There are only four differences in appearance between the flat-radiator MG 14/28 and the 14/40, some of which had rounded radiators. These are the louvres round the scuttle, the extension to the base of the radiator shell, round ship-style ventilators and the omission of an apron in the space between the front dumb-irons. With his careful eye for economy, MG director Cecil Kimber felt there was no need for fresh art work for each so between 1923 and 1929 advertisements for both were more or less interchangeable. WL2228 is a 13.9HP sports in claret and silver 4-seater first registered, according to the encyclopaedic Oxford to Abingdon, the classic source of reference by Robin Barraclough and Phil Jennings, on 18 May 1927.
(from Dove Publishing's MG File) 1926 MG 14/28 Super Sports
The distinction between specially bodied Morris Oxfords sold through The Morris Garages, and the establishment of MG as a car manufacturer in its own right, is far from clear-cut. An advertisement in the June 1924 Morris Owner magazine used the MG octagon against a picture of a de luxe Landaulette on the 14/28 Morris Oxford chassis. The following month there was an MG Sports Four Seater Morris Oxford in “burnished aluminium and smoke blue, or to choice,” advertised with, “The graceful lines of a yacht.” Kimber’s other preoccupation was sailing, and it was no surprise that this car too featured ship-style ventilator cowls. In 1925 there was an MG 14/28 Weymann saloon, “absolutely devoid of rattle”, with four wheel brakes. Yet it was not until mid-October 1927 that The Morris Garages registered cars with Oxford County Borough Council, as anything other than Morris Oxford or Morris Cowley. One 14/28 was a well finished saloon advertised as “…on the famous ‘Imshi’ chassis”, a reference to a six-month expedition by the Daily Mail’s motoring correspondent through France, Italy, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Spain to prove the worth of the Morris Oxford. “Imshi” was Arabic for “Get a move on.”
BODY: Saloon 4-door, 4-seat; coupe; 2-doors; 2-seats; weight 18cwt (914.4kg). Open 4-seater, 2-door; weight 18.25cwt (927.1kg)
ENGINE
4-cylinders; in-line; 75mm x 102mm, 1802cc; compr 5:1; 35bhp (27kW) @ 4000rpm; 19.4bhp (15kW)/l.
ENGINE STRUCTURE
Side camshaft; side valve; mushroom tappets; detachable cast iron cylinder head and block; aluminium pistons; Smith, SU, or Solex carburettor; 3-bearing crankshaft.
TRANSMISSION
Rear wheel drive; wet cork clutch; 3-speed non-synchromesh manual gearbox; enclosed torque tube; spiral bevel final drive 4.42:1.
CHASSIS DETAILS
Steel channel-section chassis; ash-framed aluminium body; pressed steel scuttle; suspension, front half-elliptic leaf springs, rear three-quarter elliptic; Gabriel snuubers at front, Hartford shock absorbers at rear; Duplex Hartfords on salonette; Four wheel brakes, front patent Rubury, 12in (30.48cm) drums (with optional servo £20), 1925-1926; worm and wheel steering; 7gal (31.8litre) fuel tank; 700 x 80 Dunlop Cord beaded-edge tyres; 3-stud steel artillery wheels with Ace discs 1924-1925; bolt-on wire spoke 1925-1926. Saloon 28 x 4.95 Dunlop reinforced balloon tyres.
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase 102in (259.08cm) and 108in (274.32cm); track 48in (121.92cm); length: 152in (386.08cm); width: 60in (152.4cm); height: 65in (165.1cm) with hood up.
PERFORMANCE
Max speed 65mph (105kph); 19.4mph (31.22kph) @1000rpm; 0-50mph 23.8sec; fuel consumption 19mpg (14.9l/100km)
PRICE Open 4-seater £375; 2-seater £350; Salonette £475. 4-seat salonette without tail compartment £495. Optional equipment included luggage carrier, a variety of mascots, rev counter, spot lights, and a monograme or crest on the door at £2.2s (£2.10). PRODUCTION approx 400
XV 9508 is a 14/40, first registered on 29 December 1928.
