My Barn Find Story – An Introduction To MGA
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a lot of change to daily life resulting in a lot of time indoors, social distancing, and many others. I decided to take advantage of some time to share my personal MGA rescue story with fellow NAMGAR and MGA enthusiasts. I imagine that my experience is not unique, and I’m grateful it happened as it opened the door to expanding my appreciation for all things MGA.
My first experience seeing an MGA Coupe in person was at a local car show in 2015. I was really enamored with the overall design, sensuality of curves and stance, thinking at the time how truly advanced the car was particularly in comparison to what being produced by American car manufacturers in the late 1950s…diminutive…the antithesis of large, chrome-laden, V-8 powered, automatic transmission-motivated boulevard cruisers. The car was a nicely restored Mineral Blue 1958 Coupe with argent silver painted 48 spoke wire wheels and gray interior with piping. I remembered thinking how the cockpit and dashboard reminded me of a WWI airplane.
Fast forward to Spring 2017 when I spotted an advertisement for a “highly original, barn find” 1957 MGA Coupe that was fresh out of a 30+ year storage near the Nebraska/Kansas border. It was the last car of a large collection being liquidated and I felt ready for a project and figured it was an opportunity to own a coupe similar to the one I saw at the car show a few years earlier. In hindsight, I paid way too much for the car but at the time I was smitten and, well, you know how that goes. The car was very complete and appeared dry, straight, relatively free of rust but was quite dirty with the frame and suspension components encased with a combination of dirt and oil from years of driving on rural country roads.
We completed the sale, I loaded the car onto the trailer, and drove it back to Omaha. On the way home, I was surprised by the amount of attention I received by passer by — lots of horns and thumbs up, all reassuring signs to a new owner!
Once home, I did a thorough analysis of the MGA and sketched out a restoration plan. I decided that I liked the “patinated look”…it had reasonable paint, good shut lines, and all original date-code correct triplex glass but it was clear that a thorough stem-to-stern mechanical restoration was in order: electrical, fuel system, brakes, transmission, fluids, and the like.
The interior needed complete freshening, including a new headliner (didn’t have one), and the engine, cowl, heater box, and inner wheel wells needed considerable attention.
Older vinyl seat covers, while in good condition, were installed over the original seats housing the mummified remains of tenants who called the MGA home for some time.
Over the next two years, I completely stripped the car down to a bare chassis and set about getting to work. Friends introduced me to several sources of MG parts and I was pleasantly surprised to find a robust network of suppliers offering nearly every conceivable part I needed at very reasonable prices. During this time, I also became a NAMGAR member which introduced me to a whole new world of passionate MGA owners and much needed technical advice. I also leaned heavily on the treasure trove of technical information offered by Barney Gaylord and his “MGA Guru” website (http://mgaguru.com)— thanks Barney!
I quickly discovered what is no doubt one the most endearing attributes of MGAs and MGA ownership in general – the relative ease of working on mechanical components of the car.
Pulling the engine and transmission were fairly straight forward, especially compared to larger more complex cars. I really enjoyed seeing what appeared to be factory assembly line paint daubs on the transmission casing — a “W” or “M” in what appeared to be the same red paint color as the engine — if anyone can tell me what this means, it would appreciate it.
An interesting thing happened that provided a clue to what may have led to the car being parked and left sitting for decades. I took the transmission into a local long-time foreign car specialist and received a phone call shortly thereafter, “…Kurt, this is the strangest thing, stop by and see me when you have a moment…” My initial thought was “uh oh”, break out the check book but come to find the internals of the transmission essentially looked new. I was presented a failed input shaft bearing and, about a week and several hundred dollar later, was told that my transmission was ready.
Some time later, when I had the engine on the stand and turned upside down, I was able to view the crank, the condition of the inside of the block, and cylinder walls…all very clean, with minimal wear, with fresh cross-hatched boring on the cylinder walls. At that moment, it occurred to me that perhaps the engine and transmission had been rebuilt and the input shaft bearing failure may have led to the car being parked.
I decided to take a risk, and instead of tearing the engine completely apart and rebuilding, I chose to degrease, clean, blast and paint various components, install new seals and gaskets, service the carbs, and reassemble.
Detailed engine on stand ready for installation.
Engine fully dressed and ready to go!
I sourced and installed a fresh set of tires but first agonized over whether or not to blast and paint the wire wheels and a fresh set of chrome knock-off spinners…I chose to keep as-is since they tell a story and are in harmony with the patinated paint and chrome.
Smiths heater box day of purchase.
Smiths heater box after a little time in the blast box and a fresh coat of acid etch primer, semi-gloss black paint and clear coat.
Based on the legend of old and crispy Lucas electronics (or any wiring for that matter) and the goal of improving reliability, I opted to replace the entire electical harness and install a new SU fuel pump. I also completely disassembled, cleaned, and reassembled the SU carburetors and had the radiator pressure tested and restored.
Finally, I installed and fitted a new stainless steel exhaust system.
Once everything was reassembled and installed, a mechanically inclined friend stopped over to set the distributor, points, and timing and we attempted to start the car. Believe it or not, with a little gas, air and spark, it fired right up and settled into a wonderfully stable idle.
No billowing clouds of smoke, just mechanical music and the joy of watching intake and exhaust valve rocker arms going up and down as directed by the cam shaft. At that moment, I was as they say, a “happy camper!”
I’m pleased to report that the MGA runs and drives just fine and is a joy to drive. What took me so long!?!
One final note worth mentioning. When I purchased the car, an old vehicle registration certificate (circa 1970) including the owner’s name, city, county and state was secured in a sheathing strapped around the telescoping steering column. On a whim, I went online and did a keyword search and, sure enough, I found several names matching the registration in the small Nebraska town…I thought I would place a phone call. After a few failed attempts, a person answered who turned out to be the grandson of the owner who purchased the car in the mid-1960s from a service member stationed at nearby Offutt AFB in Omaha, Nebraska. It is worth mentioning that in the late 1950s, then US Air Force Strategic Air Command Commander, General Curtis LeMay, was a major automotive enthusiast who opened the airfield to support SCCA racing events which were very popular in Nebraska at that time (for more history, check out https://nrscca.com/). I caught the person somewhat off guard, but once he realized that a person was calling to relay news that they owned their grandfathers long-lost MGA Coupe, he quickly told me I needed to call his father. The next phone call was magical.
The son of the former owner relayed to me details about how his father acquired the car, how he loved and cherished it, and how he occasionally drove it as a teen ager with his friends sitting on the luggage rack attached to the bin. I told him it still had the luggage rack, provided details about how I discovered it, and the work I had done to get it back on the road again at which point he became overcome by emotion. I was very moved and am working to arrange a visit so that family members can once again see, and drive, a car they haven’t seen for over 40 years.
Please consider sharing your MGA story with fellow NAMGAR members. Send me an e-mail with a few paragraphs and pictures, and we’ll get it on the website.
Be Safe and Safety Fast!
Kurt Brueske
NAMGAR Internet Coordinator
