MG got it just right when they introduced the J2 Midget in 1932. Apart from being one of the best looking small sports cars around the J2 with its drop side doors, slab shaped petrol tank, centre lock wheels with a rear mounted spare plus a fold flat windscreen and optional aero screens set a style which MG continued to use right up to their 1955 TF 1500.

The J2 also had a technically appealing overhead cam engine which not only looked good but gave lively performance – however if it did have a weakness it was its 2 bearing crankshaft which, if the engine was used regularly at its 5,500 maximum rpm, could soon fail and require an expensive engine rebuild or replacement.

In my early motoring days J2s were often owned by young and impecunious drivers who would a) drive them quite hard and b) could not afford to get a new engine when they broke it (which they often did!) However they soon found that they could get a perfectly useable replacement if they bought themselves a second hand Ford 1172cc sidevalve unit.

Not only were they affordable their parts were cheap and readily available (they still are today), they performed as well as the J2 engine and with their three bearing crankshaft could easily be tuned to go a lot faster - after all Colin Chapman used them in his Lotus Mk V1 club racers so they were good enough for him!   

It would be fair to say that this J2 is not in concours condition but it is very sound, it looks good and it goes very well. It feels like it is properly bolted together, the engine is sweet plus the J2 gearbox and transmission are in very good order. It has very recently been fitted with a new black Mohair hood, hood bag, tonneau cover and side curtains plus it also has new tyres and relined brakes.

It has been priced to take into account its non-standard engine and I think it is well worth a look to use and enjoy as it is or to fit an MG engine at some stage if you wish so do come and see it for yourself but please be prepared to like it a lot!