6 photos

1959' MG MGA

£57,950

Published 18 December 2025ID: lgZVeC

Australia
+61Show phone

Information from the owner

Body: Sports Car

Age: 66 years

Mileage: 30781 km

Displacement: 1588 cc

Fuel: Petrol

Transmission: Manual

Exterior color: Green

Exterior: Tonneau Cover

Seller's comments about 1959' MG MGA

Oldtimer Australia is delighted to offer for sale this beautiful Australian delivered, factory right hand drive 1959 MGA Twin Cam.According to the production record on the MGA Register Holland website, the production of this car started on the 17th March 1959 and finished on 19th March 1959. It was dispatched on 20th March 1959. The body colour was ‘old English white’, the interior was red and the soft top was black.It is understood that this was the first MGA Twin Cam to arrive in Australia, but not the first one sold. The first owner of this car was Mr ER Dudgeon from south east Queensland, who took delivery on the 12th November 1959. He had purchased the car for his son as a 21st Birthday present, however, shortly thereafter it was involved in a crash.In 1964 the car was sold to Mr R Upton who also lived in south east Queensland. In his ownership the car was painted black. He was a collector and kept the car for 22 years. In his ownership the car was last registered in May 1971 and shortly thereafter it was kept in storage in a shipping container.In 1986 the car was sold to a Mr I Pettigrew, also from south east Queensland. He really did nothing with the car and it was never registered during his ownership.In 2011 the car was acquired by Dan Casey on behalf of noted MG enthusiast and collector Ross Kelly. Casey is a well known MGA guru who has restored numerous MGA Twin Cams over the years. At that time the odometer read only 14, 504 miles, which would have been genuine, given the car was last registered in May 1971!Having spent the last 40 odd years of its life in a shipping container meant the car was in dire need of some attention. The decision was made to undertake a full nut and bolt restoration of the car.There are a lot of different ways to restore a car and it is the little things and attention to detail that make the difference between a good restoration and a great restoration.The car was striped back to a shell and the body to bare metal. Given the car had been involved in an accident the first job on the ‘to do’ list was to check that the chassis was straight. The chassis was mounted on a jig which was supplied by MG Automotive. It was straightened and subsequently painted. Now the rest of the work could begin.There is an extensive list on file showing all the work completed. The list is too long to mention everything in our write up. To highlight the important items: new sheet metal (as required) was purchased from Kilmartin Automotive Sheetmetal, the engine was completely rebuilt with new forged pistons, a Nissan five-speed gearbox was installed to improve the car’s usability, a new wiring harness was installed, a brake servo was installed, the interior was retrimmed, a new soft top was sourced and the car was repainted.When it came to painting the car there were a few options. The obvious one would have been to repaint it in its original colour of ‘old English white’. However, Kelly had a different idea. He decided to paint the car ‘ash green’, which was is an original MGA Twin Cam colour.The restoration was completed in 2013 and the end result is one very good looking MGA Twin Cam.As you will see from the photos, the colour is absolutely stunning and really suits the car. The ‘ash green’ paint in combination with the dark green soft top and side curtains really suits the car. An MGA looks good in pretty much any colour but this one really does stand out.The car was repainted some 13 years ago now, however, the paint remains fresh and still presents very well. It has retained its strong depth of colour and its high gloss finish. You have to look closely to find any defects in the paint.The chrome on an MGA is subtle and on this car is all in good condition. The grill, bumpers, windscreen surround and the badges on the boot all present well. The same can be said for all the glass and lenses. They are all in good condition with no chips or cracks evident.Walking around the car all the panel gaps are very good. They are not ‘perfect’ but then again they never were. The doors open and close easily as does the bonnet and the boot.The Dunlop style wheels are a real feature and whilst they are in a good condition, all four wheels have hairline cracks in the paint. The wheels are shod with Michelin XZX tyres, size 165SR15. These tyres are still in good condition but they are date stamped 1111 (week 11, 2011).The soft top presents like new and is a snug fit. The rear window and the quarter windows are clear with no sign of any discoloration. The same can be said for the side curtains.Inside the car it is a similar story, everything has been beautifully restored and still presents exceptionally well today. The black upholstery is trimmed with green piping, which looks great. The leather DeLuxe seats present well and the leather is in a very good condition with no cracks or tears evident. They seats are comfortable and provide ample support. As one would expect, the dashboard is simple but functional. All the instruments are clean and clear. When the car was restored the original steering was resized to provide a more comfortable driving position.The car presents beautifully and the next important question is “ . . . how does it drive?” The answer to that question is simple . . . very well!The current owner drove the car to our show room from the Sunshine Coast on a hot summer’s day and it did not miss a beat.From cold you will need the choke to start the car but even then it starts easily. You can back the choke off pretty much straight away and the engine will almost immediately settle into a smooth idle. We love the Twin Cam exhaust note, which has an edge to it.Out on the open road the car is smooth and tight on the road, further highlighting the quality of the restoration. The engine revs feely and the car just asks to be driven. The Nissan five-speed gearbox is logical improvement, making the car more usable and better for cruising. It is smooth, direct and precise. The suspension is firm and easily absorbs any bumps in the road. The servo assisted brakes are another welcome addition and pull the car up easily and in a straight line when needed.At time of photographing the odometer read 30, 781 miles, however, the owner assured us that the correct reading is 20, 781 miles. When the odometer was supposed to tick over to 20, 000 miles it got stuck and then skipped a digit!This car is ready for its new owner to show, use and enjoy.MGA’s are desirable sports cars with a cult following, however, the MGA Twin Cam takes that desirability to the next level. They are rare cars and fully sorted examples hard to find and highly sought after.We are delighted to offer for sale this beautifully restored and very well sorted MGA Twin Cam with a very interesting history.Accompanying the car is a very good history file, an owner’s manual, a workshop manual, a parts list, a correct tool kit, a jack, all the wet weather gear including a tonneau cover and a spare set of side curtains. There is also a storage bag for the side curtains. The original gearbox is also still with the car.Highlights:- Australian delivered, factory right hand drive example..- Beautifully presented example of a quintessential British sports car.- An older restoration that still presents superbly.- Fabulous colour scheme.- Ready to be used and enjoyed.- Just a fabulous car!Price: $114, 950BackgroundMG is one of the world’s most iconic motoring brands.In 1912, with the support of the Earl of Macclesfield, William Morris founded W. R. M. Motors Ltd and started the manufacturing of Morris designed cars. In 1919 W. R. M. Motors was liquidated and essentially replaced by Morris Motors.In 1921 Morris hired Cecil Kimber as a Sales Manager for Morris Garages and in 1923 he became the General Manager. Kimber had a vision and started building sportier versions of Morris cars and labelled them MG. On the 1st May 1924 Morris Garages registered the MG Octagon as a trademark.Demand grew, which necessitated a move to a larger premises in September 1925. This was quickly followed by another move in 1927. By 1928 the business had grown so much a decision was made to separate it from Morris and the M. G. Car Company was established in March 1928. In 1929 the company moved to Abingdon and on the 21st July 1930 the M. G. Car Company Limited was incorporated.The first cars to be produced under the name MG in 1924 were special bodied Morris Cowleys. The first MG to specifically compete in sporting events is a car now known as ‘Old Number One’. It was produced in 1925 and was first seen at the 1925 Lands End Trial. Other MG models followed quickly but in 1928 at the Motor Show at Olympia MG introduced the MG M-Type Midget, which became the first of many sports cars produced by MG and was a big success for the company.In that same year MG also introduced the MG 18/ 80. This was the first MG with a chassis designed and built by MG. The 18/ 80 was equipped with a six cylinder engine with a capacity of 2, 468cc.A milestone for the company occurred in 1933 when an MG Magnette K3 became the first non-Italian car to win its class at the Mile Miglia.William Morris owned MG personally and in 1935 he sold it to Morris Motors.In the late 1930’s MG produced a series of sports saloons, the VA, the SA and the WA.The MG TA (built from 1936 – 1939) and MG TB (built from 1939 – 1940) were well regarded sports cars, but sold only in relatively small numbers. Introduced in 1945 the MG TC was in fact a very similar car to the MG TB, both visually and also mechanically sharing the same 1250 cc engine but with a slightly higher compression ratio. Although only built as right hand drive, America fell in love with the MG TC and many cars were sold to American serviceman serving in the UK and Europe at the end of the war. In fact everyone loved the TC and cars were sold to all points of the globe! Over six years of production MG sold 10, 000 MG TC’s.The MG TC was succeeded by the MG TD in 1950 and circa 30, 000 cars were built before being replaced by the MG TF in 1953. Just under 10, 000 TF’s were built of which one third had the 1500 cc engine. The T Series MG’s were replaced by the MGA in 1955.The MGA was introduced to compete with the new and very fresh Austin Healey. This model was a completely new design which proved to be another great success story for BMC. In total just over 100, 000 MGA’s were built from 1955 through until 1962. When introduced the MGA was powered by a 1489cc four cylinder engine and the first MGA’s were often referred to as MGA 1500. The MGA power plant went through a number of improvements through the model’s life, including an increase to 1588cc in 1959 (MGA 1600) and then to 1622cc in 1961 (MGA Mark II). MG also introduced a high performance version of the MGA, the MGA Twin Cam in 1958.The MGA Twin Cam was built in limited numbers and only 2, 111 examples left the Abingdon factory before production ceased in mid-1959. The breakdown of the 2, 111 cars is 1, 788 were roadsters (1, 331 left hand drive & 457 right hand drive) and only 323 were coupes (125 left hand drive & 198 right hand drive).