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MGA Newsletter
NEWSLETTER Edward Vandyk Tel: 01488 608810 mgascribe@vandyk.co.uk WELCOME TO THE
MGA NEWSLETTER
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MGAs are special. A belief I am confident all members of the MGA Register share. In their time they represented a revolution in design, innovation and specification whilst maintaining the best characteristics of the traditional British sports car and heralding in the era of the sleeker, dryer and more civilised sports car we have today. The MGA was special and remains special. MGAs have character, often individual character, sometimes that character has less appealing aspects but it is character nevertheless. The temptation to anthropomorphise our cars is overwhelming, even if we admit it to none other than ourselves. Hardly surprising, then, that we want to share the significant moments in our lives with our MGAs when we can, and in concluding the mini-series of MGAs and weddings that I have run over the last few months with four more examples of MGA Weddings, I make an appeal to readers of this column for any examples, other than weddings, where your MGA has figured prominently in what would normally be an event seen by most outside the classic car community as one that would involve people only, not cars and old ones at that. It is of course the case that people have long shared important events in their lives with their pets, another faithful companion and cars, and before that carriages, have long been a central feature of weddings. However, if one set out to define the antithesis of the perfect wedding car the MGA would probably be on the top ten. Nevertheless there are, and I am sure will be in future, no shortage of MGA Weddings – long may it continue. My interest in MGA Weddings and the joy and anxiety that accompany them was occasioned by the wedding I wrote about in the January 2021 edition of Safety Fast! which featured in a supporting role your Scribe’s doppelganger red MGA, which happened to be a Twin Cam, brought in
at the last minute, literally, to replace the bride’s father’s MGA, which was having a challenging day, and to avert what the bride would have perceived as a disaster – not to have gone to the wedding in an MGA. So ultimately it was any (red) MGA that worked for the leading figures in the event and indeed I am sure colour would have been equally irrelevant. It was also the MGA that nearly stole the show! Jacques Milliet contacted me from Switzerland about his MGA wedding. In 1980 he bought his MGA Twin Cam (YD3/522), imported and registered in Switzerland on August 20 1958, that he later restored. Now resplendent in white it was, according to the production records, originally red. Jacques married Stéphanie in 1994 and then went on honeymoon in the south of France, travelling 3,000 miles in three weeks with no problems. He is now looking forward to making the MGA available for their sons’ next weddings! Brendan Leach sent me a photo of his beautifully decorated MGA when his niece Samantha married Giuseppe (“Pep”) Chianca a couple of years ago. Pep’s left foot is strategically hidden in the photo because it is in a plaster cast following some tomfoolery at the stag do, which resulted in a broken foot. (Try explaining that one to your future wife!) As for the wedding, everything went to plan, apart from the fact that it rained quite a lot (hence the hood is in the rarely seen “up” position). The car is a 1957 1500 Roadster, originally shipped to the USA and repatriated in 1992. Brendan has owned it since 2014. Martin Wollacott found some old photos of his wedding in 1989 when he married the beautiful Halvena. He reports that he still has both the car, LSV 827, and girl! The car was purchased in 1984 and it was campaigned in the MGA Register Racing Championship of 1987/8. Soon getting the hang chucking an MGA around a circuit he managed to gain a few trophies in his second year, gaining first in class at Silverstone, Snetterton and Castle Donington. Then came along the gorgeous Halvena, who turned his head in a different direction, getting married in 1989 and buying a semi-derelict house to refurbish. Morrisa*, as she was known, was their only mode of transport for a number of years, commuting to work, with holidays to Ireland, Norfolk and Wales. Martin says she was a great car but the years were catching up on her and she was taken off the road to replace the door pillars and repair the tired chassis. Progress on the car was halted when Ben arrived into the family in 1993 and then Jodie in 1994. The car was laid up in various garages but was finally repatriated to the family home in 2007 where it was finally recommissioned.
Martin Wollacott’s MGA decorated for his wedding in 1989 Martin and Halvena on their wedding day with Martin’s well campaigned MGA
Martin gores on to say that the enjoyment of racing the car had never really left him and the MG Speed Championship, combining sprint circuits, and hill climbs, with classes for standard and modified cars, seemed to be the ideal candidate to rekindle his fire. LSV 827 was prepared for Group 2 which allows for some engine and suspension modifications. With 10 years of competing, the little car has brought Martin a great deal of enjoyment, both competing and meeting the other competitors, along with a couple of championships and several trophies. He reports that the car will be ready for this season’s entertainment and that he plans to keep both her and Halvena for a bit longer! (*Anyone want to guess the derivation of Morrisa? Answer in April’s Safety Fast!) Derek Mann used his 1958 MGA to take his daughter-in-law to the church on her wedding day. 326 YUT is resplendent dressed for the wedding, as is the bride. Derek drove the bride to Cringleford church, just out of the city of Norwich. The car was made for the overseas market, the MGA was manufactured in late 1957 and shipped to the USA, first registered in 1958. The car was brought back to the UK around 2013, Derek purchased the car in 2014 still a LHD and had it converted to RHD. He has been enjoying his MGA ever since. Perry and Bekah Mann got married in 2016 near Norwich, with the reception at Oxnead Hall, Aylsham, near the Norfolk coast.
Derek Mann’s 1958 MGA
HOW MUCH IS MY MGA WORTH: PRICING REVIEW 2020
TWIN CAM GROUP AND MGA REGISTER AGM NOTICES
The first MGA pricing survey was carried out in 2016, with follow-ups in 2017 and 2018, and so it is an appropriate point at which to analyse the MGA market place for 2020 – a year which most people will remember for the Global Pandemic, and will equally wish to forget for the devastating effects of its consequences. The first MGA pricing survey was carried out in January 2016, and (as far as I am aware) was the first attempt to analyse the value of our cars in the current market place. As I commented at the time, the sources were probably not exhaustive, but came through a reasonably wide variety of advertisers. The majority of the MGAs were taken from the website: www.carandclassic.co.uk – which is generally a good indicator of the state of the classic car market. I also searched eBay for other MGAs for sale and not on the “Car & Classic” website, and finally augmented the list from classified adverts both from Safety Fast! and from Enjoying MG. The latest review covers 163 vehicles (123 roadsters / 40 coupes), with breakdowns as shown below, reflecting the different prices being asked for roadsters and coupe. Up to 2017/2018, the coupe was often regarded as the “poor relation” in the MGA world, but prices have now increased. The overall market for MGAs appears to be very healthy, in terms of the number of vehicles on offer: 163 cars for 2020 as a whole, compared to 205 offered in the two-year period covering both 2016 and 2018. The attached table will be useful, as it shows the average prices in the 2020 survey (with the same data for 2018 in brackets), followed by the % increase over the last two years: 1500 Roadster (52 advertised): £28,500 (£25,550) (+11.2%) 1500 Coupe (20 advertised): £25,500(£22,550) (+11.3%) 1600 Roadster (44 advertised): £28,050 (£26,700) (+5.1%) 1600 Coupe (11 advertised): £23,950 (£22,250) (+7.6%) 1600 MkII Roadster (15 advertised): £29.950 (£24,900) (+20.3%) 1600 MkII Coupe (4 advertised): £24,150 (£23.650) (+2.1%) 1600 De Luxe Roadster (0): None in 2020 (£46,900) 1600 De Luxe Coupe (0): None in 2020 (£39,450) Twin Cam Roadster (15 advertised): £57,450 (£41,250) (+39.3%) Twin Cam Coupe (2 advertised): £50,500 (£35,850) (+41.0%) The above makes interesting reading, especially in respect of the 1500 and 1600 models, which together (127 MGAs) make up 77.2% of the survey – almost the same percentage as in 2018. Prices have risen across all variants, probably reflecting the desirability of buying a classic car at what many regard as an acceptable (and not stratospheric) price, and which is well supported by a spares and maintenance network. With Twin Cams only making up 10% of the survey, drawing conclusions about pricing levels is always difficult, but there is no doubt that this variant is now sought after and recognised amongst the cognoscenti for the high-performance car it was always intended to be. The 20% increase in prices for 1600 MkII roadsters in the last two years may also reflect a greater appreciation of the enhanced performance offered by the 1622cc push-rod engine in the final year of the MGA’s production. De Luxes appeared to command a premium of more than 10% over Twin Cams at the time of the 2018 survey, almost certainly on account of their rarity. It is interesting that none were noted as being offered for sale in 2020. Dealer (trade) margins over private sales make interesting reading. For both 1500 variants, the dealer margin is around 10%, but only 4-5% for the 1600 variants. Bearing in mind the price increases for the 1500 variants in the last two years, one conclusion is that the “original” MGA is the preferred choice of purchasers entering this segment of the classic car market and that dealers are aware of this. As before, I hope that readers will find this analysis enjoyable and interesting.
Howard Quayle: Archivist, MGA Register
AN APPEAL
Nick Kopernik in the USA is trying to solve the conundrum as to when MGA VIN Plates stopped recording the actual Engine Number on the VIN plates some time in 1957. He has narrowed the range of VIN numbers down to 37297 to 37413 so if you have a car with a VIN number between those ranges please send me a photograph of the VIN plate whether original or not. Twin Cam Group - April 10 2021 MGA Register AGM - April 17 2021
Both meetings will be held via Zoom, starting time of 10.00am. Anyone (other than Committee members) wishing to attend should contact Ian Wilson (the Zoom host) with their MGCC member number, at least five days before the relevant meeting so that agenda and zoom invites can be sent out. Contact Ian on ian@mulberryhouse.karoo.co.uk
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