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MG MGA - What do you hate about your MGA?

Hi Folks. Almost every car ever made has a trait, problem, or annoyance that most owners hate. What things about your MGA do you folks hate? Personally, I hate the soft top's mickey mouse folding mechanism. Cheers! GLenn
Glenn

I intensly dislike the soft top--so much so that after I fitted it I put it down and it has never been returned to the up position. Not only is a total pain, but I have to scrunch down to see out the windshield with it in place. Traffic lights? forget it. Left side legroom is tight, too, for us larger folks.
R. L Carleen

Can't think of anything that would be the car's fault. If I had to pick something, I would say the lack of driver's leg room. I'm 5'9 and with the seat all the way back I still have to hold my thighs up off the seat to use the pedals. Other than that the car is darn near perfect!
Steve Simmons

Adjusting the points. Easier to take the distributer out. Adjust on the bench, reinsert and retime.

Steve
Steve Gyles

No syncros on 1st, not much on 2nd. No fifth gear. The brakes ('58).

cough..Styling (should have been more wedge-shaped). The old car smell. Loud exhaust. No car payment, No radio, no ABS, no power brakes, no power steering, and no back seat.
Kemper

1. Anything to do with the heater is a bitch to do, and invariably involves blood being drawn by the cable to the door on the bottom of the unit.

2. Bleeding the clutch system.

3. Putting up the soft top.

To the other comments:

Steve - move the rails back on the floor to gain an extra inch - makes a big difference

Kemper a) The brakes are wonderful if in good condition. b)
To achieve a 1st gear synchro, just notch the lever towards 2nd gear, then select 1st, and you will get a graunch free 1st every time. c) with this list, why do you have an A?

dominic clancy

Surely this is the season of goodwill, all the shortcoming's of an 'A' are bearable. Things like points etc are a mere trifle

Steve - have you heard of electronic ignition?

Just rebuilt my Twin Cam water pump this afternoon, a bit of a challenge but turned out OK

Terry
Terry Drinkwater

Turning the key to the off position!
Paul Hanley

dominic:
noun, a sneering, jesting, or mocking a person, situation or thing. Often used in a humorous or ironic manner.

I refuse to use the smiley after any joke, big or small.

I wouldn't use the word "wonderful" to describe any drum brake. Marginal or adequate seems a better fit. The 2nd to 1st trick is old hat. I'm talking on the fly. Finally, I have an MGA because of the reasons I listed above.
Kemper

You guys have tops?!

Hard to fault a car that doesn't know any better.

I'd have to say that trying to find the time to drive them as much as I would like to is definately a pain.

j

John B

Dominic, the heater is an absolute piece of cake after you've worked on an MGB heater. And if you've ever tackled a Magnette heater then the working on the MGA heater becomes a pleasurable experience.

My biggest dislike is all the captive nuts they used. The biggest pita on the car.
Wray Lemke

Parking it for any length of time. Which of course only applies to those who live in the snow belt. I envy those who get to drive their classics all year round. Regardless of all the things we hate about our cars there are a lot more reasons to love them.
Kris Sorensen

Seems funny that I don't have those problems, as I have power brakes, cruise control, electronic ignition, a Factory Alum Hardtop if needed, a five speed and a Judson supercharger for more power. I would say my car is a pleasure to drive. The tires are 185/65 make the car handle like a gem. Even the heater puts out a lot of heat.
JEFF BECKER

I'm with John B.(Denver) I have no complaints. Its doing just what its supposed to do according to 1958 standards. I did do a frame off restoration but did go to a weber carb. Mike
mike

The thought of having to leave it anywhere unattended.
D Sjostrom

Truthfully, there is nothing about my A that I hate.

GTF
G T Foster

The fact that the body is still on sawhorses and will be until I get moving and finish the car.
Scott


And what about those envious looks and comments like "Nice ride!" that you get when you pull up to a stop light. I just hate that!
Frank Nocera

I hate setting the timing on my Twincam - while needing one hand to turn the distributor through the inner fender panel I removed after jacking it up and taking a wheel off and trying to look at timing marks while not getting your shirt caught in the fan belt.......
Bill Spohn

Paul H wins. :)

Dominic, moving the seat rails won't help because the seat back is already against the rear bulkhead and I'm sitting very vertical as it is. I wish there were a way to move the pedals farther back in the footwell. There is plenty of leg room but the pedals are just too far forward!
Steve Simmons

I confess the ride sometimes wears on me after a while. The suspension of course is crude and primitive by todays standards.
Steve
Steve Meline

It's a bitch trying to get that silly grin off my face when driving it.
John H

The heat from the engine compartment mixed with the sun beating down on your head in August while you're stuck in traffic. But luckily that doesn't happen very often.
Mark Lambert

I hate that there is snow (and salt) on the roads and my A is in the garage.

Bill
Bill Boorse

I hate that you guys are finding thisngs that you hate about your A's.
Andy Bounsall

Not driving it/them/her every day.
R J Brown

Having to put it away for the Winter!
Ralph
Ralph

That I had to sell it. Not entirely, but had things been different, and I had had more time to drive it, I might still own one. I am not terribly happy with cars that end up with more time in the garage than on the road. To me, that is a fate worse than death for an old car for many practical reasons, not just my own gratification.
Bob Muenchausen

The only thing I have found I don't like is that I can't fit my 9' 1" long board in when I go to the beach. Getting a bit old for the smaller boards that will fit in.
S P Rossetto

Heat in the foot well.
Lyle Jacobson

Absolutely nothing!
maurie prior

The MGA heater is a breeze to work on compared to a Magnette, or even an older Jag XJ6, or nearly any other modern car. Non- syncro gear..easy to fix that and need for a 5th gear; put in one of the conversion kits that use a newer 5 speed gearbox for a Brit Ford or even the one that uses a Nissan box is OK.
The MGA is my favorite car, simple easy to service, cast iron engine will run forever, no real handling vices, with a bit more powerfor today it's still a wonderful car to drive, but does require some driver input. That's the best part.
Biggest complaint would be the tendency for the top front windshield bow to lift up at speeds above 75 mph which lets in the rain water. Easy to fix with an additional clamp down from a B or available other places that sell race stuff as a body fasteners and the like. The wiper motor is fast enough if in good repair with the wiper gear boxes lubed occasionally (every 4 or 5 years will do it), and short trunk space can be fixed with a nice boot rack addition.
Mine had the aluminium framed sliding side curtains, and was very snug, warm and water tight.
Wayne Hardy

Nothing. Marv
Marv Stuart

I hate the fact that I'm not driving it right now.

Mark
Mark J Michalak

It could use two or three more inches of leg room. I have to sit with my knees splayed apart, with the heel of my right foot under the brake padel, to drive it. It's a small price to pay, but I wish it had the leg room of an MGB.
David Breneman

I'm sure we could all use 2 or 3 more inches !!!
Will Brace

Pulling it in the garage after a great drive up 84 past Alices Restaurant to Half Moon Bay.
Skip

I'm beginning to hate the master cylinder. After replacing with a rebuilt from Worldwide, repairing damaged paint, new hard pipes, lots of other work, I see that the wretched thing is leaking and has started to bubble the newly painted brackets. I haven't even had it on the road yet now have to tear it all down again.
Wray Lemke

I hate that for the 25 or so years my fahter owned the car I only drove it once. The only thing left is I hate that I had to wait this long to find a wonderful woman who owns a 75MGB who understands there are times I just like to go for a ride, just beacause.

Being 6'2" I have no problem with leg room, just don't ask me to get out the car to fast.

Cheers,
Merl
Merl

How can anyone hate something as beautiful as my '59 Coupe? Red/Beige Chrome wires
Baz

Maybe all the cry babys should just go buy a Miata with an automatic trans and a hard top with air and FM streo. You know the kind of sports car that takes the sport part out of it.
Did I say that out loud? Sorry.
Alan

The only thing I have ever hated about the MGA is not owning one!!!! To me this clasic car is a hobby and a love affair with something which wiil never be again. No matter what it throws at me I will overcome and lovingly fix. I only wish I had two of them. Ah.... If she only had lips.
Terry B

I have never owned an 'A', but have worked on quite a few. And owned a '65 'B' and many Sprites. Many with the non-syncromesh 1st gear. I grew up, learning to drive an old '52 Dodge pickup. Without syncro on 1st and 2nd.

Double clutch!
Hard to learn, but even works on fully syncro transmissions.

Ok, so you want 1st gear while still rolling?
OK, first you need to match the engine rpm to the speed of the car, to the speed of the gears, whilst in nuetral, clutch out.
Got it?
Now keeping the rpm correct, [hard to learn] shove the clutch in, and select the gear.
Right?
If it grinds, then the rpm isn't right.
On syncro trans. it even makes the shifts smoother.

Might take a bit of practise, but I learned.
Safety Fast
Dwight




Dwight

Wray use silicon fluid to stop the paint damage.
R J Brown

The thing I absolutely cannot stand about MGAs after buying my first one as a car to drive to work, meticulously repainting it, learning how British engines and drivelines work, racing it and winning several trophies, driving it daily to and from work and selling it for $250 in 1972 or thereabouts is that they now go for 10K or more. So I bought an 80 LE instead.
Rick Penland

There's nothing to hate about an MGA - some things can be irritating, like the hood taking 15 minutes to put up when it rains - by which time you're thoroughly soaked and wondering why you bothered - but it's part of the fun of ownership. The lack of synchro on 1st gear isn't an issue - who uses 1st gear on the move anyway? When starting from stationary, I agree the best thing is to pull the lever towards 2nd then push it into 1st. Goes in without a clunk every time. The "heater" only works in summer, but so what?

There are far many more good points in driving MGA's than irritating ones!
D J Hill

The stock steering wheel is the size of a large pizza. Too bad somebody doesn't make a repro steering wheel that's a little smaller in diameter. The wheel looks nice, but I feel like I'm steering with a hula-hoop.
There. I said it.
John Vallely

Who uses first gear on the move ... I do, but the car came to me with a C/R 'box and a 1500 engine.

Actually it's one of the things I like about the car now.
Dan Smithers

This thread was discussed between 11/12/2005 and 22/12/2005

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