Lot Ended
Description
In the current ownership for 31 years; ex-California car; fully
restored in the 1990s and only 29k miles since; well-maintained with tons of
bills; drives beautifully; a cracking MGA at a sensible guide price
One of the
prettiest sports cars ever made, the MGA drove as well as it looked and is one
of those few classics that you can reliably use every day and won’t embarrass
you in modern traffic.
The 1,498cc engine
initially produced 68bhp but was quickly upgraded to 72bhp, a road test by
The Motor recording a top speed of 98mph with a 0-60 time of 16 seconds
and fuel consumption of 27mpg. In production from 1955 to 1962 in 1500, 1600,
MkII and Twin-Cam forms, the MGA proved as successful on the racetrack as it was
on the road with 101,081 sold, all but 5,869 for the export
market.
This super MGA 1500 Roadster is one of
those export cars, being imported from sunny California in April 1992 by
Marksdanes Classics of Somerset. Over the next 13 months they totally stripped
and rebuilt the car, including new inner and outer sills, localised repairs to
the chassis, all new brightwork and a bare metal repaint in the original Orient
Red.
The engine was fully rebuilt by Z&P
Engineering of Wiltshire, including new pistons, bearings etc. The gearbox was
also rebuilt along with the brakes, steering, suspension and the car was
converted to RHD. The interior got new seat squabs and leather seat covers, new
carpets and door cards and a new set of weather gear. A new wiring loom was also
fitted along with a new windscreen and a host of other parts, all fully
documented in dozens, if not hundreds, of invoices on file.
The first UK owner was a Mr C Best of Somerset who covered some 6,000
miles in the car over the next two years. He also fitted a crown wheel and
pinion from an early MGB for more relaxed high speed cruising, along with seat
belts for safety and separate rear lights/indicators from a later MGA 1600 to
avoid confusion in modern traffic (the early cars had indicators built into a
single tail light).
Our vendor acquired the car
from Mr Best in April 1995 to join his collection of classic cars and he has
added another 23,600 miles to the odometer. He has looked after the car
carefully during his 31-year ownership, with lots of bills for new parts fitted
and regular servicing, much of it by by MG specialists Former Glory of
Middlesex. As he lives in London, he also had a Tracker theft recovery system
fitted – not the sort of thing you need in our crime-free neck of the woods,
obvs...
The car now shows 29,674 miles which is
the total distance covered since it was restored in 1993, as documented by no
fewer than 22 old MOTs on file. As you can see in the photos, it still looks
very pretty indeed some 33 years later, the only real blemish we noted being a
couple of small scabs in the paintwork on the bonnet (see last photo). We also
spotted a speeding ticket in the bulging history file when the car was
clocked doing 90mph in Devon a few years back, so it clearly goes well!
Starting instantly and driving beautifully as we
have hoofed it around on site, with healthy 40psi oil pressure, this is a
delightful little sports car that feels just right. Two minutes behind the wheel
is all you need and somehow the world just feels like a simpler and better
place.
As you can probably tell, we like
this characterful MG a lot and we are sure that you will too, so please do
come and see it!
Consigned by James Dennison
– 07970 309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com