Description
– Chassis No. 6126 – Engine No. 6779
– Numbers Matching Example
– Body-Off Restoration
– Cosmetically & Mechanically Excellent
– Correct Apple Green Livery
Offered for sale is an exceptionally clean, mechanically excellent, rust-free, numbers matching, body-off restored 1948 MG TC finished in particularly attractive and factory correct Apple Green over Black. Car No. 6126 was sold new to a Mr. Charlie Moreaux, an amateur SCCA racer from Wisconsin, and although he never raced this car, anecdotally it’s thought that it was this TC – as they were for so many automotive enthusiasts of the era – that spurred his interest in racing. 6126 made its way to Southern California some time in the 1960s, at which point it was acquired by Mr. Bill Gault, an avid member of the TC Motoring Guild and the owner of multiple TCs. Mr. William Watkins of Covina, CA bought the car in 1988, at which point he embarked on a comprehensive body off restoration of 6126.
The former Chief Mechanical Engineer for Walt Disney Imagineering and the co-owner of Ride & Show Engineering, Mr. Watkins wanted an extensive but achievable restoration project as an evening and weekend past time, and 6126 became his 10+year labor of love. Although entirely serviceable upon his acquisition, over that period Mr. Watkins either restored or replaced every single component of the car to factory correct specifications, doing much of the work personally. Completed in 1998, the quality of the restoration was fantastic and since that time the car has accumulated less than 1,000 miles, only driven by Mr. Watkins to the rare show or touring event. In 2010 the car was loaned to The Riverside International Automotive Museum, where it remained on display for more than four years.
Fully refinished at the time of restoration, the Apple Green finish is in excellent condition, marred only by minor imperfections too insignificant to appear in any of the pictures. The body is straight and correct with consistent panel fits and gaps throughout, and all of the brightwork is in excellent condition. The foldable windscreen is free of cracks or scratches and the wire wheels are in excellent shape, wrapped in correct Dunlop tires with plenty of remaining tread. The car’s interior is equally as clean, the black seats and interior showing only negligible wear and the correct dash housing a fully functional array of gauges and switches. The original canvas soft top and side curtains come with the car but are unrestored and removed due to lack of substantive use. The car also comes with a binder full of restoration literature, restoration notes, receipts and invoices, an original instruction manual and a number of miscellaneous spare parts.
Upon our acquisition of 6126 the carburetors were rebuilt, the hydraulic brakes were disassembled and sorted and the car was comprehensively serviced. The original numbers-matching 1250cc XPAG engine (No. 6779) starts effortlessly and, following some spirited motoring on some of Santa Barbara’s quiet back roads, I’m happy to report that it idles consistently and pulls strongly and smoothly under acceleration with excellent, even compression across all cylinders. The gearbox shifts crisply through each of the gears without any grinding or strange vibrations and the car’s cooling system functions as it should with no indication of overheating. The car drives and brakes straight and true, ride quality is excellent and the car’s a joy to drive, whether tooling through town, winding through the canyons or even bombing down the highway. This TC provides the truly vintage, visceral and grin-inducing experience that is the tenet of the early T-Series cars, considered by many to be the first sports car attainable by the mass market.
This is an excellent opportunity to acquire a gorgeous, honest and correct TC that needs nothing but another doting new owner to be enjoyed for another 67 years. Exceptionally clean, mechanically excellent, rust-free, numbers matching, body-off restored and finished in a desirable, factory correct livery, this TC checks all the right boxes for either the novice weekend hobbyist or serious MG enthusiast.
Please Note: This TC is currently titled in California under its engine no. 6779.
