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MG MGA - originality question

I have a right hand MGA 1960 that I am doing a ground up restoration on. My question is that I have sent for a heritage certificate and the original color was Dove Gray with a red interior. I was going to paint the car red or black with a beige interior because that is what I think sells best. I am doing the car to sell and was thinking that I should paint the car the original colors. What are your thoughts?
GK George

That's why it's called resale red! In theory original is best, but the sad fact is you will attract more (if not such discerning) customers with red.
Neil McG

I restored my car as a birthday present for my wife. She had always wanted a little red sports car and despite my pleas to paint it the original Glacier Blue, insisted on red. And not the original Orient Red (too orange for her taste), a very bright red.

Just as I was finishing the car, she saw an old Thunderbird painted in a color similar to Glacier Blue. She commented that she actually liked the color now. I recommended she never bring it up again.
Larry Wheeler

George. Where do you expect to sell the car? And, to whom?

About 90% of the MGAs were shipped to the US, all of them left hand drive which works quite well since we drive on the right hand side of the road. A less well learned by the MG company after their post WWII sales of the TC which was only available in right hand drive format. But, the TD was imported as a left hand drive car for the very good reason that the right hand drive was not considered desirable here in the US.

The cost of doing a frame up restoration, of good quality, is quite high. Most people who have done a quality restoration note that the expense was more than the car was capable of being resold for. But, owning a car they had restored, knowing the quality of the work that went into the restoration, and getting to know their car intimately made up for the monetary loss of the restoration.

I think that the color to paint the car should be a function of the intended sales audience. The quite expensive frame up restoration is most commonly targeted at the collector market, not the casual driver market. A collector does not purchase a show quality car to have it picked apart by the judges for its lack of originality at car shows.

At the same time, the individual who only wants to drive a classic car will seldom be interested in paying the true price of a frame up restoration with a good quality paint job. There are so many alternative vehicles available, all with left hand drive and many with air conditioning. (While we tend to think of our cars as "true classics", younger friends tend to think of cars made in the 1970s to 1990s as their true classics and our cars as simply "old cars".)

I think you need to research your potential market base, come up with a cost estimate of what it will cost, in both time and money, to restore the vehicle, and what would be the selling price of such a fully restored vehicle.

The only way I know to turn a monetary profit on restoring, properly, a classic car is to be the restoration shop picked to do the job on a vehicle someone else owns. Properly done, the quality restoration of an MGA may well exceed the cost of a new Miata or similar vehicle. And, misrepresenting, even by honest error, the quality of a "fully restored classic car" can be quite expensive in both time and legal expenses.

If you have to ask strangers about what color to paint the car you are restoring, you might want to revisit and revise your business plan for this activity. You do not, at this time, have a target market, nor even know if such a market exists.

Les
Les Bengtson

There are a very limited number of people in the U.S. who want a right-hand drive MGA; my thinking is that anyone who may be interested would want a car that conforms to the Heritage Certificate.
David Werblow

I think red it is. I am doing the car to sell but if I do not get what I think it is worth I will sell one of my other cars and keep I, I think I have fourteen. This car was, I am told, shipped to Saudi Arabia and ended up in the hands of a pilot who had it shipped home when he came home. I have been to many MGA GT's and do not recall seeing many right had drive cars. I think I saw one at the GT in Chattanooga a few years back. I am thinking that in one of the countries that drive on that side of the road this car would be very desirable.
GK George

RHD is for the UK, Australia and South Africa (probably the 3 main users of the MGA), but you would need to also consider the shipping costs to get it across. Added to your desirable asking price this could make it an unattractive buy. Most cars we (in the UK) buy from the USA are LHD barn finds; bought for relatively low prices then restored and converted over here. Mind you, the pound is rising against the dollar at the moment while your government sorts out its budget, so may be a good time to buy!

Steve
Steve Gyles

Hi George - Steve is right in that a rhd car will sell for more money over here in UK than in USA. My car is an original black with red interior and gets lots of admiring comments - but when next to a red or white car it just doesn't get noticed.
Cam Cunningham

I would like to think that the importance of originality is rising and more greatly appreciated now than it was, say 20 years ago. Over here a lot of owners are turning away from the red-BRG standards that we see everywhere. I know that my Birch Grey TF (see photo) is a oft' admired car and not at all 'outshone' by the reds. I see particularly amongst the Pre War MG owners that restorers are favouring the softer colours and rarer combinations.

Matthew.


M Magilton

Of all the red MGAs built, 137% of them are still on the road.
David Breneman

My Iris Blue Coupe (original colour and engine) Gets well noticed and seems to stand out amongst the reds and is particularly liked by the ladies!!
I concur with others the cost of restoring properly will not be recouped on selling- my coupe had around 30k spent on restoration and I would be lucky to get 18k
Paul
P D Camp

Personally I will not keep a Red or BRG and derivatives car for myself. Even if originally it was Red or Green.

I am going to great pains to change the colour of my MGA (bought Dk. Green) back to its original Glacier Blue. The car is all numbers matching so I am going back to the way it was manufactured.
C.R. Tyrell

Everyone says you can't recoup expenditure but some companies appear to do it, e.g. Oselli. Am I mising something?

Paul
Paul Dean

Interesting. (Bear with me - this is relevant to GK George's original post)

I am coming close to having some serious work done on the body of my 1600 coupe.

I had bought a 10 year old car that was completely knackered - the replacement engine had a serious oil habit, door posts and outer cills had been replaced (pop rivets) and all metal had gone from the body up to about a foot (30cm) from the ground. It was white with a black roof.

I did a nut & bolt reconstruction using glass fibre repairs on the original body parts (no steel replacement parts were available at that point) with the intention of doing a proper job at some time in the future.

So here we are, the bodge job has lasted OK.
40 years and 150,000 miles and some experiences later (see pic) the car is a reliable old friend, street legal and a regular drive.
But looking somewhat dishevelled (none of the MGA drivers at last year's rally to Crofton would speak to me)

BUT It's white.
Built dove grey.
SO, when I bite the bullet and get the bodywork up to scratch, should it be white, or Grey?
What is it's true identity after all this time?

David


D Brown

With that picture in mind I would go for duck egg blue!

Steve
Steve Gyles

Steve
:o)
It was underwater for a couple of weeks - and more a sort of silt brown with green roof
David
D Brown

This thread was discussed between 14/10/2013 and 07/11/2013

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