This is pretty much the conversion I want to do with my MGA, I would love to speak to the guy that did this one so I could learn from him and help me do mine.
as mentioned already, not an MGA twin cam. the wheels are a dead give-a-way. coming from a miata world it might be acceptable to put the prestigous "twin cam" badge on the hood, but MGA aficionados would look poorly on it. personally, i've got no problem with it and a twincam miata engine in a '50's mga sounds like a lot of fun. i'd be happy to have one!
My thoughts too. No problem with using the Mazda parts to make a nice mod but with a Miata engine and box it is NOT an MGA Twin Cam. Just because the Miata engine has 'twin cams', that does make this an MGA Twin Cam. Sticking an MGA Twin Cam badge on it would be seen as a bit of an insult to the legendary car by MG enthusiasts. If the vehicle was originally a genuine MGA Twin Cam, the mods have probably reduced the value by about $20k. However, I would guess it wasn't as the MGA Twin Cam had solid steel wheels, not wire, to handle the increased power and torque. The least powerful early 1.6L NA Miata engine is already 8hp more than the MGA Twin Cam engine up to 73hp more from the 2.0L ND engine. If the wire wheels are original MGA wheels then there could be some wheel damage occur down the track. P.S. - I raced an MGA 1600 Mk2 in the late 70s. The original car had wire wheels but they had to be changed to Dunlop steel wheels when I started to pop spokes after warming the engine to produce more power and torque.
Great combination-the looks of a classic sports car with the reliability of a Miata engine and tranny. I imagine someone is at work squeezing a Miata drive train into an MG Midget or an Austin Healy Sprite. If you find such a thing please share it with us. Thanks for your videos helping us poor Miata owners stay on the road.
yes. wire wheels are dead give-a-way. but i guess it's a twin cam mazda engine, but not an MGA twin cam model. the deceptive badging wouldn't be thought of very well of by MGA enthusiasts.
@@awboat i'm not really an "originaL" buff, so don't really care one way or another, but trust me, some people do. but to answer your question: most of those would take less offense of an 1800 mgb engine in an mga than a mazda engine, i suspect. it's all a little silly, really.
I don't think it's silly. It's dishonest badging. Even if the frame and body were originally part of an MGA TWIN CAM it would still be dishonest. There are fewer and fewer of the original 100,000 MGA's every year. I'm pleased that there are those with 1800 B series engines or with Miata drive trains on the road to keep the spirit alive but don't deceive. Call it what it is, a 1600 with a Miata drivetrain. It's not fair to the brand or it's history.
I am a former owner of a 1956 MGA, which I restored in 1970. The major "up grade" was a 3 main MGB engine over bored, hot street cam, ported and polished head, high compression pistons, lightened rods, everything balanced, lightened fly wheel, custom exhaust. If that were today, I would do it again and buy a MIATA as a companion car. I would not molest the MGA. Miatas are a dime a dozen; superb cars with no soul. A fake a TWIN CAM with an inappropriate badge. PS. Worked at British Motors of Monterey (Calif) 1968-1972. Worked on Twin Cams and other MGs of all types. Great cars. We were a Rolls, Bentely, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Lotus, Jensen, Morris, Austin, MINI, MG dealership. Service manager of a MAZDA dealership for 4 years, Factory District Manager MAZDA Motors of America 7 1/2 years. My district was Nor Cal, Nevada and Utah. I have owned 130 carts, 30 of which were British.. 7 MGs, currently a 1963 MGB.
MG did some engine swaps with their cars, the MGB in particular. The MGC with a big inline six cylinder, and the MG V8 with the Rover V8. There is a rich tradition of British cars and engine swaps, I see nothing wrong with this car.
@@3ducs MGC was not an engine swap. An entirely different car than a B with a dedicated six which was not, as some believe, an Austin Healey motor. None of those were engine "swaps". Putting an MG engine in an MG was not like slamming a new age, Japanese, motor in an MG.
I once drove an MGA with a tuned MGB 1800 engine and its Overdrive fitted. It made the MGA into a really nice performer - and it was nice it was still an 'MG'. Nevertheless the Miata conversion is well done.
Hey Mazda Man...I just found your channel today and this is the first video of yours I watched. I'm having a seriously emotional moment right now...beginning with this car in 1959, my grandfather owned a series of British roadsters. He died 10 years before the first Miata and my father and I always said he would have loved the Miata for its reliability and power. To see a Miata powertrain in an MGA represents the culmination of everything my grandfather was searching for in a driving and ownership experience. Thank you very much for sharing this car with us all here.
Well i guess if your not a mga purist then its a cool conversion i have a 57 mga iam doing and im using a 1948 riley twin cam hemi engine and transmission in it,the engine was rated back then at 105hp and with a few little tweaks im looking to get 115hp out of it and making the lamans look but in sheet metal,,I bought the car and it was rotted right out so im hand fabricating basically 70% of the body ,
Well that’s beautiful, I had a 1971 MGA mark1 in 1966 it was my first car , so sorry I sold it , many years later I purchased a 1990 Mazda Miata being a mechanic I installed a supercharger, exhaust, over sized injectors, wheels and so much more but keep the body very stock , the Miata was very fast beating cars like mustangs, Camaros , but I always loved my MGA, wished I had the MGA with that Miata engine and transmission, yours is beautiful, enjoy!
nice how the contrasting dark gray interior manages to slightly liven up what would otherwise be considered a drab one. BTW, i'm no purist even though i've completely restored an mga BITD, i would be happy to own an mga with a miata drivetrain.
I was going to say the same thing. A twin cam has 4 times the value of a normal MGA. Even if the previous owner molested the car, it would be worth finding a twin cam engine to restore and sell it. Then use the money to build the same project and keep the extra $30,000 left over for another project. Just having the "twin cam" badge makes it worse because people are expecting it to be a $70,000 car.
Not a real twin cam. real twin cams had 4 wheel disc brakes and steel wheels. still pretty damn nice and probably a whole lot more reliable and a lot more power than the original engine
Does it still have the wooden floor-boards? Love the line...."reach in here and pull this cable to open the door." What a technical marvel. Sorry, didn't mean to be so snarky...
Love it. Sounds just like my RHD 1996 1.8iS. Which isn’t surprising really 😂 even down to the suck from the K&N filter on switch off. The tank on the left of the engine bay is exactly the same as the header tank in mine, even down to the overflow pipe. Is this a 1.6 or a1.8?
@@MiataMan Perhaps, perhaps not. I am not convinced. The MGA twin cam is very rare and collectible. A good one is worth $60k plus. It is special because of the rare engine, the rare disc brakes all around and the steel wheels. This car has none of them. So it is worth perhaps $25k. So why would you take an original MGA twin cam and replace all the unique parts and shed so much value? Suggests instead that this is a regular MGA that has had some badges added to. Not that it matters as I am sure it is a good drive and the restomod approach appeals to many folk. But you wouldn’t do it to an original twin cam… just saying….
@@andrewhunt6494 If it was truly a Twin Cam.. this is criminal. It's no a "great marriage" by any stretch. One more classic butchered. How about slamming a MIATA engine and gearbox into a Corvair , Falcon or a Gremlin. Oh, you might consider learning how to pronounce MAZDA.
Wow....negative coments haaa! Its beautiful i want one ...i need help doing one ...ill buy this one ? Give you my twin cam (no engine ) ...beautiful car !!! And i have all fron 48-67... magnets too !!! Wow
Thanks for your kind comments. This one belongs to a good friend of mine, with no plans to sell it. It was originally updated/built by a local enthusiast.
Hey Miata Man, that's an awesome build right there, thanks for sharing! i was wondering if you have any experience with NBs and wouldn't mind helping me locate the source of a weird rattle at high gears and low RPMs. only happens when in gear!any ideas?
@@MiataMan i removed the heat shield just before the cat, that was barely holding on.. it didn't really change a lot... will be looking at the rest of them as soon as i get the chance! thank you for your help!
Was this a Twin Cam when it left the factory? About two thousand Twin Cams were built. Not many are left. In nice condition many think of them as too valuable to drive. So I am confused. If this was an MGA that got a Miata drive train Swap and someone put Twin Cam badges on it for fun, then I understand. Sure.
It belongs to a friend of mine who is under the impression that it is an original Twin Cam. The owner before him had performed the conversion. The brakes were also swapped out with MGB ones if I remember correctly. I can’t say with certainty that it was born as a Twin Cam, but it certainly has one in it now 😀
@@MiataMan Understood. Not all that long ago MGAs were just old cars. Today, if you have a Twin Cam verified by the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust, and you wanted something like this, you would sell the Twin Cam, and buy a MGA.
It had been done by the previous owner who did the work himself. A decent Miata engine and transmission usually runs between $1200 to $2000 depending on mileage, condition and if it’s a 1.6L or a 1.8L.
@@MiataMan I saw a comment from another Miata transplant build the other month. The guy said the water pump was a nightmare to change, as half the engine had to be stripped.
@@MiataMan Thanks Bro. I am looking for an "A", my first car I owned (1971) to play with. The combo sounds great but seeing is believing! Please? Thanks, Miata Man.
Realmente mala la colocación del filtro de aire encima del escape......dentro del vano motor.... ¡que perdida de potencia totalmente evitable!, muy muy mal. Por lo demás, excelente y muy bonito coche.
This is pretty much the conversion I want to do with my MGA, I would love to speak to the guy that did this one so I could learn from him and help me do mine.
The conversion was performed by a previous owner. Not sure if he would be available/willing to help.
as mentioned already, not an MGA twin cam. the wheels are a dead give-a-way. coming from a miata world it might be acceptable to put the prestigous "twin cam" badge on the hood, but MGA aficionados would look poorly on it.
personally, i've got no problem with it and a twincam miata engine in a '50's mga sounds like a lot of fun. i'd be happy to have one!
My thoughts too. No problem with using the Mazda parts to make a nice mod but with a Miata engine and box it is NOT an MGA Twin Cam. Just because the Miata engine has 'twin cams', that does make this an MGA Twin Cam. Sticking an MGA Twin Cam badge on it would be seen as a bit of an insult to the legendary car by MG enthusiasts. If the vehicle was originally a genuine MGA Twin Cam, the mods have probably reduced the value by about $20k.
However, I would guess it wasn't as the MGA Twin Cam had solid steel wheels, not wire, to handle the increased power and torque. The least powerful early 1.6L NA Miata engine is already 8hp more than the MGA Twin Cam engine up to 73hp more from the 2.0L ND engine. If the wire wheels are original MGA wheels then there could be some wheel damage occur down the track.
P.S. - I raced an MGA 1600 Mk2 in the late 70s. The original car had wire wheels but they had to be changed to Dunlop steel wheels when I started to pop spokes after warming the engine to produce more power and torque.
Great combination-the looks of a classic sports car with the reliability of a Miata engine and tranny. I imagine someone is at work squeezing a Miata drive train into an MG Midget or an Austin Healy Sprite. If you find such a thing please share it with us. Thanks for your videos helping us poor Miata owners stay on the road.
Pulling the choke knob to start - pure classic !!!!! Love it !!!!!!
They had another actual choke, although the Miata/MX5 engine probably doesn't have use for it.
This is not a Twin-Cam. Doesn't have the pin-drive knock-off rims and 4 wheel Dunlop disc brakes. Nice car and conversion never-the-less. Thanks
yes. wire wheels are dead give-a-way. but i guess it's a twin cam mazda engine, but not an MGA twin cam model. the deceptive badging wouldn't be thought of very well of by MGA enthusiasts.
@@hueyhoolihan582 Is it worse than the '67 1800 in my 1960?
@@awboat i'm not really an "originaL" buff, so don't really care one way or another, but trust me, some people do. but to answer your question: most of those would take less offense of an 1800 mgb engine in an mga than a mazda engine, i suspect.
it's all a little silly, really.
I don't think it's silly. It's dishonest badging. Even if the frame and body were originally part of an MGA TWIN CAM it would still be dishonest. There are fewer and fewer of the original 100,000 MGA's every year. I'm pleased that there are those with 1800 B series engines or with Miata drive trains on the road to keep the spirit alive but don't deceive. Call it what it is, a 1600 with a Miata drivetrain. It's not fair to the brand or it's history.
It seems like a jumble of mk 1 and mk2 mga parts aswell. The dashboard trim is out of a mk2 but the grill is mk1.
Gorgeous beyond words. Thanks for sharing.
My two favorite cars together!! Amazing combination!!! Thanks for sharing!
I am a former owner of a 1956 MGA, which I restored in 1970. The major "up grade" was a 3 main MGB engine over bored, hot street cam,
ported and polished head, high compression pistons, lightened rods, everything balanced, lightened fly wheel, custom exhaust.
If that were today, I would do it again and buy a MIATA as a companion car. I would not molest the MGA. Miatas are a dime a dozen; superb cars with no soul.
A fake a TWIN CAM with an inappropriate badge.
PS. Worked at British Motors of Monterey (Calif) 1968-1972. Worked on Twin Cams and other MGs of all types. Great cars.
We were a Rolls, Bentely, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Lotus, Jensen, Morris, Austin, MINI, MG dealership.
Service manager of a MAZDA dealership for 4 years, Factory District Manager MAZDA Motors of America 7 1/2 years. My district was Nor Cal, Nevada and Utah.
I have owned 130 carts, 30 of which were British.. 7 MGs, currently a 1963 MGB.
MG did some engine swaps with their cars, the MGB in particular. The MGC with a big inline six cylinder, and the MG V8 with the Rover V8. There is a rich tradition of British cars and engine swaps, I see nothing wrong with this car.
@@3ducs MGC was not an engine swap. An entirely different car than a B with a dedicated six which was not, as some believe, an Austin Healey motor.
None of those were engine "swaps".
Putting an MG engine in an MG was not like slamming a new age, Japanese, motor in an MG.
I once drove an MGA with a tuned MGB 1800 engine and its Overdrive fitted. It made the MGA into a really nice performer - and it was nice it was still an 'MG'. Nevertheless the Miata conversion is well done.
Very nice shame you couldn't keep the air filter a way from the exhaust heaters
Hey Mazda Man...I just found your channel today and this is the first video of yours I watched. I'm having a seriously emotional moment right now...beginning with this car in 1959, my grandfather owned a series of British roadsters. He died 10 years before the first Miata and my father and I always said he would have loved the Miata for its reliability and power. To see a Miata powertrain in an MGA represents the culmination of everything my grandfather was searching for in a driving and ownership experience. Thank you very much for sharing this car with us all here.
Thanks for your comment. I’m glad that the video brought back fond memories for you.
That is pretty sweet Pete!
Awesome ride!!!
Well i guess if your not a mga purist then its a cool conversion i have a 57 mga iam doing and im using a 1948 riley twin cam hemi engine and transmission in it,the engine was rated back then at 105hp and with a few little tweaks im looking to get 115hp out of it and making the lamans look but in sheet metal,,I bought the car and it was rotted right out so im hand fabricating basically 70% of the body ,
Great combination! 🤩
Well that’s beautiful, I had a 1971 MGA mark1 in 1966 it was my first car , so sorry I sold it , many years later I purchased a 1990 Mazda Miata being a mechanic I installed a supercharger, exhaust, over sized injectors, wheels and so much more but keep the body very stock , the Miata was very fast beating cars like mustangs, Camaros , but I always loved my MGA, wished I had the MGA with that Miata engine and transmission, yours is beautiful, enjoy!
Typo, error it was a 1961 MGA ,
Very cool!
Sold my 59 MGA forty years ago. Still grieving. The stupidity of youth. But I have a 2022 MX5 now luv it.
Thought about this myself but with the cost of restoring and the conversion it was cheaper to just go out and buy a Mazda MX5/miata
Fantastic!
This is pretty badass
nice how the contrasting dark gray interior manages to slightly liven up what would otherwise be considered a drab one.
BTW, i'm no purist even though i've completely restored an mga BITD, i would be happy to own an mga with a miata drivetrain.
Love everything about it. Except the k&n. Throw that thing away immediately 😂
Awesome!
Great combination, BUT!!! NOT ON A TWIN CAM!!!!! An original MGA Twin Cam is a VERY valuable and Rare car. Hope he kept that original engine.
It was modified and converted by the previous owner many years ago.
I was going to say the same thing. A twin cam has 4 times the value of a normal MGA. Even if the previous owner molested the car, it would be worth finding a twin cam engine to restore and sell it. Then use the money to build the same project and keep the extra $30,000 left over for another project. Just having the "twin cam" badge makes it worse because people are expecting it to be a $70,000 car.
Not a real twin cam. real twin cams had 4 wheel disc brakes and steel wheels. still pretty damn nice and probably a whole lot more reliable and a lot more power than the original engine
Does it still have the wooden floor-boards? Love the line...."reach in here and pull this cable to open the door." What a technical marvel. Sorry, didn't mean to be so snarky...
I wonder how hard it was to connect the Miata transmission to the MG driveshaft?
nice
Love it. Sounds just like my RHD 1996 1.8iS. Which isn’t surprising really 😂 even down to the suck from the K&N filter on switch off. The tank on the left of the engine bay is exactly the same as the header tank in mine, even down to the overflow pipe.
Is this a 1.6 or a1.8?
It’s a 1.8L 👍
Not a twin cam. Drum rear brakes. Probably just added the badges.
It is currently a twin cam (Mazda) and was born a twin cam according to the owner.
The brakes were from an MGB if I remember correctly.
@@MiataMan Perhaps, perhaps not. I am not convinced. The MGA twin cam is very rare and collectible. A good one is worth $60k plus. It is special because of the rare engine, the rare disc brakes all around and the steel wheels. This car has none of them. So it is worth perhaps $25k. So why would you take an original MGA twin cam and replace all the unique parts and shed so much value? Suggests instead that this is a regular MGA that has had some badges added to. Not that it matters as I am sure it is a good drive and the restomod approach appeals to many folk. But you wouldn’t do it to an original twin cam… just saying….
@@andrewhunt6494 If it was truly a Twin Cam.. this is criminal.
It's no a "great marriage" by any stretch. One more classic butchered.
How about slamming a MIATA engine and gearbox into a Corvair , Falcon or a Gremlin.
Oh, you might consider learning how to pronounce MAZDA.
@@andrewhunt6494 I had the same thought....do the swap on a less rare MGA.
whoever did the swap probably thought it was cute, and nothing more, to put the twin cam badges on the car now that it had a twin cam engine in it.
Wow....negative coments haaa! Its beautiful i want one ...i need help doing one ...ill buy this one ? Give you my twin cam (no engine ) ...beautiful car !!! And i have all fron 48-67... magnets too !!! Wow
Thanks for your kind comments.
This one belongs to a good friend of mine, with no plans to sell it.
It was originally updated/built by a local enthusiast.
I talked to the owner when I was at your place and I asked him about the sound. What system does he have that gives that awesome growl?!
I will try to find out for you. 👍
Hey Miata Man, that's an awesome build right there, thanks for sharing!
i was wondering if you have any experience with NBs and wouldn't mind helping me locate the source of a weird rattle at high gears and low RPMs. only happens when in gear!any ideas?
Does it happen when you back off the throttle?
@@MiataMan hey thanks for replying! it does but very faintly. it mainly happens under acceleration
Sounds like it might be one of the heat shields rattling.
@@MiataMan i removed the heat shield just before the cat, that was barely holding on.. it didn't really change a lot...
will be looking at the rest of them as soon as i get the chance! thank you for your help!
@@MiataMan possible to buy it? Thanks
Was this a Twin Cam when it left the factory? About two thousand Twin Cams were built. Not many are left. In nice condition many think of them as too valuable to drive. So I am confused. If this was an MGA that got a Miata drive train Swap and someone put Twin Cam badges on it for fun, then I understand. Sure.
It belongs to a friend of mine who is under the impression that it is an original Twin Cam. The owner before him had performed the conversion.
The brakes were also swapped out with MGB ones if I remember correctly. I can’t say with certainty that it was born as a Twin Cam, but it certainly has one in it now 😀
@@MiataMan Understood. Not all that long ago MGAs were just old cars. Today, if you have a Twin Cam verified by the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust, and you wanted something like this, you would sell the Twin Cam, and buy a MGA.
@@maneki9neko No, buy TWO run of mill MGAs. And a couple of MGBs
How come he was able to get collector plates with a different powerplant? Beautiful vehicle.
“Modified Collector” category 👍
@@MiataMan nice! Thank you for the fast response, and for all the effort you put in the videos.
@@MiataMan great combination!!! Possible to talk to you?
You say the ride is amazing. What was done on the car for suspension upgrades?
I asked the owner tonight and he said that it has MGA suspension and MGB brakes and sway bars.
I wonder how they make tachometer work . I'm doing the same swap but I'm stuck with it😅
I’m not sure, but will have a look next time I help him work on it.
Quite interesting. I had a 1961 MGA. I have a Mazda MX6 now for 24 years. I prefer the MX6.
I’ve had two MGAs. FHC and Rag top. I found them vastly overrated. Pretty but design elements I thoroughly disliked.
Is that like an MX5 only one better?
What was the total cost of installing the Miata engine tranny? Did you do this, or had it done? Yes, the perfect MGA!
It had been done by the previous owner who did the work himself.
A decent Miata engine and transmission usually runs between $1200 to $2000 depending on mileage, condition and if it’s a 1.6L or a 1.8L.
Have you changed the water pump?
No. It’s actually a friend’s car and he hasn’t needed to do the timing belt and water pump job yet.
@@MiataMan I saw a comment from another Miata transplant build the other month. The guy said the water pump was a nightmare to change, as half the engine had to be stripped.
If all the MG's had the Miata engine they would be awesome. Beautiful car, love the spinners
You will find out what folks think about it, when the times comes to sell it
Beautiful car with Mazda reliability.....what more can you ask for
Too bad you didn't do a drive in this "A". That would have been worth it's weight in Gold in itself!
I’ll try to work on that 👍
@@MiataMan Thanks Bro. I am looking for an "A", my first car I owned (1971) to play with. The combo sounds great but seeing is believing! Please? Thanks, Miata Man.
Oh no! MGA with an rice bowl engine 😢 Why not an tuend MGB engine or Rover V8 ?
Is it for sale?
Miata Man?
The steering wheel is not original either.
Back in the day it was common to replace stock steering wheels. Can't do it now what with airbags, but years ago it was done all the time.
And there was a sacrifice Miata?
Many moons ago, a Miata had a tragic accident and donated its organs to the MGA.
There have been a million Miatas made, many have crashed or rusted out.
Realmente mala la colocación del filtro de aire encima del escape......dentro del vano motor.... ¡que perdida de potencia totalmente evitable!, muy muy mal. Por lo demás, excelente y muy bonito coche.
I like how he says Mazda, not Mazda....