Vehicle is located in Alicante, Spain and may be subject to import duties.
Guide price: £25,000- £28,000
Highlights
・Very low mileage ・Comprehensively restored and resprayed ・New interior trim ・1.8 MGB engine conversion
The Background
During the early and mid-50s, sports cars went through something of a revolution. Models like the Corvette C1 and Mercedes 300SL ushered in a raft of faster, more beautifully designed performance cars. Manufacturers moved quickly away from the boxy, open-wheel sports cars of the 30s and 40s, draping their models in streamlined, curvaceous bodywork and offering ever more performance.
MG was no different. The TA based midgets had served the company well, but by now they were looking old in the tooth and didn’t perform as well as rivals of the time. So it was in 1955 that MG released the MGA, a gorgeous new sports car powered by the 1.5 litre 4cyl B series engine and clothed in a much more aerodynamic and modern body. It was a massive hit, over 101,000 MGAs were built and it remains a popular and accessible classic British sports car to this day.
This particular MGA hails from the USA. According to the Chicago Car Club, it was undergoing restoration by a resident of Michigan, who sadly passed away before the car could be finished. The work was finished by West Michigan Imports, before later being owned by another Michigan resident who spent thousands of dollars getting the car to the condition he wanted it to be in. Primarily, he wanted to improve the car’s driveability for modern roads and increase reliability.
With this in mind, in 2008 a completely rebuilt 1.8 B-series motor was installed, replacing the original 1.5. The larger, newer powerplant offers much more power and better reliability than the original. British car specialists University Motors tuned the car further in 2013, rebuilding the carbs and fitting the current Minilite wheels. Then, in 2015, Eclectic Motorworks rebuilt the front suspension and carried out various other maintenance works, to keep the car in A1 condition.
In 2017, the car was imported and registered in the UK for the first time and has been with its current keeper ever since. They have carried out significant maintenance and improvement works, including but not limited to:
- A full panels-off respray - Bespoke leather interior retrim - New wool carpets - Extensive list of upgrades and maintenance carried out
Plenty of service history, receipts and documentation comes with the vehicle, including paperwork from its time in the US, and the import/registration documents from 2017.
One of the highlights of this car is the gorgeous navy blue leather interior, with powder blue piping to complement it perfectly. This was manufactured by John Skinner and fitted in 2020, along with the full new navy blue woollen carpets, navy leather trimmed dashboard and door caps. Along with the new MGA overmats, all of this makes the car look and feel stunning. This wonderful interior also features a beautiful three-spoke wooden Moto Lita steering wheel (the original Banjo wheel will also be included in the sale), for true 50s sports car ambience.
All of the gauges and switchgear work well - the only issue in the interior is that fuel gauge, which reads over by 1/4.
So many of these cars have fallen prey to rot and ruin over the decades – it’s refreshing to see one in such excellent condition. The first thing you’ll notice is the paintwork, Iris Blue really suits the lines of the MGA perfectly and really makes the chromework sing. It has recently had a full, panels-off respray to refresh the paintwork, and it really does look lovely. The chromework is all in very good condition too, with just one small dent on the rear over-rider. A new chrome grille was fitted in 2020 too, although the original does come with the car.
While the car was being repainted, the owner had all the steel underbody treated with stonechip prior to reassembly and the underbody has been waxoiled. So you can have confidence that the structure and body of the car not only looks good, but really is in top condition.
The car rides on 15” Minilite wheels, which are in superb condition, as are the low-mileage tyres. Also, MGA Twin Cam cooling louvres have been fitted to the inner wings to aid cooling in warm conditions – a very practical upgrade, especially if you want to do some European touring in the summer months.
Many roadsters of this vintage have soft-tops in poor condition, but the roof on this little gem really is in tip-top shape - and it even comes with a hard top and side curtains, for when the weather doesn’t justify having the roof down.
As we have already mentioned, in 2008 the original 1.5 litre engine was upgraded to a fully rebuilt 1.8 from a MGB. Obviously, this makes the car far more tractable and enjoyable in modern traffic, offering a significant power and torque increase over the original unit.
The engine bay itself looks excellent - clean, tidy and very solid. Last year, the cooling was upgraded with Davies Craig twin electric radiator fans being fitted. It also benefits from an alternator upgrade, over the original dynamo, and from a recent carburettor balance and service.
The owner tells us that the car starts and runs perfectly, with no mechanical issues.
Let’s face it, the idea of owning a classic British sports car, something to zip along country lanes with the roof down and wind in your hair, is one we can all get behind. In reality, restoring a 1950s sports car can be an expensive and frustrating experience.
So the obvious solution is to buy a car where all the hard work has already been done. And that’s where this car comes into its own. This beautiful little MGA is presented in a superb specification: fresh Iris Blue paintwork and almost immaculate chromework over a stunningly retrimmed navy leather interior. Aesthetics may be subjective, but we’re sure you’ll agree that there aren’t many colour combinations as pretty as this. It really is a lovely looking thing, and would happily grace the halls or fields of any classic car show you care to mention.
Even better than the, admittedly stunning, looks are the practicalities. It’s been fully restored, recently resprayed, chip protected and waxoiled. It has a newly trimmed interior, an upgraded and meticulously maintained engine with a number of practical upgrades, and it comes with a hardtop roof for when you don’t fancy upsetting your locks. There’s literally nothing left to worry about - the bodywork is in incredible condition (even underneath), the interior is box-fresh and the mechanical aspects have been superbly maintained.
So there you have it. A fully restored, classic British sports car in a great spec, ready for the summer show season. All that’s left to do is for you to enjoy it…
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More about buying with us
1957 MG MGA Roadster (LHD)
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