Don:
The A is one of the simplist cars mechanically to restore, makes even your
late 60's B's look overbuilt. They are wonderful fun to drive, especially with
the 1600 and disc brakes.
It is also one of the biggest potential disasters in the hobby to restore,
body-wise, short perhaps only of the bigHealey or E-Type. With that in
mind watch for the following:
Bondo, anywhere. Take a magnet.
Rust/rot in the vertical section at the door latch, from the rockers up. Even
more difficult than dealing with MGB rocker panel rust, and worse
ramifications for the integrity of the car.
Distortion or bondo in the "shroud" section that surrounds the hood
Wrinkling of the flat panel ahead of the radiator. If this isn't straight
chances are the car's been hit, hard.
Bent frame, including behind the rear axle (affects body and door alignment)
The shop manual has frame measurements. Use them or pay later.
Rippled door skins. Near impossible to fix, the alloy is most uncooperative
Inner fender and headlight bucket rust
MGB motor substitutions (value issue only)
Improperly applied paint. MGA's should be painted with all panels off, and
then have new fender welting installed with the panels. Overspray on welting is
a dead give-away..
Now, if you're spending 15K you'd expect to not have to deal with such
issues, right?
Yeah, right. My point is that knowing the weak spots gives you what to look
for as far as bodged repairs, as opposed to properly done ones.
I'd recommend shopping the book selections available, not just buyers guides.
Looking at one of the books like "MGA- A history and restoration guide" can
show you how things are supposed to be, and if the car is really original or
not, at this money you should be getting ORIGINAL, not faked in or a
"multi-year
parts collection"
Most of all, look at and drive a couple club members cars that Aren't for
sale, so you get candid voice on faults and you can see how things really are.
North American MGA Register (NAMGAR) is a good place to start.
Cheers
John
>From: Don Malling <dmallin@attglobal.net>
>
> >Subject: Looking for a nice MGA
>
> >I'm in the market for a finished MGA.
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