Some of my favorite cars have the MG badge on them. Family responsibilities necessitate a back seat though. The padded board in the back of my MGB GT just didn’t cut it when it came time to transport junior around so this Magnette looks tempting. It’s nothing like a MGA, but I bet with a few tweaks, it could be fun to drive. It’s too far away for me though, so if any of you are interested, it’s located in Bedford, New York and is listed here on craigslist for $4,500.
The 1500 B-Series engine found here is the same as that fitted to our MGA. Sure, it may be detuned a little, but with a free-flowing head and exhuast it should be able to keep up. Heck, if you are going to go to all that work, you might as well drop a 1800 from an MGB in there and call it a day. Actually, I wonder if the engine and tranny would fit in there…
Those seats look a lot like the ones in our A too, but they are most likely the same ones found inside the Wolseley 15/50. That’s because this car was basically a rebadged BMC sedan. The MG version had some nice upgrades such as dual SU carbs, but most sports car guys probably wouldn’t consider it the real deal.
Then again, almost every MG sports car used parts from other mass-produced vehicles in order to benefit from economies of scale. That’s not always a bad thing, but I doubt this car has the magic that “real” MGs enjoyed. A grill and badge does not an MG make. Still, it would be fun to see what you could do with a Moss Motors catalog and some ingenuity. What do you think – could this make a good roadster replacement for a family guy?
Source: barnfinds.com
