- Seller: Brian S
- Location: New Plymouth, Idaho
- Mileage: 97,304 Shown
- Chassis #: 15GBUH38555
- Title Status: Clean
In the world of British Sports cars, you can’t get much more iconic than the MGA. Its lovely styling, simplicity, and agile handling made it an instant hit for MG. This example is part of a collection of classic sports cars that we are helping the seller find new homes for. It’s a tidy driver that needs little more than a good home with someone who will enjoy it. If you’d love to have it, you can bid below and it’s currently located in New Plymouth, Idaho.
When we first saw this MGA, we were struck by it’s cool look. The word patina might be controversial, but this car has the kind of patina that you want and is worthy of the word. The paint has aged nicely, we assume it’s an old restoration, but it looks great as is or could be polished to look nearly new. We would recommend leaving it as is since that’s part of the charm of this car. It’s the kind of classic you can jump in and drive without fear of chips or scratches, while still looking nice enough to take to shows and events.
The MGA was a significant upgrade over the T-series, with a 1500 cc inline-4 engine that offered a healthy increase in performance. That being said, it still won’t win any drag races, but it’s plenty of power to be fun. This example’s engine is in running condition and revs out nicely, as seen in our driving video. The 4-speed manual shifts nicely as long as you remember to not downshift into first gear, as it’s a non-synchro first gear transmission.
The interior appears to have been restored previously but has a nice look to it. One would best describe it as a used but well-loved baseball glove, with minor signs of use, but nothing that would suggest it’s been abused or left out in the elements. The only real issue we noticed was the missing heater control knob. One of the best parts of owning an MG is parts supply, you can get every nut and bolt you could ever need, so making it perfect shouldn’t be an issue.
After taking this MG out for a spirited drive, we see the charm of an A and would love to have it. It has a great look, presents nicely, and is fun to drive. If it has any real issue it’s that it’s titled off the engine number. This is fairly common for cars of this era but could cause issues if you ever needed to replace the engine.
If you’ve been on the hunt for the quintessential British roadster, this MGA might just be the car for you! Be sure to leave any questions you might have in the comments section below. And don’t forget to take a look at all the professional photos provided and join us for the ride-along video.
Bid On This Auction
- KaferDave bid $10,001.00 2023-10-09 09:57:35
- Doc Mark bid $9,501.00 2023-10-08 10:36:52
- wilky bid $9,000.00 2023-10-07 12:45:42
- 2manyvettes bid $8,500.00 2023-10-07 12:06:18
- wilky bid $8,000.00 2023-10-07 12:00:24
- 2manyvettes bid $7,500.00 2023-10-06 18:11:41
- Doc Mark bid $7,000.00 2023-10-02 14:27:36
- wilky bid $6,500.00 2023-10-02 12:10:14
- Doc Mark bid $6,000.00 2023-10-01 11:31:21
Louie bid $5,500.00 2023-10-01 11:09:29- KarPie bid $5,000.00 2023-10-01 04:18:22
- 2manyvettes bid $2,500.00 2023-09-30 15:25:21
What a beauty. Kudos to the seller.
Nice condition…only issue I have ever had with them is I can’t fit into the seats but find them very nice
Why are Porsches of this age so much more expensive than these MGs?
These MGs won’t throw you off the road at the first wet corner either.
$100,500 now bid. Now we can buy Porsches for less than an MGA. Wow!
I suspect that is a typo while bidding.
That was a typo, so the bid has been deleted.
To see how a car is well looked after during its years being on the road is not the showing off from the new paint work or even the well looked after interior! It starts underneath the bonnet and much more importantly from under the car. This will open up a wide range of untold stores. The slightest rost or even traces of oil will lead to an expensive project.
I wonder about the head and if it has cracks. I drove one in college and 2 since. Had head problems with cracking. Great fix was to replace with Datsun 1300 head.
It takes over $30 grand to properly restore an MGA. Whomever purchases this car for under 15 grand is stealing it. Yet, who knows? Roll the dice and lets see. So many hot-rod items are available for the MGA, it can be an inexpensive fun toy! Coil over front suspension, 5 speed all syncro Toyota tranny adapter, 5 main 2.0 liter MGB engine bolts in, cross flow aluminum cylinder head available, Weber carburetion, supercharger, 15″ chrome lower wider spoke wheels…. More smiles per mile! Have some fun that will not break the bank! And, of course, a great looking car!
This is the problem with very much MGA,s.
removing splashplates or fender is the only way to see if the inner or outer rockers are not rusted away ,or even the F section is effected.
This nice looking MGA seems not beeing restored “body off” since under hood everything is black and the picture of underside rocker (dogleg) makes me not happy. But still a nice looking MGA.
This is a nice car, but if you do not know MGA body work, get advice before bidding! Look carefully at pictures #194, 196, 197, and 203. I applaud the seller and Barnfinds for including these less-than-enticing views, but if you’re bidding, you need to know how to interpret them. Join your local British car club; join North American MGA Register. Go online to MG Experience and study the MGA Forum (https://www.mgexp.com). Ask questions! After hanging out with other MGA owners for awhile, you won’t be so dazzled with this car as you might be right now. That’s OK as long as you don’t pay too much for it.
Watch the oil pressure gauge throughout the driving video. At first, the 60# cold looks good, but toward the end of the video its in the 45-50# range. That is not “horrible” but it does suggest an engine rebuild in the next 15,000-20,000 miles. As it is, this is not a good “interstate cruiser”.
I have to disagree with the car not being a good “interstate cruiser”. We had it near highway speeds and it drove great. It’s not a super fast car, these never were, but once up to speed it felt good! Also, the running oil pressure seems to be in the normal range of 50-80 psi. Admittedly, it’s not cosmetically perfect but it’s perfect if you intend to drive the car. The fear of parking lot dents or scratches will not keep you from driving it like a perfect example might. The older paint job looks nice and it’s very presentable as-is.
Dad had a ’57 MGA when baby brother and I were toddlers, he put both of us in the front seat for rides. Forget seatbelts and car seats, these didn’t even have door locks! Mom tied the passenger door shut with clothesline so we wouldn’t pull on the cable that opened the passenger’s side door and open the door by mistake while we were moving, so we wouldn’t fall out of the car!
I do wonder where the battery is though, and is it 6V or 12V? Also, is the electrical system positive ground or negative ground? This is important if you plan to install a radio in the space where the radio blank-off plate is located on the dashboard in front of the passenger (the radio speaker is located in the dash over the horn button). Modern 12V, negative-ground electronics will fry if you try to install them in a positive-ground electrical system. Radio Shack used to sell an adapter to make that work, but of course Radio Shack is also long gone.
Two 6V batteries behind the seats, one on each side wired in series for a 12 volt system originally. . Yes, originally Positive Ground–easily converted. Everything works fine after swapping polarity, except the generator needs to be re-polarized, an ancient trick. Wipers, horn, lighting, fuel sender, starter motor, all work the same after switching polarity. I think only one more item requires extra attention–but, I forget what that is. Plenty of information on the net.
Thanks for the information, that’s good to know. I’m sure that the original dual 6V batteries have been swapped out for a single 12V battery, since they’re much easier to find these days. I do have another question, though. If you swap polarity on the starter motor, how do you keep it from spinning the motor in reverse? Reverse polarity on any DC motor will cause it to spin in the opposite direction, and that will spin the flywheel, crankshaft, camshaft and distributor in the opposite direction of rotation originally intended, which I understand can be very bad for the engine (the fuel pump doesn’t care) LOL!
Great fun to drive. In a 56, two 6v batteries are located behind the seats. I bought a 56 mga for $750. Drove in from Calif. to Fair banks Alaska. In 1966 the Alaska was mainly gravel. The MGA was very noisey, due to gravel hitting the plywood floor. The car in very curvey to look at . Around 56 cars were becoming boxy with big fins. So my car did stand out and was on the smaller side. A simple car to work on in its young years .No smog stuff or computers.Oh, sold it in late 66 , in Ak.And went into the Army.
Got pictures ? Love it ! It’s the next best thing to being there. Thx!
The starter turns the same direction regardless of polarity, because of the way it is wired. Interesting that if you did want to reverse the rotation, you might be able to bolt the round field housing onto the motor 180 degrees out, and and get reverse rotation. Motors all wound differeinty, and motor theroy is ALWAYS interesting. Here at ODD Parts, we have a pretty wide range of expertice in motors. My son and I are two time winners at electrified grocery carts in the mid 90’s, and are pretty clever with motors. BTW, a superior reduction gear starter motor is available for MGA- as well as many other higher-end hot rods. No rotation concerns there either.
Robert,
I can’t pretend to understand this, but there are certain types of DC motors that do not reverse direction when polarity is reversed. I think the fan motor is another example.
Regarding batteries, I’ve owned MGs since 1984 and I don’t kknow of anybody who uses twin six-volt batteries. Perhaps one or two of the cars I bought in the ‘80s came with twin sixes, but group 26 twelve-volt batteries have been available and certainly up to the task for at least those 39 years in my experience.
Owners who are actively campaigning in concours would of course use twin sixes but not for any practical electrical reason. I suspect they are very few in number. MGs have had 12-volt electrical systems back at least as far as the TCs – but not aways by connecting two six-volt batteries in series. The Z-Magnette models, for example, were twelve-volt but only had accommodation for one battery.
I have heard somewhere that the twin sixes in the MGA and MGB – placed near the rear wheels, served a weight-distribution function, as much as an electrical function. MG switched to negative ground with the switch to alternators in 1968. Some comments I read here yesterday are now strangely missing. Or is it my browser?
Again, it’s all good to know. Thanks to all. I was unaware that DC motors could be wired to be unidirectional, regardless of polarity! It’s been over forty (40) years since my junior level electromechanics course, and we spent a lot more time on the mathematical theory than the practical aspects of motor and generator/alternator design, which is a shame because if there was one course that cried out for a lab section to allow you to see what was happening, this was it!