MG TA Special Part 1: How I built a supercharged pre-war race car from a rolling chassis

[@TonyKing-tn6jr]

THAT IS SECOND TO NO ONE . WHAT A BEAUTIFUL LOOKING CAR.

[@peter2uat]

what a wonderful machine! sports cars must look like this, not like plastic bottles

[@ccootsona]

Amen. . .there are so many design regulations that modern cars tend to all look like toasters, freezers, or throat lozinges. It's far more difficult to make a big atistic statement with new cars.

[@Biokemist-o3k]

Hey Craig!!! super cool car and even better video..You are a very talented fabricator..I couldn't imagine the cost of the body pieces...I still have to start posting my videos also on my 1928 Morgan.. You are an inspiration my friend-John

[@ccootsona]

Thank you. I'd like to see your project. Morgans have so much style and require just as much owner involvement as the MGs. The body was surprisingly inexpensive at the time. The bodyshell with radiator shell was 10,500 lbs sterling (about $13,000 USD at that exhange rate) and a few thousand to have them paint and buff it all out. I think shipping everything in the profesionally packed crate was about 1,200. The shop normally worked on other customer cars so these bodies were side projects. It took about 3 years for them to get to mine, which gave me time to restore the chassis and the engine. It really woked out well time-wise because it arrived just when I was ready.

[@Biokemist-o3k]

@@ccootsona Thank you for explaining all that to me..I had been searching for a picture of a specific frame construction on the 1928 Morgan/GN RIP and I found one.. I did not take a picture of it and I tried to save it.. It did not work... It was wooden planks bolted or riveted to steel plate that formed the frame .. This particular Morgan was built exactly like a 20's airplane with airplane cloth stretched across the wooden buck... I will try and paste a link to the car I am building...There is one in existence so I am building it from scratch.. I have been sourcing woodworking and metalworking equipment and am going to start my channel with the videos of sourcing the equipment...here is the link...kzbin.info/www/bejne/jWq0fpRtdrp3Y5Ysi=D9w3gwLbP9ppA0RA

[@ccootsona]

@@Biokemist-o3k Looks like a cool project and should not break the bank if you do the work yourself. Please send the link out when you make you channel and we can support one another with recommendations!

[@Biokemist-o3k]

@@ccootsona Absolutely !! Thank you Craig...

[@robbell4339]

Such a stunning special! The details definitely make it 😁👍

[@ccootsona]

Thanks!

[@jpcitroen6118]

Wow...what an endeavor! Superb.

[@drewbarker8504]

Super cool to see the TA again. Definitely excited to see what you have in store for the near future. (Sounds amazing too!)

[@oldschoolmotorsickle]

You made all the right choices Re: the finishes, the overall aesthetic, and all the power plant additions, EVERYTHING, everything, everything is proper! Congratulations and best wishes with your creation!

[@oldschoolmotorsickle]

ps: whew, I can’t wait for part two, sir. Again, the aesthetic is bold AND restrained simultaneously, not an easy capture! You didn’t build it to collect trophies, but... I can feature a right pile of “Best of” awards in your future. A mind-blowing build, in anyone’s book.

[@ccootsona]

@@oldschoolmotorsickle Thank you. I'm glad you appreciated the style choices. I liked the slightly sinister, all business look of the black painted wheels and body and supercharger cover with the art-deco MG logo. It really sets off the shiny bits like the knock-offs, exhaust, and radiator shell. The Brooklands side-exit exhaust draws the eye along the car. I also spent lots of time on the things that you interact with and handle. The steering wheel in particular has to feel good in order to enjoy the car.

[@oldschoolmotorsickle]

@ I’ve done a number of motorcycle projects, but never a car, but I’ve watched the scene for 60 odd years. I haven’t seen anything quite like yours in either the American or British style vernacular. Elements of it from both sides of the Atlantic, but rarely coming together in one car. And being that the car came to you as a rolling chassis, you were free to make any darn decision you chose to make and not have to worry about hearing talk from the know-it-all’s. Not that anyone needs worry about such, but as it stands, nothing can be faulted in your choices. I can’t wait for your next video.

[@fepatton]

Amazing job! I just acquired a ‘52 TD and am learning the joys of rebuilding the transmission. Can’t wait to see more on your process!

[@ccootsona]

@@fepatton Thank you. The TDs suspension are miles ahead of the cart-sprung TAs so you have a relatively sophisticated car!

[@joffe1983]

Fantastic!! Well done.

[@talesofanasphaltjockey]

You did an incredible job... your wife, as well! Spectacular car!

[@ccootsona]

Thank you, Katie was a good sport through the whole thing. When we go to car shows, she sometimes sits with the car while I'm off visiting friends and surprises people because they don't expect her to know so much detail. We use the term "unnecessarily knowledgeable" because she picks up so much random information from my hobbies.

[@talesofanasphaltjockey]

@@ccootsona You're blessed to have a wife who shares in your passion & encourages it.

[@macho4x4warlock98]

The hemp preservation chemicals are interesting. Your great work on the whole project is impressive!!!!

[@ccootsona]

Thanks! I enjoyed reading through the old recipes on preserving standing rigging of old sail boats with pine tar, linseed oil, and turpentine. Then I combined it with the "grave robber's soap" using the clove and cinnamon oil. Interestingly enough, we were recently on board the Star of India sailing freighter at the San Diego Maritime Museum and they had the pine tar version on the standing rigging.

[@jamesboardman609]

Nice Crag!, I’ve owned MG’s my entire life, rebuilt an mg-a long time ago. Your work is fantastic! And she sounds great as well😆

[@ccootsona]

Thanks, glad you liked it. MG's make for such fun, beautiful and affordable classic cars and it's fun to own a chassis from back when Cecil Kimber still ran the show and they were a relatively small company.

[@HochkraeusenRacingTeam]

Thank you, what a fantastic chronicle of your MG! Very meticulous work, 1800 hours of labor seems about right for your high level of craftsmanship and attention to detail. We run a 1924 BSA Model 10 Light Trials Car, (1.5 litre, boattail, ash frame etcetera). It has taken about six years to get it where we want it and there is always the next part we have to fabricate for it. Looking forward to more content and your continued adventures with the MG! We have been trying to ressurect a trialling/hillclimb/vintage sportscar eventing group together around this area for years, so folks can actually enjoy these cars in action. Dr. Paul Lynn Hochkraeusen Racing Team, Ohio

[@ccootsona]

Thank you. Sounds like a great way to enjoy the car! I always enjoy watching the pre-war hillclimbs and trials on youtube. I always thought the hillclimb cars with the dual wire wheels laced to a single hub looked so cool. I would probably order a pair but they won't clear the already tight clearance exhaust (between the body and the rear tire).

[@HochkraeusenRacingTeam]

@@ccootsona Is your exhaust considered a Brooklands style silencining system? Back in the day. the racers all tuned their cars for running without them, and then complained bitterly about running them with the silencers at Brooklands. All three of our pre-war cars have cans on them but no baffles. Raymond Mays was an early proponent of the dual rear wire wheels for climbs like Shelsley Walsh but teams experienced significant axle and gear breakage due to the added torsional stress. Lots of cool factor though!

[@ccootsona]

@@HochkraeusenRacingTeam Yes, it is a Brooklands style exhaust. The rear fish tail diffusers are supposed to follow certain regulations and formulas (holes only on one side, width of opening etc) but mine are pretty much wide open. The silencers have some glass packing inside but they only calm things down a bit. I consider them a safety feature that advertises my presence to the motorists who would rather look at their phones than drive. Above 2500 rpm the exhaust really snarls so I have to be careful in the neighborhood! I can understand the axle breakage with higher grip. These components just aren't designed for high loads and lots of power. MG used a rubber donut coupler between the crank and gearbox to minimize shock on their Q-type race cars. It's still amazing that the original 750cc SOHC Q-type engine could produce up to 140 bhp on 28 psi boost and alcohol fuel. They said those engines could go even higher but the chassis simply couldn't hold the power to the road. I imagine the rear axles would suffer too!

[@HochkraeusenRacingTeam]

@@ccootsona We wire the rear indicator lights as continuous blinkers to help avoid being run down by modern traffic and maintain about 2000 rpm in the neighborhood. Do you have any of the old fuel recipes and jetting settings regarding the boost on methanol? My grandfather started our race team in 1928 and I still have a book of his fuel recipes from his record setting days. Many of the fuels and components are no longer used due to environmental and carcinogenic exposure concerns.

[@ccootsona]

​@@HochkraeusenRacingTeam I jetted my carb down to 1/8" jet for pump gasoline so I could drive it on modern roads. The carb only uses about half its airflow range but the large wine bottle dashpot was correct for the body. I made my own needle to fit the condensed range of carb reponse. From the Triple-MG Register forums I found the following on alcohol fuel mix: MG had two main alcohol fuels: MG1 - 80% methanol 10% gasolene and 10% Acetone - this gained the name 80-10-10 and is the most common fuel mix. MG2 - sprint, record cars, and the Q-R type - 80% methanol - 10% Gasolene - 5% Acetone 5% "DynaminA" - DynaminA was Nitro Methane. Both had a generous capfull of castor oil added.

[@Wheelgauge-bt7ox]

That’s one sweet little British lady!

[@Mopar46]

Beautiful job! Cecil Kimber would be proud.

[@ccootsona]

Thanks!

[@loti54]

Good on you for Supercharging an early MG!!!! That IS what the factory did 😆😆😆 This is the best thing I have seen this year. MG's were born to be modified, no 2 early MG's were the same. Modify the MGeesus out of it (get it? M-Jesus) 🤣🤣

[@ccootsona]

Thanks! Glad you liked it, and thanks for the pun. Since MG started out modifying Morris cars (Morris Garages) so it seemed like Cecil Kimber would have approved of this one. And William Morris would have disapproved, which is just as satisfying.

[@BriggsCanyon]

Nice work, Craig!

[@mikef.1000]

Wow, what a most excellent project and standard of work! Subscribed.

[@ccootsona]

Thank you, I appreciate the kind words and the support.

[@MLFranklin]

Sweet car. Nice work!

[@MikeJF355]

Excellent job! Lovely engineering and a cracking good finished product. I saw something similar at the Classic Car Show in Bologna in October this year and though it looked really good.

[@ccootsona]

@@MikeJF355 thank you!

[@ronstiles2681]

Enormous amt of work, and expensive project ,nicely done, i hope you get years of good driving, and don't sell it, if you do, from experience you will regret it, even if you only drive a once or twice a year, its better to keep than the regret that you would have if you were to sell it, nice video sir, thanks

[@ccootsona]

Thanks! I have no intention to sell this one. It's just as much an art piece as a functional car and I really enjoy it. There is no selling price that would make me part with it because I don't want to build another one to replace it.

[@bleizbreizh6264]

Nice project! Wilson pre-select on an xpag engine an interesting combination. I wouldn't mind driving a Wilson box again

[@ccootsona]

Thank you. The Wilson box (ENV) was commonly used for MG race cars such as the K3 and Q-type back in the day so I wanted to have the full driving experience and feel of those cars.

[@kentate435]

Beautiful

[@giovanni5063]

Sweet Marie! You, my good man, are without a doubt, a gentleman of great providence in order to resurrect an obsolete device, such as this vehicle, to an exacting state. Was your background based in motor cars? It seems that your garage has several other fine examples of the motor industry. Just wondering, best regards, Giovanni.

[@ccootsona]

Hello Giovanni. I caught the british car early on and finally bought an MGB in college. I learned to work on that car one project at a time, doing upholstery, then rebuilding the front suspension. It was my only car so I had to finish each project by Monday! Then I rebuilt a '59 Bugeye barn find and performed a complete restoration, including learning how to weld. I also volunteered for a local steam excursion railroad so I was exposed to lots of mechnical engineering and earned my engineer's license. In 2004 I saved a rusty '57 MGA coupe from the scrapper and that really taught me to fabricate. During this time I completed my masters degree in forest pathology and began a career as an R&D scientist for Weyerhaeuser Timber Company. I gravitated toward the mechanical engineering side of things and learned a lot from some real genius types who lived and breathed it all day. Those experiences gave me the confidence to build the TA special. I didn't want to ruin a good car so I was thrilled to find an unrestored TA chassis with provenance. I knew the car deserved my best effort so I obsessed over detail and really enjoyed the build just as much as driving it at the end. The 356 Porsche patiently waits for its turn next. It will be a very correct, accurate restoration because it has nearly all the original parts and very little rust.

[@simonsays8208]

Good Morning from Germany! Very nice video and what a beautiful build it is! Very nice details and the entire TA looks amazing! I can say that if i would build a TA from scratch, it will become quite like yours, even with the choice of the supercharged XPAG Engine, the Boattail, Exhaust routing and the all-black finish with some nice eye-catching details like the peacock-eyed firewall. I professionally restored a lot of early Maseratis, Jaguars and MGs from 50s to 70s by myself and i can appreciate your work. It's Top Notch, or "Concours" like the old people say 😉. Dream Car. So there will come a Part 2?

[@ccootsona]

Good morning! Thank you for your kind remarks. As a kid I saw a racing MG with side exit exhaust and boat tail in a book, and I always thought they looked cool. The combination of XPAG engine in T-series chassis gave me a great platform to build this, and provide the displacement to achieve decent power. Yes, part 2 will document how I am currently disassembling the car to replace the pre-selector gearbox with a more robust version to handle the power. It felt counterproductive to take it all apart again but it will be a much better car in the long run!

[@philiphartley8823]

I think it's more lekely that the gearbox is worn rather than it being unsuitable. The Daimler Consort was a big heavy car with a six cylinder engine of I Think 2.5 litres. built in the late 1940's early 1950's until it was replaced with the conquest. I once owned a Lanchester car with the wilson box' at that time Lanchester which had earlier been taken over by Daimler and after WW2 apart from it's 10HP cars it was a lower priced version based on. Daimler models.

[@ccootsona]

Thank you for the information on the Consort. I agree that the box is just worn out. I just spoke with a friend who runs the same Consort box in his blown 1500 cc XPEG special and he has no troubles. Given the turnaround time and expense of sending the old box out for rebuild, I'll continue with the installaltion of the heavy duty unit, which will hopefully last for a long time.

[@Mercmad]

I would have thought a preselector from a big heavy Daimler consort would be up to the task in a light MG.

[@ccootsona]

That's what I thought when I installed it. I think this particular unit was worn out because 1st, 4th, and reverse just don't grab properly no matter how I adjust them. I even tried shimming the main spring for more grip with no improvement. It's possible the bands are glazed from slipping.

[@bertiewooster3326]

No preselector for me !

[@ccootsona]

@@bertiewooster3326 They are wonderfully easy to drive then they are set up properly. . . no double clutching and changes are so smooth. Just a quick punch of the pedal (except when starting out) and it goes right in.

[@bertiewooster3326]

Wait until that selector box goes bang you'll jump a mile !!

[@nzsaltflatsracer8054]

You do really quality work there Craig & use correct terminology & you even pronounced Daimler correctly! Where was the body built?

[@ccootsona]

Thank you. I ordered the body through Steve Baker and his son Luke. They contract out some of the best panel beaters and they are guaranteed to fit because they have a spare chassis and engine on site. I sent my crossflow cylinder head and supercharger there so they could ensure that the intake and exhaust openings lined up correctly. The price was unbeatable for that quality. You just have to be patient because these body shells are usually side jobs for the shops, so they put you on the list and they get to it when other things slow down.

[@6364AW]

Just a word for you Americans , Chassis should be pronounced as “ Shassis” , ! 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

[@ccootsona]

@@6364AW thank you! I can hear it now. With heavy accent on the "Sha . . ." I'll remember that because leather chaps worn by horsemen to protect their legs are also properly pronounced "shaps."

[@6364AW]

@ That's great 👍👍, interestingly I own a 1937 Lanchester Eleven , these were also fitted with a Pre-Selector Gearbox , have to say that they are a delight to use . Look up my Lanchester LA11 Reg No JT 7196 on google . Best wishes and " Do" enjoy that beautiful MG 👍👍🇬🇧🇬🇧