Since we covered my MGB GT yesterday, it seemed fitting to feature its predecessor, the MGA today. Its own predecessor was the MG T-type, a much more old school looking vehicle that resembles the MGA only in its outward oozing of Britishness. This car was a dramatic shift in styling from the T-type and showcased sleeker design elements and svelte body lines. This is a photo I took years ago at a car show on the Minnesota State Fair grounds. It’s a beautiful example, but the paint on the car is not a factory color as near as I can tell. Who cares though? It looks fantastic.
The MGA had a seven year production run from 1955-1962, during which time there were just over 101 thousand MGA roadsters and coupes produced. They featured body on frame construction (remember yesterday, the mention of the MGB’s new monocoque structure?) and were a rear wheel drive car with drum brakes on all four wheels. Later, the front wheels were upgraded to discs, though if you get your hands on one of these MGAs nowadays (lucky you!) and it’s still got the drums in front, you should really just throw authenticity out the window and upgrade to discs -after all, the car won‘t stay original for very long if you can‘t get it to stop before plowing into the back end of the vehicle in front of you.
The MGA originally came with a 1500 cc engine (well, technically it was 1489cc, but we like to round up) and produced 68HP (which was later adjusted to 72HP). Weighing in at just under one ton, that was an acceptable amount of power to send the MGA whizzing along. There were a few engine upgrades made during its production run, and eventually they settled on a 1622cc engine that made 90HP and 97 lb ft of torque. It‘s a small car, at just over 4‘ tall, 4‘10“ wide, and 13‘ long, and seats only two. If you ever get an opportunity to be one of those two people who gets to ride in one, I say take it.
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