MGB | Buyer's Guide
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- Опубліковано 2 лют 2015
- Thinking of buying an MG? Danny Hopkins, editor of Practical Classics Magazine (www.practicalclassics.co.uk/in..., uses a 1975 MGB GT Jubilee edition to illustrate what to look for - including typical trouble spots - before you make a purchase.
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Tip #1 on buying an MG B: Inspect the wiring under the dashboard. Check for hacked, unplugged, broken, spliced, cut, or fraying wires.
Weird wiring can definitely be used as a deal negotiation point. It doesn’t need to be a deal breaker though. Wiring issues can be resolved in a fairly straightforward manner. Rust, on the other hand, is the real enemy.
Drove a friend's GT for a month during a visit to South Africa. A great experience. I had a 124 Spyder athome in Canada.
Very helpful. My brother in law passed away 2 months ago, and left me a totally mint 78 MGB. I am having it gone through and learning ,as it is worked on. Thanks for the great video.
Loved my '77 B. In the five years I owned it it burned through seven starter, two alternators, had two full-on electrical fires where the wires ran along the inside of the firewall, AND the carburetor came apart and leaked fuel - causing ANOTHER FIRE - onto the exhaust manifold. I was experienced with this car by the last fire and I was able to quickly put it out. The auto choke was a plastic protuberance attached to the side of the SU carb, and fuel ran up against the plastic wall. Vibrations loosened it from the carb, spilling fuel, etc. By then I had a complete tool kit in the trunk, or, as we uppity wannabe people say, the boot, so I quite literally rubbed sealant on the choke and tightened it to the carb with Lok-tight and pedalled on down the road within fifteen minutes. A couple of years later I replaced the SU with a Webber carb and it ran great. Had to sell it because the wife took issue with our baby daughter riding in that little space behind the seats. Miss that car.
I meant thermostat, not choke.
I've just bought my 5th MGB GT , a 78 in Pageant Blue. I love them. This latest one has already been converted to unleaded and is in wonderful condition.
Helpful tips. I checked out an MGB yesterday that looked great in the photos. The magnet I brought didn’t adhere to the sills and a closer look revealed body filler. Walked away.
My dad goes on all the time about his MG BGT and Triumph Stag he owned back in the day, looks great
I bought my 73 Roadster brand new in August of 1973 has never leaked in the oil never has an electrical problem and it's been a great car
I own a '72 MGB and it's never had a significant problem. I converted it from twin SU HIF carbs to a single Weber DGEV carb; it runs like a finely made watch.
Do you store it inside?
Just acquired a 79 MGB, 2 owners, 73k... love it!
Danny, I thanks for this. I think you need to get on youtube more! Your excellent at presenting and practical calssics on youtube would be grand!
One thing about the MGB is that there are still quite a few around, go to any classic car show and you will almost certainly see a few. So if you like a more individual classic they probably aren't what you want. Then there's the dodgy Lucas electrics, the relatively slow and noisy B-series engine, and lots of rust. It's true to say that they were probably no better or worse than many other cars of their era but the MGB has triple skinned sills that are very prone to rust and are expensive and difficult to repair properly.
My dad had an MG roadster when I was a young child in the late 70's. It was a play toy for us both, he'd use it on weekends and to autocross with. I'd sit in the driver seat and dream of when I'd get to drive it. Even tho he had a very nice and new turbo Porsche 924, I always loved that MG better.
Fantastic Video. Owned one around 10 years ago, and we are off to look at one this weekend. Need another MGB in our life
I had an MGB 79 convertible. Loved it. Drove it on a long trip 2800 miles in Canada. Never let me down. My only regret, it didn't have overdrive. After a while it began to use a lot of oil....
I quote “I drive an mgb and it get me to work most days” not the greatest vote of confidence there
He meant that on some days he drives a different car.
If you say so
I drive a Miata and I get to work every day.
ipoup
@@CycolacFan that's exactly what he was saying....
im 73 and drive a brg 1970 B roadster its the 9th MG i've owned over the past 49 years. 4 BGTs, 3 B roadsters a 1953 TF and an MGC. still love them as much as the day i bought my first one
My dad left me one and im fixing it up in about two weeks with my uncle!
A friend of mine here in Oregon owns a1975 MGB GT Jubilee. He paid $5,000 for it from a guy in England about six or seven years ago and it cost him another $5,000 to get it here. It's real nice. He told me it's only one of two known here in the U.S.
My 1962 MG Midget leaked rainwater onto the floor - not through the hood/top - so badly that I drilled holes in it, painted it with boat marine paint and covered it with rubber floor mats. This way, the water emptied as fast as it collected.
When closed, the side curtains/windows caused the top to balloon from the frame. To remedy this, I opened the front of the driver's side by one inch and opened the rear of the passenger side by 1 inch to allow the inside air pressure to equalize. Otherwise, the sound effects of the balloon blowing up and popping repeatedly would deafen me.
The hood/top was separate from the frame and had to be removed separately from it, folded up like a shirt and placed in the boot/trunk with the frame which collapsed and pulled apart in two pieces. It lay perfectly on top of my side curtains which were stored there in warm, dry weather. Still, it was much better than the newer style which was attached to the frame and car permanently. Surprisingly, it never leaked and I loved it. (Rainwater entered via the firewall in a spot I never found.) I could install it or remove it in just a few minutes. When I had to replace it with a new one, the price was much cheaper and installation was much easier than the new style.
There were no exterior door handles or door locks. The only lock on the car was on the twist handle of the boot/trunk. The only time anything was stolen from the interior was at the beach when someone shoved his fist through the fiberboard divider between the passenger area and the interior of the boot/trunk and pulled my blue jeans through to get my wallet from the pocket. I later replaced the divider with plywood covered with carpet and bolted in. Easy and cheap fix.
I carried a hammer to hit the starter when it rested in the wrong position.
I also carried a handkerchief to wipe out the distributor on rainy days. To help alleviate this problem, I had to jam a piece of 2"x4" board in the bottom of the engine compartment to act as a splash shield for the distributor when I drove over water puddles in the rain.
If I had it to do all over again, I definitely would. I had many adventures covering many thousands of miles (and engine and transmission rebuilds) in that Little Brit Car that you can't even begin to make up stories about. I was at the right age, at the right place, in the right time. It forced me to learn mechanics and a new language, such as "spanner". I was a very young hillbilly from West Virginia who drove all over the eastern half of the USA. Premium gas was 40 cents/gallon and my car got 40 mpg...one penny/mile. To put it in perspective, 1000 miles cost me $10.00. Surprisingly, it did not burn oil, nor leak any.
On a reliability scale, it was a 1 out of 10. On a fun scale it was a 12 out of 10. I loved that car. It had 948cc of brute power which could achieve 70 mph going downhill with the wind at its back.
Thank you, little MG!
I've never seen rims like that for an MG. I love them!
MGB GT V8 wheels - cost a bundle today, have seen them on eBay secondhand at over £1,000 a set.
Although im in my late 20's I would love to be able to drive an MGB aswell as maybe even own one, my dad used to have one but my grandad got rid of it without his permission while it was stored at my nans house.
You gave some really good information, especially on how to check the body for rust.
Ideally, you need to be a car mechanic so you can work on your own car. This car will eat you alive financially if you have to take it somewhere for every little thing. Unless you can find a British car repair shop, most garages don't have a clue about these cars or where to get parts. The other important thing is to join a British car club where you'll find other like-minded MG owners. They'll be a great source of help, parts and advice.
I've had my '77 for just over 3 years. It runs great and is very reliable. I have had to put a starter and a throttle cable and it has 71000 miles which I believe are original since the tires were 22 years old when I bought it. Great fun for little money.
Key phrase at the end there "it gets me to work MOST days". I have a 78 rubber roadster and it has been on the back of a tow truck too often... Doing what the factory should have done, swapping in a ford 302
The top spec MG B came fitted with the Rover V8. The 4 cylinder base models were just far more popular. The Rover V8 was much lighter than a 302 and easily tunable. It was better suited to the car.
Best things about MGBs; there fun to drive, parts are available, there obtainable, and they look good restored or a bit beat up.
Chrome, rubber, the little buggers are ALL fun! I
This is what "MG" was all about! Excellent car!
Seen them around in the states been wondering if they were s good buy or not!
Looks a lot like mine, a '77 Brooklands green roadster with gold stripes. Dual SU conversion with K&N filters.
+iscafan The car in the film is a 1975 MGB GT Jubilee. I have one and there are not that many left.
+simonlilley I thought for sure the car in the video was a '77 roadster.
Thanks for clearing that up.
Great classic car.. Thumbs up.
My first car in 1977 was a used MG. It was fun and looked cool, but it was not very reliable. It was also gutless. But it did make me learn a bit about cars.
How can someone determine if the car's been converted for unleaded and what years are in need of converting?
I had a 74 GT as a daily driver 5 years ago. Made the drive to work fun. Not so much fun in winter as the heater did not work.
The heater in my GT never worked either. The heat from the exhaust & engine was sufficient!
Bellissima auto , anche se personalmente preferisco la spyder con eventuale hard top e portabagagli cromato ! Very nice !
Can we have one of these for the MG Midget please.
Thanks for this. Great video. Could you tell me which airfield this was filmed at please?
I’m in America and I bought a chrome bumper but rubber minibumbered 1974 MGB GT for 16 hundred. And there were only about 3,300 of the 74 GTs imported to the North America
Thanks!
is there a bumper retro conversion, SL Benz is like $3k
That Jubilee GT has had the chrome side strips painted green. It looks better for it.
Is it expensive to converted to earlier bumper and get rid of the big ones ???????
Is this filmed at RAF Bicester?
A 72 with overdrive running right. what is highway speed like? What kind of rpm at 80 mph?
22 mph/1,000 rpm.
Anyone considering buying an MG should consider the Lucas electrics; they were rubbish. I'll never forget when I was a teenager, and one of my father's friends drove his over after work (just a Midget, not a GT). When he went to leave, it wouldn't start. They spent the next several hours rewiring the starter circuit, because part of the wiring had melted under the dash.
+justsomeguytoyou iv owned 4 and 2 of them had a melted wire going from the coil.
not sure what it was about that wiring
Lucas was known as the prince of darkness!
@@DanafoxyVixen
Their head lamp switches were labeled Dim, Flicker and Maybe🤞🤞
I like the wheels
Do MG's run on Leaded or Unleaded gas?
They need leaded fuel, if the cylinder head has not been converted then a good lead replacement additive such as Millers VSP Plus will do the job.
Sorry this may sound dumb, but that’s like saying it needs to run on 91 no ethanol or like 87?
I much preferred the rubber bumpers!
We have just bought a 78 gt and I think rubber looks better and they are much easier to maintain
I have seen reviews/comments saying that the driving is not so good. They say it is not engaging etc. Do you think I should get a rubber or chrome bumper for my first car?
+Scott Sherman if you can find a decently priced chrome go for it but if not rubber is still not a bad driving car
+Dinny patrick Right yeah, I thought that would be the best. What about daily driving? Would the rubber be better due to car park dings etc?
no they dont look better unless chrome bumper has holes
Was not styled by Pininfarina but Giogiori, and you could not get chrome or plastic, you got chrome only then later facelift you got plastic only
I think he meant you have a choice of the rubber bumper or chrome bumpered version as a classic car choice today, not back when they were on sale.
dont mind the rust tis all part of the fun of owning one fixing it
Was there a 6 cyl version? A GT-C?
Im 16 and looking at buying one, is it worth my money?
depends on if you have the time and will to deal with problems that come with an unreliable 40 year old car. If you do then MGB is a lovely car. If not get a Miata or BMW Z3 for less money.
Chris Carlson i suggest a miata or a bmw z3 unless you have alot of time to fix a car that was already considered unreliable 40 years ago lol remember the NA miata was produced for this exact reason, provide a light open roof experience that was also absolutely bulletproof
Chris Carlson it was actually my first car, mine broke down every week. And I fixed it every week.
Are you16?? Buy a Suzuki cappuccino they are fenomenal fun to drive and their value will go sky rocket.
buy a mazda mx5 kid
Had to drive a gt once ,very disapointing it felt like driving a squashed morris oxford 😢😮
If MG's rust for fun, my roadster must be an orgy.
👍❤️
i think the rubber bumper is only better liked now because no one does re chroming and if they do its £5000000000000000000000
Don't forget to remove the magnet before you put your sock back on.
Super cars I want one
Great line...."......rusts for fun.........."
Get one with chrome bumpers and if you can’t then replace the shitty rubber ones with chrome
i wishd id had 2 mgbs 1969-1972
Looking at one for 1000 bucks, wondering if it's worth buying. Needs bunch of work, but body is solid , early 60s .
you can do alot better than a Typical MG, E30 BMW, MK2 Golf, MK4 Sprite, Jaguar MK2 etc etc
agreed bro - but the mgb is no MGA thats much better than a golf or a series
Other than the Golf the B even in great condition is still cheaper to buy and maintain than any of those. Seen the price of a Mk2 Jag recently...?
These cars would probably be much more expensive if Mazda hadn't created the Miata
If its not leaking oil its most likely ran out of oil.
They made over 200,000 MGBs they are very prone to rust the rubber bumper versions were created to match American safty issues If you insist on buying one try and get the V 8 version or one that has been re-engine with a Japanese V 6 they are not as reliable as people would have you believe They are slow 105mph top speed I have owned these and ended up buying a TR 6 better engine better preformance
The BMC engine is very reliable. Not sure where you got your info from.
Handles well ? You're having a laugh, the rubber bumper models handle like boats.
The 1975 and 1976 MGB did have handling issues, but in the 1977 model year a rear anti sway bar was fitted which helped the handling a great deal. The reason I know this is that I've got a 1968 and a 1977 MGB that I've owned for decades.
What the dog doin
The interior is "very atmospheric"?!? Oh, my fuckin' gawd. :-(
The rubber bumpers are horrible go for the chrome ones
That's not a MGB, it's a MGA
Rubber bumpers suck.
I wouldn't take money to accept a rubber bumper one. They're hideous
Yes but with a little bit of money and a couple of mouse clicks Moss Motors will sell you a chrome bumper conversion kit that makes the later cars look just like an early car. Only you would know the difference. And if you still refuse it, I'll take it!
Rubber bumper looks much better, I think.
Um no. Nothing beats the chrome bumper.
feck off
I had a '72 BGT. Here's my buyer's guide: don't.
Don't worry, there's plenty of people with knowledge of these fine cars that don't require you.
@@redbarchetta8782 I'm hardly worried. Especially about some UA-camr hiding behind a keyboard and unable to construct a sentence at an 8th grade level. It was underpowered, too heavy and the twin carbs were impossible to keep sync'd. Its spoked wheels constantly caused flat tires from the rubber protective liner inside the wheels having shifted so the exposed spoke receivers tore the inner tubes. So yeah - great machine. To look at.
I like the Rubber Bumper cars, but have a 64 pull-handle.
Although the car in the video is in stunning condition, the jubilee model has got to be the worst looking MGB produced. Those gold wheels look awful, whereas they look great when silver and black as per v8.
........... and those stripes..........
Here’s some good Advice, Don’t buy one, there Crap.
Here’s some good Advice, Don’t buy one.
😭😭😭
Here is the golden rule of buying an MGB. DON,T THERE ARE MANY MORE RELIABLE CARS Mazda’s Porches Merck’s etc
Those other cars are boring though. You couldn't pay me to have any one of them.
My MGB buyer guide... DON'T BUY THEM!
That's not a MGB, It's a MGA