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MG MGA - the 100,000th MGA

I just came across an interesting bit in the December issue of Classic and Sports Car. Many of you may have seen photos of the 100,000th MGA coming off the assembly line, resplendant in brilliant gold paint. It was shown at the '62 New York Motor show, but there was never any info as to what eventually happened to it.

The C & SC article fills in the rest of the story. Seems the car toured dealerships for a while, and while it was gracing a showroom in Nashville, a guy fell in love with it and somehow signed a contract to purchase it. The dealer balked, pointing out that the car wasn't for sale, but legal action soon saw the car in the hands of the purchaser.

He drove it for 8,000 miles, then parked it in his farmyard when it developed a minor problem (stated in the article as possibly an incorrectly replaced fuel pump). There it sat for years, exposed to the elements. The guy's brother loved the car, and became an MGA fan and owner as a result. But his offers to buy and restore the car were always refused. In the meantime, the car was completely overgrown by weeds. The "before" photo in the story makes it plain that this car had become really rotten due to exposure. The owner died in October of 2000, and the brother was given the car by his niece, who had inherited the farm.

Making a long story short, the brother has now restored the car to its original glory, and it looks fabulous in the photos. Interesting, as I always assumed this milestone MGA was surely in a museum or private collection somewhere.

-:G:-
Gryf Ketcherside

SAw this MGA at the NAMGAR conv. in Mich. my only suggestion was he should have clipped the Lambs wool
before insalling it as carpet...
TOM PEOTTER

http://www.100000thmga.com !
Willem van der Veer

Thanks, Willem!

-:G:-
Gryf Ketcherside

The pimpmobile carpet has got to go. The original had low cut-pile lambswool, not the deep-shag stuff in the current car. It looks pretty silly. Maybe a set of vinyl-covered fender skirts and an illuminated swan hood ornament would set off the present carpeting to best effect. :-)

The car deserves better.


David Breneman

I too saw the car at Mackinaw City this July and met the owner, Fred Skomp. Fred is a wonderful guy and is fully aware that some of the elements of the restoration were not done correctly. He runs a marina down in Key West and the restoration was done by "experts" up in Indiana I believe, so he had a long-distance relationship with the people doing the work. There were 12 cars in the MKII category and this one finished 4th in the popular choice balloting, so that tells a story by itself.
Ken Doris

Three cheers for Fred Skomp!!! No matter the fine details of the restoration, It WAS restored and is still living and well. Keep them with us, folks!
R.A. Carnes

This thread was discussed between 30/11/2005 and 10/12/2005

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