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TR4 or MGA

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Jayrz

Jayrz

Jedi Trainee
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Looking for my next project. It's winter and prices for projects are certainly lower.

So if you had your choice between an MGA 1960 or early TR4 (live axle not IRS)1962,, and the costs were not an issue.

Which one would you choose and why?
 
Great question - probably gonna get some "spirited" discussion!

My really oversimplified response:

MGA = finesse and nice ride

TR4 = more grunt for the buck

Mickey
 
Both nice cars. I had a 62 TR4 for a brief period -- needed too much body work for me to handle. I liked the TR4, lots of grunt. TR4 will be faster, can have overdrive. MGA is quite pretty.

Same set of normal project issues, rust, rust, rust.

If I was looking for another project, either of those cars would be on the list. A plan might be to keep an eye out for either, and take the best quality one that comes along.
 
I like both, but would lean towards the Triumph. I fell in love with the TR250 in high school and have wanted one ever since. My greater love for the Bugeye is why I have one instead of a Triumph, but one day I'll get a TR250 or TR4!
 
My list for most beautiful cars ever made that can be purchased for less than $50,000:

1) AH 100-4 (all though I think this one is not long for this list)
2) MGA
3) TR4-A
4) Bugeye


What an awesome dilemma to be in!

Buy em both. It's the only logical solution.
 
Buy them both...

And would you please talk to my wife for me?

It has been a chore to convince her I really have to have the a second one at all! She doesn't mind so much that I have them, just that not more than one is a "project" at the same time.

my list of desirables is similar

1) Lotus Elan (have the 69 S4 SE but want another in an early S2)
2) Spridget (squarebody, built for hair on fire work. Coming together now)
2a) Bugeye (1275 powered w dats 5speed and wire wheels
3) Lotus Super Seven (no explanation needed)
3a) Westfield Eleven Replica (trackday car only)
4) MGA (gorgeous lines, classic looks, must be silver like my dads when I was a kid)
5) TR-4 (great sound, grill with inset lights, looks awsome sideways)
6) AH 100/4 (just a beautiful brute)
7) MK1 3.8 E-type (no explanation needed)
8) Lotus Esprit S2
9) Alfa Montreal
10) Alfa GTV 1750 69-72

So looking at the list it is really not THAT expensive a collection and almost all of them a good investment. Well maybe not my 61 Midget that I'll keep fore ever as I'll have 20k in it by the time its done! Wonder how much that is in yen?
 
I like Morris' list. A careful shopper might find a decent XK-120,140 or 150 for under $50,000 to. I think those are a piece of art on wheels.

With that said, if I ever do something other than a Bugeye it will likely be an AH 100-4. My choice between the MGA and TR-4 would be the MGA. I just like those lines and the simple elegance.
 
I don't think there's too much discussion. Both cars are really great. The TR4 belongs to the MGB era. The MGA belongs to the TR3 era. So which one would be your personal taste. Myself, I've had many TR3s and TR4s and unfortunately never an MGA or MGB, though I've worked on hundreds. Back in the 70's the guys at Group44 said the Triumph was a better car, but after time I came to doubt that. They're <u>both</u> THE REAL sports cars.
 
If you have to ask.................
 
OH YEAH, RAY! The XK-120/140/150 is a true masterpiece. "Art on wheels" is the perfect description. While $50,000 was just a number I pulled out of my trunk, I can never imagine being able to afford an old XK.

The more I think about it, I think the MGA may be the way to go. They are still "affordable" (I use that term loosely) but they will not stay that way long. It seems that they already have a bit of a jump on the TR4 in appreciation. I really believe that the "muscle car bubble" is coming at the LBC market like a train. Better grab up your dream cars now or start making a lot of money.
 
Jay,
In addition to the Midget I show and the Spridget I'm currently building, I have a '60 TR3. The '73 Midget is quite refined and comfortable...as Midgets go...the Spridget will be a barn stormer...the TR3, well, a knuckle dragger...literally.

With the long swoopy fenders, a hood (bonnet) that blocks 50% of your view, and cut down doors, they are quite...distinctive...always draws a crowd.

Add in a few holdovers from a bygone era...push button start (funny how they're now the rage...again), flip type fuel filler cap, bonnet bolts (Dzus), hand crank, side curtains, twist door handles outside/cable pull inside...this list goes on and on. Mine happens to be an overdrive car and that's a plus. The TR3 is an absolute blast to drive; if you haven't, do so before you make up your mind.

I bought a decent driver a couple years ago and while prices seem to be inching up, they are really no more expensive to maintain/restore than a TR4-6 or MGA, B, or Midget.

The BIG difference is when you attend a decent sized mixed LBC gathering...like the Euroautofestival. Lucky to see 1-3 TR2s-3s.

Ray
 
i vote for the MGA. i like the looks better /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif
 
My vote is for the MGA. I have had several over the years and they not only look more classic, IMO, but they are very drivable. I have driven them from coast to mountains in NC and that is a great distance due to a long state. In the 70s I worked for a British Leyland dealer in Raleigh. The Triumphs were in for repair much more than the MGAs/MGBs. FWIW, I vote for the MGA.
Charlie
 
I would expect the MGA would get you more waves.
 
I love my bugeye but the MGA was the reason I feel in love with these cars as a kid I still remember the first one I saw MG red with tan interior. It was a 24 year old car at that time and as a 6 year old boy I had never seen anything like it before. I always planned to restore an MGA first but my bugeye just seemed to have found me.
My list of favorites.

1. MGA
2. XK120
3. Bugeye
4. TR2-3 smallmouth
5. Big Healy prefferably 100-4
6. MG TC
7. TR4
8. E-type
9. pre 1967 MGB
10. Early 1275 midget
 
Coming from me you probably wouldn't expect this, but I think the TR4 may be my favorite looking LBC, the eybrows over the headlights, and the mini fins at the tailight, I just like the way it looks, I like MG mechanicals about a 100 times better than Triumph but if I ever go back to the dark side again, the TR4 would be the one to lure me there, oh and the TR4 has roll up windows, side curtains do nothing for me.
 
In a choice between an MGA and a TR4.....

....I'd pick a Spridget! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/jester.gif
 
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