David’s MGA project
I remember, many years ago, seeing for the first time, a Le Mans MGA, and being struck by its beauty. Since becoming involved with Octagon, I have often thought it would be really fun to build an, “in the spirit of competition”, tribute MGA. The racing windshield and bumperless look, to me, reveal the purity of the beautiful flowing lines of the car. MGA’s are fairly inexpensive and readily available because of the large number that were produced and, while not very exotic, they offer the true British roadster experience. Well – about 20 yrs after first seeing the real thing, I have actually followed through on this idea. I found a solid local car that had had a decent ‘restoration’ some years ago, I found a perspex ‘sports’ windshield on Ebay – that came with instructions on how to cut down one’s own windshield frame – and I purchased the wire wheel conversion kit from Moss, along with a mesh grill, and a ‘bumper delete’ fibreglass front valence. The boys at the shop turned the car around in an afternoon, for phase 1 of the conversion, and I think the results are fantastic. It is a really fun little car to drive and, to my eye, a timeless beauty – harkening back to many of the competition roadsters of the 50’s and 60’s. As you can see in the pictures, the front valence has yet to be installed, and phase 2 of the project will be a few engine tweaks, which continue the theme of the “spirit of competition”, a little ‘straightening’ here and there and then, eventually, a re paint in a different colour. I will update this story as I go but, for now, I am just thrilled with the results. I’ll see you at the ABFM 2015 for the 60th anniversary of the MGA!!!
