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Do the Mark II's have first gear synchros?
Any comments on conversions from 2 x 6 volt to single 12 volt battery?
And has anyone found a removable luggage rack for the A that won't dent the aluminum trunk lid?
And finally, are the original fenders steel or aluminum?
To answer your questions:
1st gear is non-synchro in all MGA's. No big deal.
Unless one is absolutely bent on originality everyone switches from 2 six's to 1 small twelve and uses the other compartment to carry parts (i.e. generator, fuel pump, and the like). Almost everyone also switches from positive ground to negative ground (a really simple process).
I think there is a removable luggage rack that can be bought but its clearly not a popular item - people either have them or don't. I had one for decades but once the wife learned how to dress and pack for long trips, we stopped using it. I painted another trunk lid to match the car and it has a permanent rack on it but unless I was going to be gone for multiple weeks I've no plans to use it. To free up space in the trunk we travel without a spare, no matter the distance.
MGA's have aluminum hoods, doors, and trunk lid. Everything else is steel. They have a steel box frame that allows for complete body off restorations.
Mike, Clausager's Original MGA book is the MGA "Bible" and will answer any questions you can think of about the car's and the differences between the models (1500, 1600, 1600 MkII, Twin Cam, Deluxe, for both roadsters and coupes) as they came from the factory. Here's a link to purchase.
If you want to see what its like to take on a real project for a mere $25 you can join the Michigan Chapter of the North American MGA Register. Here is a link to the home page. NAMGAR Michigan Chapter Rowdies
Why would you want to do that? There is a members only section with links to Larry's MGA Resteration. Dozen's upon dozen's of pictures and write-ups all organized by sections. Larry Pittman is a very good friend and so organized it hurts. Here's what he started with and end with and it's all detailed out on-line if you have any thoughts of really taking on a project.
Re: Synchros. Yeah, I was just curious. I have no problem with no synchros for first. Got me out of a ticket once. I told the officer I HAD to come to a complete stop at that stop sign or I would not have been able to get the car into 1st. (Don't remember the car. Maybe the old Spitfire I had back in the late 60s.) He laughed and let me off with a warning. Fact is, the transmission was so worn that I could slip the car into first even with my so-so rev matching skills.
I am not planning to enter anything into Amelia Island or Pebble any time soon so I am not a slave to originality, although I do like all original cars or those with only period correct mods. I like to look at them and talk to the owners. And I like to keep things original where doing so makes sense but if some kind of upgrade, especially from the same manufacturer, improves safety or drivability I'm ok with that. I don't think I would try to switch an MG to an alternator, but the single battery and negative ground improvements make perfect sense. On that subject, one or two people among the few who are watching this thread might be interested to know that I found a set of RS Watanabe Eightspoke wheels for the old Accord. This is quite a find because the first gen Accord is almost the only car offered in America EVER with a 4x120 jlug pattern. The Watanabes were obviously made for 1G Accords so the offset and width are also the same as the stock steel rims. Watanabe started out making magnesium wheels for racing applications and later got into cast aluminum rims for street cars. Eightspoke rims are modeled on Minilites. So period-correct modification = fine with me.
I might spring for the book after doing some more web-based research. And your friend, Larry, has done something good for the hobby with his restoration. Folks get knowledge and the benefit of his experience, the chapter gets some incremental funds from folks who join just for the members-only access, and a beautiful car is given a new life. What could be better? I won't be making a purchasing decision without joining up. Such a thorough examination of a restoration tells so much about the car, even if one is only shopping for a well restored example.
Good find on the wheels for the Accord. As I’ve mentioned before my first Japanese car was a 1972 Toyota Corona MkII hardtop that was exclusively sold at Toyopet store locations in Japan. I bought it in 1973 after the price of oil sky rocked from a serviceman I knew who was stationed in Japan and shipped it home to his wife. It started my life long respect for Japanese cars.
Just for grin's here's a picture of one of my buddy's engine's... that one I mentioned who would have died if he was on the dirt behind me.
Beautiful.
When it comes to engines and engine bays from that era you can have your German iron, American muscle, Italian stallions, and Asian classics. For me, nothing beats a well tended English engine bay from the 50s and 60s, at least when it comes to looks.
^ Thanks Gene. This year’s MGA national event is in Solvang, California. Last year's was in Lexington, KY. MGA owners like to drive! The plate is from the Mid-Atlantic chapter that organized a drive starting in Virginia Beach, Virginia on June 8th. They plan to take 10-days to get to CA. Running the Dragon on the 9th was on their schedule. I am a little surprised I don’t know the owner of the one in the photo. The next day’s stop was at Jack Daniels Distillery (been there, done that, and have half a barrel in the family room to prove it; still we would have gone to Jim Beam again (much better))! My hats off to those hardy souls who went.
Bill, I don’t usually disagree with your insight into these fur’n cars but I completely disagree with your information about the 1622 crankshaft. I know you must be basing it on personal experience but the 1622 crankshaft was clearly the best of the three MGA engines. It is a bit stronger with thicker webs and slightly narrower main bearings and it used flattop pistons as opposed to dished-pistons seen in the 1500/1600 engines. It is very close in specs to the crankshaft used in the 3-main MGB 1800 engine. I have never heard of a crank failure. In fact after reading your comment, I called a good friend who has raced a 1622 for 30 years in vintage racing and just retired this year. He said he ha never heard of one either. Certainly anything over 4500 rpms for extended periods is going to go eventually.
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It is based on the number of failed 1622 crankshafts we ran into at my brother's shop, many of which were his own. My brother cracked several of them in three different engines installed in two different cars; an MGA MKII and an Elva Currier. He had a three main bearing 1800 engine he would swap in every time one cracked while he looked for another replacement. He gave up on having them welded. He'd find good used cranks. The journals on the replacements would be built back up and then ground down to stock to maintain the maximum diameter. The cranks were then sent out to be balanced (with the rest of the rotating parts) and the main bearing carriers in the block were always align bored. All this work helped.
As for cause, he concluded that the thicker webs and narrower mains (thickness reduced to make room for the wider webs) plus the increase in output due to the other factory engine changes you mentioned resulted in greater stresses supported by less surface area. Add some additional performance modifications and the crank became the weak point.
My brother's engines certainly lived violin lives and spent a good deal of time near redline, but as I said, we saw them crack in customer cars as well. Some of the used cranks he bought for replacement would be found to have hairline cracks that were revealed during magna flux testing at the machine shop.
MG increased the size of the main journal diameter for the 1800 and then replaced the three main bearing engine with the five for improved longevity. They made those changes for a reason. Your friend's experience is remarkable. I'd be interested in knowing the output of his engines and his observed redline.
Some great old sports car footage sent to me by vintage racer Joe Tierno (of 029 fame). He says the video was taken by Suzy Dietrich and the winning MGA driver is Sherm Decker (of MGA fame). To quote Joe…. Camera angles are fantastic and you get to see how the old bias-ply tires spike up the action. I could not agree more, love it!! Lots of MGAs (and other makes) racing at Marlboro, Maryland in 1959............
Bill, I am still waiting to hear back from another vintage racing buddy - as I recall he was working at the Indy 500 vintage races last weekend, so I hope to share more insight later when he gets home.
