A CAR that travelled halfway around the world celebrates 61 years with the same owner with a major restoration and plans to change drivers to another family member.

Its journey started in England with the longstanding rite of passage as a youth turns 21 years and the bestowing of a desired gift or celebratory occasion.

It was 1960. James McWhirter’s father proposed a choice as the pivotal year approached but the young man’s thoughts were elsewhere.

“My father offered a gold watch and, after I declined, suggested a party. I turned that down as well as I loathe parties. He knew that I had been saving for an MG so he proposed he pay for the balance and that would be my 21st birthday present.”  

“There was of course no other option. Yes please! Good old Dad!!”

James said that on searching through his collection of old motor magazines, particularly Motor Sport June and July editions of 1960, the going price for MG TA was in the region of 100 – 125 pounds sterling and for a TB, 200 pounds sterling and a TC between 200 and 250 pounds sterling. 

“A Jaguar XK 120 would cost 500 pounds sterling and a 4 1/2 litre Bentley was 750 pounds sterling. We probably paid around 100 for the MG.”
 
“The car looked fantastic at first sight through ‘rose-tinted’ spectacles,” James said.

“There could not possibly be any fault with the car. It was an MG … My MG. I think my eyes became all things octagonal that day, however after the initial euphoria had subsided, reality took over.

“The car was a bit sad when purchased but it was still my MG. Fortunately we had fibreglass to repair damaged panels. Through what was left of the rear floor compartment, I had a very good view of the road.

“Fibreglass patches came to the rescue and were also used on the bottom of the doors. This, among other jobs, was the first restoration.

“I used that as my runabout in London and took it on a trip to Scotland in November 1963 with a mate. On the return journey, over the Yorkshire Moors, Penrith to Scotch Corner, the oil pressure and temperature gauges started fluctuating but the motor continued to drive the car. At a lay-by on the A1 near Wetherby in Yorkshire, it unceremoniously rolled to a halt, 200 miles from home at Highgate in North London.

“The Great North Road ran past the end of our road. I would sometimes lie in bed at night and hear the heavy lorries climbing the Archway Hill fully loaded on their way North. It was also handy for watching the Monte Carlo rally cars pass on their way from Glasgow to Dover before they changed the route.”

James said that the damage was a fractured crankshaft. 

“My parents left our Scottish home in Girvan a couple of hours after us and the MG was towed behind my parents’ Ford Zephyr Mk11, all the way to London with the only incident being a broken tow rope. 

“To repair it, we tied the two ends together and that worked, although it dramatically shortened the rope’s length. I did think of returning it to claim warranty! 

“Keeping the tow rope taut required full concentration, anticipating my father’s movements according to the traffic conditions. Slowing down to negotiate roundabouts or other traffic hazards, swinging on the end of a tow rope for hours on end needed constant vigilance, particularly when father forgot we were behind him and increased his speed. 

“In some places on the open road it seemed the MG was travelling faster than it was able to under its own power. Memories of the journey are of staring at the yellow tow rope keeping it taut, all else is but a blur.”

James took advice from his cousin who was restoring an MG J2 and searched for a replacement engine, finding one in the Wirral in Cheshire which had been reconditioned and came with a gearbox. It was delivered in the back of a mini-van by the vendor. 

Over the next several weeks he fitted the engine and about the same time, made the decision to emigrate to Australia (Perth) and “half heartedly” put the TA up for sale.

“I anticipated returning home to Scotland after traveling for a couple of years, working wherever there was employment. I had to remain in Australia for 12 months as a condition for a ‘ten-pound pom’.

“About 18 months after leaving England I decided I would remain in Australia. I had employment and marriage was a probability. My father said the car was unsold and that he would send the car out, arranging through the services of another patient, for it to be shipped to Fremantle. 

“It arrived on a Blue Star line vessel, stowage deck number 3 shelter. Fortunately the ship did not sink! Sadly some spare parts that were with the car, but not suitably packed, were purloined in transit. These included a set of SU carburettors fitted to the manifold, a klaxon horn, other parts and a couple of car club badges.”

The MG came off the boat in 1968 with some damage. The right-front brake hose had blown out under pressure. With no brakes, the car hit a bollard and crumpled the right front mudguard and the driving light.

Without a car to drive, James bought an Austin Healey ‘Frog Eye’ Sprite in 1966 to replace his usual form of transport, a Lambretta scooter. 

“I bought the Sprite from Roy Higgins car yard in Bentley through salesman, Merv Cash. With responsibility and investment in a house and family the Sprite was then replaced with a Hillman Super Minx Mk111 station wagon as the Sprite did not have room for a bassinet!”

The MG then spent 40 years on blocks in James’ garage until August 2006 when he sent it to Memory Lane for a restoration project that ended in June 2013 – six years.

“It was a brilliant job on the car which exceeded my expectations. I was invited to visit regularly to observe the progress and have many photographs to track the stages of build.

In August 2019 the car developed a problem that made it undriveable. 

“A friend suggested I take the MG to Colin Bonney at Paradise Garage to see if he could sort out the problem. I was intrigued by the name ‘Paradise Garage’ but after being invited to tour the premises, I understood why. 

“It was a treasure trove of classic and historic vehicles and Colin was very unassuming, obliging and helpful with genuine interest in the car and owner. He said his objective was ‘to keep another MG from the wreckers yard’.

“While it was there, I asked that the fluids be changed. It was then I received a call from Colin informing me that the oil in the sump was a thick sludge which had bonded the clutch plate to the flywheel. 

“Further investigation revealed a shoddy job had been done on the engine when it was supposedly reconditioned by another company. It was not done correctly and had major issues that required it to be completely stripped down and rebuilt again using new parts that were not worn out nor damaged.”

“The hardest bit was finding an engine block in good condition. We’re talking about an 80-year-old engine here so our search meant we had to advertise for the block around the world.

“Eventually we heard from owners of five engines for sale, including a guy in New Zealand who had two in mint condition.

“Because of COVID we couldn’t get the engine for six months but it eventually turned up.

“It was during the assembly that a problem with the misalignment of the crankshaft in the block was observed. The main bearings were a fraction out of alignment with the block leading to more lost time. Patience is a virtue!

The car was completed by Colin and on Thursday December 23, 2021 the MG TA was reunited with James – almost 61 years since he first took ownership.

“It is now my eldest son Bruce’s inheritance,” James said, “And I think it is destined to pass then to his children. 

“From Bruce’s birth the MG was to be his inheritance. As a young boy he could recognise ‘UMG’ cars as he called them. It was in his blood!! 

“He is a qualified motor mechanic serving his apprenticeship in a Holden dealership. He rebuilt and restored his V8 Holden Brougham, white with a black vinyl roof. This was used as the bridal car for his sister’s wedding.” — NEIL DOWLING
  

Ends