Rides from the Readers: 1960 MG MGA

Hagerty readers and Hagerty Drivers Club members share their cherished collector and enthusiast vehicles with us via our contact email, tips@hagerty.com. We’re showcasing some of our favorite stories among these submissions. To have your car featured, send complete photography and your story of ownership to the above email address.

Today’s featured ride is a 1960 MGA. To our eyes, it looks rather quaint, but in comparison to the body-on-frame TF it replaced, the MGA and its integrated fenders represented a leap into the era of modern styling. Though power ticked up only 5 hp from the outgoing TF when the 1489-cc, 68-hp MGA was first introduced in 1956, by 1960 the trim two-seater sported a 1588-cc four-pot and 78 horses. Today, these cars are beloved for their good looks, affordable price, and accessible level of mechanical complexity.

This particular 1960 MGA first belonged to Bob Stockwell, a helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army. Though this Alamo Beige example wasn’t his first choice, Bob had his heart set on buying one of the roadsters before he was deployed to Germany in 1960. It was the only one the dealer had, so the tan car went home with Bob—to the joy of his eldest child, Mike, the grinning child in the lead photo. Over the next four years in Germany, the Stockwell clan grew, and Mike writes that “All of us (yes, all five of us) rode through the countryside of Germany in that ‘family’ car.” However, upon his return to his home town of Tipton, Indiana, Bob sold the MGA for a more practical “family” car.

There’s a happy ending, though. The family who bought Bob’s MGA back in 1968 (and painted the shade of brown shown above) reached out to the Stockwell family, and Mike and his brother restored the MGA for their father’s 50th high school reunion. “My mom and dad took a ride in it after not being in the car for 51 years … a true blessing for our entire family,” Mike remembers fondly.

A car that brings a family together is worth celebrating.