1975 MGB GT - How did I end up here?

[Merry]

Due to the o/h's uncanny ability for bending metal every 18 months or so I was left without a means of transport, as rather than spend more money I thought it best to give her my £250 Punto - which is still going strong despite the bargain basement pricetag. Even scrubs up reasonably well...



Just before this I decided it was finally time to be rid of my Ford Puma that had been festering in the garage for 12 months, not having the time nor the inclination to get it back into decent condition. Here is the offending article



As a result I decided to swap it with my fathers MGB GT, this one, in fact



Aim was to spend the next 6 months or so getting it back on the road, however plans got a little accelerated once my other car had been poached. I knew there was a patch that needed welding, however it became apparent that it was a little more than that once i'd put my hand through the floor. Things looked even worse once he carpets came up and the drivers inner sill had split from the floor.

It became clear the shell was beyond help, so another B was sourced, this B infact.





So yeah, it was/is a 1975, so first of the rubber bumpers - without the rear anti-roll bar in baby poo brown, with no MOT, or tax. Interior is ok, if not quite finished and it did have a couple of electrical niggles, but it was solid.

A weeks worth of fettling got my an MOT, and here it is after a wash



And eyeing up the donor car for spares...



Admiral then finally sent me through a refund for my insurance from the Punto, to the tune of £550 so it would only have been rude not to spend it on the car, so far its had

- New oil/plugs/diff oil
- Thicker front anti-roll bar
- New front springs - chrome bumper height
- Lowered at the back and polybushed
- New chrome cabin air intake
- Rocker cover/diff/tappet cover gaskets
- A working radio

To go on are

- Electronic ignition from the donor MGB
- Spax telescopic rear dampers
- Fan Belt
- a 12" steering wheel of some description
- Pair of re-built carbs (when I get round to them!)
- Possibly a rear anti-roll bar, getting conflicting info about that one!

SO here it stands at the moment



Just come back from a 400 mile trip to Oxford and Gloucester, its going to take a lot of looking after, as it will by my daily but it does have a nice warm garage to live in. Not sure how i'll cope with the 20mpg at best if fuel prices go up any more!

As for the future, keeping it moving will be the priority, but already looking into a couple of engine swap options....

[Merry]

PatrickOUFC said:

Nice motor pal. These look great when in tip top condition. Look forward to seeing the progress.
Only 20mpg?

Indeed, only have a short commute, all stop start which is why my MPG figures a so poor.

Forgot to mention but the plan is for Chrome Bumpers before the end of the year, possibly a change of colour before the next MOT, but dont hold me to that!

[Merry]

Perd Hapley said:

Brown rubber bumper BGT... is that the least 'popular' configuration of B available? It's great, I love it! Hell, I love any B that isn't red.

Thanks! I suspect it may be, probably why I got it for £750

[Merry]

S2Mike said:

The to go on list should be actioned soon.
Electronic ignition should gain you several MPG,
Maybe a big bore exhaust and K&N air filters and BHP will be up as well.
This is from experience with my 1979 roadster.
Plus taking the ton weight of the rubber bumpers off will help BHP MPG and OMG ...

K&Ns are already on, Stainless steel exhaust is coming from the donor, mainly for noise reasons. The one that is on it at the moment is beyond loud. Is there really that much weight to be lost going back to chrome? I know those huge mounts at the front can be cut down...

I know its bad but I do like the 'Get out of my way I can withstand anything' look of a rubber bumpered B

[Merry]

S2Mike said:

.
You will find the ride height increases by almost 2 inches when you take the rubber off, then you can fit a lowering kit, to improve/stiffen the suspension.

Blimey they weigh that much? Lowering kit is already on, springs at front blocks at rear, although the front does need to settle a bit yet. Stiffer front anti roll bar too.

[Merry]

Been a while since i've updates this, so here goes! No pictures i'm afraid! Here is the list I had to do;


- Electronic ignition from the donor MGB
- Spax telescopic rear dampers
- Fan Belt
- a 12" steering wheel of some description
- Pair of re-built carbs (when I get round to them!)
- Possibly a rear anti-roll bar, getting conflicting info about that one!

Out of that i've done the electronic ignition, fanbelt and carbs. Its had new front disks too. Its been a struggle to be honest. The battery on it died, so was replaced, then started getting a few mental carb issues, such as not running off choke and generally being a pain.

After a lot of swearing I decided I had a leak on the inlet manifold, so off it came and new gaskets went on. Also took the opportunity to replace the tappet cover gaskets, which were leaking oil.

Since then its been a case of fiddling until it ran right, and after 3 days on and off its back running! Still to do are the rear anti roll bar and chrome bumpers. The off-side front wing looks to be made mostly of filler too, so i'm preping a replacement to go on after winter. As its in daily usage over winter i'll be looking into rust protection too.

Cant say its been a stress free introduction to classic motoring, but I have learnt a great deal!

[Merry]

So, I havent updated this in a while! Well since the last post I spent most of my time driving the B (and breaking down)

Here's how it stood for 12 months



Unfortunately the MOT man wasnt happy with this..





Which under the wing looked worse..







So, at this point I lost heart and stuck it in the garage. About 3 months later I decided to get stuck in, I got a mobile welder in to do the major work while I learnt to weld, then I could do the smaller bits - pics do the talking..







I had a new wing from my donor car, so fitted that..



Thought leaving it red was somewhat bandit so painted it, only roughly - I thought id save for the respray





Nearly ready..



Some further repairs..

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Done and Mot pass



So following this it became my main car for a few months again, following my MGFs pretty comprehensive eating of its head through cambelt failure (during an MOT).

I also did my first track day in it - Oulton Park. Id also fitted a new door, but hadnt painted it quite yet..



This pretty much gets me up to now, had just started the process of fitting Sebring Valances and loosing the bumpers..

Mocked up..



Front bumper off..



Some wing modification



And how shes sits as of today, also ran a can over the door so its all (sort of) one colour, that respray still very much financially out of reach! I've also fitted the smaller steering wheel.



I had intended to carry on with the debumpering process, however, following a curious phone call from someone after a harvest gold rubber bumper B (still with bumpers) I now have to decide whether or not to keep the B. As you can see we've been through a lot, its just a case of knowing when to move on, I just cant decide.

As ever comments etc welcome!

[Merry]

charltjr said:

Thanks for the update, always good to see old RC threads come back to life

As to selling it my only advice is what was the first thing that came into your head about selling or keeping it when you heard about someone wanting to buy it - do whatever that was.

Thanks, I know what you mean - I just cant remember what my first thought was, other than outright shock.

I'm having a look at a few options later in the week - if I see something else I really love it'll be time to move on, if not i'll be keeping the B. Trouble is I'm on a shoestring budget - I dont and probably wont have the money to go down the v8 route, or even for a decent respray in the near future.

In fact i've only spent £600 on the car over the last 3 and a bit years - and that includes maintenance items and some of the mods..