Lot Ended
Description
Superb Arden Green MG 1100; only 49,000 miles indicated; restored to
concours-winning condition in 1998 and lightly used since; runs like a sewing
machine; one of only 149 still UK registered; find a better one!
Following his
outstanding success with the Mini, Alec Issigonis set out to design a larger and
more sophisticated car, again based around the A-Series engine. Called the
ADO16, with styling by Pininfarina, it proved a triumph of badge-engineering for
BMC, being available in various trim levels under the Austin, Innocenti, Morris,
MG, Riley, Vanden Plas and Wolseley brands.
The
48bhp 1,098cc engine was mounted transversely driving the front wheels and the
car had disc brakes at the front. It was the first car to feature the
space-efficient Hydrolastic suspension invented by Alex Moulton which gave it a
‘magic carpet’ ride.
Mainly built at the
Longbridge plant (although the Morris and MG versions were built at Cowley), it
was in production from 1962 to 1974 during which time over 2m were sold, making
it Britain’s best-selling car for most of this 12-year period.
This ADO16 is the sporty MG version which had a
twin-carb engine and a luxuriously trimmed Vanden Plas-style interior. Supplied
new by Knott Brothers of Bournemouth in October 1965, it has no early history
but in February 2018 it appeared in an auction in Dorset as part of a deceased
estate.
The description stated that it had been
restored by the vendor’s late-father in 1998 at a cost of c.£13,000, after which
it was exhibited on the MG Owner’s Club stand at the NEC Classic Car Show where
it won a Concours award (photo on file). It was then very lightly used until
2010 when it was put into storage where it remained until the auction in 2018.
The description stated that all the paperwork for the car had been lost and that
it was in need of recommissioning.
Our vendor
acquired the car in June 2019 from a classic car dealer in Devon who had
partially recommissioned the car. He has improved it still further, fitting
various new parts including a fuel pump, clutch slave cylinder, dynamo,
carburettor parts, new set of carpets and a new set of tyres. He also treated it
to a full service – plugs, points, distributor cap, oil etc.
The MG has only covered some 300 miles during the current 5-year
ownership, mainly to go to local shows. Fitted with a new battery shortly before
the auction, we are told that it drives as well as it looks and it has certainly
been starting promptly and running like a sewing machine as we have moved it
around on site.
This MG shows only 49,005 miles
on the odometer and while this can’t be warranted, the overall condition of the
car gives one no reason to doubt it. It looks absolutely wonderful and you would
be hard pressed to find a better example, let alone at the modest guide price
suggested.
The MG 1100 is a very rare model
these days, with only 149 still UK registered, so if you have ever hankered
after a really nice one, this is a chance not to be missed…
Consigned by James Dennison – 07970 309907 – [email protected]