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MG MGA - MGA twin cam

I have found a mga twincam not driven for 10 years 1959 coupe' engine overhauled before taken off road, complete rebore new con rods big end etc. 41,000 miles before overhaul, some racing history,receipts for all work,now paint work bubbled engine turns over on handle Rear block core plug blown waterpump seized brakes seized, apart from that not too bad. my question, are body shells still available? and what is it worth now and if rebuilt? what is the engine worth on its own? thanks for your interest.
Adrian wells
Thomas WELLS

Hi Thomas - Genuine, complete and working twin cam engines are like hens teeth over here in the UK. Could be worth up to £10k on it's own if it can be seen running. No body shell available although repro panels are available (wings are about £350+ but usually poor fit) - no one is making the chassis but they occasionally come up on ebay. Rebuilt with provenance of history might be worth £30k - but rebuild costs could equal that unless you do it all yourself. cheers Cam
Cam Cunningham

In North America complete engines are going for $6000.-8000.US.
As Cam mentioned body shells are not available but repair panels are. If you can find a (relatively) rust free shell from a pushrod car the special Twin-cam bits from the old shell should be swapped over as they increase the value of the car substantially.
Please don't think about parting out the car as they only built 2100 of them and it is a shame to see the survivors destroyed. Regardless of the condition Twin-cams are worth saving even if a pushrod car is sacrificed as a donor, and with the value of Twin-Cams today (particularly Home Market cars, which are very rare) restoration is often cost-effective. In NOrth America excellent examples have gone for $40,000.+

Cheers,
Rich
Rich McKIe

Adrian,
You state that it is mostly in good shape. You should look towards repairing the existing vehicle before you replace body shells. I am sure that in GB there are reputable shops that can completely restore the vehicle, and I would look that way first.
My two cents. (tuppence)
Mike
Mike Parker

Thomas

get in touch with Bob West in Pontefract - not too far away and the real Twin Cam experts expert! He can give you a good guide on restoration costs for a durable and quality job.
dominic clancy

Hi Thomas, there may not be that many people with sufficient funds wishing to pay for either a full restoration or a fully restored twin cam, I believe Bob West told me he has three awaiting customers for restoration and Simon Robinson has at least one, so obviously they can't find customers at the moment

gordon
g c pugh

hi thomas i have a few nicw coupe body shells for mga,s
p chamberlain

Thank you all for the input on the twin cam I agree it would be a shame to break the car due to its history alone, as I am an MG enthusiast it would be a last resort. The chassis seems in excellent condition there is no rot on the body just paint bubbling not from underneath but as though the paint job has not been prepared correctly. I am thinking of purchasing it as it is going relatively cheap, about the 3K mark.
Regards Adrian Wells.
Thomas WELLS

Maybe you can get it in nice drivable shape for under $10K. That would be a bargain, and a good investment. Just buying it to resell sounds like it would be a good opportunity for you. But talk to trusted experts first.
Tom

Hi Adrian/Thomas - if you can get the car for £3k then go for it. If the body , chassis and engine are as good as you say then it shouldn't be an expensive job to refurbish the car to running order rather than completely restore it - you can then do a rolling restoration on a daily driver and get some fun out of it - good luck Cam
Cam Cunningham

Adrian

Tongue in cheek - if you don't go for it, let me know. I am certainly interested.

Steve
Steve Gyles

hi Adrian where are you in lincs as i am from scu*thorpe.
have you a contact number
p chamberlain

When I was 18 yrs old I passed up the opportunity to purchase a twin cam converable due to no oil pressure. Little did I know back then. Buy the car. Do not let this prize disappear. If you do not... believe me you will regret it. This is a prize. Take advantage of your opportunity.
Gordon
Gordon Harrison

Message for P Chamberlain If you send me youir Email I will contact you. Adrian Wells.
Thomas WELLS

I can't resist. This is funny. Neither P.C. nor Adrian is willing to post their email address in public. It's like leaving a message on an cork board, "Call me and I'll give you my phone number".
Barney Gaylord

hi
my email is
chambomg@aol.com
all the best paul
p chamberlain

Or....can you get my car keys,I can't remeber where I left them
Gordon Harrison

For the club records....

Whats the chassis number of this one please?
Any photo's also?

Email me offline if you like.

Cheers
Mark.
499 & 801 !!!

Mark Hester

Thomas do not contact anyone for the time being. There are a lot of people about who will just want to profit from your find.

Believe me if the car is indeed a twin cam then 3K no matter what condition is a bargin

Regards repairing it take advice from people who are not here to make money from you and the advise you will get will be first class. There are no bodies for these cars and if there were it would still be an enormous job changing the body. It is normal that the cheapest way to repair the body is to get someone to do yours, you end up with one that fits exactly. All these cas were hand built and the dimensions of everyone was different. Hence a wing from one car will not fit another car exactly.

From your point of view if you fancy a twin cam then buy this one and then decide how you want to go forward. If you do not want it then give details to us all on this board and who pays the most will get the car. Simple.
Bob (robert) yes Y8 is toast again :)

This thread was discussed between 13/08/2007 and 26/08/2007

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