J2
The J2 was the commonest car in the range and was a road-going two-seater. Early cars had cycle wings, but these were replaced in 1933 by the full-length type that was typical of all sports MGs until the 1950s TF. The top speed of a standard car was 65 mph (105 km/h), but a specially prepared one tested by The Autocar magazine reached 82 mph (132 km/h). The car cost £199.
There were a few serious failings of the J2, most seriously that it only had a two-bearing crank shaft which can break if over-revved. The overhead-camshaft is driven by a vertical shaft through bevel gears, a shaft which also forms the armature of the dynamo. Thus any oil leak from the cambox seal goes into the dynamo brushgear, presenting a fire hazard.
Another problem is that it is not fitted with hydraulic brakes, but has Bowden cables to each drum. These require no more pedal force than any other non-power-assisted drum brake, provided that they are well maintained. The drums themselves are small and even in period it was a common modification to replaced them with larger drums from later models.
The non-synchromesh gearbox takes some getting used to, as for any car of this period, but with its short gear stick it becomes second nature to double de-clutch and rare to grind the gears.
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