Project MGA: Part 3

It’s been a little while since we reported on the progress of Project MGA, but now Mike Brewer gives us the low-down on how the restoration work at RPS is proceeding.

There’s been plenty of developments with the MGA in the last few months, thanks to the guys at Rally Preparation Services, Moss Europe and Cotswold Accident Repair Centre.

Firstly, the body has been sandblasted and Mark Rainer and his team are undertaking a few minor repairs before it’s ready for a fresh coat of (non yellow) paint – you’ll be able to see more about the work that’s going into the body in the next issue of Safety Fast!

In the meantime I can tell you that, after much discussion with the team at Kimber House and RPS, we’ve decided to go for silver – it’s something we think will really compliment the gorgeous lines that have won the MGA so many fans down the years.

Inside, we’re carrying on the modern retro theme, with a baseball-glove leather interior and matching trim – it’ll give the car a bespoke, custom look without being garish or too in-your-face.

If you’ve seen the videos we’ve done on Facebook and YouTube, you can see we’ve already decided to go with an engine transplant from the MGB, swapping the A’s unit for the bigger 1798cc from the later car. Now, I know there’ll be plenty of purists wondering why, so please let me explain my thoughts. This car needs to be usable on a regular basis – it’s going to be doing lots of charity runs to raise lots of money for good causes, which means people that aren’t necessarily used to a classic car like the A are going to get behind the wheel – if it’s got a bit more power and a bit more torque it will certainly be more user friendly. Secondly, I’m going to keep the original engine, so if ever the time comes when it needs to be returned to its original factory spec, that can be done.

On the subject of drivability, in the next article, you can see the full step-by-step guide to another popular mod for the MGA – a Mazda five-speed gearbox conversion.

While plenty of progress has been made, there’s still loads to be done as we continue the build-up to the A’s grand unveiling later this year.

lf you’ve got any questions about the A, the restoration and the look of the car, let us know – we’d love to hear from you!

To get in touch with the team at Kimber House – email adam@mgcc.co.uk.

NAMGAR would like to thank Andy Knott, Editor Safety Fast! for his kind permission to reproduce this article.