With all the paint stripped off, some clues to the car's history are visible.
Both front fenders show filled-in holes that would have accommodated
Lucas bullet-style rear view mirrors.
These mirrors were typically installed by the dealer, and are considered
original because they were a factory-approved accessory. Although the car
would have looked jaunty with the fender-mounted mirrors, they would have
been a little difficult to adjust positioned in front of the windshield.
Here we see lead body filling on the inside edge of the front fender.
Hand finishing of this type was frequently performed at the body plant
to get the best possible appearance from the body panels. The area
around the lower left-hand side of the trunk opening also contains lead
filling. Labor-intensive manufacturing practices like this are almost
unheard of today except in very expensive cars. Pride of workmanshp,
don'tcha know.
From the sublime to the ridiculous: Whoever "repaired" this fender just
trowelled Bondo into a rusty dent without even trying to smooth out the
underlying metal. The chunk of body glop fell away looking like a
topographical map of the Rockies.
History:
This Portugese stamp commemorates the Rally da Madeira with a picture
of an MGA coupe.
On to Page Fourteen
