1935 MG NB Magnette Faux Cabriolet
Reputedly the only Faux Cabriolet on a Triple-M chassis!

Registration No: XXG 102
Chassis No: NA0801
MOT: Exempt

• Understood to be the only Faux Cabriolet built on a Triple-M chassis
• Supplied new to Joseph Canty of the Dolphin Hotel, Dublin, being first registered on the 5^th of October 1935
• Acquired by an aficionado of rare-bodied MG cars in the late 1990s
• Comprehensively restored by him, being completed in 2002, at the cost of some £50,500
• Boasting a Marshall 87 side-mounted supercharger

Introduced in 1934, the MG N-type Magnette was notable for its use of a tapered chassis frame (the side members being wider at the rear than the front) and Silentbloc bushes on which the bodywork was mounted. Powered by a 1,271cc OHC straight-six engine allied with four-speed manual transmission, the initial NA model was a brisk performer. The NB featured closer ratios on first and second gears and mildly restyled bodywork. The two- and four-seater tourer designs produced by the factory proved popular with their distinctive swept-tails and partially recessed spare wheels but customers could also opt for more bespoke creations from the likes of Carbodies and Allingham. Of the 738 MG N-type Magnettes built, very few examples were fitted with enclosed coachwork, and even fewer survive with their original coachwork today.

The combination of their rarity and excellent design – the Triple-M Register describes them as “the last flowering of the overhead-cam MGs and considered by many to be the best” – makes any N-type a desirable option for the enthusiast of pre-war sports cars, but this NB faux cabriolet is something even better – a unique machine, beautifully presented but shrouded in mystery. It is the only known instance of faux cabriolet bodywork on a Triple-M (Midget, Magnette and Magna) chassis, and certainly not a product of the MG factory – the only Abingdon-bodied N-type with a saloon body was a prototype which was rebuilt as a tourer within a year.

It is known from records that NA0801 was one of just 44 N-types to leave Abingdon in chassis form, and its destination was Ireland. It gained the registration ‘ZA 5865’ on 5th October, 1935, wore blue paint and belonged originally to Joseph Canty of Dublin’s Dolphin Hotel. It had two further owners before being acquired post-war by James Corcoran, a publican of County Roscommon. It is wonderful that so much early history survives, but it sheds no light on the origins of the body.

MG experts have only been able to conclude that the coachwork is original and the product of an unknown Irish coachbuilder. The construction exhibits skill enough to be the work of accomplished craftsmen, although it lacks the absolute refinement of the well-known body-builders of the time (the timbers, for example, are a little chunkier than is common).

To bring the NB’s history up to the present, it was stripped for restoration by Corcoran but the work never got underway. It is thought to have been purchased directly from him by the well-known Irish enthusiast Kieran White, but he advertised it for sale in 1995, having also left it untouched. From there, it came to the attention of Philip Bayne-Powell in England, one of the most prolific restorers of Triple-Ms. By that stage, the body was covered in surface rust and rot had attacked the timbers. The chassis was largely dismantled and the original engine and gearbox were absent. Mr. Bayne-Powell nevertheless committed to reviving the car, with friend and timberwork specialist Keith Portsmore. The body frame was subsequently rebuilt, with the original timbers retained wherever possible. Fabricator James Pettitt produced new rear wings, reskinned the doors, remade a large section of the bonnet and repaired most of the other panels. The chassis was reconstructed using a combination of original spares and new parts, and an engine and gearbox of the correct type were sourced. Various specialists recovered the fabric roof, repainted the body and reupholstered the interior. The engine was subject to an overhaul by an MG specialist and, for good measure, was fitted with a Marshall 87 supercharger.

The project was fundamentally completed in 2002, although other projects came along and the NB only came back into use properly in 2022. Subsequently, the full history of the car and its comprehensive reconstruction was detailed in an authoritative article by Zack Stiling in the August, 2024, issue of The Automobile.

After Mr. Bayne-Powell sold the car in 2024, having expended some £50,500 across his ownership, the new owner lavished further attention upon it, including a thorough service and detailing. On the cosmetic side, he installed new carpets and had the wheels attractively powder-coated in black. Chassis and mechanical work included a radiator recore and the fitment of an electric fan. The camshaft drive bearings and oil seals were replaced, and the original carburettor was overhauled and reinstalled. The brakes benefitted from new front cables and new linings. Offered for sale with the current V5C, historic MoTs, numerous invoices, photographs of the rebuild and other historic documents, this uniquely elegant and appealingly mysterious N-type is surely the ideal MG for any enthusiast with an eye for the unusual.

For more information, please contact:
Paul Cheetham
paul.cheetham@handh.co.uk
07538 667452