Daytona Coach Builders cars for sale

Overview

Daytona Automotive Fiberglass, of Holly Hill, Florida, produced the MIGI — a fibreglass replica body of the 1951 MG TD that bolts to a standard Volkswagen Beetle chassis. It was the first MG TD replica on the market and the name became so closely associated with the style that a federal court order in 1982 restricted use of the MIGI name to Daytona alone.

A MIGI is therefore a Volkswagen underneath. That is good news for parts and servicing and it should set your expectations about performance: the car drives like the Beetle it is built on, not like an MG.

History

Work on the moulds began in November 1974, and the company states it produced the first MG TD fibreglass replica body in February 1975. Bodies were manufactured from the late 1970s into the early 1980s, and enough were made that the style remains one of the most commonly encountered replicas of its era.

Buying one in Australia

Check the Volkswagen underneath as carefully as the body on top. Floorpan corrosion is the usual issue with a Beetle chassis and it is structural, not cosmetic, while the fibreglass body itself tends to age well.

Registration follows your state or territory’s rules for an individually constructed or modified vehicle. Make sure the paperwork describes a Volkswagen-based replica rather than an MG, because a registration that says otherwise creates problems on resale and at insurance time.