Me & My Car: 1937 MG SA Drophead Coupe in Alamo said world’s only one

I’ve been writing this column about classic cars and collectors for almost 20 years. I’ve learned that car collectors are among the nicest people around and some are just interested in one particular model because it was their first car or their dad or grandfather had one. Sometimes finding that right one is difficult, with patience and persistence being necessary virtues.

Alamo’s J. Bruce Campbell is a serious car collector and one with a lot of patience and persistence. He wanted to buy this issue’s featured vehicle, a 1937 MG SA Drophead Coupe, but there is only one of them in the world. Yes, one in the world. He got it, but it took him a while.

Many of us are familiar with the cute English MG Drophead Coupes (roadsters) with their four-cylinder engines and stick shifts. The MG automobiles started in the 1920s as a sideline to the Morris Garage. After Morris Garage, the owners of the company and brand were numerous, including British Motor Corp., British Leyland Motor Corp., Rover Group and now by Chinese manufacturer Nanjing Automotive Group.

Over the years, thousands of MG cars have been built. They made small cars, big cars, ordinary sedans and held speed records. During the 1920s and ’30s, the company wanted to expand and extend their market. MG wanted to build bigger and more prestigious cars to compete with cars in the same class as Bentley and Jaguar.

Not everyone suffered during the Great Depression, so the wealthy Swiss could still afford to by fancy cars. The Swiss government wanted to help their economy. The country already had a very successful coach building industry, and they wanted it to grow, so they gave a nice tax break to companies that made a car by importing a chassis and adding a Swiss-made body.

In the 1930s, customers could buy the longer English SA chassis from MG and then contract the body out to coach builders. This issue’s 1937 MG SA chassis was built in England with a 123-inch wheelbase and a 2-liter, six-cylinder engine. Reportedly, only 14 of these chassis were ever built, with nine going to Switzerland and two to Germany (apparently, selling an English car in Germany at that time was not good marketing decision).

The Swiss importer J. H. Keller chose Reinbolt & Christé, of Basel, Switzerland, even though they weren’t the country’s best known body builder. Reinbolt & Christé built these cars, and today there is only one of those great vehicles left, which is this issue’s featured car owned by Campbell. It’s all original and has had 13 known owners — the first seven Swiss, the last six American.

Campbell was after this car to add to his collection for 23 years. Its previous owner prior was Randy Schultz, of Durango, Colorado. They didn’t know each other before Campbell’s pursuit of this one-of-a-kind MG SA. Campbell contacted Schultz once or twice yearly to inquire about his interest in selling before the sale was completed.

This right-hand-drive car is not only beautiful but unique. The coachwork is excellent, and the interior is very luxurious with inlaid woodwork and art deco cushions, arm rests and a full leather interior. A very unusual feature was the “Jackall” with independent jacks at each wheel. The front or rear of the vehicle could be raised off the ground to assist in changing a tire, which was fairly common in those days.

The car was also equipped with the turn signal of the day, which was a lighted wand from door pillars pointing in the direction the driver planned to turn. Smoking was very popular in those days, and several ash trays were built into the interior. Campbell has no plans to sell this gorgeous car, and I suspect he will own it until he meets a potential buyer with even more patience and persistence.

Have an interesting vehicle? Email Dave at MOBopoly@yahoo.com. To read more of his columns or see more photos of this and other issues’ vehicles, visit mercurynews.com/author/david-krumboltz.