After seventeen years sitting in garages patiently awaiting a restoration, the chassis was in remarkably good condition and surprisingly very close to original factory dimensions with no signs of repairs. The body however, was in similar condition to most un-restored MGAs. The sills, pillars and quarter panels were corroded & required replacement. Naturally, the engine, gearbox, brakes, steering rack and suspension needed reconditioning.

(Click on images to enlarge them, then please close the picture windows if you want to return to this page).
 


 		   I set to work stripping the wood and suspension from the chassis and repairing minor rust in the floor board support rails on the driver's side with help from my mate, Martin. Next task (which will surely make the purists cringe) was lengthening the left side 6 volt battery support to enable use of a standard 12 volt battery. The non-standard fuel filler neck and luggage rack were deep-sixed and the shopping list was commenced.
 


 		  

The seats were sent off to the trim shop along with new beige leather hides. New seals, bearings, refurbished king-pins, brakes, refurbished mastercylinder, sixty-spoke chrome wire wheels, stainless steel knock-ons, yokohama 195-65 radial tyres and a new generator were ordered.

And while you are still cringing: For added reliability on long trips, I decided to weld in a bracket in the (now) empty right side battery support to enable fitting of a modern backup fuel pump for ease of repair if stranded with a failed pump. This enabled swap over and plug in of a positive lead on the new pump if the SU failed.
 
Restoration pic 8



















 		  

As part of a purchase of another abandoned MGA restoration project in Geelong, I had previously acquired a complete car plus various new and restored parts including a new wiring loom, fuel tank, all new chrome work, new windscreen, a Moto-Lita wood-rimmed MG steering wheel, a reconditioned gearbox and 1622cc MGA MKII engine (with a slightly lumpy camshaft) and a cork body mounting set.

A third disassembled MGA had been bought in Melbourne.  Mechanically it was in fairly good condition, however the back of the body was in very poor shape. 

Before long, my workshop was littered by bits and pieces of the three MGAs.

The ambitious plan was to restore all three and sell two of them to finance the project (remember, when you are young, anything is possible). 

However, before long, word got around about the shed littered by MGAs and I received an extremely attractive offer for two of the cars when they were partly restored.  While sad to see them go, I was now able to concentrate all efforts on Kermit with the entire project running a modest profit (if my time pursuing my hobby was disregarded).

To the left are some additional photos taken of Kermit in October 1989.