Letters from Readers, March 1947

Sir,
I would like to raise a few points regarding the figures you quote in your Road Test of the M.G. Midget, series “TC.”

According to my instruction book for the TC the gear ratios give the following speeds in gears at 5,500 r.p.m. (to nearest m.p.h.): 1st, 25 m.p.h.; 2nd, 44 m.p.h.; 3rd, 64 m.p.h.; Top, 86 m.p.h. These figures, which we can surely presume to be mathematically correct, differ considerably from yours, which, allowing for a slight rev.-counter lag, appear to be the correct speeds at 4,500 r.p.m. and not 5.500 r.p.m. as you quote.

I do not claim that the ‘”TC” is capable of reaching 5,500 r.p.m. on the level in top and, anyway, from my experience of the car I think that 5,250 r.p.m. is peak revs, and would only take mine above 5,000 in exceptional circumstances. All the same, I’m sure that the “TC” is quite capable of more than 65.75 m.p.h. over a flying quarter-mile, even in bad weather conditions.

Apart from this question of attainable speeds I quite agree with your remarks, which do describe the car well.

I’d better say that my excuse for the preceding rudeness is that I am an enthusiastic owner of a “TC” myself, as you may have guessed by now.

I am, Yours, etc.
R. Haley.
Bradford.
[The low speed of the car can to some extent be ascribed to a fairly short (3/8th mile) run into the timed 1/4-mille. At Brooklands cars could be dived off the bankings into the Railway Straight when doing timed tests. The acceleration figures are the result of repeated attempts, confirmed by a second driver, to corrected speedometer speeds. So far as peak r.p.m. are concerned, the rev, counter went to the indicated readings quoted, but at 5,500 r.p.m. the engine, based on calculations involving gear-ratios, tyre size and timed speeds, appeared to be doing approx. 4,700 r.p.m. — Ed.]