MG Car Club
C0277 – The Evans Sprint Car
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ONE of the most popular cars on the MG Car Club’s stand at the NEC Classic Motor Show was undoubtedly Mike Dowley’s C-Type Midget.
This car was supplied new to Donald Letts through the Dorking Motor Company in August 1931. It was the 27th out of 44 ‘Montlhery Midgets’ built. Its original colours were green and yellow.
Letts, of diary fame, used the winter to get acquainted with the car and he soon decided to go racing with it.
Even before his first event he installed a supercharger, modifying the car further halfway through the season adding a close ratio gearbox, new carburetor and cylinder head.
In his first year he spent a total of seven weekends at Brooklands, entering all sorts of races ranging from the smaller BARC race days to the big deal JCC 1000 mile race and even the gruesome and notorious BRDC 500 which was the season finale.
His second season saw Letts secure his first win when he came home first in the Addlestone Mountain Handicap during the BARC Easter Meeting in April 1933. The 1934 season was Letts’ last one with the car. He rounded things off nicely with an overall win in the Esher Mountain Handicap during the BARC August Bank Holiday Meeting.
By then the car had been maintained by Bellevue Garage for quite some time where it was evermore developed. Denis Evans was Bellview’s proprietor, ably assisted by W.E. ‘Wilkie’ Wilkinson as their in-house ace tuner and manager. Wilkie later became world famous as the tuning master behind the 1956 and 1957 Le Mans winning Jaguar D Types and with Ecurie Ecosse and BRM.
While Letts moved on to K3s, Denis Evans took over C0277. From 1935 onwards, the car was solely being developed for sprinting. The car was soon painted in the famous Bellevue blue with the cream white stripe along the length of the car. A robust R-Type engine was fitted early in 1936. On occasion it was driven by siblings Kenneth and Doreen and even by Mrs Denis Evans a few times, but it was Denis who drove the ‘sprint car’ in over 30 sprint events during the following five years.
They visited such venues as Lewes, Brighton, Aston Clinton, Madresfield, Backwell and Shelsley Walsh. He usually managed a third, second or first in his class. On 21st August 1937 he set a time of 19.44 seconds, making this the fastest run up Lewes by any MG ever!
During the final sprint to be held at Lewes before the Second World War brought an end to fun things, the ‘Sprint Car’ was driven up the hill by Wilkie Wilkinson.
The car was again active on England’s race tracks in the 1970s and 80s after it had been carefully restored by Wilkie himself. It was used for racing and sprinting by co-owners Tony Hurst and Mike Edmondson and by mechanical caretaker Colvin Gunn.
Another few years passed when it eventually ended up with Mike Dowley of Sports & Vintage Motors. In 2010 it was once again restored to a very high standard, this time by Oliver Richardson. Mike himself rebuilt the engine and refitted the Zoller supercharger. Great care has been taken to retain its highly historical significance. Mike has been using it for racing and sprinting ever since its restoration was completed.
Technical Details:
C-Type chassis, lengthened by 3.5” to accommodate an R-Type engine
750cc ohc R-Type engine
ENV gearbox
12” brakes
5.7:1 differential
Zoller supercharger running at 22 psi boost
120bhp at 7,200 rpm
