learn me MGB

There's a project MGB floating around the family. All I know is that it was "completely restored" but quit running. It was also said that it was supported on jack stands with the doors open when it was getting restored so there is a little bit of frame/body sag in the middle. I guess the doors close tight now.

I don't know much about these cars, although there is a legend that in a front end collision the steering column will spear you through the sternum.

MGBs were actually remarkably safe for the time, but I still wouldn't recommend driving into things or leaving the seat belt unbuckled or anything like that.

What year is the car you have access to? If it's not locked up, you'll almost certainly be able to get it running in a few hours of work.

The doors crack at the base of the vent window. Rust can be a serious problem. The suspension was antiquated in 1962.

First order of business would be confirming whether or not the chassis is sagging. I have an extremely rusty BGT that is still completely straight despite a nearly complete lack of rocker panels. I'd be worried if the chassis really is sagging.

You don't say what year it is. Later cars had collapsible columns same as NA cars.

I have head MGs for over 30 years. I can assure you that storing with the doors open being the cause of tight door gaps is bogus. Either the sills are incredibly rusty, or the person who did the "Restoration" buggered the job.

The 5 minute maintemenace for the fuel pump is really a couple of greasy hours for a fist timer since you have to take the damn thing out of an ackward location, figure out what you are doing, fix the broken bolts/studs and get it back in place. And use a piece of paper to pull past the points, sandpaper is going to eat the platinum finish off the points. My defense is to not touch the damn thing until it stops working (20 years and counting) and hit it with the stick if it fails and then go buy a new one for 20 more years!

That said, MGs are classics that you can use as a real car. They keep up with traffic and are quite reliable. Like any older car, you have to acknowledge that ALL of the parts are old and keep up with the maintenance, both preventive and remedial.

The cars like to be driven on a regular basis.

My advice, assuming the engine is sound, is to spend about 2k on a complete suspension and brake overhaul; that is where the fun is in these cars.

Cell phones, and AutoClub memberships take a lot of the adventure out of driving the MG.

Installing a ford 302 can put the adventure right back in!

Lovely cars. Love my chrome-bumper.1969 MGB roadster

Not a car for everyone, but this can be said about a lot of old cars. Great spare parts supply available from Moss Motors, Victoria British, etc plus many UK vendors. Also, very good club support in many areas of the US.
An easy-peasy car to work on and fun to drive.

It's a vert. It sat in my fathers garage under a car cover after the restoration and has been in a garage since. (~25 years).

Here's the message from father:

"The MGB is a rare 63 pull door handle (not button). Unibody was repaired without stabilizing body to prevent sagging."

Last sentence sounds strange. Dad is not an idiot though, I know that much.

Taiden wrote: It's a vert. It sat in my fathers garage under a car cover after the restoration and has been in a garage since. (~25 years). Here's the message from father: "The MGB is a rare 63 pull door handle (not button). Unibody was repaired without stabilizing body to prevent sagging." Last sentence sounds strange. Dad is not an idiot though, I know that much.

The sills were cut out without bracing the door opening.

Oh, and since it's a 63, it's a 3 main engine and 3 synchro transmission.

MG Bryan wrote: The sills were cut out without bracing the door opening.

Is this a heinous issue, or is this non-critical?

Is the fact that it's a 63 super special or just kind of different?

Taiden wrote:

MG Bryan wrote: The sills were cut out without bracing the door opening.

Is this a heinous issue, or is this non-critical? Is the fact that it's a 63 super special or just kind of different?

It has parts value if you care about that sort of thing. Assuming the engine is original, the head is one of the least likely to crack and vintage racing guys sometimes need that casting.

The dash and doors are worth money to people who want to back date their car or are restoring another early car.

It also uses a different gas tank than the later cars and I'm sure someone is looking for one.

Check the chassis dimensions. Depending on how far from straight it is, decide if it's worth it to you.

The email I just got:

First of all, except for the transmission, everything had been rebuilt. Unfortunately, MG uses real rubber seals, so you may have to rebuilt the brakes and slave cylinder. The shocks may need to be rebuilt. It's a 1963. That's the first year in the US. It has pull up door handles, which only the first MGBs had. It has a really nice paint job, all the rust was removed. It has a completely new full leather interior. All the gauges work. There's a new top, tonneau cover, carpets, etc. Bumpers, stainless steel gas tank, exhaust. Daniele worked on it because he was out of work. He told me that no one he knew had restored a car as extensively as we had with the MGB. I think with your welding skills and some time, you could fix the unibody. It would require using long steel rod like rebar to buttress the body in three directions and using a straightedge to line it up. Also the door could be used as the fixture that determined when the body was straightened correctly.

Sounds like something I should pursue. Is this thing just going to be a money pit like a boat? I guess that's my main concern. I know it's impossible to say without actually looking at it, but I'm not sure how that usually plays out with the MGs.

The sill issue is not a big deal except for the fact that it kills a lot of the value of an otherwise very desirable early pull handle car. As long as the doors close and you are in no danger of falling out the bottom, you should get this car driving and just enjoy as is. Put your money into a fresh STOCK suspension

Someone who did not know better probably cut out sills and floors on both sides and then inserted the new panels.

Contrary to the popular myth (I have done 4 of these and follow eclectics advice) you should NOT brace the door openings. Do one side at a time with the car properly supported and with the doors on. If you use braces, the stress is simply contained until the brace comes off and then the car goes "sproing" and leaves you with messed up gaps.

If you want to fix the door gaps, its not a big deal if you have a welder. Just slice the sill assembly top to bottom. Pry the car apart and weld up the three layers. Need to either make a repair piece for the outer sill or buy a sill and harvest the patch panel. Maybe 5" piece?

How much are you looking at as initial buy in?

Probably the cost of towing it 200 miles

Take it. You should be able to get that on the road cheaply and refresh things as you go. Later on you can straighten it out if you deem it appropriate.

Where is the best place to buy parts? Anything like PelicanParts for MGs?

How would you describe the car in terms of how it is to drive. Is it backroads only kind of car or could someone do 160 miles on slab at 75 mph without much comfort issue?

http://www.mossmotors.com/ http://www.victoriabritish.com/ http://www.the-roadster-factory.com/indexmain.php

Those will get you started. The MGexperience boards will be your friend.

It's unlikely that is has overdrive, so it's not much of a highway cruiser. They're fun on back roads, but they are not fast by any means.

Edit: There's a lot you can do to these cars. You can get more power out of it if you're so inclined. If you're worried about long distance, highway speed cruising, you should probably look into a 5 speed conversion.

So its like a slow miata with much more character.

Also, I'm reading on wikipedia that the electrical systems are positive earth?? Does that mean that instead of the entire chassis being an electrical ground it's electrical positive? That's incredible.

Yeah, a 63 is positive earth. It also has a generator instead of an alternator.

http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/electric/et202.htm - how to convert to negative earth. It's an MGA article, but applies to the early B as well.

So the 63 is an MGB anomaly it seems. Will that make parts harder to find?

I have a 66 that has parts from every variation of MGB on it. Parts are not an issue. The early transmission leaves something to be desired if you're daily driving it, in my opinion.

They made something like 390,000 tourers and 90% of them came to the States. There's a lot of support for these cars.

Also, I found that girls at college really like MGBs even if they have no knowledge of what it is.

Grab it. MGB's are not terribly fast but they are a lot of fun. The door handles on the early cars were discontinued because in rollover tests the doors could pop open.

The front lever type shocks have a major flaw in that they double as the upper control arm. The seals are this funky three lip type which will trap sand etc which then grinds away the seal, causing the shock to leak. When the shock oil gets low enough, the shaft will wear the body of the shock and this causes a lot of slop. There are reasonably priced remans with bronze bushings and better quality seals available now. There are tube shock conversion kits out there but every one I see leaves the stock lever shock in place and adds brackets for the tube shock, which does not address the stock lever shock's wear.

I keep threatening to design/build a bolt on upper C/A setup which would eliminate the stock lever shocks. One of these days...

B's have very strong unibodies and the sag issue should be reasonably easy to repair. My recommendation: make a triangular brace which will bolt to the stock door hinges (leave them in place, it's much easier that way) with a turnbuckle and a plate which will attach to the stock door striker mount. With this setup, you can easily adjust the door post positions as needed.

They were positive earth with generators up through the late 60s (at least my 67 Midget was). Parts won't be a problem. You should definitely get it, for the price you will pay for it you can only make money.

Well, I think that I will clear out the garage, nail down a stock subaru as a daily, and snag this MGB.

Although, if anyone wants to keep posting ideas in this thread, I would really appreciate it.

12b swaps need not apply I'd like to keep this one original