MGA 1600 sports
This was my first sports car in 1964 purchased from my old mates at North Brede Motors on Albany Highway in East Vic. Park. Unlike the one pictured mine had been knocked about a fair bit and I spent many hours bring it ‘up to scratch’.
This was a beautiful car to drive and we enjoyed many trips to the football at York and other towns in the Avon Association on Sundays. My pal John Glenny was coaching York at the time.
John persuaded me to bring my footy boots and shorts as on most occasions their seconds side was short of players. This was not a good idea as far as I was concerned, because I was always sore from playing on Saturdays. To make matters worse John would sometimes ask me to ‘butter up’ and play another game for the league side if they were short. He promised he would keep me ‘on the bench’ as long as there were no injuries!
My friend ‘Curley’ Berthelsen loved my car so much he brought one! Curley was here on a working holiday from Denmark and found work with me at Sands & McDougall the printers. He was looking for a place to stay and finished up boarding with my Mum and I.
MGA 1500 sports
Curley’s car was slightly different to mine as it was a MGA 1500. It had full pressed wheels as pictured.
It was his pride and joy and was in immaculate condition when he brought it. We had a lot of fun going on country runs and to the Sunday ‘sessions’ in those days. It was a sad day for Curley when he decided to return to Denmark and had to leave his beloved behind!
He was consoled by knowing one of our mates at the Carlisle footy club purchased it and cared for it as Curley had.
The spirit of the octagon: ‘The irresistible force of of a highly moveable object’
MGA 1500 specifications: Body-on-frame design and used the straight-4 "B series" engine from the MG Magnette saloon driving the rear wheels through a four-speed gearbox. Suspension was independent with coil springs and wishbones at the front and a rigid axle with semi-elliptic springs at the rear. Steering was by rack and pinion. The car was available with either wire-spoked or steel-disc road wheels. The 1489 cc engine fitted with twin H4 type SU Carburettors produced 68 hp (51 kW) at first, but was soon uprated to 72 hp (54 kW). Lockheed hydraulic drum brakes were used on all wheels. An early open car tested by British magazine The Motor in 1955 had a top speed of 97.8 mph (157.4 km/h) and could accelerate from 0–60 mph (97 km/h) in 16.0 seconds. A fuel consumption of 26.7 miles per imperial gallon (10.6 L/100 km; 22.2 mpg‑US) was recorded.
MGA 1600 specifications: In May 1959 the standard cars also received an updated engine, now at 1588 cc producing 79.5 bhp (59 kW; 81 PS) . At the front disc brakes were fitted, but drums remained in the rear. Externally the car is very similar to the 1500 with differences including: amber or white (depending on market) front turn indicators shared with white parking lamps, separate stop/tail and turn lamps in the rear, and 1600 badging on the boot and the cowl. A 1600 open car was tested by The Motor in 1959. It had a top speed of 96.1 mph (154.7 km/h) and could accelerate from 0–60 mph (97 km/h) in 13.3 seconds. A fuel consumption of 29.7 miles per imperial gallon (9.5 L/100 km; 24.7 mpg‑US) was recorded.
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Contact: Mark Biddlecombe 0429 495 103 https://www.whitepages.com.au
