MG C-Type

MG
	MG C-Type Midget (1931-1932)
C-type midget
Production period:	1931-1932
Class :	Sports car
Body versions :	Roadster
Engines:	Petrol engines : ; 0.75 liters ; (32.3–38.5 kW)
Length:	3327 mm
Width:	1327 mm
Height:
Wheelbase :	2216 mm
Empty weight :	732 kg
Previous model	MG M-Type Midget
successor	MG J-Type Midget

MG C-Type with streamlined radiator cowling (1931) for the circuit in Montlhéry

The stern of a C-Type

The MG C-Type was a small sports car that MG manufactured from 1931 to 1932. It was designed for competition use and was based on its predecessor, the M-Type Midget . A special vehicle, the EX120 , was developed from the M-Type for George Eyston to try his hand at the 24-hour record in the 750 cc class in Montlhéry . This attempt was successful and so a racing replica of this vehicle was created and was called the "C-Type Midget ".

The car had a four-cylinder in-line engine with overhead camshaft (ohc) and bevel shaft, as used in the Morris Minor of 1928 and the Wolseley Ten , but with a shortened stroke, a different crankshaft and a single SU carburetor. This motor with 746 cc capacity made 44 bhp (32.3 kW) at 6400 min ^-1 . From 1932 there was the car with a cross-flow cylinder head, as it was later used in the J-Type . A Power Plus Compressor, the engine power of 52.4 bhp (38.5 kW) at 6,500 min ^-1 allowed was also available on request. The engine power was transmitted to the rear wheels via an unsynchronized four-speed gearbox. The chassis was redesigned, had the shape of a ladder with cross members made of round tube and went through under the rear axle. The suspension had semi-elliptical leaf springs and Hartford friction shock absorbers . The wire-spoke wheels with central locking hung on the two rigid axles. The car had a wheelbase of 2,057 mm and a track width of 1,067 mm.

The doorless body consisted of an ash wood frame planked with sheet steel and had a pointed boat stern for the spare wheel and steered front fenders. Later versions had a more conventional rear end and a rectangular fuel tank. The exhaust was routed along the outside of the body and ended in a spectacular fishtail. The record-breaking vehicle had a streamlined cowling over the radiator, but later cars left this cowling out as it often caused the engine to overheat at low speeds.

The production vehicle initially cost £ 295 with the naturally aspirated engine or £ 345 with the supercharged engine; at the end of production the prices were £ 490 and £ 575 respectively.

Like the Montlhéry record-breaking vehicle, the C-Type vehicles were also used in many competitions; a works team with fourteen vehicles competed in the '' Double Twelve '' in Brooklands in 1931 and took the first five places.

Web links

Commons : MG C-Type - collection of images, videos and audio files

swell

Green, Malcolm: MG Sports Cars , CLB International, (1997), ISBN 1-85833-606-6
Sedgwick, Michael & Gillies, Mark: AZ of Cars of the 1930's , Bay View Books, (1989), ISBN 1-870979-38-9
Culshaw, David & Horrobin, Peter: The Complete Catalog of British Cars 1895-1975 , Veloce Publishing plc., Dorchester (1997), ISBN 1-874105-93-6