1958 MGA Mk 1 1500 Roadster Upgrades 

Wow ! Beautiful car , I had a 1961 MGA as my first car back in 1966 , loved the car had the side windows with Aluminum frames, new top and wire wheels , the 1961 car had disk brakes and the 1600 mark 1 engine sold the car with 50,000 miles for $700.00 back then sorry to this day , but I was only 19 at the time ? 🤷🏻‍♂️

I had a red 59 back in 65. Didn’t,t like the maintenance needed on the wire wheels so prefer the steel wheels, with fake knock offs. Got to know Herbs wheel service on Aurora in Seattle quite well. Darn, I’d love to have another MGA!

I owned a 1960 MGA Twin Cam for several years in the mid 1960s and I found myself chuckling while watching this video and reading the comments. Before I bought it the car had never been driven on the road as it was used as a SCCA racecar (E Production if memory serves). It was a hard luck car from the onset. The plywood floorboard on the passenger side caught on fire in one race and the flames lept up and melted the wire insulation on some of the wires under the dashboard. A few months later the driver over reved the engine and blew a hole in the block. End of racing career! The racing team had had enough by this time and they sold me the engineless chassis for $450. Quite a deal since the body was in mint condition and the car was equipped with a roll bar, an oil cooler, race shocks, and an almost new set of Goodyear Blue Streak race tires. As it was a Twin Cam chassis it also featured 4 wheel knock off hub disc wheels and 4 wheel Dunlop disk brakes adapted to the Twin Cam from those on Jaguar at the time. I bought a junk yard MGA 1500 engine which I totally rebuilt and installed in the chassis. So why was I chuckling? Well because I often drove the car long distances at 70 mph without hesitation. And living in New England I often drove at temps as low as 10F, also without difficulty as I simply dressed warmly. Eventually I moved to a 1965 MGB with an 1800 cc engine which I once drove from Boston to Miami (1,530 miles) in total comfort. All this said I would have to say that your gearing setup seems way too high for the 1800 engine. My car had no speedometer as it was raced and needed only a tach. I calculated the rpm/mph ratio and if I remember correctly in 4th it went like this: 2000= 37.5 2500= 45.0 3000= 54.0 4000= 72.0 I can't recall the numbers above 4000 rpm...it has, after all, been more than 50 years. Anyway I think the rpm/mph ratio was the same in the MGB and the numbers you report are considerably higher. With 112 lbs of torque I would think the 1800 would really struggle with your gearing setup. Is that the case?

G day from Australia I have a 59 MGA red like yours with an 18.00 b motor and I'm looking at the Mazda five speed upgrade. I'm doing some research as I'm hopping to do the job myself as with the price of the gearbox and getting a mechanic to fit it I'm looking at approximately $7.600.00 AUS. Your information on gear ratios has helped a lot to put my mind at rest that I will be able to cruise on the freeway and keep up with modern traffic. My MG specialist want's $18,00 AUS to fit it I think it's a bit over the top and if I hire the equipment I'm shore I can do it myself. Thanks again for your great video.👍

Very cool car.

don't think i've ever seen one in orange. ...doesn't look half bad. :) those powetrain mods are right on target!

You're still exercising that PowerPoint PhD!

I actually like your little clock, but I believe the folks at Abingdon opted to install the speaker and the Motorola at the same time. (Or that's how it was in my Mark II. Maybe a bit more Effort went into these earlier cars.)

To me, it is the most Beautiful light Sport Car, ever built, my Dream Car

Having been forced to sell my MGA about 20 yrs ago, I don't know why I torture myself with these vids. Mine was a 61 that already had an 1800 B engine in it. First thing I had done was to replace the soft top. Next was the wire wheel conversion. That was about all that was done over 12 years. I miss her so.

Very nice car!

Explain the oxygen sensors please.

Wood dash is terrible in an MGA. Original metal dash is perfect.

Je suis intéressé par la référence de la couleur de votre Mga..? Cordialement Didier

If you have used the head from the 1600 engine, you are giving away some power. The head from the 1800cc MGB has significantly larger valves and ports. Also you appear to be undergeared.. Your diff is likely to be 4.<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="181">3:1</a>. A change to a 4.1 from an MGA Mk2 would be beneficial.

My college day car

It's the Gecko's car.

the front bumpers on these cars always look like they're tilted down.

My ‘61 MGA would pull to 5500 rpm in top gear, 105 mph. My ‘63 MGB would do about the same. Both fun cars. I believe the A was slightly faster due to body shape.

For all the changes to this particular MGA, there does not seem to be a significant gain. The original MGA as delivered new was already capable of 100 mph . The MGA raced at the Le Mans 24 hour race and was very successful in European rally events (with driver Pat Moss) so was very competitive in standard form. This particular car looks very nice , but it only LOOKS like an MGA and most of its drivetrain and wheels are non standard. Whatever lights your candle I suppose. In UK we tend to appreciate the originality of classic cars, appreciate the design and engineering of the time, modifications only reduce the value of the vehicle.

Please upgrade your sound!

No way I would drive the car at -10C. It would be parked for the winter.

Originality ruined but nicely done,