1939 MG WA Drophead Coupé
- Engine
- 2.6L inline-six, twin SU carburetors
- Colour
- Midnight Blue
The 1939 MG WA Drophead Coupé, chassis WA 0417, is among the rarest of the 369 pre-war WAs built, completed in February 1939 and originally dispatched to Nyasaland. Recovered as a rolling chassis from South Africa around 2000, it was brought to the United Kingdom and subsequently given bespoke coachwork modelled on the distinctive Reinbolt & Christé bodies produced for Swiss importer J H Keller. A comprehensive restoration completed in 2014, costing approximately £75,000, returned it to running order in Rolls-Royce Midnight Blue.
Ownership
- —Auction saleSold US$106,400
- 2020-03-29Auction saleEstimate £80,000 – £120,000
- 1939-02-07 →Factory deliveryOriginal owner in Nyasaland (now Malawi)partial documentation
Car was completed in early 1939 and exported to the territory then known as Nyasaland in southern Africa; no further detail on this owner is provided.
- → 2001South African vendor circa 2000partial documentation
By 2000 the car had reached South Africa and was being offered there in near rolling-chassis form, stripped of its bodywork.
- 2001-12-01 → 2007Private saleGary Perrypartial documentation
Registrar of the MG Car Club's SVW Register; acquired the car in South Africa and transported it back to the UK, though restoration plans changed and the car stayed in its shipping container throughout his ownership.
- 2007 →Private saleCurrent vendor, lifelong MG enthusiastfull documentation
Commissioned a full restoration including bespoke coachwork in the Reinbolt and Christé style, completed by 2014 at a cost of approximately £75,000; the car was subsequently used regularly in the UK and on continental trips.
Competition
No competition history extracted from the catalogue.
Maintenance & restoration
- 2008RestorationSVW Services
Comprehensive rebuild commenced, encompassing new ash-framed coachwork in the Reinbolt & Christé drophead coupé style, body panelling, engine overhaul, gearbox rebuild with renewed synchromesh on second, third and top gears, fitment of a higher-ratio final drive, French-polished dashboard, and instrument restoration. Total expenditure approximately £75,000.
Coachwork framing was produced by Peter Ratcliffe of SVW Services using templates taken from a genuine Keller-bodied SA, stretched to suit the WA's wider rear track. Panelling was carried out by Geoff Henderson. Instruments were dispatched to an unnamed specialist. Engine overhaul was performed by the owner. Car was finished in Rolls-Royce Midnight Blue and returned from the trimmer on 26 December 2013, with final completion in September 2014.
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