1939 MG TB Restoration – Part 2

Last year in the August 2003 edition, I reported on progress with the restoration of Robert Innes’ 1939 MG TB at Fisher’s Garage in Walberswick. Robert had purchased the TB in 1971 after owning a PA previously which had given him a taste for pre-war MGs. However the TB needed a great deal of work and Robert found himself too busy to attend to it, so he stored the car away carefully until the time was right. Thirty years passed before the opportunity arose to restore the TB and he entrusted the work to Mike Fisher. Although much of the TB’s bodywork had crumbled away, in other respects the car was remarkably complete and many of its original parts were serviceable.

When Mike called me to say the TB was finished I was very pleased to have the chance to view the result of all his labours before Robert collected the car. On a bright sunny afternoon last November I made my way back to the tiny Suffolk coastal village of Walberswick. As I arrived at the entrance of Mike’s charming premises in the High Street the TB was parked outside looking very smart with its new racing green cellulose paint-work and neatly re-trimmed light tan interior.

Robert at the wheel of his TB

While the TB now had the appearance of a 1930s car in excellent condition it did not appear to be over-restored nor did it look brand new. Robert was very concerned to retain the TB’s original personality and was determined to avoid the trap of replacing absolutely everything, resulting in a total restoration that is not far short of being a virtually new vehicle. To this end Robert retained many of the original and serviceable components such as instruments and chrome fittings, rather than fit reproduction items or replace parts unnecessarily. As a consequence the TB retains its character along with its non-standard 16 inch wheels with oversized tyres, a period modification which Robert was also determined to keep.

Robert had already arrived at Walberswick with his daughter Rosalie anxious to try the TB on the road. Robert kindly agreed to drive the car down to the coast for a photo shoot.

TB with fishermen’s huts in the background. Note that the grille slats match the interior trim color

Also on hand was Nigel Jordan a locally based MG TC owner and a regular customer of Mike’s who has watched the progress on the TB with great interest. As a long term TC owner Nigel was also able to give Robert encouragement and advice on how to cope with the idiosyncrasies of a square-rigger MG.

The final work on the TB was to re-cover the seats and fit new interior trim. The original trim and seat covers had not survived and so Mike obtained new leather covers for the individual seat squabs and the bench like backrest.

Having Nigel Jordan’s TC posed next the TB provides an interesting comparison between the two models. The body on the TC was 4 inches wider between the rear door pillars and as a consequence the TC running boards only have two tread strips whereas the narrower bodied pre-war TB has wider running boards that can accommodate three tread strips. However, the scuttle area kept much the same proportions on both cars.

The new seats look superb. Robert felt that the seat-belts were well worth fitting	The telescopic steering column is adjustable
Water gauge was an option, since this photo was taken the ammeter has been changed for an original instrument

There were very few final problems after the rebuild, however Mike noticed that the dynamo was not charging. Although the dynamo had been rebuilt the activator brush in the three-brush dynamo was not making the correct contact which was preventing the unit from charging. Fortunately this problem was easily remedied.

Then the engine gave cause for concern, although it would idle very nicely it wouldn’t rev. This problem was quickly traced to wear in the distributor shaft itself. Careful examination of the lobes of the distributor drive cam revealed loss of profile, once this was replaced the engine would rev freely again.

The pre war TB with the post war TC alongside. The TB’s wheels are an obvious difference but there are other changes between the two models

Robert poses with Nigel

The dash is interesting and contains a handsome Jaeger speedometer and revolution counter with ammeter and an optional water temperature gauge. One novel innovation, considering that the TB is a pre-war car is the ‘Thirtilite’ which is a green dash mounted warning lamp that lights up at 20mph and goes out again when 30mph is exceeded. The ‘Thirtilite’ works perfectly and is a really useful gadget that would not be out of place on a dashboard today.

Now the TB is finished Robert is looking forward to using it for road runs and touring in the summer. The smart little TB certainly drew a lot of interest when parked outside the garage at Walberswick and also attracted a number of admirers when we were photographing it by the jetty.

Robert with Mike Fisher	TB outside Fishers Garage
Spare wheel not fitted

It was a great privilege to have been able to see this TB reborn from the ground up and to watch its progress from a bare chassis right through to a complete running car. Mike Fisher has employed his expertise and recreated a usable classic that has considerable charm and character.

Sadly, the TB only enjoyed four months of production at Abingdon and therefore only 379 examples were built, so it is very good to see another of these rare MGs restored and returned to the road. The reason for this model’s short run was that all car production ceased at Abingdon because of the outbreak of the second world war and by the end of 1939 the factory was cleared and made ready for war work. The TB was also the last MG to be built at Abingdon while Cecil Kimber was still the general manager.

If you are in need of a skilled professional to sympathetically restore your pre-war or classic MG or if you are trying to source a particular classic car or even parts, then give Mike Fisher a call on 01502 723237.

Richard Ladds