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James Page
United Kingdom
21 Posts |
 Posted - 25/04/2017 : 16:55:52
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I had just read one of last year's threads on buried MGs when I came across this photo in this month's (May) eddition of 'Current Archeology'. The car was revealed during a current archeaological dig at Larkhill. The caption describes it as a J2. Photo courtesy of Wessex Archaeology:
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Fred Boothby
United Kingdom
355 Posts |
Posted - 25/04/2017 : 17:36:33
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| Excellent ! But what's to become of it ? Can I put in a bid for the chassis ? Or just the brakes ? |
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JMH
United Kingdom
910 Posts |
Posted - 25/04/2017 : 19:15:03
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It is J2192 & the registrar is aware. My wife was at an Archaeology conference & an "old MG" was mentioned, she was passed photos, it all went from there & I have visited the site. It is on MOD land & MOD knows exactly what it is as the department dealing with it knows all about J2s. At present, it's an archaeological artefact & will be treated as such - not like finding it in a farmers hedge! That view is the "good side", from other angles it's all rather bent & anything alloy is powder.
Too early to say what will become of it, there are a number of "stakeholders".
JH |
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kimber
United Kingdom
1526 Posts |
Posted - 26/04/2017 : 08:22:16
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| Fascinating. Would love to know the back story. |
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Cathelijne
Netherlands
744 Posts |
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JMH
United Kingdom
910 Posts |
Posted - 26/04/2017 : 12:51:29
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It sits within a Gun Pit believed to have been filled in, from the evidence, sometime during the 60s (the Pit is later than all the WW1 stuff & in a slightly different area). We went through what they found & how they found it & the story probably goes something like this:
Car placed in unused Gun Pit off camp for repair (the Archaeologists suspect there may have been some sort of corrugated roof in place).
Engine (non MG) & G/B removed. The engine has a dirty great hole in it, but this was not made by the crank & rods, so may have been caused by the bulldozer later.
Interior/Boards & Tunnel removed, placed alongside the car.
Pinion removed fron Diff (not found), but Diff fractured.
No evidence of Rad or Bonnet found.
Subsequently, the Pit was bullzozed in, with the car still in it, causing much damage to what was left.
The best part of 50 years in the chalky ground have not been kind, most of the alloy crumbles upon touch (if it's not dust already). Maybe one of our chemically inclined members could comment on the likely reaction of a steel/iron/aluminiun alloy battery in chalk soil? It would seem that anything with zinc in it has suffered particularly badly.
Remember this was the early 60s, broken J2s were worthless & the introduction of MOT testing was killing them & most MMMs off rapidly (a major reason The Register was formed). The remains also show signs of (being kind)"student" repairs. Those who owned our cars that long ago will remember.... Probably owned by some poor junior soldier who couldn't get bits/time/cash/lost the will to repair & abandoned it on posting? Either that, or he came back off A/L to find his illicitly stored car had been buried!
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Westbury
United Kingdom
1950 Posts |
Posted - 28/04/2017 : 15:46:03
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I bought a near running NA in 1963 for £26!
Chris |
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MG Maverick
United Kingdom
1045 Posts |
Posted - 28/04/2017 : 15:58:43
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Michael Bird bought two J2s in 1961 for £25.
CJD |
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tholden
United Kingdom
1626 Posts |
Posted - 28/04/2017 : 16:15:08
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I was lucky my first J2 acquired in 1962 was £15 - a completely original running car ( so I thought ). It had been in a lock up since before the war. My father was annoyed that I had agreed to pay so much because he thought that the seller would have given it to me if I had tried harder !
TH |
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robin
United Kingdom
177 Posts |
Posted - 28/04/2017 : 20:21:02
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K type under PRI in Perth anyone.
robin |
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rholl
United Kingdom
7 Posts |
Posted - 01/05/2017 : 08:57:39
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Having attended a Young Officers' Course at Larkhill in the autumn of 1960, I can endorse Jeremy' comments. Gun pits were dug for demonstration purposes, together with crew areas protected by 'wriggly tin' and top soil. Knowing that the pit would be filled in, I suspect that a YO under pressure to dispose of a scrap vehicle sought an easy solution, having first removed any item of use to a fellow MG owner. It is nice to think that perhaps the radiator, bonnet and diff lived to 'fight another day'!
RDH |
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sam christie
United Kingdom
3056 Posts |
Posted - 01/05/2017 : 10:35:57
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Presumably the archaeologists have concluded the J2 was a 'high status burial' of 'ritual significance.'
Has any progress been made on tracing the previous owner and those who helped bury the J2? Has anyone thought of asking him about it? Is he still the owner?
It is a pity the PO of the J2 did not know that dumping a car in a lake increases its value - if the famous Buggatti in the lake is anything to go by.
Here a modern Bugatti begins the same investment process.
I buried an NSU Quickly in my parents' garden in the 1960's. Perhaps 'Current Archeology' would like to publish an article about it?
Sam |
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Westbury
United Kingdom
1950 Posts |
Posted - 01/05/2017 : 14:46:45
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I seem to remember a story going around a long time ago about a 'K' chassis and other MG hardware being used to reinforce a concrete floor within the Abingdon Works many years ago.Does anyone else remember this? The story might have been included in one of the Safety Fast publication.
Chris |
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JMH
United Kingdom
910 Posts |
Posted - 14/08/2017 : 08:48:45
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The immediate future of J2192 is now clear, it will be available for sale from UK MOD. I will put contact details on here for those of you who may be interested in the next couple of days.
JH
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Edited by - JMH on 14/08/2017 08:49:17 |
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correlejco
United Kingdom
251 Posts |
Posted - 14/08/2017 : 23:16:47
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Seems that for any classic car these days, 'patina' is everything; and this specimen has plenty. Must be worth a fortune ......
John - 1934 NA0492 |
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Simon Johnston
United Kingdom
5999 Posts |
Posted - 15/08/2017 : 00:03:26
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I wonder could that chassis be salvaged and still meet the Register's requirements to qualify for a Register number?
Simon J
J3437 |
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