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Another first-time LBC Owner

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Smesne

Smesne

Freshman Member
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My brother had an AH Sprite in high school and I still remember how much fun it was.

Now that high school is a long, distant memory, I decided to deal with my mid-life crisis by restoring a 1957 MGA 1500 Roadster. The car is actually to be a 50th birthday present for my wife, so I'm shooting to have it finished in a little over a year.

The good:
The car has NO bondo, minimal rust and the body appears very straight. All body parts are there and the windshield is the unbroken original. While the car was stored outside, it was in Spokane Washington so it stayed very dry for the last 12 years. The engine and transmission appear to be in fairly good condition and both turn easily by hand.

The bad:
No top, radiator, exhaust or intake manifold, driveline, grill or passenger seat. Also, the steering wheel has dissolved and both bumpers are fairly tweaked. The engine is definitely not the original one. In fact, it's not even an MGA engine (some helpful folks have told me it came from an American Motors Metropolitan), so I'll be looking for a replacement 1500.

Some of the missing parts may be in the trunk (boot for those of you across the pond), but I can't tell because I haven't been able to open it yet. The previous owner couldn't either, so he's no help.

I drove to Spokane, WA to get the car and towed it back to Portland, OR, approximately 400 miles each way. I had reserved an auto trailer with U-Haul, but when I went to pick it up they decided my truck wasn't big enough and was only willing to rent me the two-wheel tow dolly. I made it home after only four tire changes with three flat tires on the MGA and one on my truck.

The PO bought the car from a guy who tore it apart to restore and never finished. He got it to fix up for his daughter's college graduation. Apparently, neither happened so, after 12 years, his wife wanted her yard back.

Apparently, the guy I got it from never transferred the title because the last date on it is from 1996. The sale price at that time was $120!

I guess I have to sign up for Photobucket or something similar to post pictures, I'll try to put a couple up once I figure out how to do that.
 
Welcome!


I bet you're gonna find a couple manifolds in th' boot. :wink:

Mebbe even a desiccated Jimmy Hoffa. :smile:
 
Who knows, maybe some eccentric old coot stored his stash of hundred dollar bills in it!

Or more likely, he hid his Penthouse collection from his wife in there.

I'm going to try posting some pictures now.

DSCN0853_Standard_e-mail_view.jpg


https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcforum/photopost/uploads/9457/DSCN0855_Standard_e-mail_view.jpg

https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcforum/photopost/uploads/9457/DSCN0862_Standard_e-mail_view.jpg
 
Smesne said:
Who knows, maybe some eccentric old coot stored his stash of hundred dollar bills in it!
Click to expand...

Nah...putting hundred dollar bills into it is YOUR job now! :smile:

Glad to have you here; looks like a fun project. If the body/frame are good, the misc. items should not be a real problem.

Ray
 
Smesne,

Welcome to the Forum......

I have just finished (a relative term) a five year frame-off on my '57 A....

I would advise this..... If you are going to replace the engine anyway and if the tranny is the original A tranny, I strongly recommend finding a 3-main 1800 from an early B to put into the A.... No modifications necessary to the car or tranny and the performance will be substantially better...

Had I to do this again that I would definately go that route. The 1500 is a bit underpowered....
 
Thanks, Ron. I wuz goin' to suggest just that.
 
Doc,

Wow, this is a first... I actually beat Doc to the point :devilgrin:
 
Thanks guys, it sounds like a very worthwhile upgrade. I'm a little torn as I did want to try keeping the car as original as possible, but that's kind of out the window after discovering the engine situation. I guess I'm in the market for an engine now!

Ron, why does your signature say "NOW BENT!!" next to your '57?
 
Smesne,

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]Ron, why does your signature say "NOW BENT!!" next to your '57? [/QUOTE]

'tis a long story that I will make short....

On my first outing with the MG Club of San Diego with the freshly restored and very drivable A.... A combination of waving at adoring fans on the road and a truck stopped at a green light.. Wacked into his trailer hitch putting a very 'nice' dent into the right front body and fender and smashing the grill...

I have yet to fix it owing to starting another project - the 1966 MGB - for my wife.... Most people do not notice it but, to me, there is a huge glowing arrow pointing at it.... :rolleyes:

Thanks for asking....
 
Smesne,

One final comment and then gotta get back to work....

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]I'm a little torn as I did want to try keeping the car as original as possible, [/QUOTE]

The use of the 3-main B engine is completely transparent visually to all but the most knowledgable of MG fans.... Most people restore these cars for the joy of DRIVING them...

To make them more comfortable and safer, a few small concessions are in order... Like seat belts, a higher rear end gearing (converting the differential from 4.3 to 3.9), and a little more horsepower...et al...

Unless, that is, you aspire to restore to 'Original' condition -- but then, that is a whole different topic... :smirk:
 
Stuff a 3-main 1800 in there. It fits without "re-engineering" and once the REAL work is done (all that bodywork) ya get to DRIVE it! :wink:
 
So, OK... Just one more post...

MGA five years ago

MGA%201.jpg


MGA Today...Before the 'inciDENT'

smaller%20left%20front.JPG
 
On the engine, as others have stated, looks the same, it is basically the same block, just bigger bore or stroke or both internally (forget which).

Actually the Metro motor should be the same block as well, they may have a single carb manifold instead of dual.

A guy in our club is also very active in the Metropolitan club, whenever he brings the car to meets someone will stand around and say--"hey that is an MGA engine in there!"
 
The car looks amazing Ron, I'm inspired.

I've always loved the look of your black/red combo ever since I found a '54 XK140 Jag that color stashed in a warehouse I was working in during college. This was in the late 70s with the last plates on the car from around '66. The owner had parked it to rebuild the engine. Man, I wish I had tried harder to get him to sell it to me! He told me it was "his baby" and he wasn't about to let it go.
 
Smesne,

Thank you for the kind comment... This was a full frame-off, every nut and bolt removal project. The interior, other than two well worn seats and new carpeting, is yet to be finished.

I am still considering a green interior (available with the 1500 only) and have yet to make up my mind... I do like the red interior but the green would certainly be a less than common choice...

Good luck on your project. Although, a year may be a bit optimistic unless you have lots of free time to devote to it...

Let us know if we can be of any assistance during the project...
 
Update - I spent most of Labor Day with my two brothers cleaning up and dismantling the car. We got the dirt and debris swept out, removed the trunk lid, pulled the front and rear bumpers, pulled off the front valance, dropped the gas tank and exhaust and pulled off some of the chrome. Not huge progress, but a good start.

The good: The gas tank appears in perfect shape, only a little dented on one side, no apparent holes and absolutely no rattling inside. The trunk is perfect with only a little surface rust - I won't need to do any metal replacement in the trunk. The frame that I can see inside the tub is in good shape. All of the instruments are in exceptional condition. I have so far only found one quarter-sized spot of bondo on the entire car. Also, I think I may have both of my brothers talked into taking an auto restoration class with me so with any luck I'll have three bodies working on this thing. I just might finish it in time for my wife's 50th birthday after all!

The bad: At least half the bolts broke rather than coming unscrewed, including the front bumper mounting bolts that are welded to the frame and most of the valance mounting screws. The exhaust is a nice after-market "cherry bomb" muffler, but definitely not stock so I'll be replacing that. Nothing usable was in the trunk, in fact there was nothing in the trunk at all except a couple of hornet nests. The passenger door doesn't fit in the frame very well - I'm hoping it's the crunched rear fender that's causing the problem. The hydraulic (brake/clutch cylinder) is toast. I pulled a dustpan full of rust flakes from the driver's side rocker panel.

Overall, the pluses far outweigh the minuses and I'm really happy with the car. I'm driving to Vancouver, BC this weekend to pick up a bunch of parts including an authentic MGA 1500 engine (yes, I'm going for original), a drive line (I'm supposed to call it a prop shaft), a nice used front grill, a used steering wheel, a used rear fender and a pair of fender mirrors. I had budgeted about $2,000 for all of the parts I'm getting for $400, not counting the engine.

My replacement wheels should be in this week, I'm looking forward to getting tires on them and getting the car off the jack stands.

I ordered replacement studs for the front bumper bolts I broke, as soon as those come in I'll be able to mount my tow bar and I'll be ready to roll. I have to tow the car back and forth to my auto body class, so my main goal is to get the car to "rolling chassis" status.

That's it for now, I'm sure you're all jealous of my broken, bloody knuckles, my scraped head and my brother's bleeding cheek. On second thought, you guys have the same car so you probably have way more scars than I do.

Cheers,
Smesne
 
First of all, it's not a good project to undertake, and you'll never get your moneys worth out of it, so I'm going to save you from yourself and arrange for a truck to pick it up.... :laugh:

Seriously though: Before you put wheels on that thing and start rolling it around, you might want to consider tackling the suspension and those 40 year old rubber bushings.

Good luck and welcome to THE Forum. No matter what you get into, the guys here have already done it numerous time and will only be too happy to help you out.
 
Barely worth two cents, but I have a suggestion given the busted knuckles and bolts. Pick up some PB Blaster at the parts store and it will change your life!! It did mine, thanks to the guys here tipping me off back in the beginning.
Welcome!!!
 
I second the bushings thing. Then the hydraulics, and get it running and drive the rust off of it!
 
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