>I just finished a frameoff restoration of a 1951 MGTD; took about 6
>years working weekends. Looks pretty good, so I decided to get involved
>in a real challenge. Bought a 1961 MGA MkII in pieces; a body and most
>of the running gear, a 1622 engine, proper transmission, etc.
>
>My questions. I believe the MkII came with front disk brakes. This one
>has drum brakes on front. Perchances, did any of these cars come with
>drum brakes. If so, would it make sense to convert to disks, or are the
>drum brakes sufficient. Originality is important to me, but getting the
>car on the road as a daily driver at a reasonable cost is more
>important.
>From The Original MGA
Page 18 - "It is worth noting the the chassis number was at least sometimes
stamped on the frame: cars have been reported both with and without the
number stamped in. The location is the horizontal top surface of the box
section crossmember at the rear of the gearbox, on the right-hand side of
the gearbox cover tunnel, approximately three to six inches from the tunnel.
The number stamped here will simply be the five- or six-figure number
without any prefix (on the Twin Cam models, three or four figures only)."
So there you can check the chassis number. Also from The Original MGA -
there is a whole table with this, I will just indicate model changes:
May 1955 First MGA 1500 Chassis #10101
Sept. 1956 First MGA 1500 Coupe Chassis #20671
Jan. 1959 Introduction of 15GD-type Engine Chassis #61504
May 1959 First MGA 1600 Chassis #68851
April 1960 First MGA 1600 DeLuxe model Chassis #91240
March 1961 First MGA 1600 Mk. II Chassis #100352
May 1962 Last MGA Chassis #109070
April 1958 First Twin Cam Chassis #501
May 1960 Last Twin Cam Chassis #2611
Basic things to look for in dating the body:
1500 cars have a flatter bonnet (this changed when the twin cam was coming
out), single lights on the rear fender for stop/park/signal, and small round
bullet front indicator lights.
1600 cars have a 1588 engine, speparate indicator tail light, an additional
catch on the windshield frame for the hood, larger sidelamp/indicators on
the front.
1600 Mk II have New grille - recessed, the 1622 engine, horizontal combined
signal/stop lamp at the rear (same as on a mini), and Vynide on the facia.
Phil Bates
58 MGA
67 MGB
75 Jaguar XJ12C
66 Land Rover
52 MG TD replicar (VW)
86 Peugeot 505 Turbo Gle
86 Honda Accord LX-i
|