http://www.mgenthusiast.com MGE AUGUST 2019
Modified 1960 MGA
45point, there were no chassis mounts
available for the MGA. Undaunted, I
applied my novice welding skills to
fabricating them, and also a removable
transmission crossmember utilising
a Mopar mount. The transmission,
donated by a 1988 Firebird, is a T5
manual five-speed overdrive unit with
a final gear ratio of 0.79. Combined
with the recommended upgrade of
a 3.9:1 MGB differential, the car now
cruises at 60mph with a comfortable
2500rpm on the tacho. I’ll leave you to
imagine how well it goes at 3500rpm!
With no increase in weight, I left
the front suspension unmodified.
However, with this much get-up-and-
go, the braking performance had to
be addressed. I was fortunate in this
regard that Morris had come with the
front disc option and that the upgrade
to an MGB differential had included
rear drums that are of superior design
to the older MGA equipment. My main
issue was with the original single, and
very small, fluid reservoir that was
servicing two brake calipers, two wheel
cylinders and the clutch slave. On Bill’s
advice I fitted a complete MGB pedal
assembly, which required minor cutting
of the body, re-orientation of the wiper
motor and cold-bending of the pedal
rods. A weekend’s work, doing these
tasks, gave Morris a separate reservoir
each for discs and drums, a vacuum
servo and a separate clutch reservoir
(the Chevrolet’s T5 transmission is
also hydraulically-clutched). Naturally,
all new pipes were installed too.
To fit the transmission, I modified
the footwell section of the floor. On the
driver’s side (the left-hand side, in case
the British are confused by which is the
proper side of the car to sit) I needed
1.5cm more clearance for the clutch fork
and, on the passenger side, I had to rob
the footwell of 2cm in width. Original
plywood floor panels were replaced with
heat-resistant concrete/fibre board. After
mocking it up with paper, I fabricated a
removable metal transmission tunnel
with two access holes. Well, three if you
include the shifter. All were then covered
with^3 / 8 ” dense foam and custom-cut
carpet with heat-welded edges.
The engine side of the concrete
footboards were (in the further interests
of heat management) covered in
salvaged reflective stainless steel
(thanks to my friend Jay) with a 5mm air
gap. The original heater-core shelf and
upper firewall also got sandwiched withthe^3 / 8 ” dense foam and (on the engine
side) reflective stainless before mounting
new fuse boxes, ignition coil pack and the
engine’s reprogrammed OBD2 computer.
Of utmost importance to me was
keeping Morris looking as standard as
practicalities and finances would allow,
despite all these changes. As such,
the donor 3400 was tweaked a couple
of times to move it lower and further
back so that I didn’t have to modify
the smooth lines of the MGA bonnet.
Conversely, and against the advice of
some, I was adamant on having a true
dual exhaust. I wanted that Jaguar look
out back. This simple desire required
moving the new brake line, fuel line,
tail-light wiring and the still serviceable
battery cable from the passenger sideModern gauges replace
Smiths originals, with
the speedo using a
Hall Effect sensor.