ognisable as it is a smaller car, but it
takes a trained eye to separate the SA
from the WA. All three have very similar
appearance with swept wings in the
style of the late 1930’s. The Tickford
bodies were built by Salmons and Sons
of Newport Pagnell, UK.
The first to be designed was the MG SA
which hit the market in March 1936.
Using a 2.3 litre 6 cylinder OHV pushrod
engine of Wolseley origin [Wolseley be-
ing part of the Nuffield Group]. With a
rating of 78 BHP, this was enough to
give a top speed of 85-90 m.p.h. with
modest acceleration and a comfortable
cruising speed. A cork lined clutch run-
ning in oil gave a smooth take-off. Hy-
draulic brakes were fitted, a radical de-
parture from previous rod or cable oper-
ated systems. A total of 2738 SA’s were
produced, of which almost a third were
‘soft tops’.
Next came the MG VA. Released in
April 1937, this was a compact version
of the much larger SA. Powered by a 4
cylinder 1.5 litre engine of more modest
performance [55 BHP], it was capable of
a top speed of 80 m.p.h. Again its clutch
ran in oil, although later VA’s were fitted
with a dry clutch. Acceleration was not
outstanding, to say the least, but these
two models, the SA and VA, were built
for fast and comfortable cruising. In this
way all of the SVW series lived up to the
MG slogan of ‘Safety Fast’. Some 2407
VA’s were built. Almost half of these
were ‘soft tops’.
The last in the series, the MG WA which,
had the war not intervened, would un-
doubtedly have replaced the SA. As it
happened, all three types were pro-
duced until late 1939. Lessons learned
from the SA led to the WA being re-
leased in late 1938. The SA engine was
still used, but bored out to 2.6 litres and
the compression ratio raised, creating 95
BHP, a considerable margin over the
September 2019
SA. A top speed close to 100 m.p.h.
was likely, but no factory figure was
issued. Like the later VA’s, the WA
used shell type thin wall crankshaft
bearings. 369 WA’s were built of which
95 were ‘soft tops’. Approximately 25
still exist worldwide alongside a handful
of replicas.
In the UK the needs of SVW owners are
catered for by the SVW Register, an
offshoot of the MG Car Club. Here in
Australia we have the Pre War MG
Register which publishes a bi-monthly
newsletter for the benefit of every pre-
war MG owner. This newsletter is of a
high standard containing current news
and well researched information on this
country’s MG history.
This register organises a National Rally
once every two years for pre-war MG’s.
The next one will be held at Yamba in
northern NSW in early September [it
may be over by the time you read this]
and the following one will be in the
spring of 2021 in Canberra.
In South Australia there are 2 SA sa-
loons, 1 SA Tickford Coupe, and 1 WA
Tickford Coupe.
For more information on these models
you can Google the SVW Register of
the UK, or just type in whichever model
interests you.
33