Tim’s Mother’s: ’56 MGA Roadster
We thrive on cars with stories. We don’t mean stories about how you found the car of your dreams at a classic car dealer in Anaheim. We are referring to cars that were important enough in someone’s life for there to be at least an oral history or hopefully one with documentation. We have our own saga regarding our Mercedes-Benz 230S but that is for another post. Today we have the story about a woman named Aileen who wanted something sporty to drive around the Bay Area of San Francisco. The little streamliner (MGA) caught her eye and she bought it. She enjoyed it so much she actually took to racing it at local events in the area. Aileen married in the early ’60s and gave birth to Tim soon after. As the story goes, the MGA didn’t fit in to the new family structure so Aileen parked it – until recently. Now back in the sunlight with the original engine that powered Aileen at the races treated to a top and bottom rebuild. It is totally roadworthy or more appropriate, it is as roadworthy as an old British sportscar. What we love about it is the patina that it has acquired after all of the years on the road and in storage. Of course the paint is coming off in chunks and the red leather interior may be beyond salvage but we wouldn’t change a thing. For gosh sakes, it is still on a set of Dunlop Gold Cup bias-ply tires! Evidence of Aileen’s exploits are affixed to the dashboard and are totally charming. We would love to talk to Tim to see if photos of Aileen and the MGA go with it. We would insist. It is an auction and if you are enamored with historic cars regardless of perfection, you should try and snap this one up and preserve it. Click here for the auction.