Project MGB:

[speeder]

I often get asked if I collect cars. My usual answer is, "not intentionally."

They do seem to have a way of finding me, however. I'm in Minneapolis for a spell and picked up this 1975 MGB from a close friend. He does construction and it came in the garage of a house they were flipping a few years back, the seller threw in the car and gave him the title. No idea why it was parked in the first place but it has been off the road for 30 years. Pretty sure was one owner when my friend got it.

My friend is no mechanic, so this little project car has sat in his driveway since he got it with no real plan. I'd seen it before and never had much interest, figured it was a rust bucket. Most of you know that Minnesota is not the place to hunt for old British cars, assuming you have any interest in them in the first place. 1975 is also not one of the very desirable years with the rubber bumpers and early smog equipment, (air pump/EGR), but it has some advantages in terms of being smog exempt in CA. It's the last year for that. It also has some sentimental value for me because I worked at the British car dealer where it was sold in 1975 as a 16 y.o. car runner...I was one of the kids who parked cars and fetched them for customers or mechanics when they needed them. It goes without saying that a lot of serious road testing occurred in that parking ramp with TR-6s, V-12 Jags and Jenson Interceptors throughout plus it was a Pontiac dealer that sold British cars as a side line so there were Trans Ams and GTOs at all times as well. Good times.

Anyhow, on to the car. As I mentioned, not the best year but with stuff this old, condition kind of trumps everything else. Turns out that it's in pretty remarkable condition under the circumstances...rust is extremely minimal and seems to be confined to the rear fenders ahead of the rear wheels only. Doors, floors, trunk, suspension points...all excellent. It was rust-proofed when new and then most likely never driven in a Minnesota winter. Sports cars are often garaged for the winter months here. It's also a miracle that it did not get moldy or rodent infested in his garage for 30 years, the interior and wiring are great. It's kind of shocking, to be honest. Must have been a great garage!

Of course it needs the usual everything wrt brake hydraulics, a new fuel tank, carb gone through and other systems checked. It's 100% stock, dealer serviced and has 65k miles. I removed the radiator and took it to a great radiator shop here, (been around over 100 years), turned out that a young employee there worked at the biggest independent Brit car garage in town for years and knows absolutely everything about these cars, parts sources, etc. He has a home shop and is available for side work but so far, I'm doing ok on my own. The stars just lined up.

Here is the car, cleaned-up a little but basically as I got it:

[speeder]

I rebuilt the distributor yesterday, it was completely gummed-up from sitting and both advance mechanisms were frozen. I still need to find a new o-ring for it but it's as good as new now:






Today was the carburetor, it's a Zenith Stromberg vacuum carb which I'm familiar with from similar Zeniths on old Mercedes-Benz cars. They are actually fine if working right and like everything else on the car so far, it's in basically great condition. Unlike the gas tank, which had to be trashed, someone must have drained the float bowl because there was no varnish in the bowl at all. Diaphragm looks like new, throttle shaft seems tight, should work well. All it needs is a couple of gaskets and o-rings for sure:


It. has a strange little blow-off or backfire valve on the butterfly valve, never seen anything like it:

[speeder]

Having a pleasant time working on it in the driveway, temps are around 75 degrees.

[herr_oberst]

Road trip! Minnesota to LA in an MGB, Peter Egan style

Nobody's favorite year, obviously, but that looks like it's in good condition and now it's in good hands.

[speeder]

Yep, fall road trip. Maybe even get ambitious and take the long way!

I forgot these two gems:

[A930Rocket]

Not a great car, but it’s in great shape.

Is that tire the 10th month of 1981?

[Steve Carlton]

I bought a 1977 MGB from a wrecking yard that used to sell repos. It was red with white stripes along the rockers and in really great condition. Just needed a little tuning and carb adjustment. I found a good mechanic at a shop called John Bull in Pleasant Hill. It didn't take much. I used to buy stuff like this to flip. I enjoyed that one. Have fun!

[Bill Douglas]

Wow, that's a really nice one Denis. around here they are getting a bit ratty. That's unless someone has been to a lot of trouble over it but theses ones never seem to be for sale.

I like the color too.

[McLovin]

I admire your energy and enthusiasm

[smadsen]

Moss Motors, located in Goleta, almost convenient for you. Just about any part you could want for British cars.

You might also consider backdating the Federal rubber bumpers to the late 60's/early 70's metal/chrome.

[greglepore]

If you backdate the bumpers you have to change out the suspension (springs at least) as the rubbber bumper cars are also significantly higher.

Had a 70 b that my ex let rot after she insisted on having it when we separated.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by speeder

Ithe interior and wiring are great.

That's weird, and impressive because Brit car electrics normally aren't even great when new!

Originally Posted by speeder

Those look like they've still got some life in them! I think you can replace them when you get to LA.

While the rubber bumper cars aren't as attractive as the prior chrome bumper cars, they aren't that bad. It's still a good looking little car. I'd love to have something like that. I've had a couple of miatas, and while they are great little cars, they are lacking some of the character of the classics.

I love the dash and interior.

[HobieMarty]

Nice looking MGB. My Mother had a 1977 MGB when we lived in Destin, Florida. It was brand new, tan and had the soft top, a hard top with a pop open sunroof by Snugtop, and the tonneau cover. It also had the electric overdrive, wire wheels, and a stripe that looked like an arrow that I have never seen on another one, oh and it had an 8-track player, it was pretty well optioned out. That was a fun car for beach living and was the motivation for my first car, a Triumph TR6. Have fun with it!!!

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[BK911]

Love the color.
Looks to be in very nice shape.
Good luck and have fun!

[KevinTodd]

Looks clean and reasonably unmolested--perhaps just left alone too long. Looks like you'll get it sorted out and roadworthy pretty quickly!

Enjoy!

[Steve Carlton]

I also like the color. Different and pleasing. Does anyone make a color like that these days? Do you think it'll come up and stay up?

[Seahawk]

Late 60's, early 70 British sports cars kept me in beer during HS helping friends "work on" theirs.

The color and shape are cool.

I pulled up next to one a week or so ago. He was out driving the twists in the area of my farm.

They are small!

Best of luck with it, Denis...please update whenever

[speeder]

Thanks, all! I love the color as well, I think it’s called Bracken Orange. Much less common than red or white on those cars. My absolute favorite on a steel bumper MGB would be the other orange, the brighter conventional orange.

I think that my color was ordered at times because it doesn’t show rust as bad but the car is dry for the most part!

[speeder]

Originally Posted by smadsen

Moss Motors, located in Goleta, almost convenient for you. Just about any part you could want for British cars.

You might also consider backdating the Federal rubber bumpers to the late 60's/early 70's metal/chrome.

I’ve already placed and received a good sized order from Moss but yesterday I made a great discovery; there is a big Brit car shop here in Mpls, (6 blocks from where the car is!), who will sell me anything from the Moss catalogue off their shelf for the same price. They have a large parts department and get most of it from Moss themselves but do $8-10k a month with them so they get wholesale pricing and free shipping. As great as e-commerce can be for people in remote places, there is nothing better than walking up to a counter and having someone hand you the parts you need *right now.*

[911 Rod]

Very cool. I always wanted an old MG.
Is that single stage paint? I bet it would pop with a polish.