Well, as usual, I was not looking for a project...but cool old things tend to find me sometimes. A week or so ago I was scrolling Facebook and someone had posted in one of the MGA groups about having inherited an MGA from their father, but living far away from the car and needed to get it moved out of the garage it was stored in before the new property owner (a step-parent) had it scrapped. The 3 photos below are the only info I have on the car's condition.
Knowing the seller was probably being inundated with queries, I reached out and made a no-questions asked offer, low enough that even if the car turns out to be junk, I wouldn't be upset...Send me the title and tell me where it pick it up, and I'll send you the $. As luck would have it, the owner obliged, and turned out to be one of the easiest sellers I've ever dealt with, a proper gentleman. Apparently his dad had owned it since the mid-1960's, took it off the road when he started having kids in 1984, and it hasn't been driven since...So 41 years off the road, but indoors.
So, as of today, the car has been paid for, I have a title, and I have made arrangements with a transport company (through Shiply...my first experience using the site, pretty cool) for them to pick it up in Wisconsin and deliver to my house here in Tennessee sometime next week.
And now we wait....From the photos, it's a 1960 1600 model (1600CC vs. the earlier 1500, front disc brakes, and a couple other small updates) and it appears to have a very good body; I don't see any significant rot in key areas like the rocker panel, or around the trunk opening (very common on these). All the panel gaps look nice, tight and original. Paint looks thin, so possibly original paint? Factory wire wheel car, Dash looks complete, interior is a total unknown, engine/trans is a total unknown.
I grew up with multiple MGAs in the house at any given time, so not having one around since moving down here has been a little weird, this will certainly fill the void. I would like to get it mechanically sorted, get the interior to a point where it's complete, comfortable, and functional, and just cleanup the exterior leaving the patina survivor look. At this point, at 65-70 years old most MGAs are either restored garage queens, or total basket cases, these survivor types are becoming very scarce, so I'd like to preserve that.
Here are the only 3 photos....will update with more when it arrives and we'll find out what I actually bought.
(https://i.imgur.com/jebckCH.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/KMMZDxU.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/ny9bmmd.jpeg)
Wow, what a find!
I am not familiar with the MGA's, they sure have a sexy shape. Looking forward to seeing how this progresses.
Man, I would have no clue where to start with a project like that, but then I did not grow up in a family of MGA owners. Also, no idea what to price something like like knowing next to nothing about the condition.
Out of curiosity, is there any restomods that are common with these? Why kind of engine and transmission is popular to upgrade in these? Would it have been built in the UK originally?
Thanks Tortoise - I am excited too.
Johnny, it's a very simple car mechanically...hardly more complicated than my riding mower ;D UK built, like all MGs, at their Abingdon Factory on the Thames river. Parts are readily available, and fairly cheap, here in North America through MOSS Motors, who purchased a lot of the rights, blueprints, etc to them back in the 80's when British Leyland was liquidating. My dad also has a massive hoard of MGA stuff, he's a little far away, but once I get a list of everything I need it might make sense to drive up and visit him and grab what I need.
I've seen lots of restomods over the years...By far the most common swap is to swap in an MGB 1800. Basically a direct drop it replacement, with a nice bump in power. My dad's own MGA (he's had since 1971) has an MGB 1800 in it, and it does make a big difference. The engine bay is pretty narrow, but I've seen some really clean Miata swaps, also some Toyota 2.4L and 5 speed conversions. I believe there is an adapter to swap in a Toyota 5-speed with the original MG engine. Of course, I've seen people hack in SBCs, GM 2.8Ls, or whatever else.
I am not really a restomod kinda guy....If I wanted another modern/fast car, then I'll buy one. The MGA is an experience; the low-cut open cock-pit, the sound, smells, notchy non-syncro gearbox, etc. That's what I want out of this...and I'd like to be able to share that with my kids.
Congrats Firm!!
Enjoy the project.
Awesome find!
Will be fun to watch this come together.
Thanks Gents. So far the 'fun' has been dealing with the transport company....Got a good rate with the reserve auction through Shiply, but the transport companies are basically just brokers and they take the load and then try and find a hotshot driver willing to take it....They give a 5 day pickup window, which is pretty inconvenient to start with, but then yesterday they called and were like "we have a driver who can pickup in 3 hours" - so I get with the seller and clear everything. Then the driver cancels for 'truck issues' (sure...). Today they call again, said their guy is going to pickup tomorrow morning - so now we wait.
I am in no rush to get the car, but I hate inconveniencing the sellers who have been extremely pleasant to deal with.
Well, it's on it's way....Got one more photo, quite impressed with how good it looks in the sunlight. Supposedly it will be here tomorrow, really eager to look inside and under the hood ;D
(https://i.imgur.com/yITs7op.jpeg)
Well, it arrived yesterday and I Firm Jr. and I spent the day on it. Transporter dropped it on the street in front of the house at 7am...Fortunately I was able to get the tires pumped up, and it rolled pretty easily. Once into the driveway I put it on dollies to make moving it around even easier. Next we gutting what was left of the interior (not much) and then removing 41 years of mouse motel. It was pretty bad, I actually sprayed the whole area down with disinfectant and then scrubbed it with a brush and hosed it out....only the second time I've ever had to do that with a car.
Aside from most of the interior being non-salvageable, the body is pretty good, especially when you consider it's age, very solid. The frame has some rust where the floor board (which are wood in these) sits against it...Easy-ish fix, but requires some welding.
Motor is seized, so I've filled the cylinders with Marvel Mystery oil and will leave it for a week or two. Hopefully that'll be enough that I can break it free using the hand crank (MGA's have a hand crank you can use to start the car if the starter/battery goes). If I am able to get the motor free'd up, the next problem will be ignition...Someone installed an aftermarket ignition box with a weird looking coil I've never seen before - half of it is disconnect, so clearly someone was messing with it. Thinking I'll probably just trace the original wires and reset back to the original setup with points and condenser, and a traditional coil...Shouldn't be too hard, but will be fiddly and time consuming. Doesn't help that someone made their own custom dashboard and re-wired a bunch of stuff in the process.
As expected, clutch and brake hydraulics are shot. Another easy but time-consuming job.
Anyway, it's here, I've slotted it up at the front of the driveway out of the way and will tinker with it as time allows. As you can see in the photos, I still have the "Delta Blue" MGB that I bought over a year ago...and it still needs a ton of work. Car projects have been moving slowly with projects around the house, kids extra curriculars, and increased work travel...but slowly beats not at all.
(https://i.imgur.com/3wA4ZBJ.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/fLMjsGp.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/8G5TKLs.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/6RVqy5G.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/DnIYSmN.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/2NSXUv0.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/ewTl1zT.jpeg)
No steering wheel? That would make it tough to move around before the dollies were added.
You certainly like to have a lot on your plate. Here I am complaining about having to patch a hole in the wall that my male boxer put his head into chasing a ball. Day 3 of that with mudding and sanding, should be the last sand down and then some paint.
Steering wheel was rotted and basically disintegrated when I tried to maneuver it. Fortunately the hub came off without a fight, a local British Car Club member has offered to donate his old steering wheel to the cause.
You're not kidding about having a lot on my plate...I am kinda just used to it now, "keep your feet moving" and plug through it. I am also in the midst of renovating my son's bathroom, and we had some major storms roll through here about a week ago, which found it's way into our kitchen ceiling through some shoddy flashing on the roof....I've fixed the flashing and confirmed no leaks, so now I've got part of the kitchen ceiling torn out for repairs. 2 tons of decorative gravel being delivered Friday to replace the mulch in the garden beds too....Just roll with it.
Nice project! Always a plus when somebody rescues a survivor LBC! Up here, June 6th, the TR6 is still in storage due to crappy weather and too many things on my plate. The 19 y.o. washing machine sprung a leak. I wanted to fix, family wanted a new set. We went shopping, almost pulled the trigger before realizing new machines are 6" deeper and 2" taller, just enough to require a full bathroom remodel. Took the machine apart, found the $77 culprit, bought the part off my phone crouched behind the thing. It's now repaired and running as new. Family also complained about my 18 y.o Napoleon natural gas bbq behind hard to fire up - it looks fine but already replaced internals shot again. It's huge 150 lb replacement sits in a big box in the middle of the garage, as the base had a severe dent with cracked paint. Etc, etc. So the TR6 is still sleeping :'(
Quote from: Blueprint on Jun 06, 2025, 12:05 PMNice project! Always a plus when somebody rescues a survivor LBC! Up here, June 6th, the TR6 is still in storage due to crappy weather and too many things on my plate. The 19 y.o. washing machine sprung a leak. I wanted to fix, family wanted a new set. We went shopping, almost pulled the trigger before realizing new machines are 6" deeper and 2" taller, just enough to require a full bathroom remodel. Took the machine apart, found the $77 culprit, bought the part off my phone crouched behind the thing. It's now repaired and running as new. Family also complained about my 18 y.o Napoleon natural gas bbq behind hard to fire up - it looks fine but already replaced internals shot again. It's huge 150 lb replacement sits in a big box in the middle of the garage, as the base had a severe dent with cracked paint. Etc, etc. So the TR6 is still sleeping :'(
I didn't know that TR6 ever actually "woke up"... that's great to hear
Yeah, I know how it goes....I haven't touch my 'nice' MGB since October of last year, and the Camaro hasn't been touch since November...Can't really use weather as an excuse here, I just haven't had time.
This MGA hasn't seen much activity either, I've made a few attempts at unseizing the engine, with no success. Next I am going to have to drag it behind the Escalade in 3rd gear and hope that the dragging force is enough to break it free. Need to put a steering wheel in it before I can do that though, fortunately, a friend sent me a spare he had, should be here next week. I also scored a free carpet kit (used, but nice) from a member of the local LBC club.