For sale in Panorama City, California, on Facebook Marketplace is a 1959 MGA project car that enjoys rust-free status thanks to its location out west. But beyond that, it’s an ambitious project. Everything is very dirty and/or weathered, it’s mostly dismantled, and it needs a ground-up restoration. But you can leave the welder alone.

All we hear from the owner is that there’s some damage to “the front grille area.” The seats are missing, but there “a bunch of parts in the trunk.” The owner “needs the room.” There’s no title—bill of sale only. Fortunately, just about everything for the MGA is available from suppliers, though the company itself now produces Chinese EVs. The MGA looked distinctly modern when it was announced in the fall of 1955, and it was a huge leap forward from the by-then archaic TF 1500 with running boards. The MGA was a hit, with 101,476 produced through 1962 when the first MGBs appeared.

Most of the body-on-frame MGAs came to the U.S., and less than 6,000 were sold in Great Britain. The design was from stylist Syd Enever, and a variation of the enveloping bodywork was first seen on a TD Le Mans car. The A got a new 1.5-liter straight-four BMW B-series engine, with a four-speed gearbox. The convertibles, like this one, did without external door handles.

Modern independent suspension was up front, with coil springs and wishbones, but the rear held a live axle. The rack-and-pinion steering was fun. The buyer could choose wires or disc wheels.

The cars made 68 horsepower early on, but that was soon updated to 72 horses. The Motor got an early example to nearly 100 mph, but zero to 60 took 16 seconds. The 22 mpg fuel economy wasn’t bad for the time. The bottom line was $2,462 in 1959.

Hagerty has these at $14,000 in good condition, but this one is hardly there yet. There’s no rust, but it’s still an ambitious project on a car that’s relatively common and not worth its weight in gold.