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MG MGA - Unusual.... MGA ... from/made in Denmark?

Just recently acquired an MGA which I am going to pick up in a few days. It's a solid driver with much needed freshening in the body. Unusual thing about it though is as well as the usual VIN plate, is another one in Danish. Once I get the car home I'll post pictures of the plate. But anyhow it goes along the lines of "Dansk Motor.... with a second VIN number/ Engine number. I don't recall MG having a plant in Denmark. As far as I know there was only the Abingdon plant and a plant in Australia. Does anyone possibly from Denmark have an idea about this?
S.D.G. Stephan

MGA's were imported into Denmark by DOMI (Dansk Oversøisk Motor Industri A/S). This company was also an assembly plant for (amongst other cars) the Morris Minor. I presume they also did some work on the MGA, hence the Danish ID plate - but I could be wrong :-)

More on DOMI: http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/around-the-world/around-the-world-denmark/

Original Danish MGA's also had an additional indicator light in front of the doors

Rutger
Rutger Booy

This is the second report I have seen on Danish origin MGA. How about a picture of the Danish ID plate?
Barney Gaylord

A greeting from Denmark to all MGA entusiasts!

Quoting from the link above article written by Erik Løye:
“As stated earlier, DOMI was mainly founded for bus manufacture and the assembly of buses, trucks and vans. For this purpose a fairly large factory was built outside Copenhagen, which also handled the import of cars from the Nuffield Group – some in CKD kit form for local assembly – and distribution of cars and spare parts to the dealers. Towards the middle of the Fifties the immediate demand for buses had been met, so DOMI stopped making buses to concentrate on imported cars and commercial vehicles.”

“In my opinion, BMC cars were cars of good quality but not always very well assembled. This was taken care of by a very painstaking pre-delivery procedure –every nut and bolt was checked and attended to as required, along with such things as panel alignment, paint and chromework, water leaks and mechanical adjustments – an extension of the assembly line, so to speak.. From 1966/67 every car and van received a complete body anti-rust treatment. This is one of the main reasons for the growth of BMC’s and later BLMC’s market share, which rose to around 10% in 1960, 15% in 1966 and to over 20% between 1970-1977. Of course, good marketing, pricing, models and dealer backup were other important reasons.”

Anders Ditlev Clausager writes in "Original MGA" page 9:
“ I must have been all of six years old. We were a Morris family and my father had taken delivery of a new Oxford in 1955. Some month lather, during a visit to Copenhagen, we were shown around the factory of DOMI, the company that imported all Nuffield products to Denmark.
There in a quirt corner of the assembly hall stood a brand-new bright red MGA, possibly one of the first to arrive in my native country. My older brother and I – both equally car mad at that time – were allowed to sit in the car.”

On page 15 of the same book are two Danish MGA with indicator lamps in front of the door.

Cars sold through DOMI was fitted with a DOMI ID-plate, in addition, in a conspicuous place on the body one of DOMI's distinctive triangular logos.

I am attaching a picture of DOMI, an advertisement from the time, a DOMI Identification Plate and a picture of DOMI's triangular logo which was placed one the car body.





JF Hedetoft

Advertisement from the time

JF Hedetoft

DOMI's triangular logo

JF Hedetoft

DOMI Identification Plate

JF Hedetoft

JF
Thanks for this - fascinating
David
D Brown

Excellent pictures and information thank you.
Were there TD's and TF's fitted with these plates? I ask because on the TD/TF board we are collecting Images of these in the thread "Early Dealer Documentation Page".

Matthew.
M Magilton

Thanks for the pictures, if.
Rutger Booy

I would like to point out that no MG was among the cars received as a CKD kit on DOMI.
MG cars were received from the factory, after a preparation for the Danish market - including quality control, installation of side indicators and DOMI ID plate cars were distributed to the sales network around the country.
JF Hedetoft

At DOMI the assembly of passenger cars ended in 1959 and of trucks in 1962. The DOMI facilites were therafter used for car preparations.

If you want to read more about DOMI - Nelleman group in 2000 did published an anniversary book: 100 years in 100 pages:

http://www.nellemann.dk/files/NELLEMANN_100.pdf


JF Hedetoft

Great photos on pages 33 and 53. Thank you JF.

Cheers,
Matthew.
M Magilton

This thread was discussed between 17/09/2013 and 22/09/2013

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