Ware,
Concerning your questions the british car digeset, having owned two MGAs from
1973 to 1990 I think I can give you some advice.
1. Mech. the only real short fall is the head, they tend to crack (maybe
because the cars overheat easily). Otherwise, mech. they are like a
battleship, way overdesigned, to the point of making the care very heavy.
Electrically, they are a disaster. This is the big drawback to all british
cars. The lucas electrics just are not reliable. Everything from the
electric fuel pump to the generator can give out at a moments notice. Also
the connections are not well designed. The whole electrical system is
underprotected, with only two fuses for the whole car and remember, it has
positive ground. The original wiring harness was cloth and will have rotted
by now. The body, chrome, and frame are great, but think twice before doing
a body off restoration because it is very hard to get it back on straight.
Rust tends to form around the head lights, under the front wings, in the
trunk floor, and in the wooden floor and battery supports. The frame is
usually not a problem.
2. No specific years to avoid, but they did get better as time went on. The
early 1500s are slightly underpowered and do not have disc brakes. The Twin
Cams are the worth the most and are the fastest but are also very hard to
work on and are somewhat unreliable because of the high compression ratio. A
nice Deluxe (leftover twincam body) would be a great fine, but they only made
a few hundred of these.
3. MGAs are a good around town transportation, but plan to have a backup
car. Parts are readily available from Moss Motors and Scarbourogh Fair, but
you may have to wait several days to get them. Plan to buy a parts car as
this will save you plenty. Remember, this is not a practical car... plan to
get wet in rain and be cold in the winter (the heater is only marginal).
4. I would not pay more than about $6500 for the car you described. To pay
this kind of price ($12K) the car would be concours. Look at the prices in
Hemmings Motor News and check several price guides before buying. As they
made over 100,000 of which about 80,000 came to the US, cars are plentiful.
Don't feel like you have to buy the first one you see. As with all classic
cars, never buy somebody's project car or an incomplete car. It's best to
buy the best car you can afford as it costs more to restore than the car will
be worth.
To learn more, try reading the MGs Buyers Guide or some of the other great
books available from Classic Motorbooks.
Overall, they are still a great choice. Easy to work on, lots of spares
around, low cost, and they are as beautiful as any car ever made. You cannot
do better.
Good Luck, Write if you have any specific questions.
Dave
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