Vehicle Description
This car�is the very important and historic 1952 Tojeiro
MG�Special, the first car built by John Tojeiro.
John Tojeiro set up his first workshop in 1950 behind the garage of
his friend Vin Davidson and over the next two years he began to
build his own sports car as a replacement for his MG. The chassis
was to his own design and utilised two large tubes with fabricated
triangular sections at each end as opposed to the box-sectioned
chassis originally favoured by other designers of the period, such
as John Cooper. However, Tojeiro did copy the Fiat 500 suspension
system that Cooper had employed with transverse leaf springs and
bottom wishbones while the hubs and steering rack were Morris
components, albeit with necessary modification. The engine was an
MG XPAG unit with quad side-draft Amal carburettors and the body
was initially a single seater cigar-shaped design with open wheels
and cycle wings. Tojeiro later recalled that as the project was
nearing completion in mid-1952 a chance meeting with Cambridge
University student Chris Threlfall meant that he ended up selling
it before he even had a chance to use the car himself.
As entries in the original log book record, Threlfall registered
the car on July 31st 1952 under the number MVE304 while he was
still at Caius College Cambridge. Threlfall wasted no time in
putting the Tojeiro to good use and entered two meetings at
Silverstone in September, winning on both occasions, and another at
Castle Combe in October. After a break over the winter he began the
1953 season with an entry to the Goodwood 11th Members Meeting held
on March 21st and followed this up with another appearance at
Castle Combe on April 4th where he came 3rd. He managed to break
the class record at Bo'ness in June but the most important event
for Threlfall that year was the British Empire Trophy race held on
the Isle of Man in June where he qualified 9th but unfortunately
did not finish.
Following Threlfall's period of ownership the next custodian of
KVE304 was James Fiander of Blandford, Dorset who acquired the car
in March of 1954. Fiander's first race was at Goodwood on March
27th where he managed 6th in one of the handicap races. He followed
this up with a 3rd at Castle Combe on April 3rd and bettered this
with a 2nd at Goodwood in May. Over the next two months he amassed
three more 3rd places and a 2nd at club events at Ibsley and
Silverstone. The main event for Fiander so far was the 1.5 Litre
British Grand Prix held at Silverstone on July 17th where he came
home a very creditable 12th. He followed this up with a 3rd and a
5th at Brands hatch on August 2nd and a 3rd at Goodwood almost
three weeks later. The last two races of the season for Fiander
were at Castle Combe in August and Crystal Palace in September
where he placed 3rd and 4th respectively. After a successful 1954
season Fiander seems to have been relatively quiet in 1955 and it
may be that it was during this hiatus that the car received the
revised body it wears today. The next recorded outings for KVE304
are not until 1956 when it was in the possession of Peter Stuart
Bailey who raced it three time in May and June at Brands Hatch and
Mallory Park where he secured a win on May 21st. It seems Bailey
only kept the car for a few months before selling it to a Neville
William Gough who entered the car into another race at Mallory in
September of 1956 where it was driven to 3rd place. The car
remained with Gough until 1961 when it purchased by Henry Scrope of
county Durham and it was Scrope who eventually exported the car to
the US in late December 1963. Following its arrival in California
in early 1964 the car was campaigned in a number of West Coast
events before being partially stripped in anticipation of a rebuild
that never materialised. Instead the car remained in storage for
several decades before being repatriated and acquired by JD
Classics in 2017.
In view of its extended period off road, the car is currently in a
very original yet dismantled state but is mostly complete, although
the rear bodywork is missing. All major mechanical components are
present including the engine with Laystall head, Amal carburettors,
close ratio gearbox, ENV back axle, Electron disc wheels, correct
suspension, instruments and steering components. It is accompanied
by a fascinating history file including many period photographs and
documents and offers a very exciting opportunity to acquire John
Tojeiro's first sports car with a fabulous competition history that
would make it eligible for all prestigious historic events. The car
can be purchased as is or completed by JD Classics to customer
specifications.
Please contact us for further details.
