As many of you know I have owned a few British cars as well as other affordable classics but never an MG. The MG B was one of the classic cars that first caught my eye as a young boy and I have always admired the handsome styling. I even tried to buy a grotty old B GT as my first car when I was sixteen or so. My parents nixed that, which looking back was the right call even if I did not see it that way back then. I did briefly own an extremely ugly MG based kit car but it was bought as a parts car for my Lotus Seven clone project. So why have I never owned one? Maybe the right deal never came along? Or maybe it is just too common?
After all if you go to any British car show it always seems that MG Bs are in the majority with perhaps the Triumph TR6s a distant second. Being common surely has its benefits when sourcing parts and knowledge, but I have always been attracted to the oddballs. Given that I have always thought if the right deal came along and there was space in the garage I would jump on a B. A few days ago the right deal came along, so my fifty-second vehicle purchase is my first proper MG.
The climate of southern Alberta in April can bring anything from beautiful summer-like days to snow. It snowed a bit in the morning so I did what any reasonable person would do and went out and bought a convertible.
Seller was very nice guy and had a few more treasures including a 1974 B he was restoring for a friend. He wanted a fast sale on the blue 1975 driver as it was taking up a spot in the garage where he wanted to pull in another B shell he was restoring for himself. He was very straightforward with me pointing out both the flaws and good points that he was aware of. The price in the ad was stated to be firm but was more than fair. I handed over the cash and we quickly got the paperwork done. If only every transaction could be so smooth and straight forward.
The particular car is a 1975 model which ranks right down at the bottom of MG B desirability. The car features the infamous black “rubber” bumpers which are actually polyurethane over steel. The weight gain of around 70lbs total is often overblown but it is placed at the worst possible locations, at the extreme ends of the car. Unlike the majority I actually do not mind the looks of the impact bumpers. In fact I think they look quite sharp especially with darker paint colors.
The most unfortunate change was the impact to the car’s handling from raised suspension (to meet minimum headlight height requirements) and the deletion of the front roll bar for 1975/1976. The roll bar was still available as an option and was later again standardized. The engine saw a single Zenith Stromberg fitted instead of dual SU carburators which resulted in a dip in power. Later MG Bs benefited some refinements to the interior, brakes and suspension making these transition cars a little unloved.
So while my 1975 is the “worst” year, all is not lost. This particular example is fitted with a down draught Weber which is not the high-power racer’s choice but offers more power and less fuss than the Zenith Stromberg unit. The engine feels quite strong for a smog era motor.
It is easy to lower a later MG B to the earlier car’s ride height. The roll bar can be retro fitted but involves swapping the front spindles. Sadly my example is not yet blessed with a roll bar but I think it will be on the to do list as the body roll is comical. My car must be a later 1975 build as it already has a brake booster which the earlier cars lack.
One of the oddities I have found of car buying and selling is people’s unwillingness to drive to the smaller surrounding centers. This MG was located in a small town about 50 kms (30 miles) outside the city. If it was offered in town I likely would have been beaten to the purchase. Usually I am a little more prepared but in this case I came right after work so I could be the first to look at the car and was still in my work dress clothes and had no tools with me. Not ideal for driving home a cheap and untested forty two year old car. Fortunately my friend, Rod, gave me a ride out to pick up the car and he had a small tool kit with him. We enable each other to buy these clunkers which is nice. So with no preparation other than filling it up with gas I set off for the drive back home.
The engine runs at about 3200 rpms at 90 km/h (56 miles per hour). Like most British cars of the era without overdrive it is best to take the back roads, drive slow and enjoy the scenery.
Although it was still really too cold for top down driving I would have liked to lower the roof anyway. I had a vague memory that there was a bit of a trick to lowering the roof on these MGs and not doing it correctly can cause damage. My memory did not extend to the proper way to accomplish this so reluctantly I left the roof in the upright position. Best not to push the car until we get to know each other better. Luckily the drive went smoothly and the engine ran flawlessly as the seller promised it would.
Ahoy captain! We have lots of body roll! I need that anti-roll bar for anything close to “spirited” driving.
So what did I get for about the cost of a set of tires on my wife’s truck? Well the photos are rather flattering to the paint job as it has lots of cracks, scratches and flaws. But it does look great from about twenty feet away. It appears to have been a very Seventies yellow/green then red at previous times in its life. There is a little bit of floor rust in the car. I will need to crack out the welder there but the trunk is nice and solid. The brakes were done last summer as well as poly bushes in the front suspension. The top has been repaired with black tape in a couple spots which is not a big worry as I don’t plan to have it up often. Front bumper appears to needs some alignment.
I did hear some noises from the brakes. Perhaps a little air in the system from sitting over the winter or the leak from one of the booster lines so that will need sorting right away.
The biggest issue (and a big reason for the low price) is the synrco on third gear is weak. Double declutching works but the seller included a spare gearbox to be swapped in sometime soon. I plan to document the restification of this beater B in future segments. Note the use of the word restification rather than restoration. The values of 1975 MG Bs and my own interest level do not support a proper restoration, but this car is a perfect candidate for a summer cruiser while fixing a few issues along the way.
My summer plans now involve trying to spend as much time as possible behind this wheel.
Related reading: CC 1967 MGB: To B Or Not To B PN
Very nice! Between MGs, Triumphs., Fiats, Datsuns, the mid-60s on thru mid-70s were the golden age of affordable sports cars.
I’ve got a British sports car too. A spitfire. Simply just my preference in body design. British sports cars are the sum of its parts. On paper they stink. But in practice they are so much more. PS ur 75 mgb has the better dashboard and with glove box. Pre 73 cars had no glove box and 77 came the sort if uglier dash.
I have owned two Spitfires in the past. Only drive the B once but it is definitely feels bigger and more solid than a Spitfire. The Spitfire feels faster likely due to this.
Didnt occur to me earlier but I remember ur story on the spit. You bot a brown not-so-nice spit and fixed it up painting it yellow in the process. I liked the exacton wheels. Funny you went one way I went the other. I had two mgb’s in the past. Ya the drive is entirely different. The body on frame and swing bonnet make it a more raw drive. I like it tho. I actually wanted a TR6, but strangely the spit has more legroom. Luckily the spit is a pretty car in a different way to the TR6, but one I like… So off i went and not one. LBC are great hobby cars. I see an x19 in the pic. Also a cool car. I’m working in getting a fiat 128 as my next hobby car.
there is a 1963 with serial # under 200 available in healing rain country very complete unrusted and reasonably priced if any one is interested
Good for you, David! Look forward to reading more as you do your restification.
Oh, how I miss my MGs. Enjoy it. I’m jealous.
I always wanted an MG-TD, but unlike your B, there are no “undesirable” years for those like your 75. The prices reflect that too so I think that a TD will only ever be a dream. Enjoy your 75 and let the snobs look down their noses while you are living the dream!
Mg TD’s are interesting cars. $25k gets you a very nice example. But I think TD”s may go down in value over the years. The TD look I don’t think is one that appeals to genX or younger. There’s going to be many baby boomers+ handing down their cars only to be sold off. Many cars from the 5o’s have gone down in vakue. 57 Chevy for example.
Nice! I’ve always pondered getting a B but the planets have never aligned on that, which is probably a good thing in some ways.
I like your term restification. I’ve been using “substantially refurbished” for my VW as restoration is not the goal and enjoyment is.
Good luck with the project!
I don’t mind a bit of fixing but not a multi-year, inactive sitting in the garage project. Much rather drive it.
Very nice choice David. This beautifully beats the yellow Pinto project you considered a few years back. 🙂
Very nice! Here in California a ’75 would still be quite desirable because the engine could be legally “back-dated” and modified; ’76 and newer would require retaining legal smog equipment and configuration, meaning CARB-legal carbs (California Air Resources Board). As a kid, I found these cars to be rather dull looking. After all, the swoopy MGA looked a bit like the contemporary Jaguar XK120/140/150; why couldn’t MG have given the B some of the E Type’s style? But over time, the clean lines and proportions have aged well, and I too rather like the “safety” front end. Good luck, and thanks for sharing!
What fun! My Miata is in sort of the same category, only newer. It looks great from 20 feet, a little less so up close – which is just the way I like ’em. Cars like this are for driving, not admiring or investing in.
I have always found these attractive too and look forward to reading more about it.
David, I like your approach to classic cars. I am looking forward to the updates. I think this one has the stuff to reward your efforts well.
I think you made a good choice! One of my older brothers had a ’73 with a rollbar and fruity exhaust, I was young enough to fit behind the seat when he drove with his sweetheart. Throaty good sound and a reliable car. Years later as young adult, I crewed with a local race team that fielded a ’72 B in SCCA E class. I learned that if you overevved the motor you ran the risk of breaking the rocker arm shaft.
I actually like the soft nose front of the late B…
Yes – MG Bs are pretty over built and reliable. Except maybe the “crack of doom” on the doors.
I’d never heard of the crack of doom before, so I looked it up. Pretty straightforward repair, unless of course your car is nicely painted already.
I’d rather fix an MGB crack of doom than a Porsche 914 hell hole.
The car looks really good in the photos. Most importantly it made it home without a problem. That is getting off on the right foot! I’ve always had a affection for the hardtop GT model. Maybe some day. Always wanted a Spitfire also. Current issue of “Thoroughbred and Classic Cars” has a ’73 MG along with several other small convertibles on the cover. You know what that means, prices will start to increase. Good thing you’ve got yours. Enjoy.
Its actually quite rare for a car of mine to come home under its own power!
Looks like you’re off to a good start David ;
.
To gain back the missing horsepower on these later model MGB’s, replace the cam shaft and followers plus scrap the single row timing chain and both sprockets along with the hydraulic chain tensioner ~ you’ll gain back the 3° cam timing BMC retarded to make it pass the stringent emissions requirements .
.
Puts the zip bak into it very well indeed, even on tired old engines .
.
A basic and simple DIY repair that only needs $300 =/- in parts plus a weekend .
.
Ignition timing it critical too, use an advance typ dynamic timing light and set the full, all in timing to 30 ~ 32° BTDC @ 3,000 RPM vacuum advance connected .
.
Look for a rear sway bar first .
.
-Nate
Maybe the body roll is partly due to weak dampers, as well as the raised suspension. Simply adding an anti-roll bar in front will increase understeer, which is not what you really need. Ideally roll stiffness needs to be increased at the rear, to compensate.
Still hate the plastic bumpers though.
These MGs used lever shocks borrowed from the old Austin A40s. The later cars had a front and rear anti-roll bars. The early ones with the lower suspension only had a front one. I am not terribly concerned. It will be a cruiser rather than auto-x contender.
I’m pretty sure it is possible to convert them to telescopic dampers, lever-arm dampers are inevitably rubbish. Happy motoring anyway.
I think you have lots and lots of fun driving in store. Enjoy every minute/mile of it!
I saw one of these recently in London. Having grown up with the ‘B’ on the road as an everyday sight, I had forgotten just how small these now seem – cars generally have got some much bigger here in Europe in recent years – and yes the styling has worn well. Pity the Abingdon era MG’s were starved of any real development by the inept British Leyland.
Interesting to see this post today. I drove my 1974 B (chrome bumpers) to the post office this morning. Driving as it was and should be. Bought mine in 1997 (a white California car) parked in a parking lot at a condo in Denver after driving by it on the way to work for the better part of a year. When I saw someone dumped and old refrigerator (also white!) against it I left a note on the windshield and received a call, restored it, pulled the CA emissions (legal in Denver at the time), replaced the transmission with a 4 speed with overdrive (made a huge difference above 65) and cosmetically brought it to very good (proper) not concurs condition.
And then this afternoon took my wife for a follow up visit to her surgeon (foot surgery, broken 5th metatarsal on the left foot) in her 2017 Tesla Model S. What an interesting 43 years it has been. And love them both. The Tesla changes the paradigm of what a car is and the MGB takes me back to my first car (1957 Ford). And they are both fun to drive.
Dave
I owned a 1970 model for a dozen years (as a mostly daily driver) and loved it. I learned a lot on that car too. While I do much prefer the chrome bumper Bs, I’ll admit the rubber bumpers don’t look all that bad with the dark blue. And if you plan to use it for cruising I also highly recommend swapping in an OD gearbox. It transforms the car on the highway. Good luck with it!
I would love to swap in an overdrive box or even better a 5spd conversion from a Datsun 280Z but either option would cost more than I paid for the car. So I’ll just enjoy it mostly as is.
? You paid less than $250 ? . Wow, that’s cool .
Over drive trannies are out there, plenty and cheap all across the rust belt .
I’ve never seen one that cheap. The going rate around here is at least a grand. Most folks seem to want $1500-2000 if they are even willing to part with them at all. I think there are a few other bits and pieces that need to be swapped over as well.
I’ve shared my brief and less than fulfilling ownership of a ’68 BGT here before. But that wasn’t really the car’s fault.
Enjoy your new toy, Dave.
Though spare parts weren’t nearly as numerous, at least when I showed up at a British car event in my ’67 Sunbeam Alpine, there was usually just a handful of Sunbeams, often surrounded by a sea of MGs and Truimphs.
OTOH, tne big advantage the ‘B’ shares with a few other collector cars (like I think the Mustang), is you can practically build a complete new one from the replacement parts that are still availible.
I’m kind-of glad the Alpines didn’t continue into the ’70s, only to watch them get butchered by the Federal safety and smog Nazis!
In addition to tuning the engine and suspension to ‘fix’ the EPA/DOT tweaks, I’d have to put the chrome grille & bumpers on this B.
Happy Motoring, Mark
I had a very nice 1971 MGB in 1974. Best overall sportcar I ever had. If I was smart I should of stopped there and become a MGB guy forever. Would of saved me a lot of money buying and selling cars. Good luck with yours
I had a US import 75′ jubilee with similar configuration as this car, rubber bumper and old radiator shroud and dashboard, with a factory overdrive.
The car was imported from Arizona and I found a dead bug, which was so horrifyingly big, I left it to check it out a few days later is was dead for sure.
I blew up the engine and a guy specialized in old racing engines rebuilt it by using forged Mahle pistons, the whole lot was weighed and balanced and the short engine was blue rpinted, the crank shaft line bored because these tend to be not exactgly in line in th emiddel, they bearing holders tend to drop.
A great car that I drove from Ireland to Greece, an MGB I could revv up to 8000 RPM no problem.
I had it for over 15 years and the guy I sold it to still drives it in summer, without the slightest engine problems ever since.
The rubber bumper may not be the prettiest, but is sure as hell is nice when you drive these cars, a Ford Sierra once lost its nose by hitting my B
I’ll admit to a somewhat jaundiced approach to the ‘B’, being so ubiquitous in Britain you can’t get bored of seeing them at car shows and I remember riding in them several times as a child in the 80’s. By that time the image was….tarnished!
Recently, like an elderly relative who’s past indiscretions have been forgiven I’ve developed a more forgiving attitude to the ‘B’;
especially in its oft maligned ‘rubber bumpered’ guise. I wonder if the heavier elements of those bumpers can be removed? The addition of the anti roll bar and and a drop in ride height would make a big improvement.
I’d have thought a downdraft Weber (of the sort that powered Fiat 131s or Capris) would be very effective if a little heavier on fuel than the Stromberg. A home made tubular exhaust would be on my list too.
Loved this, and great pictures. Reading this was an awesome way to solidify the optimism and sense of adventure that comes with spring.
Oh dear. That’s a comment that bringsto mind the slog throught the long, hot days of summer to come! [Maybe not so much in Alberta.]