Geo Hahn
Yoda
Offline
I have a friend here in Arizona who has her late husband's 1958 MGA sitting in her garage. She has decided to sell it -- it has been off the road for a few years -- but doesn't really know where to begin.
I offered to look it over to give her an idea of how to present it and what to expect. I also told her it will be much easier to sell if I can get it running and perhaps even driveable as cars that run & drive are much easier for a buyer to evaluate and relocate.
The car appears to be pretty sound with good (25 year-old) paint but a worn non-original interior and an engine compartment that has been casually sprayed with rattle-can black & orange. No evidence of body damage or rust though with the magnet test I may have detected the use of a thin area of filler in the the passenger side dogleg. Still held a magnet but could tell the attraction was weaker there. Pictures can be seen here:
https://www.cybertrails.com/~ahwahnee/MGA-lf.JPG
https://www.cybertrails.com/~ahwahnee/MGA-rf.JPG
https://www.cybertrails.com/~ahwahnee/MGA-engine.JPG
https://www.cybertrails.com/~ahwahnee/MGA-interior.JPG
https://www.cybertrails.com/~ahwahnee/MGA-rear.JPG
The tires are old but hold air, the batteries are flat and probably toast and the brakes are nil though the clutch felt like it worked... so my plan would be to get the engine started (usual preparations & precautions) and identify what has perished in the brakes department.
I do not have the car's history so I can't call it an 'Arizona Car'... okay, sure I can... but if it moved here from elsewhere it was more than 25 years ago. The commission number appears to be HDA 437 48858.
Soooo... Since all my experience is with Triumphs, I'm looking for suggestions on anything specific to MGAs to be aware of, anything in the pics worth noting, what year the commission number indicates, and of course what $$$ range we're in assuming we get it to run & drive with no apparent problem in the drivetrain.
Thanks for any advice from the Safety Fast crowd.
I offered to look it over to give her an idea of how to present it and what to expect. I also told her it will be much easier to sell if I can get it running and perhaps even driveable as cars that run & drive are much easier for a buyer to evaluate and relocate.
The car appears to be pretty sound with good (25 year-old) paint but a worn non-original interior and an engine compartment that has been casually sprayed with rattle-can black & orange. No evidence of body damage or rust though with the magnet test I may have detected the use of a thin area of filler in the the passenger side dogleg. Still held a magnet but could tell the attraction was weaker there. Pictures can be seen here:
https://www.cybertrails.com/~ahwahnee/MGA-lf.JPG
https://www.cybertrails.com/~ahwahnee/MGA-rf.JPG
https://www.cybertrails.com/~ahwahnee/MGA-engine.JPG
https://www.cybertrails.com/~ahwahnee/MGA-interior.JPG
https://www.cybertrails.com/~ahwahnee/MGA-rear.JPG
The tires are old but hold air, the batteries are flat and probably toast and the brakes are nil though the clutch felt like it worked... so my plan would be to get the engine started (usual preparations & precautions) and identify what has perished in the brakes department.
I do not have the car's history so I can't call it an 'Arizona Car'... okay, sure I can... but if it moved here from elsewhere it was more than 25 years ago. The commission number appears to be HDA 437 48858.
Soooo... Since all my experience is with Triumphs, I'm looking for suggestions on anything specific to MGAs to be aware of, anything in the pics worth noting, what year the commission number indicates, and of course what $$$ range we're in assuming we get it to run & drive with no apparent problem in the drivetrain.
Thanks for any advice from the Safety Fast crowd.