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| At NAMGAR GT-43 in Richmond, VA, 2018 |
At the Gathering of the Faithful 2017, Jill saw an MGA Coupe that the owner drove down from Atlanta to the event in Crystal River, Florida. Among the over 100 MGs in attendance, there was only one MGA coupe. It is just like the MGA roadster, but with a fixed hardtop. She fell in love. During a search for MGA coupes, one was found on the auction site BringaTrailer. It was a medium blue that MG called "Mineral Blue" and only used on the coupes. There was an interesting history behind the car including a run at an invitation-only road rally, the California Millie. Yes, the car was in California, a long, long way distant.
Bidding was easy. Just type in some numbers and hit Enter. Then repeat. A number of people were interested in the car and the bids grew in size rapidly as the auction end time neared. The winning bid was on our computer. Jill became an MG owner.
The day after the auction, the seller contacted us with an offer. One of the bidders was in London, England. He still wanted the car and offered $3,000 to allow him to buy the car at the bid price. Since the motivation to buy was not for financial gain, but to gain an interesting car, the offer was turned down and arrangements were made to ship the MGA coupe from California to Florida.
The Little Blue Coupe arrived a few weeks later on the upper level of an enclosed trailer. The same transporter who brought the MGTC from California was contracted to ship another car.
One would think that interesting MGs could be found on the east coast.
She was driven from the off-loading site to her new home in Flagler Beach. It is a bit scary to purchase a car, particularly an old classic car, sight unseen. Photos tend to make everything look better. She was running and stopping and in good shape and drivable. The TC arrived with differential fluid and brake fluid leaking out onto the trailer floor.
A thorough examination should be accomplished on any older vehicle before putting many miles on the car. Ceres Motorsports, in Oviedo, put her on the rack and checked all systems with a focus on safety. One brake had some issues, so a brake job was accomplished and a number of minor issues where addressed. Having those with expertise and experience on thousands of cars evaluate the entire car is a large step toward safety and reliability. Many thanks to Brian and Jack at Ceres.
https://www.ceresmotorsports.com/about.html
There are widely differing opinions on how a classic car should be prepared. One camp believes strongly that cars should be prepared exactly as they left the factory; originality is of utmost importance. A second group finds that period modifications and some changes to improve drivability are appropriate. Then, there are those that want to replace engine to suspension with modern parts, known as Restomod in the American car hobby. We are in the second group and this car fits that desire with many sensible modifications. The 1500cc engine was replaced with a later MGA 1622cc engine with high-performance cam, balanced bottom end, exhaust headers, and a cross-flow aluminum head fitted with twin dual-throat Weber carburetors. A Ford 5-speed transmission with a sycro 1st gear and overdrive top gear makes driving better both in town and on the highway.
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| Gary Whiting Photo |
The outside is original, with a few exceptions that are easily changed back to stock. The center-lock wire wheels have been replaced with Minilite type aluminum wheels - straighter, rounder, and stronger. A free-flowing exhaust with chrome dual tips rather than a single rusty steel pipe adds performance and appeal. The license plate is mounted below the bumper rather than above to accent the curved line of the trunk.
Attention to little details make a classic car more interesting. In Florida, antique cars of a certain age range are allowed to carry an original license plate from the year of manufacture. A search for a plate found this low-numbered plate with an appropriate Q symbol, indicating that the plate is for an antique car. The car this plate was originally issued to had to be 1932 or older. The paint was quite faded and state law states that plates cannot be refurbished. A man, located in Alabama, who specializes in license plate painting, was found and the plate was sent off. His paint colors and technique is so perfect that the plate sailed through its inspection in Tallahassee and was approved. Adds an interesting touch.
The interior is gray with leather seats. The Mineral Blue coupe was manufactured with 2 different interiors - gray seating or black with gray piping. The dash is painted body color. A smaller Motolita steering wheel has been installed to give better feel and grip. Appropriate for a rallye car.
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| At St. Augustine Antique Auto Show, 2018, Gary Whiting Photo |
Many hours of work has been invested to make a number of improvements in the car. A week-long polishing and waxing was accomplished with everything that could be unbolted from the body removed, then reattached later. She really shines, now.
Recently some work was done under the hood. The head was removed for a fresh valve job and a bit shaved off to increase compression. While it was apart, a gear drive starter and an aluminum radiator were added. The radiator reduced the running temperature 20 degrees, a big improvement.
When things are apart, the "While we are there" syndrome sets in. The engine builder had painted the engine black, as he probably did with all engines he built. The fan was painted body color. Both were wrong. Changes with a purpose, such as an increase in performance should be acceptable, but things just done wrong for no purpose grate at people who understand the origin of the car. So, the engine block was painted MG Maroon and the fan yellow. The yellow paint on the fan provides a safety measure, making it very visible when it is running.
The Little Blue Coupe has shown herself well in many car events and shows, including the Daytona Dream Cruise and the Holly Hill Car Show, both events geared to American cars and Street Rods. The Dream Cruise does not have judged cars, but Holly Hill does. The MGA Coupe was selected as "Best Foreign" car at the event. Street Rodders are a bit more creative in making awards. The trophy is a one-off art creation made of car parts, metallic paint, and pinstriping for highlight. Quite an impressive piece of hardware. Also heavy and large, making it more challenging to display. Everyone seems to enjoy seeing this car, even the Street Rodders.
The motivation for writing this blog post was driven by how the car performed at the recent Gathering of the Faithful event in Daytona Beach. Since The Little Blue Coupe won the MGA class at the previous year's GOF, she moved to Premier Class to compete among the best cars from each class. Among some truly beautiful and well-prepared cars, she placed first.
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| California Millie Rally |
