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MGA What's this MGA worth?

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Medent

Medent

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I saw this car at the local garage. It's an MGA 1600 and is in rough shape. There is serious rot in the body, and there are two or three quarter size holes in the frame (under the door area). It runs according to the mechanic. And it has a hard top.
I'm not sure of the year. Perhaps someone will tell me.
I'll try to add some photos shortly.
Anyone want to hazard a guess to what this might be worth?
The car in in Canada.
 
Here are the photos. 20121214_082045.jpg20121214_082031.jpg20121214_082058.jpg20121214_082037.jpg20121214_082052.jpg
 
Not an MGA expert, but I think the year is 1960-61 ish for the 1600 (my reference books are at home).

As for price, that's a full restoration you're looking at, so even for free you'd probably wind up under water on cost. Frame rust jumps out at me as a real issue, but again I'm not an MGA expert and don't know how hard that is to replace. Rust work is never cheap or simple, though.

Decent cars seem to go in the mid to high teens (USD) for price, with excellent examples heading up into the $20k and $30k range. Projects are anywhere from free to $5-6k or so. Guess it depends on how much you like to weld. :smile:
 
I'm always a little concerned when I see frame rust. Rust-through of sheet metal is one thing, but it takes some pretty extreme abuse to rust through a frame. And it's very likely that other parts of the frame are in nearly as bad condition, but they haven't rusted through, so you don't know where they are. Finding and fixing them all, and neutralizing any remaining rust, could be quite a tricky business.

Beyond that, though the car doesn't look bad to me, at least from the pictures.
 
There is a Hardtop for sale on eBay at this moment. It is an factory aluminum model. The reserve has not been meet at $2800. Can not make out what that one is but something to think about.
Paul
 
Last edited:
apbos said:
There is a Hardtop for sale on eBay at this moment. It is an factory aluminum model. The reserve has not been meet at $2800. Can not make out what that one is but something to think about.
Paul
Click to expand...


The one in the picture is the later fibreglass factory top, generally not worth as much as the early alloy tops.
 
Does the owner have any info on it?..Is it a roadster? Coupe?..Title? If it is really rough,you have to put into consideration that it will cost more to restore than the cost of selling it fully restored.Locate the numbers on the engine/body and maybe frame..See if they all match to an extent.

GabeInRioSCS-MGA_B-19.jpg..Just saw the pics...Go with cash in hand...offer him $5oo lower than you think he will take for it unless he has offers from chaps that have deep pockets...STRIKE while the iron is hot young man!!!!
 
1500-2500$ would be a reasonable price, there are lots of patch panels available, many rather easy to make. Also check behind the rocker for the inner sill, that is the support for the body between the a and b pillars, if you buy them they cost a lot, but if you make them for less than 50$ Are you in for a ground up restoration? Fun car to drive when done!
 
If you do all the work yourself and I mean all the work and can pickup the car for about $2000, you will probably be into the car $18000 when done. So how bad do you want an MGA? If you are not going to do all the work and you want an MGA, you should probably buy the best car you can find. I have done four MGA's and they all ran about that amount for a complete restoration. Good luck!
 
Sadly cars in Canada seem to demand more - crazy I know but I suspect 3-5k is probably a more likely expectation on the part of the seller.
 
I would take that one in a New York minute, nothing there
that cannot be repaired, take cash and see what $2000 will get ya,
but be prepaired for $3k.
 
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