The MGA With An Attitude
MGA DELUXE from the Production List - TC-109-104429
GHD2/104429 -- 151ABL
GHD2/104429 - 151ABL - 1961 MGA 1600 MK-II Deluxe Coupe.
Works Rally Car with 115BHP engine and 15 gallon tank.
The boot is a little curved to fit the larger fuel tank. Owner is John Halfpenny
Addendum March 2013:
On 3/21/2013, Steve Sanders in Stourbridge, West Midlands, UK wrote:
"A friend of mine puchased this car around 1966/67 from a garage on the Bromford Lane in Birmingham for very little money. He only had it for a few weeks when on a winters night on the way to a club film evening at Mallory Park, he rolled it and I never saw it again"! -- Regards Steve
Obviously the car still survives today.
Addendum January 12, 2020:
Scratch the comment above, as it turned out to be in error.
At 12:13 PM 1/12/2020, Larry Gumbley wrote:
"I have just read a comment written in 2013 by Steve Sanders about the above car. He is basically right but has mixed up two cars. I am the friend Steve mentions, and I did buy 151ABL from Bromford Bridge Garage for about £400. However I did not roll it, that was an earlier 1500, I can't remember the reg. I sold it to Johnny Sandbach of Junilee garage in Erdington and he turned it into a convertible.
I kept 151ABL for 5 years. It was without doubt the best, prettiest and most exciting car I have owned. It would do 100 mph in third and easily top 120. It also out accelerated my friends Twin Cam (and an E Type up to 75)! It was remarkably economical, returning 33 to the gallon round town and 40 on a run. I put this down to the engine which was very heavily modified, and which had a camshaft which officially did not exist!
The gearbox was a close ratio and the case was a special heavy sand casting, not the usual die cast. Unfortunately both the engine and gearbox were stolen from my workshop while I had the body off to do some welding. I would love to know it's whereabouts".
Yours. Larry Gumbley - Larry.gumbley@ blueyonder.co.uk
Addendum December 5, 2016:
Known Rally History
Date |
20-25 Jan 1962 |
7-11 May 1962 |
8-02 Sept 1962 |
Event |
Monte Carlo Rally |
Tulip Rally / Tulpen Rallye |
Liege-Sofia-Liege |
Rally # |
314 |
11 |
49 |
CC |
1622 |
|
|
Car |
|
MG A Mk 2 |
|
Driver |
Donald & Erle (not Eric) Morley |
Rauno Aaltonen & S. Gunnar Palm (SF/S) |
John Gott & Bill Shepard |
Results |
1st Rally. Result 1st in 2 litre class & second overall in the GT category, 28th. overall. |
1st in class and 15th. overall. |
Final outing, it failed to finish after twice puncturing its fuel tank. |
This article from "Enjoying MG" March 1989: (click for 2.3-MB PDF document)
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