One of the best things about small, off-the-beaten-path auctions is the potential to find a legitimate diamond in the rough. The major auctions are hardly a best kept secret and you’ll always face pressure to bid too high. But a rural farm or estate sale, far from the watchful eye of snipers and flippers, means you may drive home with a classic in tow for short money. I certainly see that potential for this charming 1957 MGA listed here on the LiveAuctioneers.com website.
I love the combination of faded, rust-stained primrose paint over red-painted wire wheels. This was likely a sharp combo back in the day, especially for anyone who was into open-top British cars. The luggage rack on the trunk is delightfully period-correct, and I’d love to know if it was an OEM accessory back in the day. For a project-grade convertible, the soft top appears to be in surprisingly good shape (but it will still likely need replacement.) It’s hard to tell just how advanced the rust is or if it’s limited to mostly surface-area corrosion.
The MGA is located in Copake, New York, a town I’ve never been to but I know the general area – and it’s a honey hole for vintage vehicles. Nestled in the area where New York rubs shoulders with Connecticut and Massachusetts, this region is known for harboring a wide range of lifestyle types, from wealthy NYCers with a weekend home in Litchfield to academics working at an institution in western Massachusetts to folks who just plain like rural living and want to have a short hope over to Lime Rock Park when they’re itching for a track day. The junkyard picking is also quite good as a result.
The MGA has one bid to $500 and I doubt it will go much higher, and the auctioneer even estimates bidding will top out around $1,500. The market for these non-twin cam roadsters is still pretty soft even after years of the collector car market growing like wildfire. This may just be a parts car for someone or it could – hopefully – be a cheap entry point into the vintage sports car hobby for an enterprising enthusiast. Have you ever found a classic car bargain at one of these off-the-beaten-path auctions?
The rack won’t be OEM; at the time, there were loads of wee – and not so wee – companies making car accessories. Roofracks, luggage racks, spotlights, parking lights, bonnet mascots, fancy hubcaps and so on (and on and on!).
Sometimes the manufacturer would advertise that Lucas – for example – supplied foglights and the like suitable for their vehicles.
I see a lot of rust rot.
Yikes! That frame is rusted through along the majority of the drivers side. I would assume the passenger side as well. While fixable, probably not worth it. This will be parts only.
None of the pictures that you see actually shows the frame. What you see is only what Americans call the rockers, or sills in England. The frame, or chassis, is made into very strong boxed steel sections. I have helped a friend of mine move one and believe me it’s a very heavy piece of equipment.
Plus the floorboards are made of plywood so relatively easy to replace vs. rusted steel.
Actually there is a very clear shot of the frame. It is an interior shot of the car looking at the drivers side floors. It is one of the pictures on the auction website that wasn’t included on BF. Look where the wood floorboards meet the frame, and you’ll see it’s rusted all the way through.
politix now
Wow…a true MG A beater!
Add a couple of radiator hoses and you’re off!
Nice yard art, nothing more.
Nope! It’s just dead.
Having been in an MG club for 40+ years I know that it’s very important to check extensively for rust, especially on cars located on the East Coast. Although every thing is fixable, it’s often a money consideration.
I bought one like this out of a scrap yard in KC MO long ago for $ 180.
I fixed it up, repainted it, drove it for a year, and sold it for what I had in it. A 500 to 1500 price sounds about right, if it can be made to run without expensive noises.
value speaking,,,those wire wheels are worth the price…asked
the canvas looks quite decent
Just imagine how fast this little MG would be without the weight of solid steel…..rust lightens like no other! LOL
I remember when I was around 7 years old we lived near Kingston,PA and my grandparents lived in Parkville,MD. My uncle came to pick me up to spend the summer with my grandparents and he had an MGA just like this we drove with the top down all the way. It got kind of chilly in the evening and he put the tonno cover on the flat one that could close one side and leave the other open. I rode the rest of the way under the cover. It was such fun those many years ago. GLWTA
Had a similar experience with uncle in his TR3; rode under the tonneau cover when it got chilly. His car was the beginning of my fascination with British cars.
Not a ’60 MGA …. Probably a ’59 or ’58.
The ’60 MGA was the year rear tailights were ‘double’ rather than the single tailight of the earlier MGs.