MG J4s

MG J4s

I would refer to Tim Sargeant’s letter in the June issue of MOTOR SPORT wherein he refers to the listing of J4 MGs in the Triple-M Register. I know he has done some research on the history of these cars for he has spoken to me about it. I hope he searched with more care than he read our Register.

Yes, we do list nine J4s. But that does not mean that we proclaim to the world that nine cars survive in 100./0 original condition. In the preamble we say, “. . some cars which are believed to exist, even in incomplete form, have been included, particularly if they are of historic significance.” We argue that all J4s are of historic significance. Two cars do not have a Triple-M Register number or a “Last known owner” written against them. This indicates that, in September 1982, when the Register was last published, we did not know enough about these to note more than a possible location if they still existed. Of the remaining seven, at least one has spent all its life looking more or less like a standard J4, two are in highlymodified single-seat form so that you have to

know a bit about MGs to realise they are J4s, and the rest have spent colourful lives being modified to go faster and then having all the hard work undone by being restored to near original shape and specification.

If there is objective proof that any of these cars are not what they claim to be, I would be interested to see it. Otherwise the situation is very much as Lord Raglan describes it in his letter in the same issue. Bradford-on-Avon, MIKE HAWKE, Wilts. Hon. Sec. Triple-M Register, MG Car Club