MG TA & TB
1936–1939 · 3,003 TA and 379 TB · two different engines
The first pushrod MG, and the short-lived car that gave the rest of the T-Series its engine.
Find MG TA & TB parts by category
Not listed? Plenty of parts suit several marques and never get the model name in the title — ask us and we will check the books for you.
About the MG TA & TB
The TA of 1936 is where MG stopped building overhead-camshaft engines and started building the cars that made its name. Its 1,292cc MPJG four is unique to the TA — it shares nothing with the XPAG that runs through every later T-type and the whole Y Type range, so a TA is a separate parts proposition from a TC or a TD. It was also the first MG with hydraulic brakes, Lockheed, 9in drums front and rear, which was actually a reduction from the 12in drums of the PB it replaced. The clutch is the other oddity: cork-faced and running in oil.
The TB arrived in May 1939 and lasted four months before the war stopped it — 379 built, which makes it the rarest T-type by a distance. It brought in the 1,250cc XPAG, a shorter stroke on a counterbalanced crank and a far stronger bottom end, and with it a Borg & Beck single dry plate clutch in place of the TA’s oil bath. Mechanically a TB is very close to the TC that followed it in 1945. The wheels differ across the pair as well: the TA runs side-laced centre-lock wires, the TB centre-laced, both 19in. Both cars use sliding trunnion spring mountings, where the TC moved to shackles.
MG TA & TB — specification & changes within the model
- TA
- 1936–1939, 3,003 built. 1,292cc MPJG, 63.5 × 102mm, around 50bhp. Unique to the TA — shares nothing with the XPAG.
- TB
- May – September 1939, 379 built. 1,250cc XPAG, 66.5 × 90mm. The engine that carried on into the TC, TD and TF.
- Clutch — the split
- TA: cork-faced, oil-immersed. TB onward: Borg & Beck single dry plate. Changed with the engine, May 1939.
- Brakes
- Lockheed hydraulic, 9in drums front and rear, both cars. The TA was the first MG with hydraulic brakes. Nothing in the T-Series is rod or cable operated.
- Suspension
- Half-elliptic front and rear with sliding trunnion spring mountings on both. The TC changed to rubber-bushed shackles.
- Wheels
- TA: centre-lock wire, side-laced, 4.50-19 on 2.5in rims. TB: centre-lock wire, centre-laced. The lacing change is a real parts distinction.
- Bodies
- Two-seater, Airline coupe and Tickford drophead on the TA. Two-seater and Tickford on the TB.
- What to tell us
- Whether it is a TA or a TB decides the engine, the clutch and the wheels. If you are not sure, the engine number prefix settles it — MPJG for a TA, XPAG for a TB.