what you might know, want to know
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FACTS ABOUT THE MGA what you might know, want to know and ought to know |
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The MGA was a sports car produced by the MG
division of the British Motor Corporation from 1955 to 1962. The MGA replaced the older T series cars and represented a complete styling break from the older vehicles. The car was officially launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show of 1955. It was replaced by the MGB when production ceased in July 1962. Through that time, BMC sold 101,081 units, the vast majority of which were exported with only 5,869 cars sold on the home market, the highest export percentage of any British car. The design dates back to 1952 when MG designer Syd Enever created a streamlined body for George Philips' TD Le Mans car. The problem with this car was the high seating position of the driver because of the limitations of using the TD chassis. A new chassis was designed with the side members further apart and the floor attached to the bottom rather than the top of the frame sections. A prototype was built and shown to the BMC chairman Leonard Lord. Lord turned down the idea of producing the new car as he had just signed a deal with Donald Healey to produce Austin-Healey cars. Falling sales of the traditional MG models caused a change of mind and the car, initially to be called the UA-series, was brought back. As it was so different from the older MG models it was called the MGA, the "first of a new line" to quote the contemporary advertising. There was also a new engine available so the car did not have the originally intended XPAG unit but was fitted with the BMC corporate B-Series type allowing a lower bonnet line It was a body-on-frame design and used the straight-4 "B series" engine from the MG Magnette saloon driving the rear wheels through a 4 speed gearbox. Suspension was independent with coil springs and wishbones at the front and a rigid axle with semi-elliptic springs at the rear. Steering was by rack and pinion and was not power assisted. The car was available with either wire spoked or steel disc road wheels. History story stolen from Wikipedia |
Manufacturer BMC Production 1955-1962 Predecessor - MG TF Successor - MGB Body style(s) 2-door roadster 2-door coupé Wheelbase 7 feet 10 inches (2.388 m) Length 13 feet 0 inches (3.96 m) Width 4 feet 9 inches (1.45 m) Height 4 feet 2 inches (1.27 m) Curb weight 1988 pounds (902 kg |
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MGA Facts: The first MGA rolled off the production line in May 1955 First MGA coupe came in September 1956 The first Twin Cam was produced in April 1958 The last Twin Cam in May 1960 The factory changed to the 1600 in May of 1959 A run of 1600 deluxes started in April of 1960 The Mk II went into production in March of 1961 The last MGA rolled out the door in May of 1962 101,081 MGA's were built in their 7 years 1500-1600 had a diff ratio of 4.3:1 Mk II final drive was 4.1:1 for a higher cruising speed The turning circle was 28 feet All the pushrod motors had 89mm strokes. Displacement was changed by a bigger bore Twin cam's front and rear track was slightly wider than stock and the turning radius became 32 feet NOW THE IMPORTANT PART !! CLICK ON THE LINK TO TAKE A LOOK AT SOME RACING MGA's |
Production Statistics: MGA 1500 roadster 52,478 MGA 1500 coupe 6,272 MGA 1600 roadster 28,730 MGA 1600 coupe 2,771 MGA twin cam roadster 1,728 MGA twin cam coupe 323 MGA Mark II roadster 8,198 MGA Mark II coupe 521 Mark II deluxe roadster 290 (this hurts) Mark II deluxe coupe 23 The first MGA motor had only 68bhp The 1500 motor was quickly raised to 72 bhp The twin cam had 108bhp The 1600 80bhp, the 1622 Mk II 93bhp The 1622 had a compression ratio of 8.9:1 The twin cam;s compression ratio was 9.9:1 Firing order is 1-4-3-2 |
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