my car TA 2190

 

and a painting

 

I purchased the TA on the 4th of July, 1974 from a young man in Huntsville, AL. It was in relatively good condition and I drove it home to Nashville with no problems. The leather seats appeared to be original but were in poor condition and were soon replaced with vinyl for the convenience of my young children. I had a look at the rod bearings, removed a shim or two, and we all began enjoying it. It seemed to have a smoother ride than the TC I'd recently sold but with a little less power perhaps. I've driven it on several long trips through most of the states in the Southeast both for pleasure drives and to MG meets. Over the years I've only 'maintained' it, replacing things that wore out or broke... brake shoes, wheel bearings, a piston, a half shaft, a water pump shaft, a burned valve, etc.. But having never been honestly restored (I did respray the rear fenders and running boards) it retains a great amount of originality for a car built in 1938. The wiring needs replacing now (for safety) and the rubber at the firewall is beginning to 'run' but I still enjoy driving the back roads through the hills and valleys of middle Tennessee. I have no idea how many miles we've covered since '74 but they've all been a pleasure. It seems to be happy at between 50 and 55 mph and I've seldom found reason to exceed that. As an illustrator and painter I have used the TA as well as several other M.G.s over the years in a number of pieces including the oil on panel shown here of my cluttered "Garage". Anyone interested can find more M.G. art at the web site www.billdavis.org. The work shown there is changed a couple of times a year on an irregular basis.

Bill Davis