1972 MG MGB GT Manual Overdrive

Highlights

• Chrome-bumper model
• Manual gearbox with overdrive
• In current ownership since 2018
• Over £8,500 spent on recommissioning in 2025
• New tyres all round, fitted in June 2025

Overview

Few cars capture the spirit of the classic British grand tourer quite as neatly as this one. Add a fastback roof and lifting tailgate to the MGB's crisp lines and you get a car many regard as innately handsome with perfect proportions. Britain certainly agreed, and by 1970 the country was buying 10 GTs for every roadster, making the tin-top the nation's favourite MGB.

Better still, the tough, simple and gutsy 1.8-litre B-Series comes paired with a wonderfully slick short-throw gearchange. Inside, there's room for two six-foot adults, and the rear bench folds flat to reveal a big, low boot for luggage. Throw in comprehensive parts support and you've got a classic that's made for long-distance cruising, weekend after weekend.

This 1972 example is a chrome-bumper GT with all the early-shape charm, finished in classic white and sitting pretty on silver-painted wire wheels. The paint holds a good gloss across the majority of the car, the chrome's bright and there's overdrive on hand for relaxed motorway miles. A thorough 2025 recommissioning sorted the brakes, cooling, fuel, ignition and clutch hydraulics, which ticks off a lot of the potential mechanical jobs.

Can't you just picture it on a summer B-road, overdrive flicked in and the B-Series singing away? It's a handsome, honest and usable chrome GT on fresh rubber, and we reckon it's ready for plenty of happy miles to come. If you've been waiting for the right MGB GT to call your own, this lovely old thing deserves a very close look indeed.

History and Documentation

• First registered in the UK on September 5th 1972
• In current ownership since 2018
• Documented services: May 2025 (recommissioning service), June 9th 2020 @ 82,943 miles, June 27th 2003
• Recommissioned by Cotswold Classic Car Restorations in May and June 2025 (over £8,600 on paper across three invoices, tyres included), with a new battery, new front calipers with pads and flexi hoses, new front discs, new rear backplates, two brake drums, two rear wheel cylinders, a rear brake shoe set, two brake adjusters, brake hoses, fabricated new rear brake pipes, a new fuel pump (upgraded replacement), a braided fuel hose kit and carb hoses with inline filter, a 123 distributor, an uprated coil, a new radiator and radiator cap, new top, bottom and two heater hoses, new clutch master and slave cylinders with a new clutch hose, and fresh engine, gearbox and diff oils
• Four new 165HR14 tyres with heavy-duty inner tubes and rim bands fitted on June 6th 2025 at 83,100 miles, when the overdrive switch was also cleaned and retested OK and the brakes re-bled
• Paperwork includes older MOT certificates, old tax discs, a Haynes workshop manual, an MGB Driver's Handbook and an MG Owners Club parts catalogue
• A set of photographs shows the shell stripped and painted; the vendor tells us the car was rebuilt in the early 2000s
• Most recent MOT expired May 11th 2026; registered in the historic tax class
• HPI clear

Interior

• Black vinyl bolstered seats with ribbed blue-grey cloth centres in generally good order
• Cloth centres are a little faded, with a reddish stain on one backrest
• A retrim would be a rewarding way to put your own stamp on the cabin
• Aftermarket wood-rim steering wheel with alloy spokes, plus a wooden gear knob wearing an MG badge
• Smiths speedometer, rev counter and oil/water gauge, with an overdrive toggle switch on the dash
• Padded vinyl dash top shows no visible cracks
• Pioneer face-off head unit
• Navy grained vinyl door cards are tidy, and chrome MG sill plates are fitted
• Rear bench folds down to a tidy navy-carpeted load area
• Cream headlining looks sound
• In all, it looks very usable

Exterior

• Even gaps across the majority of the car, with good gloss to the white paint and bright chrome on the bumpers, overriders, grille surround, side trim and window frames
• Rear valance below the bumper (offside of the plate) has a patch of paint loss with surface rust of around 15-20cm, plus smaller rust spots along the lower edge
• Bonnet leading edge shows small stone chips and light rust spots
• Window aperture flange next to the glass has crazed paint with rust coming through; the vendor also mentions minor rust patches around the seals
• Inner rear wheelarch lip has flaking paint and corrosion on the arch return
• Light stone chips on the lower offside rear wing near the bumper
• Light chrome pitting on the front bumper lower blade and the rear bumper lower edge
• Silver-painted wire wheels with chrome two-eared knock-off spinners wear new tyres with good tread
• Bright sill finishers are fitted over the sills
• Chrome door mirrors, a roof aerial, a locking fuel cap and period black-and-silver number plates are fitted

Mechanical

• 1,798cc B-Series four-cylinder petrol engine producing 95bhp, with a five-bearing crank and twin SU carburettors
• 4-speed manual gearbox with overdrive sends drive to the rear wheels
• Front discs and rear drums, with unassisted rack-and-pinion steering
• Kenlowe electric cooling fan, plus a 123 distributor and uprated coil fitted in 2025
• The vendor tells us it's slow to start on cold mornings, then runs well, and the overdrive works perfectly
• Some front suspension corrosion which may suit a refurbishment, a worthwhile project helped by the MGB's comprehensive parts support
• With its brakes, cooling, fuel, ignition and clutch hydraulics refreshed, it's ready to enjoy, with some opportunities for fettling

Summary

This is a handsome chrome-bumper MGB GT in classic white, sitting on wire wheels and fresh tyres, with overdrive for easy-going cruising. The paint shows good gloss across the majority of the car, and a 2025 recommissioning means a great deal of important mechanical work has already been seen to. It's ready to use and enjoy, but with some areas that would enable a new owner to tinker, so if you've been dreaming of an early GT with real charm, here's your chance.

To arrange a viewing, click the 'Book Viewing' button located under the 'Place Bid' button. Viewings can be booked up until the day before the auction ends, after which the option will change to 'Contact Seller' for further enquiries. This seller is located in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire.