Mga 1500/mga 1600

casaleenie · #1 (**permalink**) 02-06-2003, 05:57 PM

Has anyone ever made a comparison between the MGA 1500/1600 and the styling of a Cobra??? The cars share a very close resemblance in some respects... I always thought the MGA 1600 was one of the most stylish of the British imports....
Anyone else ever notice a resemblance???

computerworks · #2 (**permalink**) 02-06-2003, 06:00 PM

...big doors, but very graceful...MGA 1600

KobraKarl · #3 (**permalink**) 02-06-2003, 06:13 PM

Casaleenie,

I had a "57" fixed head mga , one of the prettiest cars i ever owned , I think an even nicer "behind "than the Cobra. Mine had wire wheels, very nice manners,very dependable.I would still have it today but i was t-boned by a drunk running a red light going 40, i ended up against a light pole on the other side of the street with my door stuffed into my ribs

i still keep a look out for another fixed headhtough!

Excaliber · #4 (**permalink**) 02-06-2003, 06:14 PM

I understand Shelby first approached Donald Healey to cut a deal and use his car (Austin Healey 3000 Mark II) for his new "Cobra" project. The deal fell through and he went with AC.

I often look at my "big" Healey and think, "What might have been". ALL the cars mentioned here, MGA, Healey, AC had a common thread in their design in that era. Long hood, short rear end, flowing, sweeping lines. The "classic" sports car "look".

KobraKarl · #5 (**permalink**) 02-06-2003, 07:27 PM

Yea,I know she takes a little getting used to ,but once you do you wuoldnt have the roadster

casaleenie · #6 (**permalink**) 02-06-2003, 07:55 PM

KobraKarl,

After having owning the roadster, I would pick the hardtop in a heartbeat....
They were a miserable car to keep running but a true classic.....

petek · #7 (**permalink**) 02-06-2003, 09:33 PM

Ah the MGA. My younger brother had a 1960 MGA. His mechanical skills were, um, less than, um, stellar so I struck a deal with him, I'd work on the car for him and in return he'd let me use the car every now and then.

1st gear was a stump puller! You could probably always start in 2nd ... but 1st was so much fun.

Mechanical tachometer. Shear a pin and the tach acted like a fan.

Two six volt batteries under the rear shelf. Shelf was metal. If the batteries weren't fastened down and you went over a bump you had about a 60% chance that one of the batteries would weld itself to the shelf.

Darn that thing was fun!

G.R. · #8 (**permalink**) 02-06-2003, 10:08 PM

Had a '57 MGA 1500 in h.s.--bought it for $300 w/ a blown engine from a college kid --months later along with my best friend, and w/his dad's machine shop, and both our dad's help and advice, had dropped a 265 Chevy into it. Got rid of the wire wheels and knockoffs and mated Chevy drums to the axles and put on Chrome reverse rims. Couldn't keep a clutch in it and it constantly overheated--but was that car ever fun,fun, fun

A "poor man's" Cobra-- Body/interior/ top were in great condition,electrics sucked
After Graduation in '66 I gave it to my friend when I left for college--he enlisted in the Army and died in an unfortunate training accident in early '67--his Dad offered me the car back and I turned it down--too many memories--wish I had it now.

Yeah the Healeys, Triumphs, and Mg's were "sports cars"

I would like to find another 1500 someday

Bumpster · #9 (**permalink**) 02-06-2003, 10:43 PM

KobraKarl - Paint that picture red and you have my first car, a 1957 MGA coupe. Paid $250 for it in 1964 and drove it about a year and a half. I never had the electrical problems with it that everyone talks about, but the shifter came off in my hand one time. I replaced the clutch, rod bearings, and fuel pump points while I had it, which I didn't think was too bad for a car with 90,000 miles.
Resemblence to the Cobra was probably more at the rear than the front. You would sometimes see one that somebody tried to modify with a rounded mouth but the lines at the front never lent themselves to that look. Too much slope in the hood and nose area I think.
There was an A for sale at the Turkey Rod Run in Daytona a few years back with a 5.0 and a 9"rear for sale. It was very well done with a nice interior.
That MGA has a lot to do with where I am today with cars, and it looks like the same story with several others. Funny how things work out.

Bumpster

Excaliber · #10 (**permalink**) 02-06-2003, 10:55 PM

Bumpster,,,,,,ha ha,,,the points in the fuel pump! Wow, the brought back some memories! I forget wether it was a 59 or 60 MGA I had. Had several B's after that,,,,,but it was never the same. The A was raw, simple, glorius! Or was I young and in love? lol

Ernie

G.R. · #11 (**permalink**) 02-06-2003, 11:17 PM

Oh yeah the fuel pump, forgot about the problems that gave-- couldn't keep up with the fuel flow demand of the Chevy, finally put on an electric pump that worked-- first time we got that engine running everytime you put your foot into it it would die--spent many long nights trying to figure that one out--hey we were 16-17 yrs old and just "car nuts" not exactly "car intelligent"
if you know what I mean.
True the electric problems may have been due more to our ineptness than the fault of the car

KobraKarl · #12 (**permalink**) 02-06-2003, 11:28 PM

Ok what about the turn signals?????

my left would'nt work so i disassemled it to find two spring loaded cylinders with oiled leather patch pistons about an inch in diameter, one of which was torn,cut up an old old boot and made a new one. it worked so well i didnt get over myself for days.=)

Turk · #13 (**permalink**) 02-06-2003, 11:48 PM

Had an MGA I bought in Denver Co..
Husband had gone to Vietnam, the wife was pregnant and would not fit behind the wheel.She was glad to get rid of it, I was glad to have it.
Drove it to Disney world in the snow in winter over the Rockies. Almost froze to death. Had to keep on adding water because of blown head gasket or something.

Moved to California shortly afterwards. Someone absolutely pried it out of my hands. Within two months or so sold it for double what I had paid for it. He wanted it worse than I did.

Couldn't believe my fortune. Went looking for MGAs. My early entry into car business. Within days I had another red MGA sitting in my driveway. This one was going to be a winner. I was bound to get rich. It was a Twin Cam!!

WRONG. Lost all the profit I made on the first one and then some fixing that thing. Lost my A$$.

Let's not forget the plywood floors!!
God! What I wouldnt give to go back in time to that era.....

TURK

Excaliber · #14 (**permalink**) 02-06-2003, 11:49 PM

G.R.,,,yeah,,,those were the "hot rod" days! My brothers and I stuffed a Chev small block in Morris Minor. The brakes were a joke. The body started to tear in half by the door from shifting to hard. Like we had a clue! But we DID have Dads welder, so lets go for it!

Ernie

KobraKarl · #15 (**permalink**) 02-07-2003, 12:05 AM

Kinda funny this MGA connection................., maybe the docile MGA would play a nice counter point .

And a twin cam! I remember hearing they were a nightmare, and would have loved one!

casaleenie · #16 (**permalink**) 02-07-2003, 06:45 AM

This post was a refresher course in MGA's
I forgot all the insane things that went wrong with that car....
Fuel pump
Freezing my hands
Keeping the wire wheels tuned
Loosing a knock-off at speed
Another fuel pump
Turn signals

Darn that car was fun!!!! Red with a black top.. It was definitely a love/hate relationship....

Excaliber · #17 (**permalink**) 02-07-2003, 07:08 AM

You had a top? Wow, you lucky. Was it my imagination or did the MGA corner WAY better than the MGB? I never did spin out the MGA but spun out several times with the B model. I would THROW the MGA into a corner (having no clue about weight transfer etc.), the tires would squeal like a banshee, a little drift and it would stick like glue. I couldn't do that with the B. Had to "set" the suspension, get ready, and hope I wasn't going to fast.

Ernie

KobraKarl · #18 (**permalink**) 02-07-2003, 10:37 AM

Ernie, i think you are right ,i dont ethink i ever spun mine either. its weight distribution is a lot like the cobra {engine behind the front wheels/and the driver almost sitting on the rear axle. )The "b" was a little less long in the nose and a bit longer in the back, wasnt there even room behind the seat?

Excaliber · #19 (**permalink**) 02-07-2003, 04:33 PM

Yeah it had some room behind the seats. Come to think of it the MGB was TOTALLY different than the A, heavier to no doubt.

The main reason I like the Classic Roadsters is the room behind the seats, jacket or what ever stows there nicely. Hey, you can't have it ALL, you got to give and take here and there.

Ernie

casaleenie · #20 (**permalink**) 02-07-2003, 05:14 PM

Excaliber,

I never drove a B but I sure had a lot of fun on the corners with that A model...I drove it around Ft. Bragg, NC in the early 60's, taking advantage of the clay back roads and all the sand on the paved Company roads... Never ever spun that car...
Darn it, I'm going to start looking for another one... Eh, for my wife, yea! that's it!, for my wife....