Article No.12: MGA Stereo

Welcome to another of our ‘Articles’ – a blog post illustrating the ins and outs here at Carn Bosavern Garage, based in St.Just, Cornwall. Ranging from details on a full restoration, to the intricacies of an engine rebuild, we take a look at both current and previous restorations on vehicles such as MGA’s, MGB’s, plus Triumph TR2’s, TR3’s and TR4’s. We will also give an update on our current stock of classic cars for sale and used cars for sale.

In this article we take a look at installing a hidden modern bluetooth sound system to an MGA Roadster.

Although there is a place in the dashboard to accommodate a radio or stereo, the customer of this MGA Roadster quite rightly agreed with us that it would be quite the eye-sore if one was installed. After studying a hidden stereo system we fitted to an MGB Roadster project, the customer enquired if this could be fitted to their MGA we are currently restoring.

This system matched the needs of the customer, which is to simply play music off their phone using bluetooth compatibility. It was then our task to mount and install the amplifier and speaker, so as not to ruin the car’s aesthetics.

We purchased a dual voice speaker (for stereo sound) pre-fitted in to a speaker box, so that the sound quality was better and that it gave us something to mount under the dashboard.

After exploring the various possibilities, we decided that in under the dashboard on the passengers side was the best place to install the system. We removed the speaker and mounted the box on custom spacers, before re-installing the speaker and connecting the necessary wires. We chose to locate the amplifier close by, so that it was still accessible whilst remaining discreet.

Once wired up, the system automatically turns on with the ignition. So the customer had to simply sync their phone to the amplifier on first use and it was ready to play music at the click of a button.

The end product was a superb sounding modern stereo system, hidden from view so that the MGA still looked original.

This system can also be installed to other vehicles we restore – just enquire for details.