Not Your Average NAMGAR Member

New NAMGAR member, Erik Huyer, is an Australian, who lives in the Philippines and works in Saudi Arabia. He recently submitted photos of his beautifully restored 1959 MGA 1500 Roadster.

“My 1959 MGA roadster, nicknamed “Lady,” was one of the last 1500s produced. It was made in May of 1959 and in July the 1600 model came out. It has the correct matching engine and chassis numbers. Lady was originally made in black as a left hand drive export model. The car was fully restored to show condition over eight years by the previous Filipino owner. As an Australian, all I had to do was import from Moss Motors a Stayfast tonneau cover and a MOTO Lita steering wheel. Yes, my body is a bit larger than the average MGA driver from over fifty years ago. The “Lady” name comes from the Doberman that my daughter, Samantha, and I shared. You could not have wished for a more loving, devoted friend. Hence the new adopted name for my Philippines MGA.

“As far as I know there are only four MGAs in the Philippines. One is white, one black and two are red, and they are in excellent condition. There was one other sighted eight years ago, but sadly it was in poor condition with a Toyota motor. I do not know if it still exists.

“It took me 15 years to find my MGA. They are very rare and kept in private collections. Among the British makes, there are some MGBs and MG TCs, with the Jaguar E-type being the most popular.

“However, most old classic cars are American, as the Philippines was a USA territory after World War II. There are many Mustangs, Chevys, and Camaros, but not that many British cars. It is against the law to import a car more than five years old into the Philippines, a law introduced 18 years ago, and a shame for classic car collectors.

“My permanent residence is in Cebu City, Philippines. Any MGA owner is most welcome and has a place to stay! I work as a Hotel General Manager at the Hotel Al Khozama, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for an American company based in Dallas (www.rosewoodhotels.com). The MGA stays securely at our home in Cebu City, Philippines. Back in 1992, in Gold Coast Australia, I had another MGA 1500. When I moved to Vietnam, to work at that time, this lovely car was stolen. I also had a Morris Minor 1000 in Australia for 19 years and I was the second owner. Just like it came from the factory. In the end I sold it, actually “adopted out” to a keen Morris Minor Car Club member. It is in very good hands now.

“There is also a Morris Garages car dealership in Riyadh, but no MGAs in it. As you can tell, this car is a passion and gives me so much joy and happiness”.