Dan,
Welcome aboard! See you at Napa.
Cheers, "Bob".
> From: "Daniel Shockey" <magnut_dan@hotmail.com>
> Reply-To: "Daniel Shockey" <magnut_dan@hotmail.com>
> Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2000 16:40:27
> To: mg-mmm@autox.team.net
> Subject: New PA
>
> Hello,
>
> TA Terry suggested I post a greeting to the list with info about my newly
> acquired MG PA. I live in San Jose, California.
>
> A new coworker told me that a neighbor of his in Los Gatos had an old MG and
> that he wanted to sell it. My coworker thought it was a TD. I had never been
> especially interested in T series cars (just didn't relate to them) but I
> asked him to get more info since I knew someone looking for an affordable
> TD. I have had British cars since college and have always done the work on
> them. I rolling-restored two MGAs and drive a BGT daily. The 30's MGs and
> British style trials have interested me but I never thought to get one.
>
> My coworker finally got back to me with info that it was a 1936 PA so I had
> to see it. My coworker thought it was rather shabby and hadn't been driven
> for a long time. He reported it had some damage from falling objects during
> the 1989 quake.
>
> The car turned out to be a PA, complete and running, that had a older
> amateur restoration. The owner bought it in 1972 and spent a lot of effort
> on the car but never drove it much. (He never wore the mold marks off the
> new tires.) He had it stripped, patched rusty metal, and painted it all
> disassembled. He recovered the interior panels himself (looks great) and had
> a new seat cover made of vinyl. The color is a 1971 Alfa BRG with a similar
> green interior. Not my favorite. He had all the chrome replated. The wood is
> original but he had to replace the short running boards. The lacquer paint
> has chipped in many places but still looks good. The quake damage was a
> small ding in one front fender.
>
> He also did a lot to the car mechanically - had the head rebuilt with new
> valves, guides and springs, rebuilt the generator and fixed the leaks, and
> got everything else working. He disassembled the suspension and had the
> pieces stripped and painted. He was a mechanical engineer by trade and did a
> good job.
>
> He bought a few pieces and got some advice from Barry Walker/Pre-War Parts
> Centre. He replaced the water temp gauge (added to the right on the tach).
> The car came with a Wade supercharger. He inspected it and found it in
> excellent shape. It is missing the connection to the crankshaft and the
> carburettor and its mounts. He put a J2-type wire radiator screen on the car
> on top of the honeycomb screen.
>
> The car was found in a barn in England in 1971 along with some other cars.
> The purchaser shipped the cars to the states, to his brother, a garage owner
> in Los Gatos. I have the bill of lading from the shipper. The seller traded
> a 1940s Jaguar sedan for the MG.
>
> It is a late PA, chassis PA2108. The dash is PB style in that it has the
> round speedo instead of the odd shaped instrument in the middle of the dash.
> It also has the 4 switches above the speedo. It will be interesting to learn
> if it came from the factory that way or was replaced at some time. I think
> it is the burl wood. The tach is the PA style. It has its bakelite helmit
> dash light covers.
>
> I received the factory records from the MGCC. The car still has the original
> engine block and was originally black with a green interior and was sold in
> Belfast. It was back in England by 1947 when an owner wrote to the factory
> asking about purchase of a new engine. The car was not listed in MMM club
> records in England or the US.
>
> Never having driven a crash-box transmission, I had the seller drive the car
> into my garage. I need to adjust the new brake linings and want to install
> seat belts before driving it. It starts easily and runs smoothly.
>
> Bill Tantau visited me last month. He has a sister in San Jose. I learned a
> lot from Bill and was able to know what to ask the seller about what was
> original and what he modified. (He engine-turned the firewall, for example.)
>
> Next is to find time to adjust the brakes and learn to drive it. I plan to
> take it to the GOF in Napa in June. I will attach a photo of the car with
> the seller.
>
> Thank you for your interest.
>
> Dan Shockey
> _________________________________________________________________
>
> [demime 0.97c removed an attachment of type image/pjpeg which had a name of
> Richard MG1.jpg]
> British Cars Web: http://www.team.net/sol
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