Anybody know what this old car is?

[interstellar]

The other thread about identifying an old car got me thinking about this picture I have of my wifes grandmothers car. Anyone know what it is?

[AlecT]

This is a 1938 MG SA DHC, lovely..............

[interstellar]

Great, how did you know that?

[AlecT]

64 years of drooling over cars!

[interstellar]

Excellent. Didn't think it would be that quick.

Many Thanks.

[FreeDrinkSpotter]

With respect to Alec I think it is the smaller VA drophead. Looks slightly short
and stumpy for an SA to my eye.

[shakotan]

FreeDrinkSpotter said:

With respect to Alec I think it is the smaller VA drophead. Looks slightly short
and stumpy for an SA to my eye.

Proportions seem to tally up better.

VA DHC


SA appeared longer, the wheels sat 'flusher' with the arches, and the rear arches had a deeper side profile than the VA

SA DHC

Edited by shakotan on Friday 15th July 12:35

[AlecT]

shakotan said:

FreeDrinkSpotter said:

With respect to Alec I think it is the smaller VA drophead. Looks slightly short
and stumpy for an SA to my eye.

Proportions seem to tally up better.

VA DHC


SA appeared longer, the wheels sat 'flusher' with the arches, and the rear arches had a deeper side profile than the VA

SA DHC

Edited by shakotan on Friday 15th July 12:35

You are correct I jumped in without checking any pictures but I can see from the rear wheel arche shape it is in fact a VA, well spotted

[medieval]

Forgive me but the door length does not look right to my (rum befuddled eye) but is it not a Jaguar drophead?

More than likely wrong but the wheel filling of the arch is not very MG hence the question...

[williamp]

This is a similar view to the original and it looks the same to me. MG VA with Tickford coachwork.

[rosking]

Easy pointer to age knock on wheels became fashionable in 1937 a few were earlier but by 37/38 all top end moved to these from stud fixing wheels

[shakotan]

rosking said:

Easy pointer to age knock on wheels became fashionable in 1937 a few were earlier but by 37/38 all top end moved to these from stud fixing wheels

Top lurking!

[Allan L]

rosking said:

Easy pointer to age knock on wheels became fashionable in 1937 a few were earlier but by 37/38 all top end moved to these from stud fixing wheels

That's an interesting idea, but Riley, RAF and Rudge Whitworth systems were in use a couple of decades earlier.
By top end I presume you mean such as Rolls-Royce who offered knock-on wheels from 1908 and knock-on wire wheels from 1909 on their 40/50 h.p. or Bentley and Napier who didn't offer anything else from 1919 on.
Of course the tension wire wheel goes back to the early bicycles of the 1880s and the knock-on non-wire wheel appeared on such road cars as 1930s British Salmson, 1950s MGA Twincam and 1960s Lotus Elan.