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18/06/2010
Story and images by MURRAY HUBBARD
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One of the great pleasures of being an Aussie baby-boomer was growing up in the 1950s and 60s. We were witnesses to motoring history seeing the evolution of cars from pre-war design to contemporary cars such as the MGA. We then lived through the fins era and twin headlights, push-button autos, four-on-the-floor, car radios and drive-in movies. We were lucky.
The MGA followed in the footsteps of Austin Healey by way of it's sleek, clean lines which are so in contrast to the car it succeeded, the MGTF. The TF by 1954 was something of an enigma. It was a 1930's style, living in the post-war period of modernisation. A barometer of design is sales and the TF's appeal had shrunk to just 13,000 in two years – 1953-54 - in the critical US market.
The MGA put an end to that slide, which was also caused to some extent by the competition, in particular the slick little Triumph TR2. The MGA came out in 1955 after having it's debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show and by 1962 total sales hit more than 101,000. In Australia the car came in imported kit form and was put together locally with a bottom line of 1256 pounds or $2612.
It was, and is, a terrific looking vehicle. It's almost like a small variant of Austin Healey 100 or Jaguar's XK 120, all swept-back lines and long bonnet and boot with clean sides, thanks to the absence of external door handles. They looked terrific in British Racing Green. It may have not hit the showrooms until 1955, but the MGA design dates to 1952. Designer Syd Enever drafted the streamlined body for the MGTD Le Mans car of George Phillips. But there were issues with the high seating position due to the TD's chassis. A new chassis was formed and the body fitted. Three years later this became the MGA.
Under the bonnet the early models had a fairly austere 1.49 litre in line four cylinder engine with twin SU H4 carburettors with 51 kW or power. Top speed was around 155 km/h via a four speed manual shifter. It still gave ground mechanically to the Triumph which boasted a 2.0 litre engine and disc brakes on the front. Where it did excel was in handling. In 1957 British Motor Corporation (BMC) upped the ante and took the engine out to 1.59 litres and 54 kW plus added a twin-cam model to the line up. The 81 kW twin-cam models can be identified by their drilled steel wheels with centre-lock hubs and disc brakes all-round. Due to unreliability issues not that many twin cam models were sold.
The MGA in Australia came with standard drilled steel wheels – which looked a bit ordinary – but most Australian buyers forked out a little extra for the optional centre-lock wire wheels as featured on this green car. We must say we also like the alloys featured on the second MGA we've featured in this review.
In 1961 the Mk 2 MGA was launched and had a bored out 1.62 litre engine, disc brakes up front, new taillights, a recessed grille. Driving at speed was improved with a higher ratio rear axle. There was also a fixed-head coupe with the most modern of conveniences, wind-up windows. For a while you could buy either the MGA or MGB after the `B' was launched in 1962. But, like the TF before it, the MGA by 1962 was passe. The MGB was showing the shape of the future and as pretty as it was the MGA was outgunned where it mattered, in buyer preference.
The 1600 cc engines in our featured cars also appeared in more mundane family transport such as the MG Magnette and Morris Major Elite. As such spare parts are not too difficult to find. The MGA was typically, for this era, a little quirky. In these days of convertibles routinely having heated seats, the MGA did not even come with a heater as standard. And, like so many other ragtops, the cabin was not always waterproof.
The price to pay for not having external door handles was that you had to reach through the sliding sidescreens and grope around for the cable to release the door lock while the hood was in place. There was little boot space to start with and even less when the spare wheel was in place. But, these were minor considerations in driving a classic sports car in this, a golden era of Australian motoring.
SPECIFICATIONS MGA (1955 – 62)
Engine
1500 (1489cc)
Bore 73.025mm Stroke 89mm
Power: 51 kW @ 5500 rpm
1600 (1588cc)
Bore 75.41mm Stroke 89mm
Power: 54 kW @ 5600 rpm
1600 Mk 11 (1622cc)
Bore 76.2 mm Stroke 89mm
Chassis:
Steel box section/cross braced
Steering:
Rack and pinion
Brakes:
1500 Drums
1600 Disc front Drum rear.
Fuel
10 gallon tank under boot floor.
Dimensions
Wheelbase: 2388mm
Length: 3962mm
Width: 1473mm
Height: 1270mm
Weight:
902kg
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