The MG 14/28 Super Sports was produced from 1924 through 1927, initially in a small factory in Alfred Lane, Oxford, before relocating in 1925 to larger premises shared with Morris Motors Limited radiator factory at Bainton Road, Oxford. Both Morris Motors Ltd and Morris Garages Ltd were created and owned by William Morris, although they operated as separate businesses. Early Morris Garage (MG) cars wore Morris Oxford badges; the MG badge did not arrive until 1928.
Morris Oxford
The first car built by W.R. Morris's MG company was the 'Oxford,' named in recognition of its home city. Production began in March 1913 and would continue through 1927. It was an 'assembled' automobile using parts sourced from outside vendors, then assembled in-house by Morris. The 1,018cc four-cylinder side-valve engine had a fixed cylinder head from White & Poppe (who also supplied the three-speed gearbox), and ignition was via a Bosch magneto. The pressed-steel chassis was built by Rubery Owen, and the suspension was comprised of leaf springs, semi-elliptic at the front, and longer three-quarter elliptic at the rear slung above the axle. The windscreen was sourced from Auster Limited of Barford Street, Birmingham, and the front and rear axle, and steering were made by Wrigley.
The Oxford had a 'Bullnose' radiator through late 1926 when it was replaced with a flat one, which required a wider chassis and thus, re-designed bodywork.
Morris Cowley (Continental Cowley)
The Morris Cowley 'Bullnose' was a larger version of the Morris Oxford, with a longer and wider chassis that accommodated four passenger bodies. It was better equipped with standard electric lighting, diamond-patterned buttoned upholstery in real leather, mahogany cappings, a proper door for the driver, mudguards were black, and the standard body color was chocolate brown. Many of its mechanical components were sourced from United States suppliers, including the 1,495cc side-valve four-cylinder engine built by Continental Motor Manufacturing Company of Detroit. The three-speed gearbox and clutch were made by Detroit Gear & Machine Co.
Morris Cowley production began in 1915 and continued through 1920, with approximately 1,450 examples built during that time.
MG 14/28
Like the preceding Morris Oxford, the MG 14/28 models wore bespoke coachwork, but they differed from their Morris Oxford siblings by having an improved suspension, a raked steering column, a lower instrument panel, a repositioned throttle pedal, a mildly tuned engine, a six-inch longer wheelbase, and twelve-inch diameter four-wheel drum brakes. Wearing coachwork by Carbodies of Coventry, MG's Super Sports range was as accommodating as they were athletic, comprised of two- and four-seater Tourers, along with two-door Salonette body styles.
The 14/28 rested on a 106-inch wheelbase platform and had an overall length of 150 inches. The four-cylinder, side-valve engine displaced 1,802cc and was paired with a three-speed manual transmission. The aluminum paneled bodies were finished in a two-tone paint color scheme, with early examples receiving artillery wheels with Ace discs while those built later in the series resided on wire-spoke wheels.
Approximately 400 examples of the 14/28 were built. In 1927, they were replaced by the 14/40.
by Dan Vaughan