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Hey Brian -
I know you'd like to see the car I'm driving around right now - CLICKY-CLICKY . We just restored this '69 BGT for a customer that lives in Alabama . He wants to drive it down , so he told me to put a mess of miles on it to break it in & work out the bugs . I said "You want me to drive a fully restored british sports car ?!?! First you must TWIST MY ARM !!!" Yea right !!! I've put about 500 miles on it so far . It's pretty fun , I could get used to this ! I'll be sad to see it go . We restored a '67 Sprite for him 3 years ago , he's put a ton of miles on that one . This one will be better for the haul to Alabama . It's bigger , more comfy , has overdrive , is quieter . The only drawback is that they're HOT inside (bad airflow) . He's having air conditioning installed once it gets down there .

I just thought I'd share those pics with ya to get you excited about finishing YOUR BGT .

thanks allen!

that one looks really nice. the interior and wiring are VERY impressive in the pics. are those leather or vinyl seats?

and i know what you mean about the heat. i have been driving my GT for the past 2 weeks, and i have already stripped all the insulation. after a 20 minute drive i need to get out and try my nuts off they get so hot.

mine will hopefully be hitting the shop this fall for some body work. shoudl have all that and new paint by december. then the engine gets pulled next year with a complete rebuild and interior bits will happen one at a time.

go to a hotel and sit on the AC unit wearing sweat pants....helps cool them off S/Z Style!!!

The seats are done in vinyl (as original for that car) and the wiring was removed from the car while it was being restored , then repaired (where needed) and re-taped with original style tape (by me) . It's hard to believe that it's the same car that sat next to the shop rotting to death for many years .

There IS a trick to the hot car situation (at least for the early cars) , I'm not 100% sure if it's still possible in the 74+ cars (you can look easy enough) . Pop the hood & look on the passenger side of the firewall , where the brake/clutch master cylinders would be on a RIGHT hand drive car . There should be a plate/cover there with 4 screws holding it down . Remove that cover & make another "dummy" plate out of METAL , only make the new one with a hole in it (about the size of a clothes-dryer vent hose or something similar ... getting the idea ?) . Now run the dryer hose up to the radiator shroud panel up near where your oil cooler lines pass through (you may have to "modify" the panel to allow the hose to pass through) . Fasten the hose along the fenderwell , away from the engine & you're done ... fresh air ! It's like a direct fresh air funnel into the passenger footwell , which is better than NO air into the cabin . If you do not run the hose up behind the grille , you'll just be pushing HOT stinky engine air into your car , and that's bad news ! The LAST thing you need is MORE hot air !!!!

Have fun !

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Allen

2 questions:

1) How much would that car go for on the market?
2) Can you put another motor/drivetrain in there to make it go fffffffffffast?

ancosta --

my guess would be that car would sell for about $7k or $8k depending on the level of detail and accuracy of the restoration. small touches like the style of steering wheel, correctness of seat covers, level of body work could push the price higher. a concours quality MGB with 90% original parts and low, documented mile MIGHT get you in the $10k range.

as for speed, there are several options. the best, im my opinion, would be to update the internals to modern, lead-free specs. blueprint the engine and possibly add a fast road cam. with the proper exhaust and tuning, you'll at least FEEL like you're going fast. (stock 0-60 on these cars was around 10-11 seconds) there is a company in Australia that makes a roots-type supercharger for the MGB with wheel horsepower measured between 140 and 170 HP depending on the level of detail put into the engine rebuild. and they require blueprinting before warrantying the unit. vintage Judson superchargers can also be found, but are hard to maintain and wear out quickly. but there are cars with V8 conversions, V6 conversions, turbo Cossie conversions, Miata conversions, etc... you name it, you can do it with an MGB.

EDIT: The craziest conversion i have seen published.

[img]http://images.snapfish.com/3349%3B89923232%7Ffp37%3Dot%3E2326%3D565%3D3%3A7%3Dxroqdf%3E23232%3C2%3C%3A3987ot1lsi[/img]

[img]http://images.snapfish.com/3349%3B89923232%7Ffp34%3Dot%3E2326%3D565%3D3%3A7%3Dxroqdf%3E23232%3C2%3C%3A3988ot1lsi[/img]

It's a shame , but the GT's are worth FAR less than the convertibles . They're really a better "feeling" car , due to the stiffness added by the (non-removable) roof . A fully restored GT might be worth 7 or 8 grand (like Brian said) , where as a similarly restored convertible could bring 10 to 12 grand . Now , in order to get a $12,000 convertible , expect to spend almost 20 grand , if it needs to be restored . We've had customers spend MORE that the big 2-0 already , restoring their cars . You've gotta be planning on KEEPING the thing if you go with the "ground-up" approach , because there's no room for resale mark-up . The job we do on a full restoration puts the car in an "as new" condition , with a FULLY restored shell (done on our special "jig" , in your choice color (int/ext) , fresh motor/trans (build to spec - more $$ for hot setup) , fully restored suspension ... you get the idea . It's a MAJOR deal . Even with the big $$ pricetag on that service , we've got people knocking down the door to get their cars restored . We've restored other cars too , like Minis , MG-TDs , different Triumphs , Sprites/Midgets , and even a concours Datsun Z-car . MGBs are still our "specialty" ... if you can call it that .
These cars can be made to go fast , but that's all relative . I mean , it'll never be a Ferrari , but it could be quicker than you average MGB . My boss vintage races an MGB , and that sucker is pretty fast , but you'd never want to drive it on the street . It would be a pain to drive , not to mention (expensive) motor rebuilds every 10-15 hrs . Things like a mildly worked head , quality headers and side-draft Weber carbs help with HP numbers , but will drain your wallet during the process .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Allen

Hmm interesting info. It sounds like an MG is a good way to get into a car with a lot of heritage, but without breaking the bank.

A friend of mine did a big resto on a very old MG, and they did put a blower on it (was it stock?)

I forget the name of the company, they worked out of "Cooper's Garage" in Salem. They did a lot of prewar Bugatti, Mercedes, etc.

OTOH, 20k would get you a nice Factory Five Cobra Coupe kit, which would be a blast to drive, even with the 5L motor.

So if you took a MG coupe, and put a newer powerplant in three, is it a hard swap to do the trans and rear end as well as the motor?

Also is the chassis up for that kind of power? I am thinking that a 2.3L Ford Turbo would be awesome in that car.

the sky is the limit, really. Ford 5-speed trannies will work and some of them bolt right up to the factory 1800cc MGB block. others require modification. if you can find a 2.3t engine with a RWD tranny, i am sure the driveshaft and rear end could be customized to suit. it all depends on your budget. but the MGB tranny is very robust. and if you can find an overdrive tranny, you're almost better off than a 5 speed conversion. since the overdrive works in both 3rd and 4th gears, essentially making it a 6 speed.

i paid $1200 for my GT, unrestored. it needs a lot of work, full engine rebuild, head work, carb work, possibly a polished intake tract. the clutch seems fine, but the tranny would have to be checked over to make sure everything is in good working order. the rear suspension needs a complete rebuild, along with the front stabilizers and steering. the brakes need work, the interior needs work, and the body has a lot of rust that needs repairing and painting.

does it run? yes. is it fun? deifinitely! would i win any awards at a show? not on your life!

so, when i am through, i expect to spend about $6k on the car, doing a lot of work myself. and i MIGHT have a car that is worth what i put into it. if i brake even, i'll consider myself lucky. but i plan on keeping it for a number of years. especially since it is a fairly rare version of the GT. one of the last US GTs and one of 1500 exported to the US in 1974.

if i had TWO MGBs, the second would be a roadster with a modified turbo 2.0 Zetec engine and 5 speed tranny, stripped interior to use just for racing.

(Allen, I think we have a new recruit!)

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