Hey Boonie!! Good model...has the chrome bumpers.The worst points are: Rust around the rear inner/outer sills and floor.You must check carefully for this..it can be a big job to repair successfully.As with all convertibles, check door alignment for sagging. Big-end and main bearings prone to wear, leading to low oil pressure, and bearing knock. Oil pressure when hot should be minimum of 45lbs at idle.They are a longstroke engine, 1800 cc, and not fast...but can bat along at a reasonable speed on the highway (100 mph). Need regular oil changes, and valve lash adjustment. Finally, if all is well in these departments, not a bad price to pay for a nice bit of UK motoring history!! Nick. PS, if you get it, and don't have one, I believe I have a good reference book somewhere for it!!
------------------ fierofetish.PFF'S self-confessed Snowbird!! Responsibility: the solution for our World's Dilemmas.. Yahoo messenger:nickcannspain MSN Messenger-nicholascann@hotmail.com
I owned one for several years - a 1979. From 1975 on they were smogged and slow with a single Zenith carb. A 1974 should still have the twin carbs on it which makes them a bit peppier ( but there are the associated problems with dual carbs). Mine was a 4 speed w/o overdrive, so with a rear gear in the 4's the engine spun at about 4K rpms at 70 MPH. They are very fun to own and drive, but they are prone to rust and electrical problems. Unless you are at least a backyard mechanic, I would pass on a british car.
------------------ Tim Red 88 Formula Auto 2.8 100K+ Miles
I don't care how much money you have, free stuff is always a good thing.
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03:43 PM
Marvin McInnis Member
Posts: 11599 From: ~ Kansas City, USA Registered: Apr 2002
The carbs are a piece of cake. There are a few tricks to tuning them, but once you get used to them you will agree they're once of the easiest carbs to work with you can find. Nothing to them. Just remeber to keep Marvel mystery oil in them (don't use motor oil, it slows the response).
Electronics can be rude, but there's not much to them either (or rather OF them). I think the '74 still had the generator rather than the alternator. That's an easy rebuild too.
Biggest problem I had was with transmission and suspension (A-frames, shock boxes, and axles) - but I will say I was very hard on it. If I had not beat the crap out of the poor thing, it probably would have served me alot better - but it was denifately a blast.
Bottom line, the MG is a neat little car but it's not as dependable as a Fiero (just in case that scares you a bit). If you get one, expect it to be a long term hobby.
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04:45 PM
Boondawg Member
Posts: 38235 From: Displaced Alaskan Registered: Jun 2003
Originally posted by Marvin McInnis: expect the Lucas electrics to nickel-and-dime you to death.
They don't call Joseph Lucas the Prince of Darkness for nothing.
Having said that, I used to have a 74 Midget. It was a completely different car, and pretty much made out of recycled beer cans. It was a complete riot to drive, though. I didn't really have too much trouble with the electrics.
FWIW, Mazda spent a fortune trying to give the Miata the MGB flavor.
Why did your friend park it?
[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 01-26-2006).]
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04:52 PM
Boondawg Member
Posts: 38235 From: Displaced Alaskan Registered: Jun 2003
He bought it to restore to pristeen condition. Started with the major stuff, then just could never find the time to work on it. He only drove it a few times becouse up here, if you ain't crazy, (like me) you got about 3 months of convertable weather. (Well, more like 1 month, really.)
It is not in GREAT running order, more like a fair running, good looking beater. Could use a complete resto, but I was just gonna thrash around town in it.
He will let me take forever to pay it off and he is giving it to me half price. Not sure I want it, I was just wondering if they are any fun!
I always found a way to replace the Lucas Alternators with a Delco-Remy. Sometimes would have to get a little creative with the mounting, but once it was hooked up and charging they were a lot less tempremental and easier to replace.
Like shown in the other thread I had a friend up in Maine that had a white one with a SBC 327 and auto trans in it. The eng was solid mounted to the frame and was kind of obnoxius. You couldn't stomp the throttle to many times because they were afraid it would torque the frame! Made it kind of useless except to set around car shows with the hood up.
Dave
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05:47 PM
Whuffo Member
Posts: 3000 From: San Jose, CA Registered: Jul 2003
Arrgh; Lucas electrics. They're the ones with the special three-position headlight switch; dim, flicker, and off.
They're fun little cars if you can keep it running yourself and don't mind fixing it regularly. But don't get one if you're going to pay someone else to keep it running for you...
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05:54 PM
phreakboy4 Member
Posts: 644 From: Coatesville,PA,USA Registered: Oct 2000
They are neat little cars, but can be interesting climbing in and out of, I used to have a website that was all V8 Mgb's it even had one that had a 454 crammed in there and pretty much looked stock from out side the car.
Go for it, that's a pretty good price for what is probably a rare car up in Alaska. Maybe now you'll have the only Fiero and the only MGB in Anchorage! My Dad used to have a '75 MBG about 10 years ago, from what I remember it was a very fun car but rust and old british electronics are always a problem. Unless you really need the money for something else you should go for it!
Less performance than a Fiero, less room, breaks more often, costs more to fix when it doesbreak....
Well said. But for Guys, it's the BEST ( Repeat: BEST ! ) car in the world on a Sunny day with the Top down. Turns Girls into Women and Women into Girls.
Lucas. Never ever ever ever leave home without a flashlight, and a roll of electrical tape. Use the tape to hold the flashlight on to the body so you can see where you are pushing the car.
OTOH, convertible tops are fairly inexpensive to have recovered on an MGB, and they do have a very loyal -if somewhat weird-following. I had one for about 8 months in the 80s, till I came around a curve one morning and drove it under a big oak tree that had fallen in the roadway overnight. That was umm...interesting.
I had a 78 and loved it during the summer. It was the worst car I ever owned went it rained and I only had the soft top on. Filled the floor pans with water, bad seal between the top and door windows. I did have the hardtop which was great in the winter and when it rained.
[This message has been edited by Earl-R (edited 01-27-2006).]
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02:16 AM
Boondawg Member
Posts: 38235 From: Displaced Alaskan Registered: Jun 2003
Turn around and run as fast as you can. It is unlikely you will be able to find anyone to work on one, parts are easy enough to find BUT there is a reason he is getting rid of it.
[This message has been edited by Kekipi (edited 01-27-2006).]
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02:46 AM
PFF
System Bot
Boondawg Member
Posts: 38235 From: Displaced Alaskan Registered: Jun 2003
I was in a sports car club that had quite a few of them. Some are pretty nice and pretty easy to work on. One of the girls at the restaurant had a hardtop and convertible. I painted the hardtop and the bottom half all around had to have panels welded in and bondoed. Her convertible ran good too, but it needed 2 fenders, 2 doors, 2 qtr panels, a hood and trunk plus a new floor on both sides. My point is check it out carefully for rust. Now another guy in that club has 2 just like new and he got both brand new with 289 Ford V8s installed. They run like a bat outta hell and he gets into races and surprises a lot of guys. If you do buy it, Id def consider buying the kit to change it over. Its almost like an AC Cobra. I may be able to find a few pics of his showing the engine compartment if you want.
I don't know much about them, ut I do have one experience with one. I was around 17, don't know what year the car war. My wife (girlfriend at the time) and I were driving back to her place when we saw one for sale on the side of the road. We decided to stop and look at it. The owner of the car came out of the house to talk to us about it. We spoke briefly and he said why don't you take her for a spin? I explained that we liked the car, but were not really in the market to buy it. He said he did not care and threw me the keys. We took it for a short drive, and it was the most fun I had ever had driving a car. My wife still talks about that drive anytime we see an MG.
I want to get another Fiero. She wants me to get an MG. That is the impression the car has left on her. This was almost 20 years ago.
I had a 79 MGB and pretty much redid everything on it. Parts prices were actually quite reasonable(Moss Motors and Victoria British). You could actually order almost the entire car from these two places(be sure to get both catalogues as they have great diagrams!!!)-even a new body! The heater was horrible on mine and the car was drafty too! I hardly drove it in the winter in Georgia! The first few times I drove it made me very insecure as the car was so little that even hitting a HonDUH would have been near fatal. Of course, after I started riding a motorcycle, my comfort level improved quite a bit in the MGB!
