Cecil Kimber, General Manager of Morris Garages, in Oxford started by building special-bodied Morris Bullnose cars in 1923, and made them even more distinguished by adopting the MG (or Morris Garages) badge. The original MG-badged cars were not as sporting as those which followed, but they established a famous sports car marque.
Like the first Morris ‘specials’ which had preceded them in 1923, the MG 14/28 types were based on the simple chassis and running gear of the mass-produced Morris Bullnose, but now they had larger and more powerful engines, and even more distinctive body styling. During the life of the car, engines became more distinctive, for all were stripped, rebuilt and modified by the Morris Garages’ mechanics. At first the cars were assembled in a corner of the Morris workshops at Alfred’s Lane, Oxford, the chassis being delivered direct from Morris’s Cowley factory on the outskirts of the city. Kimber’s craftsmen then made a multitude of improvements, including flattening the springs, re-raking the steering, changing the suspension dampers and altering the overall gearing.
Early MGs used the well known Bullnose radiator, but with the MG octagon badge fixed to it, though from late 1926 these were replaced by a more MG-like flat-nose style. Coachbuilding skills were prolific the time, and it was easy for Kimber to find bodies in two-seat, four-seat and a variety of saloon styles and shapes; Carbodies of Coventry provided most of them. |
 |
To call this pioneering MG a ‘super sports’ was really advertiser’s hype (at which Kimber was adept), but there was no lack of demand for the model. The first two-seaters cost £350, though one could pay up to £460 for a four-seater saloon. The first factory move (to Bainton Road) followed in 1925, and further expansion would follow in 1927.
These sporty and extrovert machines were further improved in 1927 with the introduction of the revised Morris ‘flat-nose’ chassis, which was shorter, stiffer and heavier. Before long, production had risen above ten cars a week, but this was only the first of many expansions. The restless Kimber was not content to leave the 14/28 unmodified for long, so it was joined by a very similar car called the 14/40 in 1927, though the changes were mainly cosmetic. By 1928, however, MG had more exciting models under development – including the first of the tiny Midgets – so this pioneering MG model was soon phased out. Although about 1,300 14/28s and 14/40s of all types were built, very few now survive.
Although the engines were modified from mundane side-valve Morris ‘Oxford’ types, they pushed out a creditable 30–35 bhp, which was enough to give the cars a 60–65 mph top speed.
|
