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MG MGA - MGA for sale, advice welcome.

Hi all, I've looked at a '58 MGA, painted in a newer Jag green, about 10 years old on the paint and body. Metal work looks like it was done quite well. Door gaps are reasonble but not totally uniform. I still need to get it up on a hoist to inspect the frame.
Known issues are, wiring harness needs to be replaced. Front left brakes are seizing up, steering feels a bit tight and the steering wheel has no self centering action at all. So I figure a complete front suspension rebuild and a new harness needed. The oil pressure/temp gauge is also dead. engine and gearbox had been gone though by the owner and freshened up at home. Gearbox felt fine.
Car still has bias plys on it!
Asking price is 13 g's and a little negotiable.
Any opinions on value of an MGA with non original colour and other pitfalls I may be up against?

thx

Ron
Ron

Most likely will need new/rebuilt wheel cylinders for front end; also taking apart the steering rack (maybe old grease or no oil at all in it) Is there play in the lower A arms where they connect to the lower trunnion? Do a compression test on the engine if you have 100 # or better in each cylinder then you might take a chance that the oil pressure is OK. If it has the original 48 spoke WW then count on replacing them also. Non-original paint color is no biggy, would not want to give an evaluation with out looking at the car.
David werblow

I agree with Daivd as to not being able to properly evaluate and thus provide a reasonable value. However, having said that, given what you've stated, sounds somewhat over priced to me!
Robert Maupin

I haven't checked for play in the lower A arms. I would hope to do a comp. test on the engine before I committed to buy it.
The car does not have wires, just the steel rims.
MGA's around here(BC, Canada) I've checked out are $13,000 and up for a decent runner and over 20 for so called "fully restored" cars.
Would a conversion to discs with B calipers be a prudent move if the front end needs to be done anyway?
The ride on this car was very bad and there's lot's of bouncing when the front end was shoved down so it definitely needs shocks and probably springs.
the car has sat unused for a couple of years.
Is stringing in a new wiring harness a nightmare job?
I'm pretty constricted to what I can get away with in repairs where I live so I do have to factor in the cost of having a shop do the big jobs like a front end. I could probably do the harness here, and sorting out other electrical gremlins, though.
Ron

Ron,

First I assuming that you are quoting the cost in Canadian dollars, USD would be slightly less than $12k. None the less I would tend to agree with Robert, for a non-driver it would seem to be on the high side. With regard to the brakes, if one is seizing, it is very likely you are looking at rebuilding the entire brake system or at least tearing it all down for a good cleaning. Not terribly expensive, but it would be time consuming. The front end and shocks all around will need to be rebuilt. Stick with the stock drum brakes until you have a really clear picture of the other work that will be needed.

What about the wiring harness is causing you to think it needs replacing. If the woven covering is falling off, you can use non-sticky black electrical tape (Moss sells it) to patch the bad spots.

Other important things to check might include, gas tank (rust & pin hole leaks), gas pump, batteries and battery carriers, exhaust/muffler (often held on by bailing wire), distributor (often needs a rebuild), carbs (do the throttle shafts feel loose, if so rebuild), throttle and choke linkages, head light alignment (bad alignment could mean front end damage), engine mounts (does the engine hand crank line up through the front bumper), cooling & radiator (what does a run up to Grouse Mt. do to the temp), heater valve (does it work). Has the PO made any significant modifications or substituted non-original parts (like the horn) that might need to be un-done in the future?

My 59 was probably in far worse shape than the one you are looking at, so the things I have mentioned may have no bearing. However, these cars are 50 years old and once you start work on one thing you will quickly find several other issues that you want to take on. Up front decide what level of restoration you are after a daily driver, show car, rallies, or just something fun to drive on Saturday morning.

Lots of great information on Barneys site, http://mgaguru.com/ . On a more positive note the MGA is a great little car and loads of fun. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

John
jjb Backman

Hi Ron, The value of the car depends on the state of the body and chassis - that's what costs the money to restore. Any sign of rust in the floor rails or in the sills and F section (A and B Posts)and you are talking of a body off restoration. If the body and chassis are good then suspension , brake and engine faults are straight forward to replace. The king pins can be tricky and mine cost around £250 just for parts on one side. Take some one from a local club with you to get a better idea - good luck - Cam
Cam Cunningham

Thanks John/Cam,
Yes, the price is in Canadian dollars.
The reasoning for thinking that a full wiring harness would be the easiest repair for the electrics is that my brother and I noticed some wonky home repair to the wiring under the dash and under the hood. Been through that before on old MGB's and I'd rather just get everything up to snuff with a new harness.
The speedo and tach work, but the oil pressure/temp gauge needs replacing so I couldn't see if the engine was running hot, either.
I didn't do a lot of sniffing around the mechanics as with the time constraint we had I was mainly interested in the body. But the exhaust looked decent, although it had a cherry bomb style muffler as opposed to stock. Car was running very rich and the Brit car mechanic(who I've know previously and is an excellent mechanic) fellow showing the car is going to deal with that and the brakes. I was the first person to see the car since it's been put up for sale and none of those issues had been dealt with yet(car was just pulled out of storage). I figure if one was prepared to deal with it himself the price would drop considerably. If the fellow showing it has to deal with it he's going to demand a higher price in order to get his commission from the owner.
I'm looking for a nice presentable rust free driver. The level of panel fit on this car is pretty good. the passenger side rocker/dogleg fit isn't as good as the driver's side, but there is no filler in those areas or anywhere else that I can tell. Replacement panels were used at least. As a 10 footer the car looks very good and quite straight.
A rocker guard looking paint was used under the hood and in the trunk. It's not the soft feeling goopy stuff, but typical hard feeling paint with a texture in it. Don't like it, but at least it wasn't used on the rockers. And the trunk and engine area look very straight and rust free.
Ron

This thread was discussed between 05/06/2009 and 06/06/2009

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