MGA 1600 MkII Roadster

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The first truly modern MG, the MGA of 1955 was leagues ahead of anything the company had yet produced as all their other post-war cars had been nothing more than restyled pre-war designs.

Blessed with one of the most shapely silhouettes of any car ever produced, the Roadster also had an incomparably rigid structure, utterly devoid of the scuttle-shake that plagues so many other soft-tops. This is thanks to a triangulated bulkhead design that is not found on any other production sportscar. Throw in its beautifully direct, vice-free rack and pinion steering, and it's no wonder that the MGA has acquired such a devoted fan club over the years.

The final and the best version of the car was the MGA 1600 MkII, which arrived in 1961. This had a slightly bigger B-Series engine of 1,622cc with a top speed of 103mph allied to higher gearing which improved the car's high speed cruising ability. Styling tweaks included a revised grille with recessed slats and new horizontal tail-lamps. The MGA 1600 Mk II lasted in production for just one year, only 8,719 examples being made before it was replaced by the softer and rather less inspiring MGB in 1962.

This particular MGA has had just two owners from new, being originally purchased by Alan Driscoll of Llanelli in August 1961 from whom the vendor acquired it in August 2012. The original owner had begun to restore the car in the early 1980s including rebuilding the engine with new pistons, a hot camshaft, a gas-flowed Landar head and Landar intake trumpets. New floors had also been fitted and the bodywork repainted. However a house move then intervened and the car was put into storage where it was to remain for the next three decades.

By the time the vendor acquired it in the summer of 2012, various items had gone missing, including the gearbox and the propshaft plus numerous other parts. A development engineer and motoring writer of some repute, he set about completing the rebuild to his own specification which included fitting a 5-speed Sierra gearbox using a kit supplied by Hi-Torque Engineering.

The braking system was fully rebuilt with new discs, callipers, pads, hoses, master cylinder etc, while a new petrol tank and electric fuel pump were also fitted along with a new windscreen, hood frame, leather seat covers, headlights, woodrim steering wheel plus a host of other minor items, over £6,000 being spent on parts alone. Being a driver rather than a polisher, he opted to leave the body and brightwork alone, these aspects being not as fresh as they once were.

Since the restoration was completed the MGA has been in regular use and successfully completed the Kinsale Vintage Rally in Cork, Ireland, in 2014, where it was awarded The Blue Haven Perpetual Trophy, being chosen as the car that the local pub landlord would most like to take home! Being offered here from a deceased estate, this sound, straight and sensibly uprated sportscar is ready for a lucky third owner to enjoy right away and could easily be improved cosmetically if so desired.