MG Road Cars

MG Road Cars volume one: Four Cylinder OK, 1929-1936, by Malcolm Green. Magna Press, £24.95.

MG enthusiasts who are avid to have all there is about these cars should welcome a new series of books by Malcolm Green, Librarian of the Triple-M Register. This is no ordinary work, because the author has had the assistance of Bob Pones on engine building, Barry Linger, who specialises in producing gears, Mike Allison, the Register Chairman and author of that standard MG reference work The Magic of the Marque and other members.

These include racing exponent Barry Foster, who contributes a chapter about interchangeability of components. So this is another useful book for those overhauling, rebuilding or simply maintaining their MGs. Don’t be put off by the fictional introduction!

This is serious coverage of all the MGs, from M-type to P, of which Green has dug out some very good pictures together with reproductions of nostalgic advertisements. What is more, other pictures and drawings help those working on these cars, even the ohe Wolseleys, and Bayne-Powell has a long section on how to care for coachbuilt bodywork. Electrics, paintwork and MG literature are dealt with and seven Service Information Sheets included. The dust-jacket painting by Graham Turner is also rather nice.