Looking to buy an MGB GT
Discussion
Hi guys,
I am 19 years old and looking to buy my first car, as I've been borrowing my parents' cars before hand. I didn't want something like a Saxo or Corsa, like everyone my age, but instead thought about getting an MGB! I attend many car shows where it will fit in perfectly, and I will cherish it a lot more than I would if it were some modern hatch thing.
Obviously, this is my first ever purchase of a car, and being a classic, I know I'll need to get more clued up than I am now. So I was wondering whether anyone could give me some advice for what to look out for when looking at them.
I would like an MGB GT, and am looking around the £4k mark, which I believe is enough to get a clean example. Ideally I would like the chrome bumpers, but it's not a necessity if a nice rubber-bumper variant comes up.
Of course, if you have one for sale, if you could let me know that'd be great. I live in north Hampshire, so I'm looking at this kind of area of the country.
Thanks in advance,
Adam.
I am 19 years old and looking to buy my first car, as I've been borrowing my parents' cars before hand. I didn't want something like a Saxo or Corsa, like everyone my age, but instead thought about getting an MGB! I attend many car shows where it will fit in perfectly, and I will cherish it a lot more than I would if it were some modern hatch thing.
Obviously, this is my first ever purchase of a car, and being a classic, I know I'll need to get more clued up than I am now. So I was wondering whether anyone could give me some advice for what to look out for when looking at them.
I would like an MGB GT, and am looking around the £4k mark, which I believe is enough to get a clean example. Ideally I would like the chrome bumpers, but it's not a necessity if a nice rubber-bumper variant comes up.
Of course, if you have one for sale, if you could let me know that'd be great. I live in north Hampshire, so I'm looking at this kind of area of the country.
Thanks in advance,
Adam.
First thing to do is check out insurance. You might struggle, classic policies seem to start from age 21. You might get a regular policy and adding a parent as a named driver can usually bring the cost down. (Don't front and get the insurance in their name) 
That budget will get you a pretty decent GT in either chrome or rubber bumper version. Road tax exemption is now a rolling 40 years, so that might be worth considering but I wouldn't let it put you off if a decent car comes up for sale.
If the car is to be used daily and left on the street, the rubber bumpers can handle knocks and parking shunts or if someone drives into you, the same impact on a chrome bumper can mean new bumper and rear/front panel/grill etc.
Lots of cars on Ebay and Car and Classic.co.uk, don't rush into buying one.
This is a good MGB Site, a thread running at the moment with advice for what to look at.
http://www.mgexp.com/phorum/read.php?1,2742020
That budget will get you a pretty decent GT in either chrome or rubber bumper version. Road tax exemption is now a rolling 40 years, so that might be worth considering but I wouldn't let it put you off if a decent car comes up for sale.
If the car is to be used daily and left on the street, the rubber bumpers can handle knocks and parking shunts or if someone drives into you, the same impact on a chrome bumper can mean new bumper and rear/front panel/grill etc.
Lots of cars on Ebay and Car and Classic.co.uk, don't rush into buying one.
This is a good MGB Site, a thread running at the moment with advice for what to look at.
http://www.mgexp.com/phorum/read.php?1,2742020
while you're waiting and before considering buying the car buy a read a copy of the relevant Driver's Handbook - it is not a buying guide or a workshop manual but if you buy it and read it and refer to it as required you'll know more about the car than many long term owners, it's the booklet you got with the car when new - http://www.mgocshop.co.uk/catalog/Online_Catalogue...
Look at and test drive as many good examples as you can including some well out of your buying budget to see how good the cars should/could be – it usually works out less expensive to buy a good but higher priced example than a poor lower priced example
Don't let your head be turned by shiny paint it's what's under it that matters, a scruffier mechanical sound car with a sound body is usually better than one that looks surface pretty
Allow in your purchase budget at least a £200 for servicing, maintenance and repairs in the first year, £500 would be better if you can afford it and if you don’t use it all it can go forward to the next year – you have to budget for insurance, possibly road tax, certainly petrol so why not budget for servicing, maintenance and repairs which will decrease in cost the more you do of them
should you not get a MG BGT the above applies to any other car
example - for my MG Midget
Look at and test drive as many good examples as you can including some well out of your buying budget to see how good the cars should/could be – it usually works out less expensive to buy a good but higher priced example than a poor lower priced example
Don't let your head be turned by shiny paint it's what's under it that matters, a scruffier mechanical sound car with a sound body is usually better than one that looks surface pretty
Allow in your purchase budget at least a £200 for servicing, maintenance and repairs in the first year, £500 would be better if you can afford it and if you don’t use it all it can go forward to the next year – you have to budget for insurance, possibly road tax, certainly petrol so why not budget for servicing, maintenance and repairs which will decrease in cost the more you do of them
should you not get a MG BGT the above applies to any other car
example - for my MG Midget
As a continuous MGB owner for nearly 37 years now I feel suitably qualified to give some input. I was 21 when I bought my first roadster; British Racing Green with wire wheels and black interior. The car in question looked fantastic but was as wrotten as hell! I learned a lot about the structure of the car, although welding was never my thing. Spent some money on it and sold it for a modest profit over the original purchase price two years later.
Next was a fabulous Mallard Green '73 GT. This was a great car and served me well for 5 years. I had the sills and castle section repaired on one side (strangeley the passenger side wasn't too bad) and drove many miles in this car. It let me down once only in 40,000 miles with a broken earth strap on the battery. Lavished with love and care, this car served me well.
After that came a V8 which I kept for 9 months only. Not a bad car but it would need mechanocal work and the body would beckon some time later. Again, sold for a small profit to a chap who exported it to Switzerland.
Finally in 1984 came a Teal Blue V8, which I still own to this day, 30 years later. Bought with a tired body but sound mechanics. This is NOT the recommended advice but I figured if I didn't have to fork out for mechanical work then a rusty pannel was a rusty pannel, no matter how rusty. (Not entirely true.) So a full body rebuild (sills, castle sections, wings and doors) was comissioned within 6 months of ownership. Much work followed over the years but I still own it and love it.
So apart from these ramblings, what's the advice? Well assuming you work your way around the insurance matter mentioned earlier, the advice has to be body condition. The mechanics of any 1800 are straight forward and can be fixed pretty easily and fairly cheaply these days. The bodywork however will cost a lot more - and you want a decent job. I've been out of the market for buying MGB's now for many years but I would imagine that most have had sills done in some shape or form. The sills really are the achillies heal of the MGB. You need to apply the iceberg principle. If you can see rust, it WILL be 10 times worse under the surface! Same with the rear wing edges and the reinforcer sections under the front wings. Many a shiny MGB has been found to be very rusty when pulled apart.
Ask the owner what bodywork has been carried out, when and by whom. Ask for receipts as proof. Check the body line to see how the pannel fit looks. A good job can often be better than original. Another area to check for rust are the tops of the rear wings (two sections meet here and are joined with a beaded Tee section.) With any cracking of the paintwork, moisture ingress will start the electrlytic action which results in rust. It's the same on the tops of the front wings where they join with the scuttle. Bottoms of doors also rust out if the drainage holes have not been kept clear.
Roadsters command a premium, especially in the summer so as said before your 4k budget for a GT sounds good. Personal preference is for chrome bumpers (and these used to command a premium over the rubber bumper models) but price difference seems to have largely flattened out now. To me though an MGB should have chrome bumpers. Sorry, old school... Check the condition of the chrome as pattern replacement parts are not nearly as good quality as original bumpers. Rechroming may be an option if these are poor. Don't think the rubber bumpers get you out of the rust problem either. These can rust badly behind all that composite material. Oh and as for the later 'deck chair' pattern of the later cloth seats.... don't get me started. Not everyone's cup of tea.
You're welcome to look around mine but living in NW Kent I'm not exactly on your doopstep.
So to summarise, check the body condition THOROUGHLY. The rest can be fixed. Happy hunting.
Next was a fabulous Mallard Green '73 GT. This was a great car and served me well for 5 years. I had the sills and castle section repaired on one side (strangeley the passenger side wasn't too bad) and drove many miles in this car. It let me down once only in 40,000 miles with a broken earth strap on the battery. Lavished with love and care, this car served me well.
After that came a V8 which I kept for 9 months only. Not a bad car but it would need mechanocal work and the body would beckon some time later. Again, sold for a small profit to a chap who exported it to Switzerland.
Finally in 1984 came a Teal Blue V8, which I still own to this day, 30 years later. Bought with a tired body but sound mechanics. This is NOT the recommended advice but I figured if I didn't have to fork out for mechanical work then a rusty pannel was a rusty pannel, no matter how rusty. (Not entirely true.) So a full body rebuild (sills, castle sections, wings and doors) was comissioned within 6 months of ownership. Much work followed over the years but I still own it and love it.
So apart from these ramblings, what's the advice? Well assuming you work your way around the insurance matter mentioned earlier, the advice has to be body condition. The mechanics of any 1800 are straight forward and can be fixed pretty easily and fairly cheaply these days. The bodywork however will cost a lot more - and you want a decent job. I've been out of the market for buying MGB's now for many years but I would imagine that most have had sills done in some shape or form. The sills really are the achillies heal of the MGB. You need to apply the iceberg principle. If you can see rust, it WILL be 10 times worse under the surface! Same with the rear wing edges and the reinforcer sections under the front wings. Many a shiny MGB has been found to be very rusty when pulled apart.
Ask the owner what bodywork has been carried out, when and by whom. Ask for receipts as proof. Check the body line to see how the pannel fit looks. A good job can often be better than original. Another area to check for rust are the tops of the rear wings (two sections meet here and are joined with a beaded Tee section.) With any cracking of the paintwork, moisture ingress will start the electrlytic action which results in rust. It's the same on the tops of the front wings where they join with the scuttle. Bottoms of doors also rust out if the drainage holes have not been kept clear.
Roadsters command a premium, especially in the summer so as said before your 4k budget for a GT sounds good. Personal preference is for chrome bumpers (and these used to command a premium over the rubber bumper models) but price difference seems to have largely flattened out now. To me though an MGB should have chrome bumpers. Sorry, old school... Check the condition of the chrome as pattern replacement parts are not nearly as good quality as original bumpers. Rechroming may be an option if these are poor. Don't think the rubber bumpers get you out of the rust problem either. These can rust badly behind all that composite material. Oh and as for the later 'deck chair' pattern of the later cloth seats.... don't get me started. Not everyone's cup of tea.
You're welcome to look around mine but living in NW Kent I'm not exactly on your doopstep.
So to summarise, check the body condition THOROUGHLY. The rest can be fixed. Happy hunting.
Edited by pb450 on Tuesday 22 July 13:21
elephantstone said:
Just PM'ed you.
Thanks guys for all your help, I have taken lots into consideration!Oh, and Elephantstone, you mentioned you PM'ed me, but I cannot find any PM. I'm not that familiar to PistonHeads, so that may be the case, but I hadn't received any email or message on here.
AdamC3046 said:
Thanks guys for all your help, I have taken lots into consideration!
Oh, and Elephantstone, you mentioned you PM'ed me, but I cannot find any PM. I'm not that familiar to PistonHeads, so that may be the case, but I hadn't received any email or message on here.
If you click on my name and it will say "email me" or something similar. If you email me first ill reply to you. Let me know when you have sent it on this thread. Oh, and Elephantstone, you mentioned you PM'ed me, but I cannot find any PM. I'm not that familiar to PistonHeads, so that may be the case, but I hadn't received any email or message on here.
Body condition is the most important as already pointed out. I would say make sure you get one with overdrive, they are no fun on the motorway without it. I bought my 1971 Mk3 BGT for £2000 and it came with £10000 worth of receipts from the last 7 years including a full body restoration. It still needed money spending on it having only covered 900 miles since 2000. In the first year I probably spent about £700 sorting everything out. Unless you get a really good one, I think £200 is a bit unrealistic for first year maintenance. Unless prices have increased dramatically since I bought mine, I would expect you to be able to get a really nice chrome bumper BGT for £4000.
Crosswise said:
Unless you get a really good one, I think £200 is a bit unrealistic for first year maintenance.
yes it could be but I did put at least £200if I put a lot more I get accused of putting potential owners off
rather than the figure it's to give the thought that money is set aside for these things and not all spent on the purchase price
I'd imagine a lot of new owners to have a go at the 36k-mile service/check up so just parts and material costs, I wasn't thinking of restoration work or paying labour charges
if I put what I spend I'd be accused of being unrealistic
Edited by nta16 on Wednesday 30th July 14:18
nta16 said:
Crosswise said:
Unless you get a really good one, I think £200 is a bit unrealistic for first year maintenance.
yes it could be but I did put at least £200if I put a lot more I get accused of putting potential owners off
rather than the figure it's to give the thought that money is set aside for these things and not all spent on the purchase price
I'd imagine a lot of new owners to have a go at the 36k-mile service/check up so just parts and material costs, I wasn't thinking of restoration work or paying labour charges
if I put what I spend I'd be accused of being unrealistic
Edited by nta16 on Wednesday 30th July 14:18
thing is not everybody can or wants to tackle things like g/box rebuilds so allowing for the labour on that would blow my budget
the OP has possibly given up on the idea of getting a BGT, at that age lots of different cars are considered on a daily basis
as with the BGT for sale in this thread the young owner has only kept it for a matter of months, which is fine but probably doesn't teach much about ownership of that model
the OP has possibly given up on the idea of getting a BGT, at that age lots of different cars are considered on a daily basis
as with the BGT for sale in this thread the young owner has only kept it for a matter of months, which is fine but probably doesn't teach much about ownership of that model
Crosswise said:
nta16 said:
Crosswise said:
Unless you get a really good one, I think £200 is a bit unrealistic for first year maintenance.
yes it could be but I did put at least £200if I put a lot more I get accused of putting potential owners off
rather than the figure it's to give the thought that money is set aside for these things and not all spent on the purchase price
I'd imagine a lot of new owners to have a go at the 36k-mile service/check up so just parts and material costs, I wasn't thinking of restoration work or paying labour charges
if I put what I spend I'd be accused of being unrealistic
Edited by nta16 on Wednesday 30th July 14:18
Parts are inexpensive, replacing every nut and bold l disturbed (plus the bushes) has cost about £60 but had l had to pay some one it would have cost 100's l suspect.
yes you would have the labour costs but the pros would possibly have techniques to speed things up - if only the confidence to use a BFH where required
on reassembly, for yourself, use new nuts, bolts, washers, fixings, etc, and copper grease to make the disassembly easier next which could be sooner than you expect or if you make a mistake
5 years ago I had to take my rad and shroud out twice in one week, I was sent the wrong electric cooling fan but didn't know until I started using the car, I had tested that the fan worked before installation but not what direction it worked, I'll not make that mistake again
anyway the rad and shroud was in and out twice with no effort only a 10 minute wriggle with a non-captive nut and screw
just recently I done the same job and everything came out easily but boy what a PITA trying to get it to realign properly this time, took me hours in the very over hot sun, why it didn't want to line up this time I've no idea
which reminds me I must put something sticky on the two screws I dropped in the cavity and couldn't get out so that the muck builds up on the sticky and the screw don't rattle around
on reassembly, for yourself, use new nuts, bolts, washers, fixings, etc, and copper grease to make the disassembly easier next which could be sooner than you expect or if you make a mistake
5 years ago I had to take my rad and shroud out twice in one week, I was sent the wrong electric cooling fan but didn't know until I started using the car, I had tested that the fan worked before installation but not what direction it worked, I'll not make that mistake again
anyway the rad and shroud was in and out twice with no effort only a 10 minute wriggle with a non-captive nut and screw
just recently I done the same job and everything came out easily but boy what a PITA trying to get it to realign properly this time, took me hours in the very over hot sun, why it didn't want to line up this time I've no idea
which reminds me I must put something sticky on the two screws I dropped in the cavity and couldn't get out so that the muck builds up on the sticky and the screw don't rattle around
ATE399J said:
That's possible I'm sure if it's all been apart recently, I've just spent 6 hrs attempting to change the inner with bone bushes. So far l've only disassembled one side so another 6hrs to go plus reassembly. Nearly every nut was ceased and even when eventually removed the bolts wouldn't budge!!
Parts are inexpensive, replacing every nut and bold l disturbed (plus the bushes) has cost about £60 but had l had to pay some one it would have cost 100's l suspect.
Mine had not been apart for at least 20 years by the look of things and considering it had sat almost unused for 10 or more by the time I came to it, probably even longer. The gearbox had never been apart and I had a lot of bolts which were very hard to remove. I have also done the front suspension, I had problems with most of the bolts, especially the top one on the hub assembly. I bought a kit which included new spring pans, wishbones and all the fixings, saved a lot of time. I am a mechanic so I had a full selection of air tools, an engine hoist, oxy and a comprehensive selection of hand tools, however, I did those jobs at home on my own car. I was more trying to prove how easy they are to work on than that everyone should attempt a gearbox rebuild on their days off.Parts are inexpensive, replacing every nut and bold l disturbed (plus the bushes) has cost about £60 but had l had to pay some one it would have cost 100's l suspect.
nta16 said:
thing is not everybody can or wants to tackle things like g/box rebuilds so allowing for the labour on that would blow my budget
the OP has possibly given up on the idea of getting a BGT, at that age lots of different cars are considered on a daily basis
as with the BGT for sale in this thread the young owner has only kept it for a matter of months, which is fine but probably doesn't teach much about ownership of that model
I've now got a 4.2 V8 Jaguar outside the OP has possibly given up on the idea of getting a BGT, at that age lots of different cars are considered on a daily basis
as with the BGT for sale in this thread the young owner has only kept it for a matter of months, which is fine but probably doesn't teach much about ownership of that model
elephantstone said:
I've now got a 4.2 V8 Jaguar outside
of course you're not that young are you, do you now wear checked slippers and have a wiff of ammoniaI used to be in the local JAAAAG Enthusiast Club and when asked which model I had my reply was always the same "none, I'm far too young for one" and I still am
nta16 said:
on reassembly, for yourself, use new nuts, bolts, washers, fixings, etc, and copper grease to make the disassembly easier next which could be sooner than you expect or if you make a mistake
Yup, did that on my TVR about 20 years ago and it has certainly paid off in spades!These cars are for the most part easier and cheaper to maintain than a 'modern' with a mostly "garage only" service / repair approach.
For the OP (if you are still with us!) MGB's are a comparatively cheap and easy step into classic car ownership, parts availability being such that I would think it possible to build a complete car from new parts (apart from the "donkey's ****" of course!). They are fairly easy to drive (compared to a 'modern') and I think you could survive with a 'GT as your only car. The only (?) down-sides being that they are comparatively thirsty 25mpg-ish and for 19 year olds I would think have little street cred!
Bodywork condition is everything!
Get an MX-5, an original 1989 or 1990 MK1 will be great, you will probably get cheaper insurance on a UK car but have a higher potential for buying a rot bucket. Prices of these should appreciate if you keep it standard and take care of them and there are lots of owners to bounce ideas off who are your age or thereabouts. You coudl even get one from your year of birth - which woudl be a cool thing to hang onto long term.
I used to have an RV8 and I really loved the car but the whole MG scene is well.. lets put it this way - was not for me.. The average owner is certainly over 60 as well so unless you enjoy hanging out in retirement homes I woudl stick with soemthing a little more modern..
I used to have an RV8 and I really loved the car but the whole MG scene is well.. lets put it this way - was not for me.. The average owner is certainly over 60 as well so unless you enjoy hanging out in retirement homes I woudl stick with soemthing a little more modern..
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