OK listers, here's a trivial question the answer to which will likely
only be of interest to ultra-purists!!!
Clausager (in the Original MGA, 1993) states that there are two MGA
bonnets - the early 1500 'flat-profile' bonnet (pre-Twin-Cam) and the
late 1500/Twin-Cam/1600/Mk2 'curved-profile' bonnet. The part number for
the bonnet (AFH4880) didn't change. Fine. But when going through my
parts pile, I noticed that most of my MGA bonnets are different than the
examples pictured in Clausager's book. So in summary, here is what I
have found to date:
type 1. (a) early 1500 with centre prop-rod bracket, 'forward' X-member
and X-brace, no side braces, and 'flat' profile (as in Clausager, pg.
24) [original bonnet design]
type 1. (b) as for above but with the pair of side braces, profile
unknown(!!) but likely 'flat' [my guess is that this was a running
modification on the 1500 prior to Twin-Cam introduction]
type 2. (a) dual side-located prop-rod brackets, 'rearward' X-member and
X-brace, pair of side braces, 'curved' profile, and a notch in the
bonnet frame behind the RS prop-rod bracket to clear the front Twin-Cam
carb (as in Clausager, pg. 25) [late 1500/Twin-Cam/early 1600? and
introduced with Twin-Cam]
type 2. (b) as for above but without the notch in the bonnet frame [my
guess is that this was a running modification on the 1600 or Mk2 after
the demise of the Twin-Cam, but when??]
So the question: Are these 4 subtypes of the 2 main bonnet types the
only variations, or are there some more??
Dave Q
(too curious for his own good)
'57 A (1500) coupe
'59 A twin-cam roadster
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