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MG MGA - V8 MGA on Ebay

Just spotted this ebay auction for a V8 engined MGA - looks a good restoration but untried. It's in Batley Yorkshire UK - anyone seen it or know it?
ebay listing number 180481265150
Cam Cunningham

What do you think he means "de seamed wings" I can only think that they have been welded to the body and filled over to make the lines cleaner, that’s fine and the car looks great but at what point do you stop calling a car classic (and possibly modified) and start to call it custom, I’m not implying that custom is a bad thing (if you like custom) but I think something as drastic as welding the wings on takes away something, I think it must also affect the cars resale value, It's only my opinion and I will probably get shot down but, hay ho, Vin.

P.S Ihave an mgb engine and a ford gearbox fitted so words like "STONES" and "GLASS HOUSES" do spring to mind
Vin Rafter

Ugh, I hate to think of the time and expense that would be involved in making that car right again.
Del Rawlins

"making it right" ...that depends on your vision... plenty of original MGAs out there,not too many "individualistic/stylitic" classic As though
regards
Mark or
Mark Mathiesen

I assume Del you mean putting it back to standard trim. Anyone buying this probably wouldn't want to do that.
Vin - The de-seaming certainly puts it in the custom car bracket and will give the purists a heart attack just looking at it. I'll bet that it gives plenty of problems debugging the conversion.
Cam Cunningham

I like the car and the ideas in it (V8). I would like to see how smooth an A looks with the wing and shroud contoured. I would love it.
DJ Lake

I don't think the seats would stay that colour for very long.
Malcolm Asquith

I like it too, a very tasteful and well executed job. Surely you could de-seam it simply by "glassing" and filling the wing joints, preparation and sealing of the underside of the wing joints would have to be done well to make it last but it would be fairly easy to undo; if you wanted to. Would the body lift off with the wings in-situ?
Lindsay Sampford

The car looks to be a mouth watering prospect.
I notice there is no heater so I would guess that you have have to wear fire proof leggings to withstand the heat soaking through the bulk head.

Also no mention is made of whether or not the gearbox, back axle, diff ratio and brakes have been uprated to cope with all the torque that the V8 produces.

If I didnt already have an MGA I think I would have been quite tempted to bid for it.
Colyn
Colyn Firth

Nice work. I am surprised he has it for sale while still completing the rebuild.

Malcolm. I have magnolia seats. Still looks good after 12 years.

Steve
Steve Gyles

It looks like a good job, but two things bother me.

First is the "de-seam" that will surely crack with time, probably sooner than later.

The second thing is that the car has not been driven! Implies to me that there is something really not right mechanically. Even if it does drive OK, one would have to debug someone else's work on a non standard product, could be lots of fun there!
Neil McGurk

Having owned a 1600 pushrod Roadster and a Twin Cam Coupe. I for one wish the MGA had evolved in to something like this car instead of the V8 MGB that we ended up with. Still it's a very nice car and will be watching the bids very closely.
Stuart.
sd wilson

>First is the "de-seam" that will surely crack with
>time, probably sooner than later.

Exactly. If they left the fenders bolted on, and only used some sort of filler, it will most likely develop cracks if it is driven much. OR, if they welded the fenders on, the cracking might not develop, but then you can forget about ever removing a fender without performing some major surgery. The V-8 conversion actually bothers me a lot less than what they did to the body.
Del Rawlins

Why are you worried Del? it is not your car so no need to worry, is there?

I think the car is fantastic and wish more people would do wondeful things to such great motor cars.

There are a good number of well modified cars about, Rotary, jap twin cams etc. good luck to them all.
Robert (Bob) Midget Turbo

I agree with Bob..this is an absolutely stunning conversion and looks to be of the highest quality. I believe it is a tragedy that the mga mark did not stay longer and develop along these lines instead of being replaced by the boring MGB design. A good design and engineering eye has been behind this logical evolution ..clean lines and loads of umph...
Wish I could get my hands on it ..it makes me drool ( not a pleasant sight in a 66 yr old!) to see that engine bay. Hope the guy gets a really good price .I think I would be amongst the bidders if I lived in UK.....especially after seeing that some UK twit paid 26000 quid for a bog standard 1500.
Neil
Neil Ferguson

Just noticed the boot rack is fitted wrong way up!
http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/accessories/at102.htm
Lindsay Sampford

There are a number of ways that the wings could have been "de-seamed", and hot-rodders do it all the time. I don't believe she's a lead sled, but you just don't know unless you ask the seller. Nice car, but a scarcity of pictures. I would like to see more pics if I were bidding.
Mike Parker

>I believe it is a tragedy that the mga mark did not
>stay longer and develop along these lines instead of
>being replaced by the boring MGB design.

The only reason the MGB seems boring by comparison is that they built it for so long, and that development essentially ended with the introduction of the GT. The MGA had a good run and with the Mark II they quit on a high note. The real tragedy is that they didn't do the same with the B in 1970 or so.
Del Rawlins

Del..
as they say 'it is all in the eye of the beholder'. However this beholder's discerning eye compares the curved ,aerodynamic shape of the MGA with the flattened ham sandwich look of the mgb with sides like halves of a salami sausage.
To compound the situation the latter did go on much too long as well with disgusting design perversions like the 'rubber nose' and the boxy top heavy ugly MGB Gt.
I suspect the decision was made from the inside of the car to the outside and they could not get a non chassis version of the MGA beauty......
...and now they are a Chinese company..sad stuff!!
Neil Ferguson

It just goes to show that there is no accounting for taste. I basically grew up with the MGA, and I see that thing on ebay with the filled seams as being an abhomination of an elegant, nearly ideal design and an affront to the memory of Syd Enever. On the other hand, I actually like the looks of MGB-GT, and I think that they did a good job of making the top half look like it belonged there. Of course I like the A better, but I do recognize that MG wasn't in the business of producing art objects; they were in the business of selling cars. The MGA was contemporary when it was introduced, but by the time the B came out, styles were trending away from those sorts of curves. I think that the best argument in the B's favor is that they were able to take the basic car, give the exterior a bit of a "melt" job, and produce it 30 years later as the RV8.
Del Rawlins

Actually guys I have genuine documentation showing that 2 guys in USA built 3 prototype MGA V8s in the very early 60s and tried to market them to the big USA makers but were unsuccessful, One of the prototypes still exists with one of the original builders. The letter I have from the guy is really quite facinating. On another note my MGA V8 also has the fiberglass wings de-seamed and bonded to the steel shroud and mine has held together without cracking for over 20 years including a number of those when I raced it...just depends on how it was done. Not sire if I would be allowed to scan letter and place here, would itbe a breach of privacy? I'm sure you would all find it facinating and could only be a testament to the designer/builder, lrt me know your thoughts please
regards
Mark
Mark Mathiesen

I have asked the seller about the transmission and he says that there is a Sierra 5 speed box fitted, a larger than standard prop shaft but he was unsure about the back axle. He was going to examine it to see if he could identify it.

My first MGA which I bought in 1973 was a 1600 coupe which had been resprayed to cover acres of rust and holes.The inner sills were beautifully fabricated sections of pine fixed with steel woodscrews and on top of all the holes and filler was a lovely paint job with the wings perfectly de-seamed.
It looked great for a few months but started to fall apart soon afterwards.
So I tend to look with suspicion at a de-seamed MGA, it just seems to be a little un necessary.
Colyn
Colyn Firth

Sorry Mark, I hadnt read your post when I wrote the above. I do like the look of the de-seamed MGA but its a lot of work to make it look good. I would have thought that the only way to be certain it has been properly done (and for aesthetic reasons rather than being a way to try and disguise corrosion )is to do it yourself like you did.
I would love to see a photo of your car.
Cheers
Colyn
PS I would imagine you can put a copy of the letter on this forum so long as the writer agrees. Tell him that we would all be really interested to read it
Colyn Firth

"unsure about the back axle"? Sounds odd, what else is he unsure of? Not steering and brakes I hope!
Neil McGurk

On a historical note, the book I have in front of me says that the company evaluated a V4 unit for the MGA, following the problems with the Twin Cam. Subsequently this was factored into the MGB's development. Unfortunately BMC then abandoned plans to introduce V4 and V6 units. The rest is history.

Steve
Steve Gyles

My first MGA had de-seamed wings, I believe it was often don when fitting fibreglass glass wings in the early 70's when wing beading was a little difficult to aquire.

I like the look of the V8 conversion and if the car was local I would go and have a look at it.

...JB
John Bray

Steve, I used the word "unsure" when I perhaps should have said uncertain.
It appears that the seller is not the person who carried out the conversion and therefore doesnt know the full spec of the car. I should have also asked about the back axle to see what has been done to locate it to cope with the extra power.
(And also if there is an extendable fuel probe fitted to allow in flight re-fuelling, Just up your street Steve!)
Colyn
Colyn Firth

I've had my 215 Buick powered '57 MGA on the road for 9 years with no problems. I've had 3 MGAs, the other 2 were stock. The V8 is a blast to drive and I would never go back to a 4 cylinder again. The V8 is all stock on the outside, no de-seams. I wouldn't mind the de-seam look, it just looks like a lot of work to do. The only way a anyone can tell my car is a V8 is by the twin tail pipes and when I start it up, that's pretty much a dead give away. My wife and I use the motorcycle trailer that I pained the same color as the car for a trunk when we travel. As you know there is not much space in a MGA trunk with the spare tire. Details, google Lyle Jacobson MGA v8, Also, check out my sons '73 MGB. Google Bill Jacobson supercharged MGB v8. We're a MG family.

Lyle


Lyle Jacobson

Now that is what you call an MGA Lyle.
I just looked up the Lyle Jacobson MGA V8 on Google as you advised and it looks to be a fantastic car.

You put a hell of a lot of work into the project and the impressive thing is that you have documented and photographed everything on the way.

If your car was ever put up for sale (not so likely I would imagine!), no one would ever be able to question the quality of the workmanship!

I nearly asked you how difficult it would be to take out the engine to rebuild it, but then I realised that with an engine so big in a street Mga, we would all probably tucked away in our retirement homes before the engine needed any attention!
Colyn
Colyn Firth

Lyle - I like your tip at the end of the article - "Don't cut up a good MGA".
The fact that you effectively put 2 scrappers back on the road justifies your project and silences the purists - great stuff.
Cam Cunningham

Interesting comments guys!

I took the decision to go the V8 route some years ago, after deliberating for some time over its restoration. In the end I reasoned that as my A would never be 'correct' - due to the many missing parts (including engine and gearbox), this route would not be destroying a classic.

Some comments on this car, which I agree looks fantastic. I think that it may have on ebay a few years ago, in an unfinished state. If so the wings are GRP and probably the reason for de-seaming (which I dont like either). The gearbox is the Rover V8 box (LT77),as is mine and not a Sierra box - if I'm right about it origins then the rest of the drivetrain is MGB GT V8. There was also an issue with the position of the steering rack but of course this may well have been resolved now (it took me many weeks of millimeter repositioning before I got mine right). Also cooling may be an issue, with the fairly restrictive standard grille allowing cool air in and only a few louvres to allow hot air out. And of course it wont need a heater with an all ally floor and bulkhead (except maybe for extra cooling capacity).

I'd be interested to know why it is for sale again before it has really been driven and I suspect there is quite a lot de-bugging still to do.


Chris Bond

This thread was discussed between 14/03/2010 and 19/03/2010

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