What to look for on a 1972 BGT - Help required please
Discussion
Hi All
I am thinking of buying a 1972 MGB GT. Apparently it has had a lot of welding done and a respray but I was wondering what are the areas I need to be looking at in terms of potential issues. I understand the inner sills can be an issue but not heard of any other gotchas.
Many thanks.
Paul
I am thinking of buying a 1972 MGB GT. Apparently it has had a lot of welding done and a respray but I was wondering what are the areas I need to be looking at in terms of potential issues. I understand the inner sills can be an issue but not heard of any other gotchas.
Many thanks.
Paul
I owned one for many years, any trouble is all related to the age of the cars. They were well built at that time but the tin worm gets to them eventually so you need to get underneath and thoroughly check the floor, suspension, spring hangers and sills. Be very suspicious of the stainless steel oversills some owners fit as this almost certainly hides trouble. Check the outer sills by tapping them and also with a magnet for filler.There is an inner sill that you can only check with an endoscope. Thoroughly check the wheel arches you'll often detect filler here on a bodged car. When you check underneath look out for layers of underseal that hide filler/fiberglass. Also lift up all the carpets, check the boot and spare wheel cavity. Slide the seats forward and lift the carpet behind them this area often rusts and can be covered with fiberglass. Also check the battery holders which are under the rear seat. The seams at the top of the rear wings also rust quite easly and are subject to filler repairs. Finally if you can, remove the door cards - only takes a few minutes, the bottom of the doors rust and again if clean its probably an indication of a good dry stored car.
Don't let any of that put you off though if you can find a clean honest car they're great to drive and take you back to raw motoring with a fantastic soundtrack. Mechanically simple and with the full sunroof are a much more practical car than the roadster.
Don't let any of that put you off though if you can find a clean honest car they're great to drive and take you back to raw motoring with a fantastic soundtrack. Mechanically simple and with the full sunroof are a much more practical car than the roadster.
What he said ^^^^^ with bells on 
don't be frightened to get underneath and use a small hammer to tap the castle rails and anything else that takes your fancy. If the owner isn't happy for you to do some hammer checks, walk away.
If you can, look for a car with some known history or is currently owned by a Club member (not a guarantee but you have a better chance of getting a looked after car). Check out the classifieds on the MGOC website.
I would be tempted to contact the local MG Owners or Car Club to see if anyone knowledgeable would like to accompany you to check the car out (I would offer but the airfare(s) might be restrictive
).
Best of....
MGmike
don't be frightened to get underneath and use a small hammer to tap the castle rails and anything else that takes your fancy. If the owner isn't happy for you to do some hammer checks, walk away.
If you can, look for a car with some known history or is currently owned by a Club member (not a guarantee but you have a better chance of getting a looked after car). Check out the classifieds on the MGOC website.
I would be tempted to contact the local MG Owners or Car Club to see if anyone knowledgeable would like to accompany you to check the car out (I would offer but the airfare(s) might be restrictive
).Best of....
MGmike
Some good advice above! As mentioned rust is the main enemy. Furthermore to the above, up under the front wheel arches there's is a 'shelf' behind the wheel. Have a good squeeze of this to check for rust as it is a favourite spot.
Sills as mentioned. Sometimes you can shine a light up into the drainage holes from underneath to see the condition inside. Also lift the carpets and check the inner sill. Any bubbling along the sill area, front or back (bottom of front wings are another favourite) spells more rust underneath. Sill replacements are expensive so to be avoided :P.
Rear spring hangers and rear wheel arches. Check up under the lip on the edge for rot.
You can sometimes spot filler as the paint will be uneven or sank a bit, but an expert filler can beat the trained eye. So take a magnet and check any suspect areas or water traps.
Other favourite spots are around the base of the windscreen and the beading on the top of the rear wing.
Recent resprays can be good, but not always, as a cheap blow over can hide a multitude of sins.
Also check panel gaps as these can be an indication of how well any repairs have been done
Mechanics are pretty simple so don't let that be a deal breaker, most things can be done by the average armature mechanic I've found. Look for at least 60psi oil pressure when driving
General regular servicing is a good sign and It is worth checking if there's fresh grease in the front suspension kingpins (if not these can wear causing play)
I've found the more you use them, the better they get, so low annual milage and a winter lay up isn't always a good thing. They can hold their own with modern traffic and be very reliable if looked after and serviced often!
To an extent it is a bit of a gamble but there are good cars out there, aswell as a lot of rubbish!
Christ didn't realise I rambled on so much!!
Sills as mentioned. Sometimes you can shine a light up into the drainage holes from underneath to see the condition inside. Also lift the carpets and check the inner sill. Any bubbling along the sill area, front or back (bottom of front wings are another favourite) spells more rust underneath. Sill replacements are expensive so to be avoided :P.
Rear spring hangers and rear wheel arches. Check up under the lip on the edge for rot.
You can sometimes spot filler as the paint will be uneven or sank a bit, but an expert filler can beat the trained eye. So take a magnet and check any suspect areas or water traps.
Other favourite spots are around the base of the windscreen and the beading on the top of the rear wing.
Recent resprays can be good, but not always, as a cheap blow over can hide a multitude of sins.
Also check panel gaps as these can be an indication of how well any repairs have been done
Mechanics are pretty simple so don't let that be a deal breaker, most things can be done by the average armature mechanic I've found. Look for at least 60psi oil pressure when driving
General regular servicing is a good sign and It is worth checking if there's fresh grease in the front suspension kingpins (if not these can wear causing play)
I've found the more you use them, the better they get, so low annual milage and a winter lay up isn't always a good thing. They can hold their own with modern traffic and be very reliable if looked after and serviced often!
To an extent it is a bit of a gamble but there are good cars out there, aswell as a lot of rubbish!
Christ didn't realise I rambled on so much!!
Paul, the guys above have given really good advice...the only other thing is to have a good eye for a 'correct' MGB.
Looking at your profile you're based in Kent. Is the car local to you/where's the car based? You may like to ask one of the kind experienced fellows from MGCC [Abingdon] or MGOC [Swavesey] to introduce you to a local member who knows the cars well, and they may well come along to look at the car with you and give some independent advice/notes/thumbs up/thumbs down. Also, the car should be known to one of the clubs/on their records and with some history/previous owners et al. Buy them lunch and a pint afterwards. Of course, you could always pay for a professional assessment, where you'll receive a report.
Not sure of your budget but if at the bottom end of the market be very careful and be comfortable to walk away as there are always 100's of BGT's available. If at the mid-to-high end be even more careful as many a shiny paintwork is hiding a fair few sins. Any Q?'s feel free to ask...
Looking at your profile you're based in Kent. Is the car local to you/where's the car based? You may like to ask one of the kind experienced fellows from MGCC [Abingdon] or MGOC [Swavesey] to introduce you to a local member who knows the cars well, and they may well come along to look at the car with you and give some independent advice/notes/thumbs up/thumbs down. Also, the car should be known to one of the clubs/on their records and with some history/previous owners et al. Buy them lunch and a pint afterwards. Of course, you could always pay for a professional assessment, where you'll receive a report.
Not sure of your budget but if at the bottom end of the market be very careful and be comfortable to walk away as there are always 100's of BGT's available. If at the mid-to-high end be even more careful as many a shiny paintwork is hiding a fair few sins. Any Q?'s feel free to ask...
before you go looking at any examples (and you must look at a few to do a comparison including one good mechanical example to see if you need to increase your budget) buy and read the relevant Driver's Handbook as that way you'll know more about the car than most long term owners
(Ref: 0052) - http://www.mgocshop.co.uk/catalog/Online_Catalogue...
below is the contents page of my Midget DH to give you an idea of how useful it is -
(Ref: 0052) - http://www.mgocshop.co.uk/catalog/Online_Catalogue...
below is the contents page of my Midget DH to give you an idea of how useful it is -
Excellent information guys, many thanks for the knowledgeable feedback. I will look at a few and try to get one close by to me in Kent. I know a guy that has an immaculate Roadster and to top it off is an ex-AA man, I'm sure he wouldn't mind assisting for a pint and a meal . Just need to fine one close by now.Gassing Station | MG | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff