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MG MGA - Funny MGA story

Hi Folks. My friend Terry Jones spent 5 years and thousands of dollars doing a frame up restoration on his 1960 MGA 1600 roadster. He rebuilt EVERYTHING, and spared no expense! Terry even hand fabricated many of the sheet metal and other components in his car, such as front valence, transmission tunnel, splash panels, seat frames, inner sills, stainless steel grille, and much more. I assisted him with mechanical work and wiring. This past summer, we finally finished his MG, and finally he towed it to a mechanic for a safety check, then got plates and insurance for it. He took it out for its first shake down run, and shortly afterward, I got a frantic phone call from Terry. He said that his MG engine was ticking like a time bomb, that the transmission was noisy, that the clutch was touchy, that the rear axle was whining, that the car was difficult to control, that the brakes were not good, and that there were many rattles. He asked me if I would be so kind as to test drive his MG to ascertain the nature of the many problems he described. So, I did as he asked, and took his freshly restored A for a spin, with Terry in the passenger seat. As I drove the car further and further, a big grin appeared on my face! And I started to laugh! Terry asked what was so funny about his expensive restoration having so many problems! I turned to Terry and told him that his MGA was running perfectly, and that the car was driving absolutely the way it should be and that all was well! It seems that my friend Terry had never driven an old British sports car before, and was used to driving only big American cars, with hydraulic lifters, automatic transmissions cushy suspensions, power steering, power brakes, sound deadening insulation, and slow steering, etc! MGA's are truly different from modern cars! Cheers! GLenn
Glenn

Nice story Glenn and not a rhyming word to be seen anywhere! I think we have all been part of Terry's restoration over the last year or so. It's probably all that MiG welding wire in the battery cables that is rattling.

Will Terry be coming on line in his own right from now on to guide us through fabrication work?

Steve
Steve Gyles

Nice one Glenn - it's amazing to think that people buy classic cars and spend a fortune on them, without ever having been in one let alone driven one - just buying on looks alone.
Talking of funny MG stories you might like the one I heard this morning :-

John Jones was accused by his wife of not being romantic - so to prove her wrong he thought he would put an ad in the local paper on Valentine's Day (next Tuesday just in case you hadn't realised - you have been warned).
He phoned the ad in as follows :- "John Jones thinks his wife is lovely" -the operator said - "That's only 7 words Mr. Jones - you can have 10 for the same cost".
His reply " Mr. Jones thinks his wife is lovely - MG for sale".
C Cunningham

Hi Steve. I have been trying to convince Terry to obtain an Internet connection. Terry is unfortunately not terribly computer literate, and still feels uncomfortable about Computers, the Internet, and going online. I will continue to "gently" persuade him that computers are not to be feared. I gave him my old computer system so he could fool with it, and learn how to use it. He has been using it a bit, and seems to have some fairly positive comments. Hopefully, he will become comfortable enough that he will eventually go online. Cheers! Glenn
Glenn

Hi CC. My friend Terry saw his first MGA when he was about 12 years old. It was black with a red interior, and he fell in love with that car so many years ago. He finally decided to restore one, even though he had never driven or even ridden in one! You can imagine his surprise when he discovered that it is NOTHING like modern, quiet, easy to drive vehicles! It took lots of work to convince Terry that there was nothing wrong with his expensive restoration. Once he got used to driving it, we took our MGA's out for summer evening jaunts through back roads, and local countryside. Terry is gradually adjusting to the "peculiarities" of an MGA, and is becoming more comfortable driving it. He is unhappy with the lack of power, and persnickity transmission, and is talking about installing a modern and more powerful drivetrain sometime in the future. He still LOVES the bodystyle however. Cheers! Glenn
Glenn

Glenn,
Have your friend drive a dual carbed 62-70 MGB and see if that has enough power, if not supercharge a 3 or 5 main B motor. I bet he would enjoy that quite a bit.

This from a guy that does conversions!

Otherwise if he is serious about a conversion, I know of a fellow on this board who is doing an MGA V6 conversion now. There is a bit of work to it.

The story is good, but not the first. Hope he decides to keep and use the car.

BTW: Since he is used to big american stuff, he may also be trying to run the motor the same. After he breaks that motor in, show him how to "properly" rev and shift it. Interesting what a good driver can do to make a car faster more then a power upgrade.
-BMC.
BMC Brian McCullough

Glenn,

I can relate to the story of your friend, Terry. After a similar restoration of my A coupe, I had very much the same experience as you describe. Everything was either rebuilt or new, and I just expected it to be smooth, quiet and vibration-free. Just like a B! I was pretty concerned, and even a bit frightened the first time I drove it. Getting all this sorted, or letting it sort itself, usually takes up to a few hundred miles of road duty. Most of it will take care of itself after it wears in a little.

After it all comes together, we are usually very happy. Nothing compares to the styling of this car other than something very, very expensive.

I suppose there are a few people who are experienced enough to get most of this right the first time. But this is all good advice to anyone who is doing this for the first or second time. Hang in there, be patient and enjoy yourself. It is all part of the journey.

Tom

P.S. Makes one wonder what a T would be like :)

Tom Balutis

"Makes one wonder what a T would be like". OK, another funny MG story. A friend and fellow club member had his TC on the car lift at the club spring tune up session. This car was a driver, had not been restored, and was in good condition. I was inspecting the underside when he asked me if I would like to drive it. "Sure" I said. So once it was back on the ground, I climbed in, this was going to be my first driving experience in a TC. As we were on a busy surburban Chicago road (speed limit 45), I waited until I couldn't see any other cars coming before pulling into the street. Away I went, this is great! Opps, the driver side (right side) door just popped open. No problem, I'll just reach out and close it. Hmmmn, easier said than done. Un oh, time to shift. I move the gear lever to second, the whole assembly comes out in my left hand! So here I am, trying to close the door with my right hand, holding the shift lever in my left hand, and steering with my knees. A quick look in the mirror had traffic now bearing down on me, so I just pulled onto the shoulder. I had only gone about 100 yards, and Ray was now running down the road to rescue me. "I forgot to tell you...." Good fun, the rest of my first TC drive was uneventful, and I'll never forget the experience!

George
G Goeppner

Cam
I heard a similar story, only it was an ad placed in the obituaries by a frugal Scotsman.
The original ad was "Jocks Dead" when Jock was told he had five words it was later amended to
"Jocks dead, Cortina for sale"
I suppose you could amend this to "MG for sale"!!
Robert
R J Collier

A drive in a TC is like nothing else. You can feel the different parts of the car moving around in different directions as you motor down the road. It's quite odd at first! The wheels flex, the body flexes, the scuttle area flexes and all in a different rythem. The steering is twitchy (just look at the angle of the wheels from the front!) and the brakes are weak. THe shift lever is long and the steering wheel is huge. What do all these quirks add up to? An unbelievably fun driving experience! If you've never driven one, you need to find a way to do so!

Here's a story about my first drive in a TC:

http://www.lbcnuts.com/mg/tales/mgtc/afirstdrive/
Steve Simmons

having owned a a MGB, a TD and a MGA, I feel I can make some comment
You can jump from an A to B and it seems all very similar, you can feel maybe 5 years devalopement.
Jump from an TD into the MGA and you leap 15 years, hardly seems possible considering all the similar chassis, suspension parts, the MGA, driven as it is meant to driven, for me at least, is as good as it gets
Martyn
Martyn Dunn 1

This thread was discussed between 09/02/2006 and 10/02/2006

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