The car featured in this article is a 1958 MGA Le Mans. The MGA dates back to 1951. The MGA was a replacement for the MG TF 1500 Midget and there was significant restyling. The MGA is a sports car built by the MG-division of the
British Motor Corporation from 1955-1962.
A Car Needing a Redesign
MG's Syd Enever, head designer at MG, did a redesign by penning an aerodynamic body on the MG TF for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The MG TF body harked back to the era of the early 1930's.
After the 1951 Le Mans the redesign project however was put on hold until 1955. British Motor Corporation was in a quandary over the fact that the Austin-Healey 100 ( from BMC) came out as a modern looking sports car. Management didn't feel the need to produce two new sports cars so they continued to build the MG TD. The decision proved wrong in as much as the TD sales figures declined significantly forcing management to reverse it's decision. The problem however was that the new design as not totally complete and in the meantime an updated substitute of the MG TF was introduced until the new MGA design was complete.
MGA Racing
In 1955 MG put together three prototype aluminum bodies to run in that year's Le Mans. The cars were modified as such for racing such as having the bumpers removed to take off weight. The results were not too shabby with two of the racers coming in at fifth and sixth place in their respective classes. Later that year two of the MGA racers were on the show circuit. Le Mans that year not only served to introduce the MGA but also marked the point where MG returned to racing.
Over the years their have been large modifications to MGA racers.
One had a center placed steering wheel. Other modifications included Chevy V-6 engines, a 2 liter Ferrari engine, a widened body and frame to accommodate a V-8 engine, and an open wheel one seater, In 1966 a dragster MGA was built by adding a big block Chevy engine with a GMC blower. More recently a MGA dragster was built with a 406cubic inch small block Chevy.
The 1958 MGA
In 1958 MGA's 1500 were offered to buyers in both a roadster and coupe version. These automobiles had a lot of differences with the earlier models. For one, the coupe version actually had glass windows you could roll up or down. For another, the roadster version came with a removable hard top. The first hardtops were aluminum followed up later with fiberglass. Today, you can run into both original fiberglass hardtops in addition to aftermarket units.
The engine for both of these cars was a 1498 cc inline four cylinder putting out 72 horsepower.
Beginning in 1959 the MGA's sported a larger 1660 engine. Exact displacement was 1588 cc. Also on the scene came the MGA Twin-Cam 1588cc four cylinder engine.
This customized MGA Le Mans racer shown here has a four speed manual transmission.
You may also enjoy the articles on our AutoMuseumOnline site from the links below...
A True Muscle Car / The 1958 Studebaker Golden Hawk
The 1968 Oldsmobile 442 Muscle Car
A Good Looking 1969 Chevrolet Camaro
Buying an MGA and Car Clubs
Two good rules to adhere to if you're looking to purchase an MGA. Don't buy the car simply off of photos. Make every effort to inspect the vehicle yourself or hire a mechanic to do it.
The second rule would be that if you can, join an MG car club. Like with any active automobile club, you'll be able to get some good tips from it's members including things to watch out for.
You'll find MGA clubs all around the country. A partial list includes...
Mid Atlantic MGA
Chicago Area MGA Club
North American MGA Car Club
MGA Owners Club of Northern California
Southern California MG Club
Value of MGA's and MGA Racers
As mentioned above, racing modifications to MGA racers, dragsters, road rally vehicles, etc can and do vary widely. Because of this asking prices for MGA racers also vary widely. In addition, there are a good many MGA replicas on the market. It also must be noted that it's believed that only five original 1955 MGA Le mans cars are still in existence.
As of this writing there is a 1960 MGA 1500 Le Mans replica with an asking price of $15,500. A 1957 MGA Roadster asking $11,000. An original 1959 MGA Roadster with 139,000 miles asking $14,000.
Reference and an excellent book about the MGA is...The MGA by author John Price Williams.Another very interesting book is about the crash as Le Mans in 1955 which negatively affected auto racing, at least for several years. It's a good story of how the automakers who depended on racing dealt with the tragedy. The book is titled...Le mans 55 : The Crash That Changed the Face of Auto Racing by author Christopher Hilton.
(Article and photos copyright Muscle Car Journal)
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| Customized 58 MGA Le Mans |
MG's Syd Enever, head designer at MG, did a redesign by penning an aerodynamic body on the MG TF for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The MG TF body harked back to the era of the early 1930's.
After the 1951 Le Mans the redesign project however was put on hold until 1955. British Motor Corporation was in a quandary over the fact that the Austin-Healey 100 ( from BMC) came out as a modern looking sports car. Management didn't feel the need to produce two new sports cars so they continued to build the MG TD. The decision proved wrong in as much as the TD sales figures declined significantly forcing management to reverse it's decision. The problem however was that the new design as not totally complete and in the meantime an updated substitute of the MG TF was introduced until the new MGA design was complete.
MGA Racing
In 1955 MG put together three prototype aluminum bodies to run in that year's Le Mans. The cars were modified as such for racing such as having the bumpers removed to take off weight. The results were not too shabby with two of the racers coming in at fifth and sixth place in their respective classes. Later that year two of the MGA racers were on the show circuit. Le Mans that year not only served to introduce the MGA but also marked the point where MG returned to racing.
 |
| 1958 MGA Le Mans dashboard |
One had a center placed steering wheel. Other modifications included Chevy V-6 engines, a 2 liter Ferrari engine, a widened body and frame to accommodate a V-8 engine, and an open wheel one seater, In 1966 a dragster MGA was built by adding a big block Chevy engine with a GMC blower. More recently a MGA dragster was built with a 406cubic inch small block Chevy.
The 1958 MGA
In 1958 MGA's 1500 were offered to buyers in both a roadster and coupe version. These automobiles had a lot of differences with the earlier models. For one, the coupe version actually had glass windows you could roll up or down. For another, the roadster version came with a removable hard top. The first hardtops were aluminum followed up later with fiberglass. Today, you can run into both original fiberglass hardtops in addition to aftermarket units.
The engine for both of these cars was a 1498 cc inline four cylinder putting out 72 horsepower.
Beginning in 1959 the MGA's sported a larger 1660 engine. Exact displacement was 1588 cc. Also on the scene came the MGA Twin-Cam 1588cc four cylinder engine.
This customized MGA Le Mans racer shown here has a four speed manual transmission.
You may also enjoy the articles on our AutoMuseumOnline site from the links below...
A True Muscle Car / The 1958 Studebaker Golden Hawk
The 1968 Oldsmobile 442 Muscle Car
A Good Looking 1969 Chevrolet Camaro
Buying an MGA and Car Clubs
 |
| Rear view of the 58 MGA customized Le Mans |
The second rule would be that if you can, join an MG car club. Like with any active automobile club, you'll be able to get some good tips from it's members including things to watch out for.
You'll find MGA clubs all around the country. A partial list includes...
Mid Atlantic MGA
Chicago Area MGA Club
North American MGA Car Club
MGA Owners Club of Northern California
Southern California MG Club
As mentioned above, racing modifications to MGA racers, dragsters, road rally vehicles, etc can and do vary widely. Because of this asking prices for MGA racers also vary widely. In addition, there are a good many MGA replicas on the market. It also must be noted that it's believed that only five original 1955 MGA Le mans cars are still in existence.
As of this writing there is a 1960 MGA 1500 Le Mans replica with an asking price of $15,500. A 1957 MGA Roadster asking $11,000. An original 1959 MGA Roadster with 139,000 miles asking $14,000.
Reference and an excellent book about the MGA is...The MGA by author John Price Williams.Another very interesting book is about the crash as Le Mans in 1955 which negatively affected auto racing, at least for several years. It's a good story of how the automakers who depended on racing dealt with the tragedy. The book is titled...Le mans 55 : The Crash That Changed the Face of Auto Racing by author Christopher Hilton.
(Article and photos copyright Muscle Car Journal)
