How to further complicate your life...

[Adam]

... buy a project MGB!



It's a '69 MGB (Yeah, I know.. it's a British-Leyland), which is a stalled project of a good friend of mine. Since his wife has had a baby and the fact that he's moving house he's forced to sell it as-is. So, my Dad and I bought it together. It'll be our new project. Dad's very familiar with MGBs, as he did a ground up restoration on my Mother's '68 B Roadster, which incidentally, she's owned since brand new.



My buddy has spent lots of money on the mechanicals, so really, what you see only requires assembly, new paint, all the cosmetics and a new interior. I paid a relative pittance for it, too. It'll stay where it is (at his place) for the time being, until late next month, when we'll be able to give it a home.

I guess it will now get to sit beside my Mother's pristine '68 MGB (Mk II) and my own (stalled) '66 Honda S600 project. But we're getting into Winter, which we all know is the perfect time to work on cars (brrrr) so it'll probably be on the road to enjoy our coming Summer.

I might start a pictorial diary of the restoration if anyone is interested.

[RickM]

God Bless you, Adam.

[lendaddy]

My first real car was a '78 MGB. I spent years and thousands on that thing! I lived it, breathed it, blah blah. Can be a fun little car, just don't expect much and you won't be dissapointed I think I blew my "hotrodded" MG motor 4 times On the upshot, you can literally build one from catalouge parts and the parts are cheap. Have fun and best of luck.

[turbo6bar]

I hope someone paid you to take the car. It looks rough. Around here, you gotta practically give them away when they need work. Have fun. I learned a lot about cars wrenching on my old MGBs. Seems their tendency to break forced me to learn how to work on cars.

I've had my eyes on a Mini Cooper (the old ones). I'm thinking hot engine, minilites, refreshed cosmetics. They're pretty cheap on Ebay.
jürgen

[fintstone]

Used to have a '73 MGBGT......I think MGs are good trainers for future Porsche owners. If you can keep one running....you are good! Mine was a blast in the late '70s! Sounds like fun!

[Zeke]

I had a '50 TD and a '36 SA. On those, you needed to be a woodworker as much as a metal worker. The SA doors had wooden framing inside and up thru the cowl. The TD had wood floors in places and wood as a bulkhead in front of the gas tank. All this the best of my memory. These cars have been gone since the early '70s

[Adam]

It looks a lot worse in the photos than it really is. A very solid, rust-free car. Once I get it home, I'll clean it up and take some better photos. I'm under no illusions with this car, either. I know what to expect in terms of performance and reliability. I've grown up with one in the family.

We'll be doing all the body and paint prep work ourselves and the mechanical package is complete, requiring some assembly. You'll be surprised what a good paintjob and some fresh chrome does to a car. I'm debating chroming the wheels, but the cost may be prohibitive - I could buy some very nice 16" Fuchs for the same money!

It's not really as far off the road as it looks.

[MFAFF]

Don't think it was BL in '69. Not to say they are the best built cars tho.

We've had MGBs for a total of about 14 years now.....only been let down once. Not bad to say the least.

Like P-cars they are better if you use them very often.

Nice cheap fun car, but no sports car.

[turbo6bar]

Sounds like a great project for you and your dad. That should be a lot of fun. If I had the choice between restoring a 73RS by myself or a 60 yr old forklift with my dad, I'd pick the latter. Consider yourself lucky.

Have fun,
jürgen