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MG MGA - MGA 'J'

Friend told me of and an MGA for sale in Lakeland bad condition, roll bar with V 6 on the floor of the car. The guy selling said it was on consignment and didn't know anything about the car, but did say it was an MGA "J" type price tag $12,000.
Is there such a car ?

Dave FL
MGC. MGB
DJ white

No. Maybe the "J" designation is for "joke."
Ken Korey

Maybe it's not an MGA but a J-Type

The MG J-type was produced by the MG Car company from 1932 to 1934. This 2 door sports car used an updated version of the overhead camshaft, crossflow engine, used in the 1928 Morris Minor and Wolseley 10 and previously fitted in the MG M-type midget of 1929 to 1932, driving the rear wheels through a four speed non-synchromesh gearbox. The chassis was from the D-Type with suspension by half elliptic springs and Hartford friction shock absorbers all round with rigid front and rear axles. The car had a wheelbase of 86 inches (2184 mm) and a track of 42 inches (1067 mm). Most cars were open two seaters but a closed salonette version of the J1 was also made and some chassis were supplied to external coachbuilders. The open cars can be distinguished from the M type by having cut away tops to the doors.

The J1 was the four seat car in the range. The engine was the 847 cc unit previously seen in the C-type with twin SU carburetors giving 36 bhp. The car cost 220 in open and 225 in Salonette form.
[edit]J2

The J2 was the commonest car in the range and was a road going 2 seater. Early cars had cycle wings but these were replaced in 1933 by the full length type that was typical of all sports MGs up to the 1950's TF. The top speed of a standard car was 65 mph but a specially prepared one tested by The Autocar magazine reached 82 mph. The car cost 199.

There were a few serious failings of the J2, most seriously that it only had a two bearing crank shaft which will break if over-revved. The overhead camshaft drive is by a vertical shaft through bevel gears, a shaft which also forms the armature of the dynamo. Any oil leak from the cambox seal goes into the dynamo brushgear and likely a fire.Another problem was that it was not fitted with hydraulic brakes, but had Bowden cables to each drum. These require no more pedal force than any other non-power-assisted drum brake, provided that they're well maintained and aren't sloppy or stretchy. The drums themselves are small and even in period it was a common modification to replaced them with larger drums from later models.


dominic clancy

Gollygosh Dominic, that was a masterly refresher. My recollection is that there would be no room for a V6 on the floor of a J2.
Shanerj

Lifted straight from Wikipedia. I wondered about the space too, but it is said to be on the floor, so that could mean anything!
dominic clancy

"In Lakeland bad condition, roll bar with V6 on the floor of the car" ???????
Any chance you could explain what this mean?
Tx
GTF
G T Foster

sounds like it should read, "a roll bar. V6 in the floor of the car." This would mean it's not installed. Still, would that mean that there's an engine installed???
Mike Parker

"roll bar with V 6 on the floor of the car", could also read as:

- roll bars with twin hoops, or just badly damaged when rolled ("roll bar with V")

- It has a 6-speed gearbox with floormounted gearchange (as opposed to columnchange) ("6 on the floor")

As above the J stand for joke, especially the pricetag of 12.000 for a vandalised MGA in bad condition?
Willem vd Veer

Thanks Dominic but it is an A.

You guys are a little caustic for my taste, You have actually put me off buying an A.

Dave FL
DJ white

Easy there Dave,
This whole thread is tongue-in-cheek. We're just having fun with the MGA "J" concept. Someone, it seems, is mis-representing what the marque actually is. Don't let this little "jest" make you think that the folks on this site don't think that the MGA was the finest LBC ever made or that we're not a friendly, helpful group. If you are interested in owning one you've come to the right place.
Sorry if it left the wrong impression.
Buy an A, join the fun, you won't regret it.
Cheers,
Gerry
G T Foster

Tongue-in-cheek indeed, Dave! An MGA is a very nice car, available in such quantity that it is better to buy another car at $ 12.000.

I wouldn't mind a V6 MGA when properly executed, there are several beautiful MGA's with the BUICK/Rover 3.5ltr V8 that I would love to own.
Willem vd Veer

And my twinc has a Buick in it sometimes, sometimes x2, but not often bolted in....
Andrew B
A Buick

This thread was discussed between 20/06/2010 and 24/06/2010

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