[Mg-t] [Mg-mmm] [mg-tabc] Bodywork designers

[Lew Palmer]

In the case of the P-type and N-type Airline Coupes of 1934 - 1936, the body
designer was the independent firm of H.W. Allingham (10 Stratford Place,
London W1). Henry Allingham contracted with Carbodies and Wittingham &
Mitchell to construct the bodywork and mount them on chassis supplied by MG.
These were then dispatched to the main distributors to be advertised and
sold along side other MG models of the era.

Other independent body designers (Abbey, Charlesworth, and others) operated
somewhat differently as they took delivery of the MG chassis, mounted their
own bodywork and sold the cars through their own sales network.

There is an excellent book on the various coachbuilders entitled "A - X of
British Coachbuilders 1919 - 1960" by Nick Walker. It's a good read and very
enlightening.

Cheers,
Lew Palmer
The MG Airline Coupe Registry
http://www.roundaboutmanor.com/airline


-----Original Message-----
From: mg-mmm-bounces at autox.team.net [mailto:mg-mmm-bounces at autox.team.net]
On Behalf Of Mike Hughes
Sent: Friday, June 05, 2009 8:46 AM
To: mg-mmm at autox.team.net; mg-t at autox.team.net; mg-tabc at yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Mg-mmm] [mg-tabc] Bodywork designers

"With MG producing new models quite frequently
from 1929 on, one thing I have never come
across is the names of anyone connected with
drawing up the body designs.

Was there a design team and who do we owe thanks
to for the body lines of the various MMM and T Type
sports and the other saloon and tourer models?"


Interesting question, Clive!

M.G. Lore has it that Cecil Kimber himself was very interested in the
styling
of the M.G. offerings.  In addition several coachbuilders supplied bodies
for
M.G. in the Kimber era:  Charlesworth, Allingham, Cresta, Styles, Tickford,
and others,  while Carbodies of Coventry probably supplied the bulk of the
pre-war coachwork.  It would not be out of the question that coachbuilders
either actively prospected for business or were invited, perhaps by Kimber
himself, to submit body styling proposals for consideration.  That would
have
been fairly common practice in the motor trade back in the days before the
advent of corporate styling departments.  Remember that the birth of M.G. is
credited to Kimber himself designing and producing special bodied Morris
cars
inside William Morris' own repair shop.  Remember, too, that William Lyons
got
his start  in the Automobile business expanding the Swallow sidecar
operation
to design and build special bodies for the Austin Seven!

Of course, we know by whom and how the final body of the coachbuilt era of
M.G. was "styled."  The TF body was done in-house at Abingdon when Syd
Enever's MGA prototype was passed over for production by upper management in
favor of the Healey 100.

- Mike Hughes  -t?t-
  '37 TA 0512
  Alexandria, Virginia
Mg-mmm at autox.team.net
http://autox.team.net/mailman/listinfo/mg-mmm

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