One of the most challenging aspects of a classic restoration can be ensuring that the vehicle you are lavishing with your care and attention is rust-free. Very few cars are immune to this issue, and British sports cars are among the most vulnerable. If you’re tackling an MGA project, this 1960 model could be exactly what you need. There isn’t much to it beyond a bare shell, but it is rock-solid and ready to serve its new owner. The MGA is listed here on eBay in Powell, Ohio. The seller set their auction to open at $1,650, but there are no bids in a No Reserve auction.

This MGA is a case of what you see is what you get. The winning bidder will take home a complete bodyshell with a damaged grille, no other trim, drivetrain components, and no interior. The seller located it in a barn and was surprised by its solidness. There is significant surface corrosion and evidence of Bondo in a couple of spots but no penetrating rust. It would benefit from media blasting as a starting point. The panels are straight, and it would take little effort to whip the shell into shape. The only non-original item is one fiberglass fender. Otherwise, it is all genuine MG steel. It is worth investigating the retail price of new reproduction panels to place this shell’s potential value into perspective. Door skins cost around $285 each, while trunk lid assemblies sell for $1,300. Rear fenders are approximately $2,000 a pair, but fronts are an eye-watering $2,300 each. Other areas of the MGA are prone to problems, and when you begin to tally the figures, it is easy to see how this MGA could be the bargain of the year.

It isn’t just this MGA’s exterior panels that are surprisingly sound because the internal structural steel is equally solid. The trunk pan carries surface corrosion, but this could be removed when the exterior is blasted. If the buyer stripped the entire thing to bare metal and applied a product like POR-15 to the underside and non-visible internal areas, that would reduce the chances of future problems. It is a strategy worth considering, and with the shell in its current state, it would be straightforward and inexpensive.

If you were to replace this MGA bodyshell with new reproduction panels, it would lighten your wallet by nearly $10,000. That isn’t pocket change and would add considerably to the cost of a project where perfection would deliver a classic valued at around $40,000. Depending on the initial purchase price and other required work like mechanical refurbishment and an interior retrim, it is easy to see how a project like that could quickly become financially unviable. That is where this car steps into the fray. If it sells for somewhere around the current level, it could wipe a cool $8,000 off the owner’s restoration costs. That has to make it worth a closer look.