Our Classics
Tom’s long-term MG resto project finally shows some signs of life
OWNED SINCE February 2014 MILEAGE SINCE LAST REPORT 0 TOTAL MILEAGE 112,000 LATEST COSTS £371.23
1956 MG MAGNETTE ZA
Something wonderful happened recently that made me forget all the rubbish moments relating to the restoration of my MG ZA over the past six years.
Some readers will know that the car was at specialist Quest Classic Car Restoration in Orrell when lockdown started, resulting in it being locked away from me. I couldn’t even look at it, never mind make progress on it. But I heard the Magnette run, briefly, under its own steam for the very first time a few weeks after it managed to open up to the new post-lockdown world. The guys at Quest were very helpful in arranging a quick, socially-distanced visit for me which was a huge relief having not seen the car since March. I’d abandoned all hope of seeing it any time soon because I’ve got so used to waiting in car parks while my wife attends antenatal appointments without me, and I thought garage visiting policies might be the same.
But, masked and gloved-up, with a big gap between me and those working on my car, I was asked: ‘ Would you like to hear it run?’ My mask did nothing to conceal my excitement, but I put my thumbs up anyway just in case my frantic nodding wasn’t understood.
It was an emotional moment. Quick recap – my dad had owned the Magnette since 1981, and although I grew up with it in the garage it was off the road for that whole time. I started the restoration when he died back in 2014.
Admittedly there weren’t any Car SOS- worthy tears, but there was a huge knot of excitement clawing its way from my stomach to my throat that told me that I’d be driving it soon, and the thought allowed me to overlook the fact that the bonnet had been removed and the instrument panel was hanging out where a neat cluster of new wiring loom took the place of the mess of old and brittle cables. We’ll also ignore the fact that the old coil gave up shortly after this test run, so that’s another item on the shopping list.
So, apart from this mega milestone, what has been done since the latest pothole in this long road to restoration? My box of bits has been raided and the fuel pump I fitted over winter has been wired in. My new loom has also been fitted and the fuel tank has finally been plumbed back in.
On top of that, the manifold and carbs have gone back on, along with the air intake, throttle linkage, choke, radiator and hoses from NTG Motor Services in Ipswich. NTG has also supplied me with countless bits and pieces to help replace worn or broken items when we’ve been putting the car back together – from the really boring stuff like obscure washers to the fun stuff like a new set of horns.
There have also been some parts that I’ve not been able to get hold of and a problem with the indicator switch for which I sought advice from the MG Car Club’s Magnette Register historian, Peter Martin.
Peter’s advice has been invaluable, and has a steady supply of goodies such as side lights, a wiper motor and small but important things such as a grub screw that was missing from my fog lamp switch.
The semaphores worked beautifully when connected straight to a power source, too, but the switch mounted on the steering wheel apparently doesn’t want to play ball. Peter very kindly advised me on how to access the wiring to find out what was wrong with the switch – there’s a sleeve in the steering column – but for now we’ve gone for a quicker option due to time and cost. Quest very kindly dug out a pair of Lucas switches for me, which at the moment fit very discreetly under the dash, and if you didn’t know they were there they wouldn’t leap out at you. And hey presto – we have indicators again. The repair of the original switch might be a job for when the car is home.
There aren’t many jobs left to do; there’s the coil, a gearbox leak to look at – hopefully nothing more serious than a failed seal – and then we can maybe think about getting it safety checked. Despite being 64 years old and qualifying for historic status, an MoT will definitely be in order. It’s been off the road since 1984 and I’d feel much better driving away knowing that it is as safe as it can be.
Here’s hoping…