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MGA MGA Twin Cam

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Marvin Gruber

Marvin Gruber

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I have a lead on a 59 Twin Cam MGA. Not running, some rust but complete. What is a value range on this vehicle, I know they are fairly rare but don't know the value on these cars.

Marv
 
Wow....I bet 15 would not be out of reality. Only thing that would scare me is why it was not running. If the engine had a major failure inside where would you find repair parts and at what cost. Good luck putting a deal together. Check with Jim Alcorn?? the Twin cam expert in California for a accurate value estimate. Bob
 
Hagerty Ins said a #4 condition ( driver) was $12k. Owner said car came from AZ 20 years ago and has been sitting since. Haven't seen it yet, maybe next week some time. Don't know Jim Alcorn, got an email address for him?

Marv
 
I can't help you with value of the car you have a line on, but I do try to track the classic brit car market and I have to say I don't see twin cams come up for sale very often at all. The other hot rodded 4s, Healey 100Ms and TR3Bs, seem to come up fairly regulalrly, but I never see Twin Cams on Ebay or bring a trailer, or BCF.

I do think the things are undervalued, the really good factory 100Ms are bringing over 100k, although the Twin Cam had teething problems, the specification and upgrade compared to standard is much bigger and more exotic on the twin cam, don't remember the exact numbers, but production numbers not that different, the MGA has a much better chassis (this from a former 100 owner who loves them, but have driven MGAs, they feel 10 year or so more advanced).

Anyway, know we buy them cause we love them, but a resto twin cam should be a good investement as well!
 
One of my favourite cars - and one I race.

Retail for decent cars is into the 40K range and up these days.

Here is a pic of one of my engines.

mgatc.jpg
 
That's the first time I've ever seen a twin cam engine outside the engine bay. I never realized the valve covers were so low profile.
 
The engine sticks up a bit more than the pushrod valve cover does. All the bonnets after 1958 were recurved to clear the Twin Cam engine, so you can't use an early 'flat' bonnet on a Twin Cam car.

(PS - the stock engine used twin H6 SUs, not Webers)
 
The market for these seems to be like MG TCs where the cost to restore one is way out of proportion to what its worth when finished. Does it have a proper Twin Cam VIN? Is the engine complete not locked up? Does it have all the wheels and brake pieces? Some of the pieces are impossible to find if missing. Jim will tell you that a restoration on one of these cars starts at 60 grand. Its easy to put 15-20 into the engine. If its a complete ,original Twin Cam roadster that only casts a good shadow its worth 15 grand like it is , 50 grand after you put 100,000 into it. Been there in the not too distant past, I found one not 5 miles from my home. The engines were problematic when new and they were discontinued before they could destroy MG's reputation for reliability. Hardy enthusiasts have since claimed to have "fixed" the problem , they can have them. An MG that holes pistons and swallows valves while it destroys its head, rods, crank etc. can't be much fun to own if you're on a budget! The bad rep will follow the car forever. Cheers! Kevin
 
The fix for piston burning is trivial and long known. No more issues.

Although I tend not to run mine to more than about 7800 rpm to leave a margin of safety......
 
One coupe for sale for $11,700. Apart, but supposedly all there. Engine together. PJ
 
I bought a Twin Cam new back in 1959. Preferred it to the Austin Healey which had loose steering and ratled. White with a black interior.A friend of mine also bought one, white with a red interior. It did not handle as well as my brother's pushrod MGA as the steering was heavier and the car tended to plow a bit. It soon developed "problems", fouling plugs. My solution was to run 3 heat ranges of spark plugs in 4 cylinders, an N3, two N8s & an N5 as I recall 53 years later. Since I had one of the few that ran well, I got phone calls from as far away as Washington DC asking me what I did to make the thing run right. I kept the car for about 6 months, then traded it to Bob Grossman, a race car driver and a VW dealer across the river in Nyack, NY who I knew from racing at Lime Rock & Thompson for a new VW sunroof and a whole bunch of cash back. I was going to commute to law school in NYC and didn't want an MG sitting out there at the railroad station all winter long.It was one of the 4 MGs I owned at various times; a '51 TD, a '53 Mark II TD and a '52 TD that I bought for $1,100.00 in 1973 (the same price as I paid for the other TDs back in the 1950s), completely restored myself and sold for $10G. I spent over 600 hours in my garage with the restoration. I'll never do it again.
 
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