What's Original Equipment ?
It always seems a point of discussion: what's original equipment and what isn't ? As far as pre war MG's are concerned it sometimes seems a mystery. This is basicly caused by the fact that MG's were usealy owned by car lovers who used to tinker and specialise. After many years of ownership and several "restaurations" nobody seems to remember what was factory fitted equipment and what was added on in later years. MG's which were used for racing or similar sporting events were virtually always adapted for there use. So after a working life of 60+ years cars are no longer in the condition they were in when they left the factory. They are more historical evidence of a past life and have a right of their own. Some people prefer to restore MG's back to the condition and specification they had when new.
For that purpose I have gathered together some info from contempory brochures and salesman info.
Its also usefull to study production changes to see what part is correct for your particular MG VA.
To make thing even more difficult for the purists: The MG factory was often prepared to specialise your car if you paid the right money.
Now feast your eyes on this period price list which will tell you exactly which extra's could be ordered for the SVW range:
The next text is from a late VA brochure explaning about the available colours:
On VA saloons the original colour is often written upside down under the wooden rail at the bottem of the windscreen, in this case it is MAROON
Chassis are painted black, the scuttle is useally in the cars body colour, firewall is black on early cars and light grey on late VA's.
Early engines and gearboxes are painted green, late engines are red in colour.