1959 MGA Twin Cam Roadster
This 1959 MGA Twin Cam is well on its way to being restored to better-than-new condition. with exacting body work and new Olde English White paint. All that’s left is replacing some trim, installing a new interior, and replacing the windshield with rechromed frame.
Here’s the “before” photo of the 1959 MGA Twin Cam roadster that came to K&T Vintage for body restoration and fresh paint. The car has been well cared-for, and you might think from this photo that it’s already a great-looking car. But the paint from a previous restoration had started to fade, and there was some inferior body work that needs to be corrected to meet the owner's goals for a more beautiful car.
“Some disassembly required.” The first step for a body restoration is of course taking everything else out of the way and separating the body tub from the chassis. Bumper, lights, trim and grill have been removed here. Any engine parts attached to the body will be detached, with the engine remaining on the chassis.
Seats, door panels and carpeting have been removed from the interior. On this project we’ll be able to leave the dashboard in, though, so no messing around with all those gauges, switches and wires.
Getting down to the metal to see what’s under the paint is a critical step so we see what we’re up against to perfecting the bodywork ahead.
Finally we can separate the MGA into the body tub or shell, with bonnet, boot lit and fenders removed (top)... and the rolling chassis remains below, with engine and transmission remaining on the frame, axles and wheels.
These shots show the tub after it was lowered onto our red support trolley, enabling us to move the project around however we want to, so are are able to access everything.
As we get ready to tackle the body work, the tub needs to be braced to keep it straight and true — an important part of making sure everything fits make together even better than they were before, if possible.
The tub is pretty much down to its just-body-panel parts at this point. The heater box and some other components remain in the engine bay.
The rolling chassis of the MGA, once the tub has been removed. Looks a little messy, but parts are boxed and stacked with it so it all stays together. We won’t be doing too much to the innards except maybe a little cleaning up here and there when we put it back together.