Heritage Motor Centre volunteers complete MG resto

A team of 25 dedicated volunteers at the Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon have completed the restoration of a 1958 MGA Twin Cam Coupe chassis. The work began in November 2012 and the restoration was completed in May 2013.  The MGA will go on display in the Museum on Tuesday 25 June.

The 1958 MGA has been part of the Museum’s reserve collection for a number of years. Originally a complete car, it was one of only 300 or so Twin Cam coupés made by MG and is thought to have been shown either on the Earl’s Court Motor Show stand or at the New York Motor Show.

Subsequently sectioned and painted in an array of colours as a technical demonstration for apprentices and students alike, it eventually became a museum piece. Over the past seven months, the volunteers have painstakingly stripped down, cleaned, restored and repainted the MGA, retaining some of the unusual livery that the car has acquired over its lifetime.

Now the restoration is complete the team will embark on two new projects. The first to restore a Rover gas turbine instructional unit which was designed to train students at technical colleges and universities and the second to restore a 1960 Standard Ensign which was the last model to roll off the line at Canley before the Standard marque disappeared in 1963.

Sonja Dosanjh, Volunteer Co-Ordinator at the HMC said, 'The team has thoroughly enjoyed working on this fascinating project. They have worked incredibly hard restoring the MGA to its former glory and the results have been worth the many months of dedication and commitment that the team has put in and we now look forward to our next few projects'.

To find out more information about the HMC please visit www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk.