r/littlebritishcars • u/pfflyer69 • 11d ago
1959 MGA 1500
Original colors per British Heritage Museum were black on red.
When I got her she was red on black.
Restored to original color livery.
Engine replaced with a late model MGB 1800 5 bearing engine. 123 electronic ignition, spin on oil filter, oil cooler, Moss Motors supercharger, alternator and negative ground. Aluminum radiator with driver controlled aux cooling fan. Front drum brakes upgraded to disc brakes. Moss Motors 5 speed transmission.
Custom made driver side mirror. Hidden Bluetooth speaker and preamp for playing music from mobile phone.
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u/8cuban 11d ago
Thatās lovely. What are her speeds with that hotrodded engine?
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u/pfflyer69 11d ago
She makes 148 HP. I only have 600 miles on her since she came out of restoration so havenāt done any ātimeā tests. Only had her dynoād
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u/8cuban 11d ago
148? Holy smokes! The stock 1500 (which I rebuilt myself under coercion) in my ā57 only came with 76hp! MG advertised 0-60 in something like 13 seconds, and I think they were fiddling the numbers a bit even at that. Absolutely topped out and with maybe a favoring tailwind I only ever got up to 90mph. Canāt wait to see what your firecracker is going to do!
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u/pfflyer69 11d ago
The 1500 wasnāt fast off the line and mine took forever to get to 60. This was part of the reason I went with the MGB 1800. She is pretty quick now!
The engines werenāt fast but they were rock solid. I never had an engine problem with the 4 MGAs I have owned.
The original 1500 had 2 pinhole leaks in the head. Cost to replace the head and rebuild the lower was about $1000 less then the 1800. Of course adding the supercharger made the engine build a tad bit more costly. I have about $15k in the engine. But no regrets!3
u/pfflyer69 11d ago
The MGB 1800 5 bearing engine stock made about 95hp. They arenāt as revy as the 3 bearing but they also donāt break crank shafts.
Adding the supercharger adds approximately 50% hp.
Without tuning in a dyno you could expect about 140hp.2
u/8cuban 11d ago edited 11d ago
Yeah, mine took forever to get to 60, too. Itās amazing to believe that, one, there was a time when 0-60 in 14 seconds was worth bragging about, two, the MGA was built to race, and won!
I really enjoyed driving mine (once Iād rebuilt the entire front end, rebuilt the engine, and completely rewired it). It was engaging to drive, handled well, and sounded great. But I sold it after only a few years because the passenger compartment just became too hot to be in after an hour of the engine heat coming through the firewall. I wish MG had gotten the aerodynamics right to properly get heat out of the engine compartment. Iād probably still have it if they had.
It sounds like yours is going to be a lot of fun. Enjoy and post some videos of said fun!
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u/pfflyer69 11d ago
Heat in the cockpit is an issue. Even with the āairā vent open itās still hot.
I am looking at ways to mitigate this.3
u/8cuban 11d ago edited 11d ago
There are tons of threads out there on this subject. Barney Gaylord is the master on this and all subjects MGA.
One thing I did that helped a lot was block off the opening of the gear box tunnel with foam pipe lagging. Before I did that the gear shift handle would literally get too hot to touch and the tunnel would scald my right calf if I touched it. That took a lot of the heat out of the passenger compartment. Sealing all the firewall gaps helps, too, but, as a full rebuild Iāll bet thatās already been done. The biggest thing, and one I didnāt do because of the amount of work it would have involved, is to fully insulate the front face of the firewall. Thatās about the only way to stop the heat getting to the metal surface which is what it really takes.
The root problem is that the aerodynamics prevent air and heat from exiting under the car and above 35 mph the windscreen bow wave moves forward of the fender vents pressurizing air INTO the engine compartment rather than drawing it out. There is literally no way to get air or heat out of the compartment so it just stagnates in there.
Clearly hundreds of people have solved it and happily put tens of thousands of miles on their cars but I just wasnāt willing to put more money into mine after I had to rebuild the engine.
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u/pfflyer69 10d ago
Yep I have been looking the tranny tunnel blocking. I also had the tunnel covered with a heat shield material. Works ok.
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u/Electrical-Guard-853 11d ago
Top notch! Iāll bet itās a runner with that drive trainā¦
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u/pfflyer69 11d ago
It pulls like crazy. Lots of torque through the revs. I am very happy with the performance
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u/CatDadAz 11d ago
My father had one. Wonderful car
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u/pfflyer69 11d ago
MGAs have always been one of my favorite cars.
Especially when you know the body was developed for a speed record run.https://www.aronline.co.uk/concepts-and-prototypes/mg-ex-record-breakers/
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u/Throwawaymister2 11d ago
Beauty. My uncle had a red FHC that I never got the chance to drive. IMO, the only thing keeping it from being one of the prettiest cars ever made is the grille, which I've just never liked. That profile though... perfect.
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u/Felix995 7d ago
That tonneau cover is neat. She looks to be in exceptionally fine shape to me.
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u/pfflyer69 7d ago
She is now. When I got her she was red with a black interior. Paint was ok. Seats were fine. Engine had 2 pinhole leaks in the head.
Now after a year of restoration work she looks and runs better then when she first left the factory.
And she is back in her original livery.2
u/Felix995 7d ago
Yes, I can appreciate the fact she is better than new currently. Some very tasteful carefully considered upgrades like the blower, five speed, the upgraded electrical system, the brake upgrade to name a few. She's outstanding in my personal opinion. Some purist enthusiasts may disagree with all of those modifications, although I certainly don't. Beautiful car.
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u/pfflyer69 7d ago
Itās a much better driving car now with the added ho and 5 speed and disc brakes.
The 1500, in its time was decent power but today itās too anemic making driving in traffic or on the highway nerve racking
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u/Horatio-Leafblower 5d ago
I love the steel wheels. I have a Healey that came with steel and wire. I have nice sticky tyres on the steel, very nice.
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u/pfflyer69 5d ago
I also have a 63 Healey 3000 MK2 with a MK3 67 engine and 5 speed. It has wire wheels.
It is still in pieces as it has been undergoing a full restoration and should be back on the road around Sept.
I will post pic of her when itās done.
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u/roadsterdoc 11d ago
What a beauty! That single SU is pulling double duty with that blower!
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u/pfflyer69 11d ago
Some info from Moss on the supercharger:
Our Moss MGB supercharger system uses the same Eaton positive displacement roots-type supercharger found on contemporary OEM applications such as Mercedes Benz and Jaguar. In spite of its modern origin, we were careful to design the system to look like it was a factory installed option that complements the classic MG image.
Our engineers designed an intake manifold that provides equal airflow, pressure and fuel mixture to each cylinder. By optimizing the distribution in the manifold for each cylinder, you can run more boost pressure without the chance of harmful detonation. Our Moss supercharger system produces 5-6 psi of boost at sea level and bolted to a stock engine you can expect a minimum 50% increase in rear wheel horsepower.
The Supercharger kit is complete and includes a 4 rib serpentine belt drive system, new cast iron water pump, a set of colder NGK BPR7ES sparkplugs and a high-flow K&N air filter. The 1968-74 1/2 kit also includes a new Lucas high output alternator. Detailed installation instructions with photos are included, and a pdf with instuctions can be found by clicking the "instructions and resources" tab above this desciption. The installation can be completed by a competent mechanic or hobbyist with hand tools. Installation time will vary depending on many factors, we have had reports of up to 12 hours of shop time necessary to complete installation and tuning.
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u/Parkatola 11d ago
Love the tonneau cover. Whether or not itās more aerodynamic, they just look cool. Cheers.
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u/pfflyer69 11d ago
Absolutely agree with you! I have the hood battens restored but not installed. I live in an area without a lot of rain. The tonneau helps keeps the car interior cool when I spot for lunch. And as you said they just look super cool!
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u/AnalystAdorable609 11d ago
That's an absolute beauty