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
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