New to me 78 MBG
Discussion
SO first time posting on here despite lurking for many a year.
finally have something worth posting about and will likely be updated infrequently, working offshore i have either lots of time to work on it or nothing at all. but when i do make progress it hopefully shall be rapid.
Previous car history is pretty standard
Renault Clio 1.2 in extreme trim. The insurance for this was mental but i was 17.
Astra 1.8
Audi A5 2.0tdi - Bought it for a purpose which was to travel from one end of the country to the other which it did in style
BMW M135i - Loved this and if it wasnt for the missus hating it and the dogs would still be here,(it going one wheel drive sideways on a dual carriageway at 70 when trying to pass a lorry in the rain was the end of it)
and then the favorite of the lot
Kia Stinger - Everyone seems to hate it on Ph but it did us marvellously for 6 years, dogs fitted in the boot, it towed out wee camper. And the smiles when i was alone and foot down. I ran it on Allseasons so was a little safer driving in winter in the Highlands.
Anyway onto the reason for this rant of a post.
Its a 78 MGB, it was a family friends who fell outa love so it has sat neglected on the street for the past 2.5years.
So far it refused to be towed, so had to be winched onto a trailer before a kinda shove off and then a torturous push in the workshop.
It as said has been neglected, but was well loved for the years it was driven with 30K miles put onto it between MOT's the last being in 2019.
First task was to charge the battery and have a look at the seized handbrake.
half way through and looks like the handbrake cable has seized or the lever but iv removed the pins so i can at least roll the car up and onto some ramps for a little bit of height.
A look at the rust cropping up into the paintwork
finally have something worth posting about and will likely be updated infrequently, working offshore i have either lots of time to work on it or nothing at all. but when i do make progress it hopefully shall be rapid.
Previous car history is pretty standard
Renault Clio 1.2 in extreme trim. The insurance for this was mental but i was 17.
Astra 1.8
Audi A5 2.0tdi - Bought it for a purpose which was to travel from one end of the country to the other which it did in style
BMW M135i - Loved this and if it wasnt for the missus hating it and the dogs would still be here,(it going one wheel drive sideways on a dual carriageway at 70 when trying to pass a lorry in the rain was the end of it)
and then the favorite of the lot
Kia Stinger - Everyone seems to hate it on Ph but it did us marvellously for 6 years, dogs fitted in the boot, it towed out wee camper. And the smiles when i was alone and foot down. I ran it on Allseasons so was a little safer driving in winter in the Highlands.
Anyway onto the reason for this rant of a post.
Its a 78 MGB, it was a family friends who fell outa love so it has sat neglected on the street for the past 2.5years.
So far it refused to be towed, so had to be winched onto a trailer before a kinda shove off and then a torturous push in the workshop.
It as said has been neglected, but was well loved for the years it was driven with 30K miles put onto it between MOT's the last being in 2019.
First task was to charge the battery and have a look at the seized handbrake.
half way through and looks like the handbrake cable has seized or the lever but iv removed the pins so i can at least roll the car up and onto some ramps for a little bit of height.
A look at the rust cropping up into the paintwork
Skyedriver said:
Turbobanana said:
It's not an MGB though. It's an MBG 
An NBGNo bloody Good
Many years ago an older lady colleague had some spare cash and decided she wanted an MGB GT. I offered to help with the search. Two local cars were identified.
The first was a very shiny primrose yellow example, with LE alloys and a Webasto sunroof. Very smart it looked too: good shutlines, no rust in the usual seams, interior that didn't smell of rising damp - you get the picture. It had kerbside appeal by the bucketload. Unfortunately it drove like a badly-assembled Meccano kit and practically none of the electrics - including the overdrive - worked.
The second was a tired-looking, Russet Brown car that appeared ripe for restoration but was at least considerably cheaper than the yellow one. It did, however, have a clean and long MoT, fabulous interior (although worn carpets) and drove like a well-sorted MGB does. All the spend had been on the bits you can't see.
My colleague was perplexed when I recommended the latter, and put her in touch with a local bodyshop. A deal was done and we took the car straight round to the paint guys.
Three weeks later to the day, the car emerged in BRG and with a smart-looking LE-spec front spoiler. Despite the quick turnaround, they'd done a brilliant job and the car now looked as well as it drove. She kept the car for years, and the only time it ever failed to proceed was when a wire came loose from the coil.
Keep the faith OP - it's possible to make a silk purse from a sow's ear after all.
Turbobanana said:
That's a bit harsh. I wish the OP well with the restorration.
agree apologies OP but I had an MGB back in the mid 70's , the sort of car that would give the marque/model a bad name. Every weekend something else to fix. bought it with a slipping clutch so fixed that when i got it home, then exhaust, kingpins, dampers exhaust, batteries(2x6V) hood, fuel tank, exhaust, overdrive.... traded it for a Ford Consul 2.5V6 (mark 1 Granada shape) a better car all round
bangerhoarder said:
Then get rid of the bumpers when that wing comes off.
Am I the only one who thinks the rubber bumper models look fine and think a change to chrome bumpers on a car that originally had rubber bumpers is a bit of a faux pas. Don't get me wrong I like chrome bumpers and had them on a 73 MGB back in the 80s but am now starting to think the rubber bumper models look fine and my train of thought is now like it was in the late 70s when I first saw them, look more modern.Perhaps the age of being impressed by loads of chrome on a car are fading for me these days.
There's something appealing for a rubber bumper MGB in that Russet Brown that BL did, perhaps I've come full circle now.
M138 said:
bangerhoarder said:
Then get rid of the bumpers when that wing comes off.
Am I the only one who thinks the rubber bumper models look fine and think a change to chrome bumpers on a car that originally had rubber bumpers is a bit of a faux pas. Don't get me wrong I like chrome bumpers and had them on a 73 MGB back in the 80s but am now starting to think the rubber bumper models look fine and my train of thought is now like it was in the late 70s when I first saw them, look more modern.Perhaps the age of being impressed by loads of chrome on a car are fading for me these days.
There's something appealing for a rubber bumper MGB in that Russet Brown that BL did, perhaps I've come full circle now.
Early rubber bumper cars got a bad reputation because the handling was worse than the older lower chrome bumper cars. At some point the suspension was modified (anti roll bars?) and the late rubber bumpers cars handling was much improved.
I agree that the rubber bumpers now have a strange period appeal as well as being practical!
I agree that the rubber bumpers now have a strange period appeal as well as being practical!
mac96 said:
Early rubber bumper cars got a bad reputation because the handling was worse than the older lower chrome bumper cars. At some point the suspension was modified (anti roll bars?) and the late rubber bumpers cars handling was much improved.
I agree that the rubber bumpers now have a strange period appeal as well as being practical!
Yes. The 1974 models were made compliant with the US regs on a tiny budget, because BL had just collapsed into bankruptcy and the plan was that the MGB was imminently going to be replaced by the MG versions of the TR7.I agree that the rubber bumpers now have a strange period appeal as well as being practical!
Hence virtually no pressing changes, bolt-on bumpers, raised suspension and deletion of the front anti-roll bar (on roadsters at least, iirc). The higher ride height made the back end prone to roll-induced oversteer, so removing the front bar 'balanced' things by making the front end just as bad.
When it was clear that the MGB was going to be around for a while yet and there was a little more money in the pot, for 1977 they reintroduced the front bar and put on a rear bar for the first time, which brought the handling back to similar levels to pre-1974 but (especially with the GT) a better ride due to the longer compression travel.
The LEs had further tweaks to the spring and damper rates to tighten up the body control, which (like the front chin spoiler, wheels, side graphics and coloured badge) were intended for full production (ultimately to result in the 'B getting the O-Series engine) but ended up being only a run-out spec after the shock closure of Abingdon.
Rubber-bumper Bs - at least the 1977-on ones - are nothing like as bad as reputed and in many ways are slightly but usefully superior to the earlier cars. It's worth noting that, contrary to the myth, MGB sales increased significantly in the rubber bumper era. The 'B GT had its second best ever sales year in 1978 and the late 70s/early 80s saw sales matching those of the late 60s. It was the early/mid 70s that were a real slump, mostly because of wider economic conditions.
Turbobanana said:
The second was a tired-looking, Russet Brown car that appeared ripe for restoration but was at least considerably cheaper than the yellow one. It did, however, have a clean and long MoT, fabulous interior (although worn carpets) and drove like a well-sorted MGB does. All the spend had been on the bits you can't see.
...
Three weeks later to the day, the car emerged in BRG and with a smart-looking LE-spec front spoiler. Despite the quick turnaround, they'd done a brilliant job and the car now looked as well as it drove. She kept the car for years, and the only time it ever failed to proceed was when a wire came loose from the coil.
I must have driven dozens - probably scores - of MGBs in my time as a motoring journo, and it very quickly became a rule of thumb that the prettier they were the worst they drove....
Three weeks later to the day, the car emerged in BRG and with a smart-looking LE-spec front spoiler. Despite the quick turnaround, they'd done a brilliant job and the car now looked as well as it drove. She kept the car for years, and the only time it ever failed to proceed was when a wire came loose from the coil.
I had the pleasure of driving a few exceptionally good restorations of early MGBs which were joyous to drive, but mostly it was a case of lustrous paintwork and an engine bay full of chromed bits hiding a car that drove like a steamroller. Often chrome conversions of later cars, with telescopic dampers and polybush kits and 'Stage 1' engines and all the 'right stuff but which rattled, shimmied, whined and stuttered their way down the road like the disparate collection of Moss Europe catalogue parts they were.
By contrast a scruffy 'inset grille' GT with horrible glass-fibre wings, peeling red paint (apart from one blue rear wing and a white tailgate) and a towbar on the back drove like it had been fettled by Lotus despite being entirely stock. Just in very good mechanical condition throughout and well maintained. It had the sharpest, smoothest B-Series I've ever encountered and was an absolute pleasure to drive.
Gassing Station | Classic Cars and Yesterday's Heroes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff