MGA at Sebring.

[Peter Seager-Thomas]

Please note that this file has been edited since the Photobucket fiasco and that all images must now be double left clicked to bring them up to full size.........

It was a bit of a quandary which section to put this in as the car was almost certainly built pre-1960 but did not appear until 1961.

The car featured is to be finished as one of the two MGA Coupes built for the 1961 Sebring race. These cars were based on the ‘de-luxe’ spec cars, which were actually ‘Twin-Cam’ cars with pushrod engines fitted.

Based on one of John’s body castings, the front end has been modified rather with the deletion of the front bumper detailing. A little extra detailing was needed. The Sebring cars had the fresh air ducts fitted either side of the radiator aperture and also on the scuttle top.



The colour is probably a bit dark, too blue perhaps? The top coat is now pending, though when it can be done is another matter.
At present fitted with a set of MGA wire wheels, this will in due course have some reasonably correct centre-lock Dunlop disc wheels, as per Twin Cam.

The next job is the detailing, sidelights, fuel cap etc.

Peter.

[minimenses]

Nice! I'm sure you'll find another application for those wheels

[Peter Seager-Thomas]

Marc, the wheels are actually 50% borrowed from a part made Healey 100 and 50% from a standard MGA.

Here's the ones to be used.



My aim is to have it completed by the end of January, by which time it should also have a qualifying time for racing. it won't be that fast, though I'd hope it will be on par with the SCX MGA.

Peter.

[minimenses]

Looking very nice. The steelies look very businesslike!

[Peter Seager-Thomas]

A little more progress, in fact completion is not far off.

For me the glazing is always a trial, but fortunately with very gentle trimming the MGA 'glass' worked out ok. with hindsight, I should have done all the glazing without any paint. I may add the door window frames with a fine brush...

The headlamp rims were machined from aluminium in an effort to match the bare metal foil grille.




The other lamps were all made in aluminium, the tail light/indicator arrangement being unique to the 61/62 Sebring cars. I do wonder however if all the rear lights should be red and the front sidelight/indicators all amber?



Peter.

[cambridge]

Very nice model, Peter, especially the neat foiling. I've always liked MGAs.
Who produces this one?

Martin

[munter]

I produced that one, Martin. Peter sent me a kit, could have been Ocar or Pendles and I have repopped it with better windows and interior tray.
There were some comments about the glazing and glazing in general over on SFI.

[Peter Seager-Thomas]

The original kit was one in a plain box. At a guess I'd say it may have been 'Traffic' (Steve de Havilland?), I know it was not Ocar as I have one of those somewhere.

The performance is not so hot so the other one in the original picture will have a home brew chassis.

Martin, I've always liked MGAs too.



!976, that memorable summer, this was the first of two.... Note the reflection of the other MGA.

Peter.

[cambridge]

Peter, is that you? Yep that's the 70s all right! Nice car.

I wondered where a lot of those Traffic models came from.

John, glazing is always badly done where they do it as a one-piece tent. That simply will not work. Each window has to be formed independently of each and every other, flat, so there is almost no thinning during draw down. But some will not be told.

But if we start a vac-form defense league on here, we WILL be cast out, so let's just talk about it between ourselves.

M

[Peter Seager-Thomas]

Martin, the Traffic MGA models were all based on the Lindberg model which was a rework of the original Monogram kit.

Last post for the moment on this build.

From the tail end it is finished. I think. The exhaust silencer was a bit of styrene sprue, the tailpipe was the remains of one of the ferrules used for all those Ferrari bellmouths.

The interior was like most interiors and needed a lot of work, not helped by me thinning the material on the scuttle and tonneau areas. A lesson for the next one?

Apart from the awful lighting for the picture, the front end looks half decent.



Reflections on the build? Little work was needed prior to paint, flash did indeed need cleaning up, but there was not the mass of air bubbles which are so often present. Mostly fun.

There appears to have been issues regarding glazing where I might have missed something; there isn't a problem. Front screen, rear screen, side windows and quarter lights are all separate vac-formings in this kit, as per most, correction, some higher quality models. Not a 'one piece tent'. I fully agree with Martin that the glazing for closed cars made in one piece will never be any good.
The apertures were trimmed to take the glazing sections and the fit is shown in the pictures.

I'm now looking forward to John's Ferrari TR58.

Peter.


 

[accyman]

A beautiful car and very well executed. Wish my clumsy mits would let me do one as good as that. It looks better on the Dunlops, by fitting them it looks faster.

[Peter Seager-Thomas]

A test of the new decals. The MG badge is actually slightly oversize, though I'm not sure I'd like them smaller.



The next one I do will be with the aid of a magnifying glass.......

Peter.

[olivier]

that is a very nice build . The MGA is one of my favourite british roadster . I love the Dunlop wheels too.