MGAs are pretty little British roadsters that have, well, somewhat underwhelming horsepower in stock form. For example, this 1956 model left Abingdon with all of 68 horsepower! The seller of this car started a conversion to a Chevy V-8 with an automatic, changed their mind to a T-5 manual but now is selling the project on only partially completed. It’s listed for sale here on eBay at no reserve, and bidding has only reached $510 so far as I write! It’s located in the Bronx, New York.
You might notice a little difference between the front and rear wheels! The seller is going to return the rear wheels to the front custom-made wheels prior to releasing the car. When you look at the radiator sticking out of the modified nose, I’m not sure what the seller was originally intending to cover it with. I admit to liking the reshaped nose that’s visible in the first picture, but I’m not sure how well the body modifications were completed.
It’s pretty obvious the rear will need more work. A lot more work. And if you are wondering why the doors, hood, and trunk lid aren’t rusty, it’s because they are aluminum. A two-edged sword, because while it doesn’t rust in the traditional sense, aluminum is easier to damage, more difficult to repair properly, and can corrode.
The seller really likes the dash and wonders what car it was originally from. The normal plywood floors of an MGA have been replaced with plate steel. Again, it’s a project.
I can’t see anyone restoring this car, so let’s hear what you would fill this empty hole with? Besides the ubiquitous small-block Chevy, please? Electrify it? Rotary? Miata? How about a 305 hp V-6/6-speed out of a 2012-14 Mustang?
With the nose cut off by the artsy (?) photo and the rear covered with a tarp, it does resemble a certain AC/Shelby creation. So what say you, Barn Finds readers? Are you willing to take a chance on this modified MGA? Or is it too far from a real Cobra to ever grace your garage?
Dash is out of a ’67 MG Midget or Sprite. If bought cheap enough the body and frame alone would be a good buy to build or repair another car with. Other than that I don’t see much of a use for it as is and not real sure of the quality of workmanship.
The car has great lines, although the hood and trunk need a few more hours on the English wheel.
LS Swap!
Overpriced by $500
Nice odd rods today! Stimulating!
I would be tempted to use a turbo 4 cylinder of some type just to keep the weight down. I would attempt to keep the solid knock off wheels. Yes a lot of work, but it would be different and fun.
I’d be tempted to buy it and take it straight to the crusher and put it out of it’s misery.
If you’re going to buy it Tom, the price is up to $620. Then there’s the cost of shipping to your location and transporting to the recycler. Might be cheaper to do something with it.
Let it rust in peace or pieces, which ever………lol
I want an MGA to drop a new Ford 3.5 EcoBoost in. Upgraded suspension to handle the power and speed.
Aluminium corrodes by turning to powder. I have yet to discover an antidote, save relocation to less salty air.
I kind of agree with Dave, I reckon this is virtually worthless.
It’s not really viable to convert into a usable race car. It could be a starting point for a unique hot rod but it’s such a mess you’d be better of starting with one that hadn’t been so badly butchered.
It’s too far gone and missing way too many parts to consider putting it back a a stock MGA. It doesn’t have enough original MGA parts or non-ruined panels or structure to make it a valuable parts car for a MGA restoration.
I guess it’s worth a few hundred dollars a scrap and the very few usable parts that might be salvaged.
shame really. a good MGA is a neat car. The author’s comments about underwhelming horse-power sort of true, but you have to consider the era and consider it in terms of power-to-weight ratio, not just gross bhp. Yes, today even minivans have 250+ bhp but back in 1956 this MGA would have had better “horsepower-per-ton” than a lot of average family cars on the road and would have been entertaining to drive, especially on back roads and the twisty bits….
Unlike most restoration projects, this one involves two different sets of challenges. First you are restoring a sort-of badly gone MGA. Second, you are playing at being an automotive engineer, by messing around with a very different engine from that for which the car was engineered, and that brings on all sorts of connected puzzles to make it SAFE (braking, gearing, a rear end that can handle the 350, etc etc…..).Then the end, if it ever comes, will all the work and money put in justify itself?….
You mentioned a Ford powerplant…How about droppingin a 331 CI 420 hp High Output engine…especially since
you can put Cobra heads on it…
Someone thought enough of it to be top bidder at $860.
For what they buys these days, it doesn’t seem out of line to me, especially if the buyer has fabrication skills and a fun imagination….
I agree with DayDreamBeliever. I’ve seen a lot worse go for a lot more on this site. A hobbyist with few funds and some mechanical skills and tools could end up with a decent driver.
Custom chassis with a 289 or 302 supercharged engine and 5-speed transmission. Strip the body add flared wheel wells.
Looking carefully at the frontal picture, there is more MG Midget/Sprite in this car than just the dash, as pointed out by bobness, above. Someone also grafted the front end of the Midget/Sprite (Spridget in England), as the dimensions align well with the MGA with its front end cut off. The buyer has him/herself a real Frankenstein car. Let’s hope it eventually is turned into a decent-looking custom sports car that is safe and well-balanced…and not some backyard, adolescent-cobbled coffin-on-wheels.