The front suspension and brake system on this MGA was beyond worn out. Add in lots of surface rust, grease, grime, road grit, and cobwebs and that meant a complete rebuild of everything. The steering rack was disassembled and gone through, and ultimately we had to cannibalize two additional MGA racks to get enough good…
After a clean bill of health from the machine shop, which included new pistons, rings, camshaft, oil pump, bearings, water pump, timing chain, polished crankshaft, a reworked valvetrain, and the very difficult job of locating a replacement for a cracked 1622 cylinder head, the engine was thoroughly degreased again and prepped for primer and paint.…
The battery boxes on this MGA were in poor shape, but with the exception of one small rust spot, the arms were in great shape. We opted to repair the driver’s side inner arm and replace the battery boxes. We had arms on standby if we found more damage or were unable to save them,…
With the exception of the battery boxes, the chassis is in good shape. Rather than a full body-off chassis restoration, the owner has opted for a clean-up and repaint. We find that in these situations, painting with a brush is far superior to having to mask everything for spraypaint. We draped the car in plastic…
After a brief look-over of the engine, we decided that the best course of action was to pull it out of the car and have a thorough inspection done at a machine shop. With the large amounts of rust in the valvetrain, the poor condition of the coolant in the block, and the sludge evident…
This 1962 MGA 1600 Mk II is from Alabama, and has been in the same family since new. It was restored at some time in the past, but stored poorly beneath a tarp under a deck for many years. It arrived for evaluation and we will be making the car mechanically sound, running and driving,…
The last time we built a Miata-powered MGB we used a mild steel ANSA exhaust system mated to a Miata downpipe. The owner of this GT liked the sound so much that he chose the same system. Unfortunately for us, ANSA (previously know by the brand name Monza) had again been sold to Pace Setter.…
One of the biggest jobs on this project is the wiring. We attempted to maintain as much of the stock MGB/GT wiring as possible, while using only the wiring necessary from the engine management systems of the Miata to operate the engine functions. We started with a new harness from Autosparks in the UK (via…
We installed a new Moss Tourist Trophy fuel tank and reinstalled all of the underbody fuel feed and return lines. The clutch master cylinder (stock Mazda Miata) was reinstalled in the pedal box, and the brake master cylinder and booster from a later MGB was re-fit. Once the surrounding bits had been installed, it was…
Final bodywork, prep and paint took place down the street at our partner shop, Kimber Auto Body. They set the final gaps on the doors, hood, and hatch, smoothed out the last few remaining ripples, and then primed and painted the car. The color chosen is an Aston Martin British Racing Green. Once back in…