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| MGA
Car Club Rally |
Broadcast
dates : 11th September 2005
17th September 2005 |
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There
are those who say that the MGA is the prettiest MG of all.
Recently 50 MGAs gathered in various parts of the country to
converge on the Garden Route for a special celebration and a
charity run.
The Johannesburg branch members set off from Kyalami in
chilly weather. Groups from other centres would join the
tour at various points, such as Golden Gate in the Eastern
Free State.
The "A" was the first modern MG to be produced
after World War Two. With its waste-line pinch before the
rear wheel-arch it was an extraordinarily handsome machine.
The steel body was affixed to a separate steel chassis that
was very strong. Suspension was via wishbones at the front,
leaf springs at the rear for the conventional solid axle,
and trademark MG lever-arm dampers.
The engine used was the first of the British Motor
Corporation’s B-Series, displacing one-thousand
four-hundred and eighty-nine cc’s. This engine became
progressively more powerful through the MGA’s life-cycle.
The most powerful of all was the famous Twin Cam. This car
is recognised by its Dunlop centre-lock lightweight wheels,
and twin-cam bonnet, and the nose and boot.
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The
Twin Cam was notoriously fond of burning pistons, but
modern-day enthusiasts like Nick have sorted that out.
Standard Twin Cams were capable of a 170 km/h, thanks to the
Harry Weslake-designed cylinder head.
MGAs came standard with bolt-on steel wheels and hubcaps,
with knock-off wire wheels as an option. While the Twin Cam
had four-wheel disc brakes, it was only in 1960 that the
standard model gained front discs for the first time.
The base engine grew to 1600 cc in 1960, and eventually it
measured 1622 ccs, before the A was phased out to make way
for the MGB in 1962.
Top speeds rose from a 142 km/h in 1955, to over 160 on the
final standard model. The Twin Cam was capable of close to a
180 km/h, very quick for the narrow bumpy roads of 1958!
Most MG owners are skilled mechanics, personally involved
with the restoration of their cars. But with fifty-year-old
machinery in mind, the Automobile Association decided to
offer back-up roadside assistance for the tour, as a
good-will gesture to the club.
A long drive for these old-timers… and I’m not talking
about the cars! There must be something special about MGA’s
that persuades these folk to swap the comforts of their
soft-seated Mercs and Beemers for a long, bumpy ride in an
unprotected cockpit.
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