By 1955 , the MG - TF had become rather dated . milligram enthusiasts the world over clamored for something more modern and faster to keep footstep with the novel Triumph TR-2 . The 1955 - 1962 MGA was Abingdon ’s answer .
Classic Cars Image Gallery
The last of the fabled MG T - series sportswoman gondola , the TF Midget , went out of production in March 1955 . dealer around the world and most of The Faithful , as MG partisan were known on every continent , breathed a sigh of relief .
TF sales had been steal and competition devotee from within the MG fraternity were besiege the Abingdon mill for an up - to - escort streamlined sports railway car that could trump its rivals in breed trimming .
Meanwhile at Abingdon , Lt . Col . John Thornley , OBE , who had begun his long career with MG in 1931 , was install as General Manager in 1952 . He spent most of his time doing a balance act with the board of directors of British Motors Corporation , which had been form three years earlier when the Nuffield Organization , of which MG was a part , and the Austin Company merged .
The February 1952 spousal relationship fall as a surprisal to sports car aficionados everywhere . On the one side of the fusion was Lord Nuffield , nee William Morris , who commence his automotive calling in Oxford in 1903 and whose Morris Garage spawned the first MG elevator car in the early twenties under Cecil Kimber ; on the other side stood Sir Herbert Austin . The two had been hard - nosed competitors for 10 .
The MG Faithful were soon exhaustively convinced that the Austin people had done in the Abingdon work , and indeed MG ’s design office was transferred to Austin ’s Central Design Office in Cowley . The MG engineering and design staff under Sydney Enever had been gearing up to produce a down , streamlined MG - TD replacement ever since George Phillips captured 2nd home in the 1.5 - liter stratum in the 1950 Le Mans .
Phillips ' mount , a extremely tuned TC Midget special , had been fitted with an atmosphere - rip off gasbag body . That coupe was followed by another car built for Phillips for the 1951 Le Mans . It alike sported a specially design body mounted on a TD Mark II chassis .
Inspired by Goldie Gardner ’s EX135 , a pre - war MG experimental streamliner , the 1951 racer had a top speed of nearly 120 mph . unluckily , the honest potential difference of the car was not realized as engine worry forced an other retreat from the race .
Thornley , Syd Enever , and others were nonetheless impressed with the greatly improved performance , which was due for the most part to better aeromechanics , and welt up a proposed 1952 TD surrogate along the parentage of the Le Mans special . Because the narrow frame of the T - serial publication chassis precluded a low seating side , Enever explicate a totally raw frame with the longitudinal rails splayed outwards to a breadth of approximately 45 inches .
In fact , it was quite similar to the frame of EX179 , a first-rate - streamlined image . In it , Capt . George Eyston and Ken Miles ( well known throughout the MG fraternity as a top sports car competitor ) kick the bucket on to take seven International Class F record and 28 American Class F records on the Bonneville Salt Flats in August 1954 , among them 120.74 miles per hour for 12 hours . All that from 81 horsepower and 1466cc .
With different gearing and a 97.5 - H.P. " sprint " version of the same railway locomotive , EX179 cover the flying ten mile campaign at 153.69 miles per hour , knocking down international and American disk in the process . As a fillip , EX179 ’s main front suspension , which utilize many TF components , was noted for good handling .
For more on the development of the 1955 MGA , see the next page .
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Development of the 1955 MGA
Development of the 1955 MGA was not without challenges . Two copy of the chassis for the intended TD alternate were build , one fitted with a body interchangeable to that of Phillips ' 1951 Le Mans special . The seats sat low , lay between the transmission and the human body side track .
By the time it was completed , Thornley already occupy the billet of cosmopolitan managing director at Abingdon . Although TD sales reports from all over the United States and the British Commonwealth were discouraging , the entire TD successor project nonetheless ran into opposition from the Modern BMC Board of Directors , which had other idea in mind .
unidentified to John Thornley and other MG stalwart , the board had already sign a contract with Donald Healey to oversee production of his latest design , the Austin - Healey . It was to be power by an existing Austin locomotive , the 2.6 - liter four from the Austin A90 .
Thus , while the Austin - Healey 100 two - seat sports car took the spot at the 1952 London Motor Show , a disappointed MG direction and staff had to make do with the all - too - familiar TD Midget at its own stand .
It mattered not a tittle to the mostly Austin - control BMC board that the Abingdon mathematical product had consistently outsold all other sports cars in the devoid world ; the Austin - Healey 100 had been choose to wear the BMC sports machine top . To develop two new sports cars simultaneously , even if one was the well - selling MG , was just too expensive .
Thus , the rumor that there would be no new MG sport car for the foreseeable hereafter test to be true . One could even listen talk that there might not be any more MGs at all , but Book finally filtered down from the board that MG would have to be contented with a face - lift of the TD . The result was the TF Midget , a hurriedly prepared stopgap model ( albeit a most attractive one ) that would carry the MG banner from October 1953 to March 1955 .
Much respected in both Abingdon and Cowley , Thornley made the most of what little influence he had with the board , and somehow managed to get permission to organize a competitions department . And by former 1955 , design were finally laid to precede a new MG sports car based on the experience gained from the earlier EX experimentals .
Several prototypes were hurriedly build and a team of three railcar was entered in the 1955 Le Mans , schedule for June 11 . A well - believe architectural plan bid for the introduction of the new MG two-seater to electrical distributor and the automotive press a week or so before the race in parliamentary procedure to maximise exposure and bring forth enthusiasm for the long - look new MG .
Then come trouble : Body production go into unexpected problem , causing serious delays and leaving chassis to baby-sit in the Abingdon works sans vesture . Frustrated by their inability to lay out an introduction date , Thornley and Enever were forced to focus promotion rather on the three Le Mans EX182 paradigm . The best they could hope for was that the TF replacement would be quick for full - scale yield in time for an early autumn debut at the London Motor Show .
For more on the 1955 MGA prototypes , continue to the next page .
1955 MGA Prototypes
While publicly assure the fresh MG as presently as potential , Thornley duly introduced the three 1955 MGA prototypes and sent them on to measure up for the London Motor Show . They look low and satiny with their special aluminum bodies and were in good order adorned in British Racing Green .
The MG Faithful were well represented in the stall and a score of correspondents for automotive partizan magazine from both incline of the Atlantic were on tap .
Then disaster ! ahead of time in the backwash , a Mercedes - Benz crashed through a barrier and flew directly into the gang across from the pit . Many viewer were kill and scores more free burning serious injury .
As if an epidemic was taking plaza , the MG image driven by Dick Jacobs , longtime MG competitor , break apart on the White House street corner just as the yellow circumspection flags come down . He was mischievously bruise .
The wash was almost call , but then continue ; by the end of the event , only a third of the 60 starters had finish the course . The two pull round EX182 prototypes impressed the crowd by engage fifth and 6th places in their stratum , close behind a squad of veteran Porsches and an extremely prompt Osca .
In his bookMaintaining the Breed , Thornley by and by concern to the 248 and 230 laps completed by the paradigm at average speeds of 86.17 and 81.97 mph as a " technical success . " MG enthusiast found the result more than encouraging and bargainer chomped at the bit for cars to trade . However , the raw MG sports railroad car would not seem until September .
But it would be novel ; a extremist enough departure from the T - series that , as with Henry Ford ’s Model T heir , it seemed appropriate to go back to the commencement of the ABC to name it . Thus , the Ford became the Model A , the British roadster the MGA .
Five months without an MG sports car ! Nothing approaching that sort of disaster had taken place before ( other than during World War II , of row ) . The delay created difficulty for everyone . Dealers wrung their paw , try their good to ascertain uncoerced buyers that the unexampled models would soon be usable .
The one-year Ulster Tourist Trials came shortly before the introduction of the MGA 1500 . As in the Le Mans Twenty - Four Hour Race , the Abingdon works move into a team
of three prototypes , much to the pleasure
of The Faithful . One of them was powered with a standard pushrod locomotive engine , but the other two run three-fold overhead camshafts –
a prophetic glance into the MGA ’s future .
Unfortunately , the dohc pair develop
valve trouble , forcing them to pull back betimes . The received engine prototype did well , however , finishing fourth in class behind a squad of Porsches , practically a repeat of the Le Mans experience .
Even the Royal Automobile Club , long a cooperative organization , decided that the old Dundrod , Northern Ireland , course was too dangerous , and so the revered runway was closed .
To learn more about the long - awaited 1955 MGA , bear on to the next page .
1955 MGA
The fair success in the 1955 Le Mans , and the more than five calendar month drought of MG sports cars , ascertain large rig wherever the new , beautifully streamlined 1955 MGA 1500 was display .
Looking nearly identical to the Le Mans triad , the fully wrap two - seater used a rigid , boxwood - section frame that measure 45.5 inches wide-cut at the cockpit , permitting low seating area with buckets nestle between the frame rail and the transmission extrusion . The happy resolution , of track , was a streamlined visibility .
The 1489cc ohv engine , the well - prove BMC B - character inline four , utilized the same 8.3:1 compression proportion as the MG Magnette ZB bar , which debut one calendar month after the 1955 MGA . fit for the MGA with dual 1.5 - column inch SU semi - downdraft carburetors , it developed 68 H.P. at 5,500 revolutions per minute , eight more than the Magnette .
The gear case , too , was shared with the sedan , including the four internal ratios , but the 4.3:1 final drive proportion differed . The rear temporary removal and brake system were also usual to both cars .
The main curl spring front suspension make out directly from the TF , as did the rack - and - quill guidance . The latter , with only 2.75 grow lock - to - lock chamber , was noted for quick and well-to-do answer . Genuine instruments – no faddy blinking " idiot lights " here – were well grade with a tumid speed indicator and tachometer directly in front of the driver .
Legroom was abundant , and the well - positioned foot pedal provided more metrical foot room around them than in the TF , although some mat up the penury for still more way . Once inside , the cockpit felt somewhat more spacious than most small-scale sport cars of the era , but the 1955 MGA was a bit more unmanageable to figure than the TF due to its lowness and the configuration of the hood .
The domain behind the bucket accommodated a briefcase and little items , but baggage had to vie for blank in the boot with the spare tyre and wheel , tools , and the piddling betting odds and ends that every true sports railway car aficionado always carried .
Though more prosperous and pretty roomier ( in answer to bargainer requests , mostly from America ) , the 1955 MGA remained very much a play car . An easily erected tough and side curtains fix the inside from all but the most wild storms , while a saltation - loaded tizzy on the lower portion of each side drape allowed one ’s hired man to be stretch for rally signaling or to pay tolls .
It also served to allow access from the exterior to the horizontal twist cord beneath the inner door sill , necessary since there were no external door handle . This transcription made it impossible to lock the cockpit of the MGA . And since the hand truck lid had to be unlatched from inside the automobile , neither the cockpit nor the trunk were safe from vandals . An inner grab grip made it easier for passengers to debark .
By first appearance time on the East Coast , the British magazineThe Autocarhad already assured The Faithful that a true 90 + stat mi per hour was on tap ; that 0 - 60 miles per hour required but 15 seconds ; that maximal speeds were 26 , 44 , and 70 mph in the lower power train ; and that in good blood line tune a sharp number one wood could achieve 98 miles per hour with the top and side mantle fixed in place .
Top gear , however , yield only 17 miles per hour per 1,000 revolutions per minute , meaning that the engine was spin at a lively 4,000 rpm at 68 mph . This suggest that overdrive would be a utilitarian option , but unfortunately it was not offered . Nonetheless , cruising speeds in an MGA were middling much what main road conditions and the law permitted .
For more on the carrying out of the 1955 MGA , see the next Sir Frederick Handley Page .
1955 MGA Performance
Road & Trackwas spry to wrench out the 1955 MGA performance and to equate it with the TF 1500 in its October 1955 government issue . R&Tstaffers determine the new model higher-ranking in almost every regard .
For example , both were grass at 68 horsepower , but even though the MGA carry a 100 - pound - plus exercising weight penalty and ran 4.3:1 rear gearing ( versus 4.875:1 ) , it out - accelerated the former model in every category : 0 - 60 miles per hour in 14.5 seconds versus 16.3 , and 19.6 moment in the quarter mile versus 20.7 .
Top speed jumpstart to 95 mph from 85 , almost all due to the reduce air resistance of the new torso – only 94 pounds of total puff at 60 miles per hour for the MGA compared to 119 pounds for the TF , a 21 percent advance . R&Talso obtained significantly improve fuel economy with the MGA : 30 mpg at a 65/75 mph cruise , compared to 25 mpg .
Despite the MGA ’s many admirable positivist virtues , objections were sometimes heard ( and loudly ) from hard - core MG traditionalist . They mourned the pass of the public square - rigged , high - radiatored classical lines , and the as high grapple - shaped buffer . Such noise would be heard again when the even - more - modern MGB replaced the MGA in 1962 .
At the New York City MGA introduction , one zealot was get a line to observe that , " The blinking thing can be mistaken for a Siata or almost anything – except a Morgan . "
" Maybe so , " an American - stress chap wearing an SCCA ( Sports Car Club of America ) button on his lapel retorted , " but a yoke of prototypes did mightily well at Le Mans last June . "
The opera hat was another observation from a gentleman who looked like a dignified attorney : " I own a Packard Caribbean and I ’ll warrant that this MGA is a helluva lot more fun to drive . "
The MGA ’s 94.0 - column inch wheelbase measured the same as the T - type Midgets and the pace , front and rearward , was nearly identical . So was the tyre sizing at 5.50 x 15 . free weight had crept up a second , however , from 1,854 to 1,988 pounds , and so had the base price , from $ 1,995 to $ 2,195 .
The fuel tank was concealed for the first time on an MG sport car . And if one want to go on an extended trip , an early factory option was an effective luggage wrack that sequester easy to the rear deck lid .
Other options included whack - off wire wheels in place of steel discs , 4.55:1 rear axle , telescope steering column , and tonneau cover . And early in the production rill , tough primary bearings and what Abingdon call " tune up " increase the rated production from 68 to 72 horsepower at 5,750 rpm .
All told , there were few option to the MGA : a rival - desirable Class F yield sports car that could deliver a level best of 95 - plus mile per hour for only $ 2,450 to $ 2,550 ready for the route .
By the end of the first full year of production , well over 13,000 MGA 1500s had been ship from Abingdon – a record for MG and within less than 1,000 units of the total numeral of Austin - Healey 100s build from 1953 through 1956 .
To follow the MGA story from 1956 - 1958 , go along on to the next varlet .
1956, 1957, and 1958 MGA
Over the next three years , the 1956 , 1957 , and 1958 MGA underwent a number of change .
The MGA coupe served as the centerpiece of the encompassing MG exhibit at the London Motor Show in October 1956 . count about 100 pounds more than the runabout , it featured a pressed - blade ceiling that was weld to the dead body , unique semi - wraparound windshield , three - small-arm wraparound rear windowpane , farting - down side windows , and exterior door handles .
A few months earlier , MG had also begun offer up a detachable fiberglass hardtop ; it employ skid side window . That option made it potential for MGs to run as Grand Touring cars in certain private-enterprise event , a fact not dominate by Abingdon . Many aftermarket hardtops were also available for the MGA , some of them in fact appearing before the factory version .
Although many owners entered their MGAs in racing competition , most saw serve as daily number one wood , providing their owners with the pleasure of dead - accurate steering , agile manipulation , and quick over - the - route public presentation in the " Safety Fast " custom for which MG had become famous .
To fulfil petition for a higher performance theoretical account for serious competition , the Twin Cam theoretical account was announce in April 1958 . Never intended for bulk output , it was useable through April 1960 , by which clock time just 2,111 had been built . Among the rare of all MGAs , the Twin Cam listed at $ 3,110 in roadster class , while the coupe sold for $ 3,329 at West Coast ports - of - entry .
Eagerly look for when in product , the MGA Twin Cam is even more avidly pursue today as a prime collectible . An enlarged cylinder bore upped displacement to 1,588cc , while chain - driven dual overhead camshafts , higher 9.9:1 condensation proportion , aluminum cylinder pass with 1.75 - inch two-fold SU carburetors , and cross - flow initiation all helped to push output to 108 H.P. at 6,700 rpm . Four - wheel Dunlop disc Pteridium aquilinum and center - locking vented disc wheels also set the Twin Cam apart from less MGAs .
tune the MGA Twin Cam required great preciseness and , as the factory reminded querier , this higher performance model was intended stringently for the serious connoisseur , not the modal daily commuter who now and again entered into a weekend rally or gymkhana .
A dash from 0 - 60 mph could be plow in nine seconds matt and maximum upper fall in at about 115 mph in touring clipping , assuming the use of 100 octane fuel and right maintenance . With a small racing windscreen and the bumper removed and the tonneau top fastened in stead , careful tuning produced considerably more than 115 miles per hour .
In bunglesome hands and drive by blistering - perch type who seldom mind to the locomotive engine and never looked at the tach , however , the Twin Cam raise troublesome and expensive to fix , as many a number one wood who on a regular basis exceeded the red - line discovered . Such job were more common in the United States than elsewhere , reflecting perhaps the loose attitude of Americans toward car precaution and maintenance .
belike , the Twin Cam would have remained in yield a bit longer if a negative ontogenesis ( for Abingdon , at least ) had not occurred in 1957 . BMC management decreed that the Austin - Healey would , henceforth , be produced alongside the MGA rather than in the traditional Austin works in Longbridge .
As a subject of fact , this hinderance to develop MGAs in number sufficient to satisfy demand seriously dampen engineering development , which further bilk Thornley , Enever , and their consecrate doer . Obviously , the BMC board had become aware that the MG work , in spite of being little and less mechanized , was more efficient than the manufacturing plant on the Austin side of the merger .
To see how this young berth affected the 1959 and 1960 MGA , check out the next page .
1959 and 1960 MGA
Over the next two year , the 1959 and 1960 MGA evolved further . When the MGA 1500 series gave way in May 1959 to the improved 1959 MGA 1600 ( unofficially call the Mark I ) , yield stood at 58,750 – more than any other incessantly produced sport motorcar up to that metre .
ab initio , yield of the 1600 overlapped that of the Twin Cam . Interestingly enough , the new model ’s powerplant was a pushrod version of the 1588cc locomotive engine but take up compaction proportion , carburetion , and valve timing from the 1500 .
The big 75.414 mm aegir , though , boosted HP to 80 at 5,600 rev . Lockheed disk brakes became standard up front , and the contagion and propeller shaft profit from Twin Cam development .
The 1600 also receive some minor aim change that make it gentle to name from the 1500 . Sliding side curtains , which had already been available on the Twin Cam , replaced the flaps on the 1500 .
The front end receive larger , flatter parking light lenses and the taillight assembly were modified to take a 2d lens . The lighting changes add up in response to U.S. regulations that require amber front turn signals and separate signals in the rear . Badges for the 1600 were direct behind the cowling vents and on the trunk eyelid .
The MGA 1600 continued the basic MG recipe , that of a nimble , fun - to - drive , inexpensive sports car . Front disc brakes made it halt faster , and 10 percentage more ability made it even more antiphonal .
Unlike the Twin Cam , the MGA 1600 – whose top stop number propel up to an honest 100 mph – required only normal maintenance . Its two - yr production pair lasted through April 1961 , with 31,501 units built , lifting full MGA yield to 92,361 in less than six days , far onwards of Austin - Healey .
When the MGA 1600 Mark II debut in June of 1961 , The Faithful were immediately impressed , for here was a 105 - mph machine that could speed up from 0 - 60 miles per hour in 13.7 second . Bolt - on disk wheel were recommended in lieu of the still optional wire because of their great strength . The 1622cc locomotive engine , with 8.9:1 compression , developed 93 H.P. at 5,500 revolutions per minute .
The Mark I ’s brake system was continued , but a higher 4.10:1 final drive ratio marked the first such change since the MGA 1500 . Oil tank were standardized on all Mark IIs export to America to best adapt higher sustained cruise speeds and the North American climate .
The Mark II also received two well overlook styling variety . The first involve moving the vertical grille bars back about 2.5 inches at the bottom . The second , done mainly to meet rearward lighting regulating of various land , ensue in the facility of Austin Mini taillights mounted horizontally . Also , the dash and scuttle were covered in Nuvon charge plate , which deoxidise reflection , and derriere belt anchors were provided ( but not seat belts ) .
By now , the car enthusiast press occasionally sound off about the MG ’s " old - fashioned " side screens and jerky drive and wished for still more acceleration . Nonetheless , the 1600 Mark II was well respected worldwide;Road & Track , for instance , paid it the ultimate compliment : " In our opinion , this is truly the ' universal ' play elevator car . "
Production of the Mark II , which lasted from June 1961 to June 1962 , come in in at 8,719 units , include both roadsters and coupes .
For item on the 1961 and 1962 MGA , see the next page .
1961 and 1962 MGA
For the 1961 and 1962 MGA , during the point of 1600 Mark II production , the rarest and least fuck MGA poser was built in very circumscribed numbers : the MGA 1600 Mark II DeLuxe . Only 395 of the now much - sought - after DeLuxes were produced , although reliable rootage indicate that the first 82 were actually Mark Is .
The DeLuxe utilise remnant Twin Cam chassis , which , of course , featured disk brakes on all four recession and knock - off disk wheels . Engines , however , were the stock 1622cc unit and the geomorphological improvements of the Mark II were also incorporated into the DeLuxe .
MGA production ended in June of 1962 , but not before the factory celebrated the production of the 100,000th MGA . That criminal record - breaking event occurred on May 16 , 1962 , when a gold export model with gold telegram wheels and creme Interior Department – and " 100,000 " badging – rolled down the assembly line . The following month , bit 101,476 was built – the last MGA . That , too , was an pollyannaish occasion , for the MGB was on its way .
As related , the odds against the MGA were great . John Thornley , Syd Enever , and companion of the caliber of Reg Jackson , Gordon Phillips , and many others sway on the forward-looking custom established by the belated Cecil Kimber back in the day of the Morris Garage in Oxford .
Their problems were prophetic of more to amount during the MGB era : another merger , nationalization , and the abortive scuttling of the MGB on October 27 , 1980 , after more than a half million of that great serial had been built . MG ’s death created a furore in England and sensitized even the British Parliament .
But the end of Abingdon was not the final stage of the road for MG . Today , the MG badge is attached to eminent performance models – some turbocharged – of the piffling Metro and the somewhat turgid Maestro and Montego models from the Austin - Rover Group ( the Austin name was phase out during 1987 ) .
Rumors hold on that a unfeigned sports car stomach an MG badge is on the sensible horizon , belike a top - down adaptation of a Honda model , the Civic CRX .
Whatever the fate of current campaign to animate the MG name and even to re-introduce an MG sports machine , the MGA remains unaffected . After all , the MGA – the world ’s most popular sports car during its lifetime – earned a revered billet in automotive history long ago .
