Page 39 - Wayne Carini's Guide to Affordable Classics

wheels, center-lock disc wheels, and a sway bar up front. Inside, the Twin Cam received special “competition” seats.
From 1958 to 1960, just 2,111 MGA Twin Cam cars were built. The vast majority of 1,519 were made in 1959 and only 51 were made in 1960. While they were exciting, the twin-cam engines were a little too highly strung with 9.9:1 compression, and had a tendency to burn valves and pistons. The extra 30 percent ($2,462 for a base roadster vs $3,320 for the Twin Cam) cost was prohibitive for most buyers. A total of 1,788 Twin Cam roadsters and 323 Twin Cam coupes were made.
1600
Midway through 1959 in the month of May, MG updated the MGA line with an upgraded engine and new front disc brakes. The 1588 cc engine used the same bottom end as the Twin Cam, but with an iron head and pushrod valvetrain, as well as the traditional 1.5-inch SU carburetors. The enlarged engine was good for 79.5 horsepower and 87 lb ft torque, and the MGA’s 0-60 performance improved to about 13.3 seconds. The new disc brakes dramatically improved the car’s stopping power.
The MG factory never wasted parts, and there were a significant number of leftover Twin Cam parts that had already been bought and paid for. So MG created the 1960 MGA 1600 De Luxe to make use of the extra bits. These cars received the four-wheel disc brakes and center-lock steel wheels from the Twin Cam, along with a new 1622 cc pushrod engine that would debut two years later in the base MGA. The 1622 engine produced 90 horsepower. The De Luxe models did not receive the rest of the Twin Cam’s go-fast parts, however.
MG MGA
You can tell a 1600 by badging near the hood vents, and also by the taillights. Early MGAs use a single taillight housing on each side of the car for tails, brake lights, and turn signals. The 1600 adds a small beehive light to each side of the rear end for turn signals. From 1959 to 1961, a total of 31,501 MGA 1600 models were made, including 28,730 roadsters and 2,771 coupes. Of those, 70 were De Luxe roadsters and 12 were De Luxe coupes.
1600 Mk II
More changes were made for the final year of production in 1962. Visually, the car changed a little bit with a striking new grille and another taillight change. Where the old grille followed the sloping contour of the front fascia, the new one made the grille bars vertical, and set back from the lower edge of the grille area. In the rear, the taillight sconces moved off the fenders towards the center of the car, and became horizontal.
Under the skin, the 1600 Mk II received the 1622 cc engine and its 90 horsepower and 97 lb ft of torque. The 0-60 time of the car dropped to about 12.8 seconds, but a new 4.1:1 rear end ratio boosted the top speed to 103 mph and made freeway speeds more comfortable.
In the final year of production, MG produced 8,198 roadsters and 521 coupes, of which 290 roadsters and 23 coupes received the De Luxe package of disc brakes and centerlock disc wheels.
The MGA Legacy
From the late 1950s to the early 1960s, it was beyond remarkable that a boutique British automaker would produce and sell over 100,000 impractical sports cars in just seven years. Furthermore, when the MGA ended production in 1962 the factory was
Conceived as a luxury alternative to the more populist roadster, the MGA Fixed-head coupe featured roll-up windows, opening quarterlights, external door catches and a taller roofline.
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