 867
MILEAGE SINCE A FULL RESTORATION - 4000 MILES
THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN MAINTAINED BY PROFESSIONAL MECHANICS
13 12 2010 MAJOR OVERHAUL BY HATCH MOTORS OF SWAY. ALL GASKETS AND OIL SEALS REPLACED. NEW MASTER BRAKE CYLINDER UNIT FITTED
31.05.2011 DYNAMO AND REGULATOR REPLACED
20.10.2011 SPARK PLUGS, POINTS, CONDENSER REPLACED.
MIKE ROLLS MG CAR SPECIALIST - Gillingham, Dorset
07.09.12 OIL CHANGES AND GENERAL ADJUSTMENTS OF BRAKES
01.05.2013 MANIFOLD, EXHAUST, CARBURETTORS GASKETS REPLACED
14 06 2013 ELECTRICS AND WIPER WIRING AND CONTACTS SORTED
16 07 2014 CYLINDER HEAD REMOVED FOR REFACING
14 03 2016 FOUR NEW LONGSTONE CLASSIC TYRES FITTED
25 08 16 NEW KING PIN KIT AND STUBB AXLE MACHINED
10 05 17 REAR HUBS REMOVED AND OIL THROWERS REPLACED
04 06 18 MAJOR OVERHAUL AND NEW CLUTCH FITTED
27 03 19 MAJOR BRAKE OVERHAUL WITH NEW WHEEL CYLINDERS AND SHOES RELINED; IN ADDITION : ANNUAL GENERAL MAINTENANCE OF OIL, GREASE POINTS ETC..RE ENGINE, GEARBOX AND FRAME - APPEAR TO BE IN SOUND RUNNING ORDER
DECEMBER 2023 SERVICE AT MIKE ROLLS MG near Gillingham, Dorset
ALL DOCUMENTATION IS AVAILABLE FOR THE ABOVE.
Vieings of the car are in Dorset by Prior appointment not far from Blandford Forum.