Issue 63 (December 2020)

The MG Octagon Car Club

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  • The MG Octagon Car Club was established in 1969 when Harry Crutchley and a small group of pre-56 enthusiasts in the Stafford and Stoke areas of England began to meet in their pre-56 MGs in an effort to maintain and preserve these cars.

It was a bold step by Harry to establish the Club as there was already a long-established MG club in existence, but Harry had the foresight to realise that a true member’s club would also offer spares to keep the cars on the road.

From those humble beginnings back then, the Club has blossomed to become a worldwide member’s club with over 2,000 members.

  • Communication with members is principally through the 56-page Club Bulletin, which is sent to members eleven times a year. There is a regular update in the Bulletin on Club matters from the Chairman (Brian Rainbow).

The Club also has a burgeoning Facebook Page.

In the UK there is a network of ‘Natter’ leaders who host ‘noggin and natter’ meetings, normally held monthly.

  • The annual ‘Founder’s Weekend’, held in memory of Club founder, Harry Crutchley, takes place in May and Club members are invited to participate in the Totally T-Type 2 weekend the following September. Many ‘T-Typers’ take part in both events.
  • The Club is particularly strong on supplying spares to keep cars on the road and arranges the remanufacture of parts not normally available e.g. TD brake drums, TA exhaust manifolds, YA/YT half shafts. The range of spares stocked is remarkable – you can get virtually anything you want for a ‘T’ or a ‘Y’ and also some ‘SVW’.
  • Technical support is freely given through a panel of model specialists and questions and answers are published in the Bulletin for the benefit of all. Technical queries also feature on the Club’s Facebook page.
  • If you want to reclaim the registration number for your car, you can, subject to having the appropriate documents, do this through the Club; you can also get help with applying for an age-related registration number. The Club’s expertise in these matters is widely acknowledged, so much so that members of another Club prefer to come to the Octagon for their DVLA registrations.

You will be pleasantly surprised at the modest annual membership fee, helped in no small part by tight cost control and some of the functions being undertaken by volunteers.