This section covers the rear outer body panels of the MGA, complete rear wings, welded-in repair sections, wing-to-body piping, the boot lid striker, splash plates and sealing components for the rear wheel arches, and the UNF hardware for mounting the wings to the body. The MGA rear wing runs from the door rear edge around the rear wheel arch to meet the rear valance, with a significant structural function tying the boot floor and rear body together.
Complete Rear Wings
Complete rear wings are handed pressings, left hand and right hand being separate items. A complete wing is the correct choice where the original is beyond repair through extensive corrosion, severe accident damage, or previous substandard repair work, installation requiring removal of rear lamps, the rear bumper, boot trim, and interior trim behind the wing, followed by cutting out the damaged wing at the factory seams and welding in the new pressing. The rear wing shape is consistent across MGA variants, but the rear lamp aperture differs between the earlier cars, which use the type 549 and 594 rear lamps, and the 1600 Mk II, which uses the type 647 horizontal-cluster rear lamps mounted differently.
Wing Repair Sections
For cars with localised damage rather than complete wing failure, two grades of rear wing repair section are available. The 15-inch rear wing repair sections, handed left and right, cover the area most commonly affected by rust, typically the lower rear portion of the wing where road water and salt spray collect at the wheel arch lip, and this is the most common partial repair on a long-used MGA. Full rear wing repair sections, also handed, cover a larger area for more extensive damage but short of a complete wing replacement. Both grades are welded-in panels replacing the damaged area of the original wing, correct fitment requiring careful measurement and panel alignment against the rear inner wing and the boot floor edge.
Wing Piping & Boot Lid Striker
MGA wing piping, supplied as a matched pair for both sides, is the sealing piping fitted between the rear wing and the rear body shroud, running along the joint where the two panels meet to provide a sealed joint against water ingress and a neat finished appearance. On coupé cars, a chrome-plated finisher runs around the wing piping, continuing forward to the door, a visible piece of exterior trim specific to the coupé. The boot lid striker is the body-mounted catch that the boot lid lock engages with when closed, mounting to the rear body panel aligned with the lock to ensure the lid closes flush and secure, and it sees significant wear over decades of use, a worn striker causing poor closing and rattles, so replacement during restoration restores correct operation.
Splash Plates & Fitting Hardware
Splash plates were added inside the rear wings in front of the wheels from chassis 29935 in April 1957, sitting between the rear wheel and the interior to protect the boot floor, battery cradles, and inner structure from road water and mud. Cars before chassis 29935 did not originally have these plates, but they are a worthwhile retrofit to reduce corrosion in the centre section of the chassis, one of the MGA's known rust-prone areas, and a splash seal set of rubber seals is stocked for fitting between the splash plate and the wing inner. The same MGA wing fitting kit used for front wings is used for rear wing fitment, along with individual UNF fasteners including hex-head screws, locking spring washers, large plain washers, MGA-specific shaped wing fixing washers, and Delrin acetal washers for isolating wing-to-structure chafing points. As with front wings, the choice between complete wing and repair section depends on the extent and location of damage, and the car's variant should be confirmed before ordering as the rear lamp aperture shape differs between pre-Mk II and 1600 Mk II cars.