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See Homepage. This page: Various cars are being serviced in the maintenance area at BMC's Cowley factory.
Original transport photographs
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Car servicing at BMC Cowley.

A small collection of official BMC (British Motor Corporation) factory photographs were found a few years ago. Included within their number was this shot, official BMC Cowley photograph number 128729, of a Mk2 MG Midget undergoing a service on a two-post hydraulic lift.
(Please click the thumbnail.)
MG Midget and other cars at Cowley
A mechanic fiddles about behind the Midget's offside front wheel (note the crossply tyres), while another busies himself at the rear, operating a tool - possibly a grease gun - powered by compressed air.
Other cars being attended to include (in the foreground) a grimy Mk2 or Mk3 Austin-Healey Sprite, an Austin 1100, a Coventry-registered Mini van (its bonnet removed) and, to the left, an Austin 1800 Mk1, its bonnet raised while another technician attends to its B-Series engine.
The Midget name had been used in the pre-war years, and continued until 1955 when the TF range of sportscars made way for the MGA. This era of Midget can trace its origins back to the Austin-Healey Sprite Mk1 of 1958, which in 1961 at the launch of the Mk2, introduced the world to the styling that would soon be shared with the new Midget. The new small MG was sold alongside the entry-level Austin-Healeys, and shared most of its components with the contemporary Sprite. The Mk2 Midget, which I believe is what's shown here being serviced, was introduced in 1964 and continued until 1966. The Mk2 heralded the arrival of luxuries like wind-up windows, opening quarterlights to the doors, external doorhandles, and a revised hood, while underneath the rear suspension also received detail improvements. Its A-Series engine, previously 948cc, was enlarged to 1098cc.
The advertisements shown below both feature the Midget, albeit in slightly earlier Mk1 guise.
Two advertisements for the MG Midget
Links to the other photographs taken at Cowley that I now have on the site, may be found on this page.
Visit page 17 in the vintage gallery, or return to the gallery's main index page.

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