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MG MGA - MGA Honda S2000

Hi, I'm looking for some information online of an MGA which was converted to using a Honda S2000 engine. Does anyone have any links besides the one to Barney' s page? (http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/power/pp510.htm)


Cheers, John
g gillian

Boy, I'll bet that's one quick SOB. That engine redlines at 9000rpm.
Mark J Michalak

Anyone that puts a Honda engine into a MGA should have the emblems ripped off of their car and they should be banned from ever calling it a MGA
Dick Wallrich

Tut-tut. It's a beautiful car, looks very stock, nicely prepared, and what a drive train! If I remember, it was kind of a rescue anyway. Call it what you want.
Steve Meline

Don't know about the MGA but there is a MGB in our club with the S-2000. FASTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
Bob Wrenn

Contact John Hoyle at www.hoyle-engineering.co.uk it belongs to a friend of his. The site is worth a look at aswell

Terry
Terry Drinkwater

This is a fantastic car and John Hoyle is a wonderful engineer. What is your problem with this Dick? There are thousands of boring extra shiney MGAs but very few superb cars like this one.
Bob (robert) Midget Turbo

Bob, since when is an extra shiny MGA boring?

Dick, I wouldn't call it an MGA either. I would call it a custom car based upon an MGA.

It ain't my cup of tea, but to each his own and hopefully the owner enjoys his custom as much as I enjoy my MGA.

PS... my MGA is bored to 1800cc. I hope it's still accepted as an MGA by those more "purist" than myself! :)
Steve Simmons

Another S2000 conversion will hit the road in Australia early 2009..and many thanks to John Hoyle.
Gary Lock

The old car HOBBY has way too many "self righteous snobs". Fortunatly the MGA ranks have fewer of them than most. Most of these obnoxious types are not really car people. They tend to be the ones who's only input in the cars they brag about is the $$$ they spend. Just pretenders with money. This S 2000 MGA is a beautiful and well made car. As is Mangles V8 MGA. Done to such a high standard these types of cars are an exiting part of the HOBBY. We each have an intrest in and a love of MGAs. There is enough room out there for all flavors. The more we can do to promote each other the better off we will all be.
R J Brown

Steve not sure if boring was the best word to use. However if you go to a car show and see a huge row of shiney ££££ restored MGAs and in the row was this car which would you look at the most?
If I have seen one shiney MGA then I have seen a few hundred. On their own they are fantastic, in huge rows they are boring. This car is so unique and has the inherent beauty of the MGA that it must be almost priceless.
Bob (robert) Midget Turbo

RJ, I hear ya and agree. Here is a custom MGA I did a few yrs back as a driver only. I started out with just a set of MGA wheels and tail lites,and a few bits from other marques.


WYATT WOLCOTT

I really like hot rod MGAs, as long as they're well done. The Honda engine transplant is impressive as a feat of engineering and for the way it (presumably) transforms the car. I don't think the powerplant looks "at home", but that's simply modern aesthetics not meshing with old. If you have seen Soldier Field in Chicago lately, you know what I'm talking about. But I do like what that Honda engine brings to the table. Something like a V6 or a rotary conversion doesn't do much for me, but also I really like the look of a V8 in there- classic muscle car looks.

I have thought about building a hot rod A, but I wouldn't use my Coupe as a platform. Now if I had a basket case that had to be brought back from the grave, it would take a lot of time and money but it would be a really cool project that I did myself, produce a really nice car, and at the same time save it from the scrap heap.

If you really have a problem with the MGA/Honda, ask yourself if you'd feel better if that car had been stripped down for parts and the body scrapped.

Mark
Mark J Michalak

Bob, point taken and understood.

Wyatt...... LOL!!!

I prefer keeping historic vehicles in their original configuration for future generations to experience, but also understand the desire of some to tinker and modify. I only hope that those who do this minimize the permanent modifications as much as possible so that the car may some day be returned to it's original form.

MGAs are fairly common now when compared to many classic cars, but some day they will not be! It would be nice to know that care is being taken to preserve the marque, even in modified examples.
Steve Simmons

Wyatt, very Triumph looking.
Gary Lock

Wyatt, I know of a gentleman who did a similar project that ended up looking exactly like the one in your picture. I believe that he kept your items plus the original headlights and perhaps the generator control box. He chose to paint his a factory red instead of the non-MG BRG. I wonder where he got the door handles from?

Actually, has anybody done a parts cross reference between the MGA and TR3? There has got to be a few more common parts.

CHuck
C Schaefer

...gas, oil, anti freeze, battery, air in the tires, for starters.
WYATT WOLCOTT

Why buy an MGA if you don't like it ? In the vintage motor cycle world such items are called Bitzas and are marked down accordingly. They cannot be registered as a vintage / classic and indeed would have trouble being road registered at all without an engineering certificate. Buy a Honda and save all the hassle and $$s Sean N S W
S Sherry

Sean Sherry, your facts are very wrong. Who says this person doesn't like MGAs. I would imagine he does or else he would have chosen a Jag, or Triumph or whatever. I believe that he just wants modern reliability (read that a non-failing fuel pump etc) in attractive MGA clothes. Trust me you could buy a real nice MGA for under $20,000 cash rip the guts out and and have it professionally converted with a Honda 2000 for way less than a new Honda 2000. Also for your information, on the East Coast of Australia at least, we all fall under the one modifiction regulation (Queensland, NSW & Victoria)and this car would only be able to be registered as a 1960's MG whether the owner liked it or not, and he/she would have no issue getting a blue modification plate for this engine conversion as it is clearly within the guidelines. Likewise it would be eligible to be classed and registered as full historic registration(mine does). As one who has worked in the vehicle modifications area of government for 10 years and also owned a highly miodified 1960s MG for over 34 years I can confirm the comment above about presons at car shows passing all the shiny originals (lets see, first the red one, then green then white then another green then another red then a green....) and heading straight for the modified car. My car is an old modified racer, I bought it because that modified factor was appealing to me. It was originally worth nothing and way beyond a full as new sensible restoration so any original parts not required over the years I have removed were given, repeat given to other MGA owners free to assist them in their restorations. Get over the "must be original" theme, MGAs are nearing the peak of their market value with only a handfull of twincams or exceptional cars (in Australia at least) reaching over $30,000. As for values, what some claim to have sold their cars for and the actual price in my experience is quite often somewhat different. As for originality so what, get over it, after all isn't Cecil Kimber's "Old number 1" just a modified Morris??? and after all do you run cross plys on your car... or is it MODIFIED with dare I say......radials?
regards
mark

PS By the way my car has for the last 10 years had a very wealthy American enginneer pestering me from the USA with a substantially increasing offer (more than a really good original MGA)if I ever want to sell, so really value is in the eye of the beholder and not originality
Mark Mathiesen

Mark,

I agree totally with what you say. The reason I am modifying my MGA coupe with a S2000 engine is to get modern mechanicals into a lovely looking car which I have owned for 8 years. I have been through the MGB engine, supercharger, Ford 5 speed box conversion and enjoyed my car with these modifications both on the road and on the track. However I wanted more without ruining the look of the car.

Being an engineer the challenge of carrying out the S2000 conversion is extremely satisfying but should not be taken lightly. To do it properly the front crossmember, the tubular member and the gearbox member have to be modified. The bodywork does not have to be changed at all apart from some mods to the transmission tunnel. Of course then you really have to upgrade the brakes, suspension etc. My car already has a fully independent rear end, limited slip dif, coil over front shocks, ventilated disks etc.

The beauty of the S2000 conversion is that the car is stock on the outside, but totally modern in all the mechanical aspects.

If someone eventually wanted to convert the car back to standard (which mine wasn't mechanically when I bought it) it would need another chassis being realistic, but you can pick those up on ebay for a few hundred pounds. I can't think why anyone would want to do that though when you can pick up a decent coupe for a few thousand pounds. MGAs aren't exactly scarce.

I will also say that by the time I have finished it would have been cheaper to buy a Honda S2000, but to me that is not really the point.

Finally I can't comment on Australia but in the UK the body/chassis of the car determines is age and what is required as regards emissions etc. My car is registered as a 1957 MGA with the S2000 engine in it and will have to pass its annual MOT test. The car will also be insured with the modifications declared as a classic car.

Rod
R J Myers

Yes Mark, I do have a modified '57 A. I run radial tires, a front sway bar and an electronic SU pump. Plus three point seat belts, head rests [ modified the seats ] a high level brake light and side indicators
[ factory fitting for Danish market ? ] All in the name of survival in modern traffic. But it still has an MG heart, the original one , has not had a transplant. No rejection problems Happy motering Sean
S Sherry

Uh - my Jamaican is registered as a 1957 MGA and whie someone else changed the body (I refuse to plead guilty to that) and I changed the driveline, it remains essentially an MGA and has the feel of one. I suppose that with IRS etc. you could eventually deviate far enough from the original to lose any sense of it being an MGA, but mine is pretty far from original specification, yet still FEELS like an MGA when you drive it.

Would I prefer that people modify the more common (in both senses) MGB? Sure. I don't like to see them turn original MGAs into 'bitsas'. But in the end it is their car to do with as they please, and if they start with a derelict car at least they are preserving, albeit in mutant form :-) one more MGA.

I think that the S2000 conversion is VERY interesting and seriousy considered it for the Jamaican, but no one had seen fit to write off their S2000 anywhere near me, so I opted for V6 power.


Bill Spohn

GEEZ dick, i won't park my V6 MGA on your yard next time i come over. if i remove the MGA labels could i install austin-healy ones ala the "nasty boys"??? you know we have a club member that is assembling the parts to do this same conversion?? later, jim
james madson

Bill, it would take a lot of convincing to make me believe that your Jamaican feels like driving an MGA! It's a wonderful car, don't get me wrong. But with a V6, modern-styled body and other "upgrades" I can't imagine that a person would know what they were driving if you didn't tell them.

I demand you that buzz down here and let me take it for a test drive! ;)
Steve Simmons

Steve, the feel of the car is dependent on the chassis configuration. Aside from a more reclined seating position necessitated by the low roof line, this thing is all MG - just as chuckable as any MG set up with big modern rubber, a bit of negative camber, sway bar and good brakes.

I don't know why, but the exhaust note even reminds me of MG, but maybe that's because I also drive an MGC....

Any time you get up to Vancouver, I'd be happy to take you for a drive.
Bill Spohn

I'll be there in a year or two in a '49 TC. Until then I remain thoroughly unconvinced yet very curious! :)
Steve Simmons

Geez, I thought even a TC could make it to Vancouver in under 2 years. Have you tried taking it out of first gear? :-)~
Bill Spohn

Yes, but even second gear can pull tree stumps. Maybe smaller tree stumps than first gear but still!
Steve Simmons

The way I see it there are enough concours MGs to satisfy history. For those of us with less than perfect examples there is no shame in making modifications. You always run the risk of creating something that others will find tasteless but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. At GT-32 I saw Bill's Jamaican, an MGA with an MX5 Twin-Cam, a Twin-Cam with a rotary, and some very well done concours restorations. They were all interesting, but I must admit that I spent more time looking at the modified cars.

Cheers,
Rich
Rich McKIe

mg...... moris garage
the whole marque strated with modifieing cars
throug out the history people have modifyd mg's so get over it!

the only thing i do not like is al the plastic modern looking bits
but if those get a classic out of the shed and back on the road it's super!!
o Könemann

In the latest issue of NAMGAR there is talk of creating a "Certificate of Originality" given to those who request it and whose cars meet the criteria of originality (yet to be determined). Apparently there is a concern about the number of cars with MGB engines, 5 speed trannys, etc.

Even though I have a modified car I think it's a neat idea because cars brought back to (or still in) their original state deserve to be recognized. The popular vote car shows don't always recognize that fact. When my dad first restored his car he was very careful to make everything correctly original and any accessories were period. It was a very nice car, but at car shows when parked next to a car with- for example- metallic paint and chrome go-fasters, it wasn't as spectacular. After a while I think the desire for ultimate originality subsided and he made some changes with the paint, wheels, and interior. The driveablity is improved and while the car is no longer "correct", I think it's a beautiful example.

They're also going to be offering an "Altered A" tech session for those who want to modify their cars to suit their needs, so it's nice to see that most everyone is taken care of.

Mark
Mark J Michalak

This thread was discussed between 30/01/2008 and 15/02/2008

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