It was before the war, in the Spring of 1936, when the replacement for the MG PB appeared. The Cowley- inspired TA Midget used many components of Morris origin and , at first, was not popular with the "hardy" MG enthusiasts. However, this resistance was soon overcome and the car widened the appeal of sports cars which had previously been looked upon as being temperamental and difficult to drive.

The TA's chassis was of traditional MG design, but the tubular crossmembers seen in previous models had been replaced by less stiff channel sections. Also, the forward portions of the side rails had been made as box sections to stiffen them, which was needed as the engine mountings were of rubber. Suspension was by the now familiar leaf springs front and rear, but the brakes were hydraulically operated for the first time on an MG.

The engine had been changed too. Gone was the neat, but demanding, ohc unit and in its place was a 1292cc, pushrod, overhead-valve, four-cylinder engine. This was essentially the same as that used in the Morris 10, but the MG was equipped with twin SU carburettors and produced around 50bhp, which was a significant increase compared to the PB. This was mated to four-speed transmission which had another first for MG - synchromesh.
The mechanical specification of the TA made it a much easier car to drive, whilst still maintaining the reputation of its predecessors. This opened up a whole new appeal of sports cars to a much wider market than before.

At first, two-seater open and closed (Airline Coupe) were offered, but the Airline Coupe was shortly dropped with the advent of the Tickford Coupe. This had a drophead body style with a three position folding soft-top that provided the protection of a closed car in bad weather, but allowed open air motoring when it was fine.

The TA became very popular and, inevitably, found its way into competition where it acquitted itself well. However, the engine was not happy being run at high revs because of its unsuitable valve timing and weak bottom-end. To overcome this, the factory developed methods of tuning the unit and supplied the information to those who wanted their TA's to go faster.

Production period 1936/39
Number build Two seater 2740
Airline Coupé 1
Tickford Coupé 252
Chassis 10

                                                                                        The story of the  MG TA Midget I bought.

The story starts in Cowly when she was born with chassis number TA0956 and delivered in a “off white”dress.
She was shipped to Dublin and was registered for the first time in January 1937 with the registration number Z7833. 
On the 28^th of July 1954 she returned to England. Between 1937 and 1954 I couldn’t find any names who once owned her.
The system of registration in Dublin changed. I am still in contact to track down these lost years. Perhaps someone could help me here.

MG enthusiasts who owned this MG TA are:

1. Peter James Marshall,  Porthmouth 19-11-1963

2. Francis Hill, Swindon 16-11-1964

3. Stephen  Geoffry Wilson, Cirencester 13-04-1965

4. Charles Douglas Clarke, York 16-09-1969

5. David John Pickerell, Duffield 01-09-1974

6. Stephen Southon, Gerrards Cross 24-06-1996

7. Nieck Jan Boschman, Netherlands 11-11-2006

Between 1969 and 1974 she was owned by Mr. Digby Lovel, he told me by E-mail:

“I bought the MG from a man in Pickering North Yorkshire. I cannot remember his name nor the address where he lived, but 37 years later he may no longer be around as he was very much older than me. The car was in a lock up garage and had been dismantled for about 5 years. All the chassis and axles and wheels were in good condition. The doors and bonnet and wings were good and their colour was white but the body tub was rotten. The chrome work had been re-plated and was wrapped in soft tissue paper. The price of the car was £37 which was the cost of the chrome work. There was a problem with the crankshaft. It was from a Morris engine and did not fit properly at the front pulley, but I am sure the restorer would sort that out.

At that time no one was making TA body shells and the main suppliers wrote to me and said that there was no demand for TA bodies and they would not be making any.

So I sold the TA to some students from York and saw nothing of it until about 3 or 4 years ago I saw it in a catalogue for a car auction”

David John Pickerell purchased the car in 1974. Unfortunately Mr. Pickerell died November 2005. But his son can remember the car and told me:

“My father purchased the MG in York in 1974 (I think for 400GBP). It was 'MOT' but as he started to drive out of York the last bolt holding the steering column to the gear box fell out and he lost steering at a traffic island (I was in the car with him).

He actually stored the car for about 14 years before he actually started the restoration. He stripped the car entirely down to the bare chassis. He did some welding work (repair/reinforcement) and then started to build up. He made the doors out of ash (although he preferred to work in mahogany) and painstakingly hand beat the aluminium sheeting around the frames.  He rebuild (or build from scratch - cannot remember) the petrol tank to TA specifications. He used good burgundy corks for the wet clutch. The seats are Connolly hide (these were professionally upholstered). He did have some parts rechromed.

I do not remember alot more than this except his satisfaction came from the restoration more than the finished product  My children enjoyed being taken for drives around the Derbyshire countryside - so we have fond memories of the car”

The 11th of November 2006 was the DAY to collect my MG TA 1936. 

I bought the car from Stephen Southon who owned this for ten years. We travelled by the Euro tunnel and about 9 o 'clock in the evening her journey ended in Langenboom Holland. In the next few weeks I had to fix several things to get her ready for registration in Holland and to get my Dutch number plates. Things like the direction indicator, brake light switch, exhaust in fact no serious things. Except for one thing "the water pump" Just a week before getting my registration, 15th of January 2007, she starts leaking. Because you can't by a new one, you  have to find someone to do a revision. After a few weeks they send me by post a new water pump. So on the 5th of March 2007 I will get my Dutch registration. What's next? travelling around and enjoying a real sports car MG TA!! In June we are going to the International MG weekend at Silverstone, so when she doing well in next few months I will take here for a trip to England.
Yesterday 5th march 2007 we visit the authorities for getting my registration and a MOT. During the check-up it seems that the brakes were not good enough. Specially the rear brakes. The axle was leaking oil, because of a bad gasket between the axle shaft and the axle. So the brake shoes were all wet. I had to replace them. On the front axle we had some clearance on the kingpin. During this repair we decided also to replace the both bearings. In a week time I  will receive my registration so I collect my number plates. 
 Somewhere in July 2007 I sold the TA to MG enthousiast in Ireland, so finally the TA went back where she was first registered in 1936.