Wild Child Classic Cars

Wild Child Classic Cars Your choice for Parts, Support, and Service for your classic British car! Specializing in Mini / MG!

After a wildly hectic week here we finally got one of our bigger builds all buttoned up. Mike's very early 1960 Austin C...
06/18/2026

After a wildly hectic week here we finally got one of our bigger builds all buttoned up. Mike's very early 1960 Austin Countryman is heading home today after some big upgrades.

The old small bore engine locked up on him and it was time for an upgrade, so Mike sent us a 1275 core he had along with the Mini. We performed a full overhaul along with the gearbox. The engine received an overbore with new high compression pistons, SW5 camshaft, clutch and flywheel, and timing system. The cylinder new exhaust valves and hardened seats, along with a full overhaul. All machine work performed in house, coupled with a fully rebuilt gearbox and new final drive. The twin carbs were in rough shape, so we gave them a full rebuild and some new needles, along with cone filters. This one also got our Mega-Cool system, so it was staying right on temp earlier this week even with it being 107 out.

The previous owner of this countryman had installed some 7" discs, which unfortunately were not performing well enough, and were very worn out, along with hammered suspension components. While this woody was here we did a full set of cones and HiLos, new shocks, bushings, and converted to 7.5" Cooper S brakes, which included new hubs and CV joints.

Now this Countryman has a great engine and gearbox, and charges smooth and straight down the road. We can't wait to see what Mike thinks of it now!

Tom's 57' MGA is back on the pavement after receiving an engine overhaul and full suspension system revamp, among other ...
05/16/2026

Tom's 57' MGA is back on the pavement after receiving an engine overhaul and full suspension system revamp, among other things.

Tom brought us his A for some cosmetics and a once over and we quickly discovered some issues. The suspension had seen better days with a mix match of worn out bushes, bad bearings, and broken fasteners. The differential oil was like glitter and virtually empty, and the engine had some bad blowby, oil smoke, and low compression.

The original engine was replaced with a 1622 somewhere along it's life, but was likely used when installed. We stripped down and machined the block, boring it over, honing, and resurfacing the deck, along with new cam, tappets, pistons, and polishing the crank. When we checked out the head we discovered a crack in between valve seats- but were luckily able to weld up and remachine the chamber. New exhaust valves, hardened seats, and a full head job were also in order. The carburetors and ignition system were gone through too, and then we were back in action- smoke and leak free with plenty of oil pressure.

We rebuilt the front suspension with new poly bushes, shocks, and rebuilt the steering knuckles. The rear springs also received new bushings and pads, links, rebound straps, and we installed new hardware throughout.

Tom also wanted the old and dry carpet replaced for a nice black set along with some new hardware. To finish up we repaired some other small items like the fuel sender and put a fresh set of whitewalls ok with wire wheel balance.

Happy to have another A buttoned up well, and we hope to see Tom out enjoying his revamped MGA before it gets too hot out!

More machining underway here today. Clinton's MGB head is all finished up after receiving a resurface, valve job, and ne...
05/12/2026

More machining underway here today. Clinton's MGB head is all finished up after receiving a resurface, valve job, and new hardened seats. Now to get the block finished up and the rest of the engine together!

More B series work today. Tom's 1622 MGA engine block is all machined and after a fresh coat of paint is ready for assem...
04/29/2026

More B series work today. Tom's 1622 MGA engine block is all machined and after a fresh coat of paint is ready for assembly.

Michael is finishing up the colorsanding and polish on Frank's MGB before we get the underside shot in black hardtack. ...
04/23/2026

Michael is finishing up the colorsanding and polish on Frank's MGB before we get the underside shot in black hardtack. This color looks so good on a B and we can't wait to start getting trim on it to see how it works with chrome!

Color is Ford Silver Spruce Metallic.

Bill's '80 B is ready to hit the road after an engine overhaul and some clutch hydraulics. Initially this one came in fo...
04/22/2026

Bill's '80 B is ready to hit the road after an engine overhaul and some clutch hydraulics.

Initially this one came in for a failed clutch slave and bad rear main seal leak- but this quickly turned into a much bigger surprise. We pulled the engine and box to inspect the seal, which had failed dramatically. Upon inspecting the crank we found excessive thrust and ended up digging into the engine. Unfortunately, whomever did the last "rebuild" put the thrust washers in backwards, with lots of incorrectly installed parts among other issues like very worn valves, tappets, and broken rings. Luckily Bill brought it here and we were able to replace the crank with one of our good cores and performed a full overhaul. This 18V motor now scoots with new D9 cam and rebuilt head with backcut valves and hard seats installed for worry free miles. We overbored this one to +.040" and fit some new pistons, along with bearings, oil pump, and many other new items. Bill already had us do a set of HS4 carbs and header last time, so the new engine was installed and on the road with supporting modifications already present.

Happy to report this rubber bumper drives great again and has much more torque to boot! Always happy to get these cars out the door to happy customers that treat their cars right!

It must be national work on your Mini week because we just had a crazy day of parts orders! 16 orders today! Lots of goo...
04/14/2026

It must be national work on your Mini week because we just had a crazy day of parts orders! 16 orders today!

Lots of goodies on the way to our awesome customers. Seems like we need to expand our parts department even further!

We got in a cylinder head for overhaul from Randy down in Tucson as his SPI was having some woes. The head was pretty ha...
04/06/2026

We got in a cylinder head for overhaul from Randy down in Tucson as his SPI was having some woes. The head was pretty hammered and we even had some broken springs!

This one got a resurface, full valve job, new springs, and flowed backcut valves, along with a fresh coat of MOWOG green.

Should run great again. Keep in mind we do offer mail-in-machining services for other out-of-state shops and those who prefer to do your own builds!

Joe's '64 Cooper S is back on the road after an engine and gearbox rebuild with some performance upgrades. This little r...
04/06/2026

Joe's '64 Cooper S is back on the road after an engine and gearbox rebuild with some performance upgrades.

This little rocketship received a full rebuild, punching out the 1275 to a 1330 with Evo pistons, TotalSeal gapless rings, and refinished rods. The cylinder head received a full valve job and new springs, along with flowed valves and triple angle seats. Joe wanted something with some snap, without going overboard- so we tried out a MED XT pattern cam and are very happy with it's good mid range powerband. We also added our Mega-Cool cooling system to keep everything in check come summertime here in the valley of the sun.

The gearbox was also a mess, and needed an overhaul including new synchros, bearings, and 3rd and 2nd gears, along with a diff rebuild. The original flywheel was swapped for a lightened street flywheel, and we replaced the clutch and linkages so power can meet the road now.

If you are up around Fountain Hills or the surrounding area keep an eye out for a red flash, because it might just be this little Mini!

Allen's '58 MGA is soaking up the morning sun awaiting pick up after being off the road for years. We flushed the fuel s...
04/03/2026

Allen's '58 MGA is soaking up the morning sun awaiting pick up after being off the road for years.

We flushed the fuel system and replaced the hoses, replaced some ignition bits, new battery, and fresh fluids and she hummed right to life. A bit of tuning and this A was ready to rock again.

We also took a look the brakes and suspension system, which ended up getting a full overhaul with new poly bushes throughout, along with trunnion rebushing, shock links, and even replacing both coil springs and a lower arm pivot as we found some broken springs and a bent pivot. A bit of fiddling with the alignment and this old gal is tracking straight again.

The differential also needed some love, as when we drained it out came some bits of carrier bearing cage. Luckily the gears themselves were in ok shape, so new bearings and thrust washers took care of things. We also performed some various other small repairs and improvements.

Happy to report bow that it has been gone through it fires right up and drives great!

Address

1131 E. Curry Road Suite A
Tempe, AZ
85288

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 4pm
Tuesday 8am - 4pm
Wednesday 8am - 4pm
Thursday 8am - 4pm
Friday 8am - 4pm

Telephone

+14803619072

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Wild Child Classic Cars posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Wild Child Classic Cars:

Shortcuts

Featured

Share

Category