Anyone into those old MGB-GT's?

[dickedup]

Found a cache of three of them at a little place in central Texas. Very weird to see so many of that particular model clumped together. They are in pretty good shape.

[wantanelise]

I like them, actually i just saw one a few minutes ago in BRG. MG's are simple, fun little car's and the hardtop take's away half the fun. Hence the reason the GT was never that popular.

[Noble]

I came "this close" to buying a 1970 MGB-GT several months ago.

It was BRG with black interior and overall a fairly nice car, on top of that the owner was motivated and I probably could have gotten the car for a song. As with any 40 year old British car however, it needed a bunch of little details taken care of, nothing that would be a huge undertaking but at this point and time, I just don't find myself with time or desire to be tinkering in the garage. Ultimately, I decided to pass and let someone else have all the fun.

Noble

[milehitom]

Seems people who have older sports cars always have more than one of the same model. My brother had two '71s MGB-GTs. Finally sold both to another guy, so now that guy has two. Me...I had two '80 Fiat spiders, but let one go to make room for the Elise. It's always good to have more than one of the old sports cars, so at least one is running! It feels weird having only spider.

Tom

[...m...]

...what's their story?..i'm in contact with the president of the alamo MG association - in fact, we'll be meeting in a week or two to plan this year's san antonio all-british car day...

[dickedup]

Originally Posted by ...m...

...what's their story?..i'm in contact with the president of the alamo MG association - in fact, we'll be meeting in a week or two to plan this year's san antonio all-british car day...

Three of them all lined up outside the fence of this salvage yard. I'm in California currently but will have a compadre shoot some photos later today or tomorrow.

What caught my eye was that I have not seen three MGB-GT's together in over 25 years or so.

[dickedup]

Originally Posted by milehitom

Seems people who have older sports cars always have more than one of the same model. My brother had two '71s MGB-GTs. Finally sold both to another guy, so now that guy has two. Me...I had two '80 Fiat spiders, but let one go to make room for the Elise. It's always good to have more than one of the old sports cars, so at least one is running! It feels weird having only spider.

Tom

Have a 1957 Austin-Healy 100-6 under a tarp in my garage but I highly doubt I'll be able to find another like it anytime soon. Need to get the restoration going... but it's always one thing or another. It's been under that tarp over 15 years now.

[dickedup]

Originally Posted by wantanelise

I like them, actually i just saw one a few minutes ago in BRG. MG's are simple, fun little car's and the hardtop take's away half the fun. Hence the reason the GT was never that popular.

Never cared that much for the hardtops either. Many Rednecks truly enjoyed them however especially those that lived in the northern part of the country. In it's day parts were VERY plentiful and they are easy as pie to work on.

Good stuff muchachos.

[Minnis]

it's all fun and great to learn on. I recommend an old british for anyone looking to learn mechanics/repair/restoration

[dickedup]

Originally Posted by Minnis

it's all fun and great to learn on. I recommend an old british for anyone looking to learn mechanics/repair/restoration

Learn your chops on these classic old examples of English Engineering and it will serve you well.

Nice lil' Bug Eye compadre. Fyunny that the Brits called 'em Frog Eyed.

Why o' why did that thing not have a trunk lid?

[...m...]

Originally Posted by dickedup

Learn your chops on these classic old examples of English Engineering and it will serve you well.

...except for the lucas electrics - those'll only serve to drive you mad...

[Drmike]

Originally Posted by dickedup

Learn your chops on these classic old examples of English Engineering and it will serve you well.

Nice lil' Bug Eye compadre. Fyunny that the Brits called 'em Frog Eyed.

Why o' why did that thing not have a trunk lid?

I bought a frog eye when i was 15. i bought it from a farmer. it had a small tree growing through the rusted out floor when i got it. we had to cut the tree down under the car - the car was a mess. the rear wings were riddled with bullet holes! great fun car though. sliding door windows no door locks - it was a good looking car. after that i got hold of a mk1 mg midget/sprite and friends had MGBGTs - which came in real handy seeing as at the time i was working for Austin Rover (ex Pressed steel fisher) and we still used to press all the panels for aftermarket companies at our Swindon plant. and of course I never ever-ever drove my car to work parked it in the woodstore in the patternshop where I worked and swapped out front wings, bonnet, boot, doors front assembly etc etc etc ...that would be naughty.

This was back in late 1980s. Back then we still pressed all panels for MG midget, MGBGT and roadsters. I think British H took over ownership of the tools later.

Ive owned a bunch of old brit sports cars - the most fun for me without doubt was the Triumph GT6. that thing was nuts (in a straight line).

[glb]

The great Richard Thompson has a good song called "MGB-GT"

[cadfael_tex]

I've always kind of liked the styling. The tradeoff to the loss of open air motoring is you don't get nearly as wet in the rain Also, IIRC there had a fairly useable rear seat right?

[dickedup]

Originally Posted by ...m...

...except for the lucas electrics - those'll only serve to drive you mad...

What I used to do was Scheisscan all that quality stuff in my old Brit cars and replace with Bosch components. That was only the half of it though. The other major issue was all the lead-ins off the main wire harness connecting the gauges. These were typically little brass spade connections completely exposed to the atmosphere!

Getting the electricals sorted out was the major issue on these vehicles. The other one was that the English have never invented a gasket that did not leak. Some would call that sheet off oil all over the undercarriage... British Rustproofing.

This is why God had us invent Permagasket!

[SweetDaddyD]

Originally Posted by dickedup

What I used to do was Scheisscan all that quality stuff in my old Brit cars and replace with Bosch components. That was only the half of it though. The other major issue was all the lead-ins off the main wire harness connecting the gauges. These were typically little brass spade connections completely exposed to the atmosphere!

Getting the electricals sorted out was the major issue on these vehicles. The other one was that the English have never invented a gasket that did not leak. Some would call that sheet off oil all over the undercarriage... British Rustproofing.

This is why God had us invent Permagasket!

Even that sheet of oil didn't stop my MG from rusting. lol. When a car was junk when it was brand new, being 30 years old certainly didn't help it any.

Almost related but my personal favorite absolute crap vehicle highlight was Fords problem with the OIL PANS rusting through! My dad actually had to replace a rusted through oil pan on an F250 of his. The great part is even after changing their engine line they still didn't fix that problem and he got to do it again on another vehicle later on.
Amazing that those clowns were actually able to improve Jag and Land Rover a bit. (lets not get carried away, I said a bit- you still couldn't pay me to own one. [Defender 90 excluded])

[dickedup]

Originally Posted by Drmike

I bought a frog eye when i was 15. i bought it from a farmer. it had a small tree growing through the rusted out floor when i got it. we had to cut the tree down under the car - the car was a mess. the rear wings were riddled with bullet holes! great fun car though. sliding door windows no door locks - it was a good looking car. after that i got hold of a mk1 mg midget/sprite and friends had MGBGTs - which came in real handy seeing as at the time i was working for Austin Rover (ex Pressed steel fisher) and we still used to press all the panels for aftermarket companies at our Swindon plant. and of course I never ever-ever drove my car to work parked it in the woodstore in the patternshop where I worked and swapped out front wings, bonnet, boot, doors front assembly etc etc etc ...that would be naughty.

This was back in late 1980s. Back then we still pressed all panels for MG midget, MGBGT and roadsters. I think British H took over ownership of the tools later.

Ive owned a bunch of old brit sports cars - the most fun for me without doubt was the Triumph GT6. that thing was nuts (in a straight line).

Brings back the memories for sure. Back in the seventies and early eighties Austin, Texas of all places was chock full of everything English that had wheels. Really weird stuff. TVR's, Morgan's, Jensen-Healey's etc.

What this meaned for a young Fuzz like myself at the time was that you could pick up these little gems for pennies on the dollar after the original owner became sick of visiting his mechanic 3 or more times a week.

Your own "panel & bodyworks" upgrade story reminds me of a tale I read once where a GI sent an entire JEEP back home from Europe after WWII... piece by piece through the Army Postal Service.

Well done mister!

[dickedup]

Originally Posted by SweetDaddyD

Even that sheet of oil didn't stop my MG from rusting. lol. When a car was junk when it was brand new, being 30 years old certainly didn't help it any.

Almost related but my personal favorite absolute crap vehicle highlight was Fords problem with the OIL PANS rusting through! My dad actually had to replace a rusted through oil pan on an F250 of his. The great part is even after changing their engine line they still didn't fix that problem and he got to do it again on another vehicle later on.
Amazing that those clowns were actually able to improve Jag and Land Rover a bit. (lets not get carried away, I said a bit- you still couldn't pay me to own one. [Defender 90 excluded])

Holy crap amigo... at least the MGB had a somewhat sorted out suspension. One of my very first British cars was an MG Midget. The suspention on THAT thing was akin to a coal carts!

You had to pull preventive maintenance on these babies or you were doomed. Rusting certainly was an issue for many models... but then again other manufacturers during this era also built rust buckets.

[lotusforsale]

Owned a '70 BGT back in the early to mid '80's. Was my daily driver, I didn't know any better.
Agreed that they are great cars to learn on for basic wrenching, from rebuilding hydraulic everything (even hydraulic shocks) to running down electric gremlins, great fun and easy to figure out.

The 1970 was the only year with the split rear bumper...my favorite.

Had back 'seats' like the Evora! Actually, the seats were a padded/upholstered piece that covered the TWO six volt batteries wired in line. One battery mounted on either side of the drive shaft for weight distribution.

[Noble]

Originally Posted by SweetDaddyD

...you still couldn't pay me to own one. [Defender 90 excluded])

It's funny you mention that. There is a D90 only 2 blocks from my house that I see on a regular basis that seems to rarely get driven. I always secretly find myself hoping to see a FOR SALE sign on it. Yeah, like I need two off road vehicles....

Noble