American Reacts to the MGB GT V8 Coupe - POV Drive & Sounds
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
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The Rover V8 started life as a Buick V8 but Rover over the decades obviously made it their own
Buick actually abandoned the engine.
Known as the BOP motor as each of Buick, Oldsmobile and Pontiac had versions of the 215 cubic inch or 3.5 litre aluminium V8.
The Oldsmobile version had an extra head stud to better cope with the turbo charging option they used in 1962. Shortly before the Corvair turbocharged air cooled flat six. All well before the turbo charged Porsche and Saab turbos that some claim to be the first turbo cars.
In 1965 Jack Brabham and Repco in Australia saw the possibilities of the Oldsmobile block and created a three litre overhead cam version that won the 1966 F1 championship for the Repco Brabham car and was developed to win again in 1967 for both the drivers and manufacturers championship.
@@johnd8892 Those early 60s GM "compact" cars had some interesting engineering,
It was rejected until a Rover bloke was in the states and saw it dumped at the back of the factory. It's ally block was too radical at the time so the engine went back to the rover factory for development. In the end the V8 and the A-series engines became the backbone of most BL/Austin/Rover group cars for half a century, though the V8 always had the odd issue, they were a bit leaky and wore the cams out, still they were about the easiest motors to replace cam shafts in ever made. Interestingly BL did have another V8 developed by Triumph and I think only ever used in Triumph models, they were always going wrong because Triumph undercooled them in their cars.
@@darthwiizius Triumph three litre V8 only used in the Stag I believe.
A few other V8s also under Leyland with the Daimler 2.5 litre V8 with hemispherical combustion chambers and a different larger 4.5 litre that may have been out of production.
Then from 1973 the less known 4.4 litre version of the Buick/Rover that was used in the Australian Leyland P76. Many Stags in Australia had the problem Triumph V8 replaced by the 4.4 with a big upgrade in performance and reliability. Cheap Leyland surplus V8s were everywhere for a while.
The celebration of MG was one of the main themes of this years Goodwood Festival of Speed. We realy need IWrocker to react to some Goodwood videos!
The MGB was the best-selling sports car in history until the arrival of the Mazda Miata, with a total of 512,243 MGBs produced between 1962 and 1980. The majority (298,052) were exported to North America.
Umm. You might want to look at sales figures for datsun z series
Check out Jensen Interceptor instead
A beautiful vehicle coupled with economic tragedy (often the case with UK cars): ua-cam.com/video/ypBDk1bJtc0/v-deo.html.
A well maintained Triumph Stag V8, is a great car to look at too.
Great car, terrible engine.
@@Eis_Bear
You can easily fit a better V8, under that massive bonnet.
Saw one this morning 👍
@@simonmetcalfe5926 They should have gone with the Rover V8 from the start. It's insane that they were allowed to develop their own V8 by British Leyland, while the Rover V8 was cheap, reliable, durable and readily available..
Stag engines have poor cooling which causes the heads to warp.
@@Eis_Bear
One my mates, buys 2.7 litre VTEC Honda/Rover engines, from the Vitesse, he started to recondition them to sell and place in great cars. Unfortunately he doesn't like letting go of them, I think he's sold 5 and still has about 20 in his lockup.
MG stands for Morris Garages.
It is English - classic sports cars.
However, when the company along with Rover etc, finished - China bought the name and is now a Chinese brand - but nothing to do with what MG was.
LDV Chinese vans is a similar story.
A friend of mine bought one about a year before they closed the doors when they were selling everything they had at any price they could get. It was a lovely car but the build quality issues were bloody awful. His entire dashboard repeatedly popped out of it's mounting on one side because it was too long to fit in the space provided. Which means the mold for the plastic was oversized but they used it anyway meaning there were many cars with the exact same issue. Or the chassis was smaller than designed which is a whole new level of terror because mistakes in manufacturing the chassis are not something trivial. Honestly the Chinese cars might be safer. Such a shame what communism and bad government policy did to our manufacturing industry Iconic brands utterly ruined and sold off for peanuts to multi national conglomerates.
@@ianjardine7324 Was gonna say that it's a pity they are now Chinese econo boxes but at the same time, maybe they will be well(or at least better) built 😂
@@ianjardine7324 I totally agree with you - I'm Australian and blame the US for killing our car industry - our last HSV GTSR-W1 LS9 sedan and Maloo ute were awesome - now selling at phenomenal prices, as well as our Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo Sprint and Ford Falcon XR8 Sprint FG-X models.
But the Chinese MG cars here in OZ, the small ones, are proving not to be reliable and bad resale and not honouring new car warranty. But dumb Aussies buy them, and are threatening our market, as well as Europe and the Americans haven't let them in yet - Free trade agreements are NOT fare and equal trade agreements.
Tata own the Rover name now. There was talk at one point of them bringing the marque back but the pandemic and ongoing issues with JLR put paid to that.
@@The_Yorkshireman_In_The_Hat Honestly I think Indian ownership of these brand's might end up saving them they may never benefit Britain again but our Legacy might survive look at Royal Enfield the UK branch collapsed under the trade unions but the Indian division kept plodding along making affordable rugged basic bikes ever since and now they are building up a small but loyal customer base in Europe and the US of people who don't want a crotch rocket but don't want to mortgage their house to afford a Harley.
The Overdrive was a switch on the steering column that gave you an extra ratio in the transmission in 3rd and 4th gear. Basically a ‘fifth’ gear for the longer, straight roads.
The BGTs I've been in had it under a flip up cap on the gear stick.
And as far as I know it was an epicyclic gear between the gearbox and the prop.
@@alexpervanoglu7420 Interesting to know. Love the Jame Bond idea.
@@alexpervanoglu7420 Our '72 had the overdrive on the extreme right of the dashboard.
The first models had a 1,8 liter four cylinder, This is a 3,5 liter Rover V8, a friend of mine had this back in the day. Some came with spoke wheels. I still have one of those engines in the shop. They are not that rare. At least two running in my town. Small it is, but not cramped. You're close to the ground, but I drove it with no problem (6'3" and 210 pounds)
(for the younger generation) if you want to know what it's like to REALLY drive, drive a car that doesn't have an ounce of modern technology in it. The pleasure, the feeling, you are one with the car....and no, DO NOT drive an automatic, that means nothing 😂
Unfortunately not all younger generation would get to drive older cars on the road, they're too costly to run. Plus some fuel stations like BP banned old cars for dumb reasons.
I bet that everyone born during late 2010's and 2020's will be driving electric cars. People born in the 1990's and 2000's will like be the last generation to be driving combustion engine cars on the roads.
I have had many British sports convertibles in my time, Mostly Triumph and MG and later Japanese import MX5s (Miata), and loved the driving experience, so taut and responsive, especially my late 1960s MG Midget with a 1750 engine. However, I now, at an advanced age, have a problem with my left knee and am sadly forced to drive an automatic. Sigh.
There are MGB GTB V8s in the US. One of my sisters boyfriends had a 4 banger version of this car and I loved it. The 3.5 litre engine is actually a reworked general motors engine and was used in the rover SD1, TVRs and a lot of kit cars ( Dutton for example)
@@geraldtalbot6400 The same engine was used in the 3.5l and later Range Rovers. Land Rover opened it up to at least 4.2l last time I had one.
While I understand the sentiment, I would rather have - anti lock brakes, more than 4 gears, a clutch that actually works and a few other modern devices that are better :) If I bought that MGB I'd be sorely tempted to improve the suspension and brakes and get a new gear box and maybe a lighter drive shaft.
This car sounds heavenly. The MGB is a quite common sight where I live in the Netherlands, it's a route regularly used for classic car tours. Last Saturday at least 20 of them passed my house, but only 2 were V8s, the majority are four pots and there was one I-6, also a motor option they had. That I-6 is also a very nice sounding engine.
Also some Mustangs were in the parade, also a popular classic here, as was a really old Porsche 911 and Triumph, that other British sports car manufacturer which sold a lot of cars in the 1950 to 1980 period, but after 1980 the British car industry was in its demise.
Friend had an MG V8 at university. The convertible / soft top. I could only reach to a Triumph Spitfire 1500 (overdrive) but I loved it! Broke my heart when I sold it. Sold it to a policeman funnily enough.
It has the Buick all aluminum V8 engine which was purchased by Rover in the mid to late 60's and went on to become a mainstay in British Leyland cars as well as a host of small independent car manufactures in Britain.
The slide back sun roof is called a Webasto sunroof. Webasto first started to produce sunroofs in 1937, the first make of car to use them was Mercedes.
Had a 1973 MGB GT in 1975 1.8ltr as daily driver for work - loved it & sounded great. Bought a TVR Chimeara new in 2000 same basic engine as this MG - definately worth a delve into you would love it.
The MGB GT was the car I lusted after in my late teens. Couldn’t afford one on an apprentice’s wages. In 1972 the MG had to fit thick rubber bumpers/fenders to comply with US impact regulations. They were thick black oversized affairs that replaced the chrome ones. It changed the look completely and was quite detrimental.
Yes, they must have sold a significant number in USA for them to change the design.
Back ages ago, I got an MGB for my 21st Birthday...... absolute nightmare in anything but dry conditions, and that was a 1.8 !!!
My dad used to have one. It was an absolute beast. I've had so much fun racing modern cars at the traffic light in that thing. Top speed isn't amazing, but acceleration was way beyond what anyone would expect from it. Oh and leg room in an MG B is excellent. Forget about the rear seats, they are only suitable for luggage or toddlers, but the front is perfectly fine for people over 6ft tall.
You refered to it being a four speed manual box however it also had two additional overdrive gears opereated by a switch on the gear lever. Overdrive worked on third and fourth gears and did not require the use of the clutch to engage.
If you want to see more classic British V8 cars, why not checkout the old TVR's such as the V8S, Griffith 400/430/450/500, and 350i/390/400/420/430 and 450 SE/SEAC. Also Triumph TR8 and Stag, Jenson Interceptor, various Aston Martins to name just a few. 👍
Take a look at a Triumph TR6. Lovely sounding small British sports car
My dad bought a mustard yellow '76' MGB back in the '80's. There were NO mod cons. Watching this brought back ALL the old memorise (smell, sound, the lot).
The 53 Corvette was the American answer to the small British sports cars brought home by GIs after WW2.
My father had an MGB (MG stands for Morris Garage), but it was older than this. He renovated it completely, includinng painting the engine block. 4 cylinder engine, hardback (not a fixed roof), vanilla yellow. And you are right, there is a backseat, but it is mostly there for show. One can put a (small) bag there, but not even kids fit. :D Before he died, he gave it away and now it just collects dust in a barn.
That isn’t a targa roof.A targa roof has lift off roof panel.
What that MGB has is a Webasto sliding sunroof.
The Perspex screen he lifted up is a wind deflector so not to get buffeted by the wind when driving at speed.
I have an MG dealer at the top of my street, they deal with mainly 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s MG sports cars, they're restoration specialists. They also have their own MG racing team. The cars look beautiful lined up on the garage forecourt awaiting buyers.
I had a 1967 GT and done the conversion myself with sd1 gear box high comp engine an 4 barrel carb utter ripper! ran as a daily for over 6 years so cool a car!
The MGB started as a open sports car, the hatchback version was designed by BMC's long-time friend Pininfarina. The first V8 version was built by a man called Costello using the Rover engine, but the official V8 used the "agricultural" Land-Rover version as Rover was hard pressed to make enough for their own use.
Fitting large American engines into smaller, sportier British sports cars was a very common practise, the MGB GT V8 was one of the many examples.
The Rover V8 (Buick ) was a fantastic engine and very tunable , it was used in several brands , Range Rover, Rover cars ,Marcos, TVR, Morgan, Triumph , LDV to name but a few and it was the go to engine for kit cars. My dream car being a tuned to 5.0 Rover SD1 Vitesse ...
My best mates dad had loads of MG's and Morris Minor's. He did a full nut and bolt rebuild on a MGB V8 in his garage. It was cool as.
The thing on the roof is a fabric sunroof.
The overdrive is like an extra gear. Gives a higher top speed and better MPG.
Hi, you can still rebuild these. You can get pretty much everything from a new body shell and get the wheels and seats. Here in the UK the MG Owners Club in Swavesey in Cambridgeshire is one of the few places you can get everything. They also provide garage services and specialist advice if you need to build one.
3.5 litre Buick derived all alloy V8 . There was also the MGC, which had a 3 litre straight six and the MGB which had. 1.8 litre four . Over drive worked on 3rd and 4th effectively giving six forward speeds .
The MGB basically is a hatchback car with a Buick 3,5 Liter V8. These cars usually came with a 1.8 Liter 4 cylinder engine, and some of them with a 6 cylinder engine and just a few with the Former Buick 3,5 Liter V8, since these V8 powered MG's were outrageously expensive, and this 3,5 Liter Buick V8 which Rover bought the rights from from Buick and Buick was glad to sell British Leyland this engine since they could not make it work very well themselves. It was not what Buick would call a succesfull engine. This is the reason you will find this engine or it's direct succesor in many other British Leyland cars and makes Like Land-Rover, Range-Rover, Rover, basically most of all V8's ever produced are Buick 3,5 Liter V8's or slightly improved versions of this Buick 3,5 Liter V8. Even modern Former British Leyland cars and car makes which uses a V8 chances are grand that this is a direct succesor of the 3,5 Liter Buick V8. And no matter what British Leyland did, and even makes after Britich Leyland went bankrupt and several makes continiued on their own, still carrying the legacy of the All American Buick V8, in the end no one really could make this engine work properly.
This engine in a way (reputation wise) can be compared with the European PRV V6 which ended up in the top-line Volvo's 264's and the top-line Peugeot 604's and in the top-line Renault 30's and of course in the DeLorean. In no matter what car this engine was mounted, it allways gave problems, just liek the Lichtweight 3,5 Liter Buick V8. Fun to drive....as long as it drives...
You really should dive in in to the reputation of British Leyland which was the British counterpart of AMC or GM or Fomoco, or Mopar in the USA. Let's see if you still want one after you know what the quality was of all British Leyland cars and why BL went bankrupt.
A friend of ours owns a convertible MGB V8, it sounded magnificent when it started up, the Rover V8 is certainly an engine you need to look into, it powered so many cars over here in the UK.
I wish we still had our 1972 GT, we even got our kids toddler seats in the back. At 68 no way I could drive it now though, last time I tried one I had to get out on my hands and knees!
It's funny watching your reaction, because when I was a kid, MGB GT's were fairly common. The V8 wasn't available in the US from my recollection, I could absolutely be wrong about that, but 4's and straight 6's were the common powerplants.
A Rover 3.5 Litre Aluminium V8 was jammed into this coupe. The roof-line had to be designed to have hear-room for the rear seats. Overdrive worked with an electrical switch, and engaged after 4th gear. The motor was very hard to work on, and you nearly had to remove it to change the spark-plugs. Sadly this was the last of the MG's. Most of British car brands were being amalgamated to save the industry, and some had to go. There would have been a short run of this car, so they are rare. The "brand name" was sold to the Chinese only a few years ago. New MG's are electric.
The US was by far and away the biggest market for MG B's, the manufacturing prioritised that market over all others including the UK domestic market.
I had an MGB roadster in 1971 Soft top but my dad had an MGB GT . Both had 4 cylinder 1800 e gines with overdrive.They werea best seller i the 60s and 70s They had really good roadholding and a special exhaust note that was unique. You can still get all parts for these cars and you can restore them to brand new condition
From the Wiki for the Corvette C1: "Harley Earl, as head of GM's Styling Section, was an avid fan of sports cars. He recognized that GIs returning after serving overseas in the years following World War II were bringing home MGs, Jaguars, and Alfa Romeos.[7] In 1951, Nash Motors began selling an expensive two-seat sports car, the Nash-Healey, that was made in partnership with the Italian designer Pininfarina and British auto engineer Donald Healey,[8] but there were few moderate-priced models.[9] Earl convinced GM that they needed to build an all-American two-seat sports car, and with his Special Projects crew began working on the new car in late 1951. The last time Chevrolet offered a 2-door, 2-passenger convertible/roadster body style was in 1938 with the Chevrolet Master.[10]"
The lesser-known Buick Wildcat II (the following year, in '54) was also a product of this project and, in my opinion, is the better-looking car.
Saw one on Thursday at one of my clients. green convertible. Beautiful condition, didnt get to hear it running.
MG b gt was in america too.
Check out the MGC GTS 'Sebring'. The MGC was a straight six offshoot of the MGB 4 cylinder road car. The GTS was a lightweight, wide arched competition version that they raced back in the late 60's. The originals look awesome and lots of owners have converted MGB's into GTS replicas.
The Triumph Spitfire GT6 was my favourite sports coupe from the 70s.
So rare now.
In early 80s we had MG Midget (was my mums) which is smaller sibling to MGB. Surprisingly heavy - all steel body work.
They race these at classic car meetings at Good wood, against ac cobras,ford galaxys and regularly win, these were classed as the poor mans jaguar e type, very cool and fast enough
I had the 4 cylinder version which I did use as a daily driver in the late '90s. They were not expensive back then. That Buick designed V8 engine was first used in the Rover P5B which was also an iconic car, popular with politicians, including Margaret Thatcher.
The MGB is one of the typical British sportscars of the era. 2 seats,
Look at the morgans hand built wooden chassis
It almost certainly has an overdrive unit. This basically gave you a higher ratio especially in 4th gear for cruising on motorways etc. It wasn't a 5th gear but it effectively worked like one.
It was activated by a sliding switch usually on top of the gearstick.
I believe on LHD models this may have been repositioned up near the steering wheel on the column.
When I was young in the beginning of the seventies my brother in law had two MGB‘s…one for driving and one for spare parts….the suspension was really hardcore….
The basic MGB is regarded as a good first step into classis car motoring in the UK. The V8 is quite rare but the straight fours are everywhere. My son has a later MGTF. They are really great cars.
My first car was a 1969 MG-C, it was basically a MG-B with a straight 6. It was a great car but it always had brake problems.
I had a 1972 MGB roadster it was a lovely drive 1.8 with a button overdrive
Hi Ian, my dad had one of these in the 80s, which was British Racing Green, and had chrome spoked wheels and chrome bumpers, it was a great car and I loved being driven around in it with the roof open. It was a shame he got rid of it as it needed alot of welding work doing to it underneath
Lovely old British sports car but my all time favourite must be the Aston Martin DB12 Volante.
There are vids on this classic and my second fave,The Aston V8 Vantage.
Gorgeous lines and oozing with class.
I joined the RAF as a fireman back in 1981, on my first posting to RAF Brawdy in Wales, my best mate was a guy called Geoff Thomas (Nick named Orange Monkey, but that's a whole other story ha ha) but our initials spelled MGB GT! My greatest regret is, that I never owned one!
IWrocker, Morgan are a low volume car manufacturer which hand builds cars with a wooden (ash) frame. Their total output is styled in the 1930's fashion, albeit with modern engines and mechanicals.
This was the same era when AC Bristol was cut apart to facilitate a Ford V8 and became the AC Cobra and campaigned by Ford. There was also a Sunbeam Alpine model Tiger which designated a Ford 265 V8 at first and then a 289.
I had a 1963 MGB Roadster, what a car, stuck to the road like glue, The MGBGT, was the American version of the Roadster. the new MG's, the badge was bought by the Chinese
The 'Rover V8' lump appeared in so many British cars. There is a Top Gear feature just for this engine. It is an all aluminium block, which actually weighed less than some 4 cylinder engines with an iron block :-D As other posters have said, it is based on a Buick design, which the American public wasn't really interested in, being 'only' a 3.5 litre.
A 4 speed gearbox was usual for the day, some cars had 'overdrive' which is an extra tall gear sitting above 3rd and 4th, controlled by a switch usually on the gear knob, effectively turning it into a 6 speed.
Dude, your eyes are SO blue. Talk to your Fremen about Spice.
It’s slightly ironic that you think that the US might have had a few MGs…. when it was literally the GIs that had been to Europe that kept the brand going. Most cars they built after WW2 were built for the US market, they weren’t really stiff competition for European sports cars from Italy or Germany east of the Atlantic.
The MGB was in production from 1962 to 1980, with two major facelifts. Roadster launched first, GT followed in 1966, I think.
The V8 was introduced after the success of an aftermarket conversion done by a company called Costello. As it was, the factory V8 didn't sell that well, being launched during the Fuel Crisis.
The Rover V8 was a Buick design that had been used briefly in Y-body cars. It was used in dozens of British cars - everything from luxury saloons to SUVs to a van. Was hugely popular as a swap into pretty much any RWD chassis, as well.
Around half a million MGBs of all types were built - until the Miata, it was most popular sports car in history. Something like 60% of MGBs went to the USA - as was the case for most British sports cars of the era.
The roof is known as a Webasto roof & yes the whole tailgate opens. the seats in the rear are very small. The lines of these cars were spoiled when built for the US market as the ride height had to be increased & the bumpers changed (Horrible black rubber bumpers) to meet US regulations. The engine was an American Buick 215ci (3.5L)1960 engine originally, the design & tooling was purchased in 1965 and BMC (British Leyland) developed the engine further to improve it and it was used in a number of vehicles from MG's to Land Rovers, TVR and Triumph TR8 and later Triumph Stags. Morgan cars also used it in 70's and early 80's Morgan plus 8's. In later years the engine displacement was raised to 260ci (4.3L) then 4.4L 4.5L 4.6L & finally 5.0L before being discontinued.
One of the most exciting vehicles the 5.0L version was used in was the Marcos LM500. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcos_LM500
The car at the start of "Get Smart" is a Ford 283 v8 Sunbeam Tiger ( British company )
They did a modern re-imagining of the mgbv8 called the mgrv8. Well worth checking out, really pretty yet beefy. ❤
On horse drawn coaches, at the rear, they would have an actual wooden trunk or boot locker, for putting muddy footwear in, to keep the interior of the coach clean.
That's why a "trunk" or a "boot (locker)" on a car is the same thing. Later, they just made it part of the bodywork.
Also a hood is headwear. So a bonnet is the exact same thing. It's something covering the engine.
In the early 1990s one of my colleges used a (1967?) MGB GT as a daily driver in summer. In winter he switched either to a (1956?) Mercedes 190D or a Volvo 144. And yes, we both worked as IT field technicians and had to take our tools and spare parts with us.😉
I am driving my MGBGT every day summer and winter, for more than 16 years now. I have the 'normal' 4-cylinder engine. It's from 1973.
They were fairly common here, my next door neighbour had a red MGB, apparently they had a lot of rust issues. They are a small car, if you're tall you might have an issue getting inside one.
Just some background on the GT moniker - the Grand Tour was something the wealthy would do even before cars were invented. It was typically a trip around the cultural highlights of Europe, including cultural locations, the Swiss and Austrian mountains and French and Italian Rivieras. When cars came along, GT cars were designed for this kind of trip - plenty of power, but geared more for covering long distances in comfort and with refinement than for hooning around. Often with 2+2 seats and a large boot for your luggage, they were aimed at 'road trips', but definitely staying in smart hotels every night!, not just fast cars as we tend to generalise GT cars as these days.
Ian, the engine is actually American, or an American design at least. Back in the early 60s, I think, Rover bought a 3.5 litre V8 engine design from Buick, which Rover went on to put into a number of passenger cars as well as the “Stage 1 V8” Land Rover. When Rover and a bunch of other car companies were brought under the overall management of British Leyland that engine, now known by UK petrolheads as the Rover V8, became available to other brands in the group, which included MG and Jaguar among others. So the engine in that MGB is at heart a British made, Buick designed 3.5 litre lump with MG badges on the cylinder heads.
The same engine powered those Rover SD1 police cars that you’ve previously said you liked, and it went on to be developed further, especially for Jaguar and for Range Rover, into 4 and 4.5 litre versions, some of which would definitely have been sold in the US market, and even a 5 litre monster used in a couple of TVRs.
My dad had one in the late seventies loved that car he traded it for a E type jaguar
My father has a convertible version in British racing green with beige leather trim and the wire spoked wheels. It's a beautiful car.
The mg b was one of the cars mazda used for the inspiration of the mx5
G'day Ian.
Interesting US origins of that small 3.5 litre V8.
It was originally a GM all aluminium small V8 that GM could not cast reliably so was taken out of production. The UK Rover company bought the tooling and worked out how to make it reliably. Then got used in many Rover cars, but most well known in Range Rovers.
Known in the US as the BOP motor as each of Buick, Oldsmobile and Pontiac had versions of the 215 cubic inch or 3.5 litre aluminium V8.
The Oldsmobile version had an extra head stud to better cope with the turbo charging option they used in 1962. Shortly before the Corvair turbocharged air cooled flat six. All well before the turbo charged Porsche and Saab turbos that some claim to be the first turbo cars.
In 1965 Australian Jack Brabham and Repco in Australia saw the possibilities of the Oldsmobile block and created a three litre overhead cam version that won the 1966 F1 championship for the Repco Brabham car and was developed to win again in 1967 for both the drivers and manufacturers championship.
No current or future F1 driver is likely to ever make their own F1 car let alone win a championship driving with it.
The MGB GT usually came with a 1.8 four cylinder. So when the V8 came out it was a huge shift.
Back in the Nineties I worked at a fancy cars dealership to support my studies. I got to drive an MGA from 1955 then. Some 600 Kg of weight, 55hp inline four, and it was incredible fun to drive!
You feel the road like in no other car I know and it's fast enough. F*ck the horsepower-wars that are going on in car manufacture for all those three ton plastic SUVs, you can have _loads_ of fun driving on 50 hp!
Ian the MGB was sold in the states. Not sure what the engine line-up was but it was ultimately killed off by the fuel crisis and changes to ride height in the USA for pedestrian protection. I'm sure someone will correct me but the story I was told was that the headlights had to be above a certain height (or was it the bumper 🤔) and rather than go through an expensive redesign they just jacked up the suspension which ruined the ride and handling. I believe the later rubber bumper was also for the US market.
I think the over drive was a switch on the gear stick if I’m not mistaken. So fourth gear then overdrive was fifth gear.
As others have said the V8 blue prints came from Buick, however I think it was Rover who cast it in alloy rather than iron. The engine went into numerous British Leyland products including Landrover from the last few Series 3 leaf sprung LWB models right through to the final 3.9efi Range Rovers.
You could even get a special order Leyland Sherpa V8 van (police and ambulance applications)
I know someone with one of these he’s just finished rebuilding and it’s cool
In australia people used to put holden 6 cylinder motors in them, also heard of a few fitted ford 302 windsor motors
Out of the 512.000 MGBs manufactured in the U.K., 298.000 were exported to the U.S.A.
I'm amazed you didn't notice, or possibly just didn't mention the random Mustang Mach1 sitting casually in the background during the initial interior shots.
You can still get every part for these in the UK. They are quite common, not the V8 though, on British roads.
Growing up through the 1970's The Jaguar E Type S Type and Mk2 were dream cars as well as a Lotus Cortina or Lotus Elite, MGB and MGC GT were common place ( best in BRG).
Overdrive works by using a hydraulically activatef epicyclic gear on the back of the gear box to incease ratio speed.
The MG BGT had a flip up lid on the gear shifter and a button underneath it to push to engage the oveedrive.
It was pretty cool, bit like a fighter jet.
I used to ride to work in one with a guy who lost his arm in a trawler winch.
He used to drive it with his knees whilst rolling cigarettes.
Still, was a fun little car, and pretty rapid too.
Later i had a Range Rover briefly with the same V8.
Horribly unreliable engine.
In the late 1960's my father was a Traffic Policeman for Sussex Police Force and officers on their own were driving these. If they were paired up then they drove the Triumph PI.
Same engine I have in my 1973 Rover P6. Also 4 speed with twin SU carbs. Very smooth engine.
I owned a MG Midget that we swapped in a Ford 240 Six with a 4speed in and that damn thing was scary quick.
when i remember correctly its a 3.6 liter rover engine which was very very popular in england that time and yes its an excellent engine they used it up tioll the 90 more or less with some minor changes
You should check out Morgan’s most of them are 3 wheelers
"that" engine. What a beast :)
Like most sporty vehicles, the back seat is there for insurance purposes only. Most aren't usable unless you are a double leg-amputee. Also check out the Triumph Stag.
The top is not called a targa it is just called a sunroof and probably was made by Webasto.
The standard MGB with the 1.8 litre engine can be used as a daily drive. It it seen in the UK as the most practical classic car to own,
Great car. I personally have the MG RV8 (roadster) which was just below on that wiki page & has a fuel injected 3.9 version of the V8 engine in this GT.
Early British cars with overdrive the overdrive is often electrically operated. Once you get into top gear (4th) and you want some more you just flip the OD switch on the dash or gear shift and it away you go.
The 3.5L Rover V8 was inherited from Buick.
My dad’s mate has one of those, a convertible. He’s 6’6 and can only drive it with the top down because he looks over the top of the windscreen and has to wear old school pilot goggles 🤣
This car,being manual,would also have overdrive on 3rd & top. The sunroof is a "Webasto" after market sunroof(I hate them) The motor is a 3.5ltr ex Rover motor (used in many different cars in the UK). It was never used in the open 2 seat MGB,although many owners did conversions.
Why do you hate "Webasto" sunroof, at least it's not some of those pointless electric sunroof like on modern cars.
08:05 "I believe this it's somewhere in the UK"... and I was "Dude of course it's the UK otherwise this guy it's a maniac driving in the wrong side of the road all the time" LOL