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From Kevin G – Here is a ’67 MGC roadster that I found while working on an older guy’s house today. I was building a wheel chair ramp. I asked the guy about the car he didn’t say if he would sell it to me (YET), but it had been in the garage for a long time before it was pushed out to work on his other car 3 years ago. I am going to try to buy it and save it before it rusts away. I did my homework on the MGC and they only made them for four years. What do you guys think?
Actually I think they only made them for 3 years, 67, 68, and 69. Nice find! Where is it located? Maybe you can flip it to me for a quick buck:)
This car is sought after in Europe especially the UK. You could ask 50,00 dollars in A1 condition so its worth buying and fixing!!
yes it is worth saving. is it an automatic or manual transmission? great find.
Greetings All,
Jim S, what did MG use for an automatic?
Don’t believe I’ve ever seen one though I have seen an XK140 with the selector on the dash.
Save It!!!
i do not know where they got the transmission from. sorry.
borg warner 3 speed
67 is a good year. The c isn’t much more valuable than a b, but engine parts are far more expensive. Definitely worth saving.
Check for rust, if OK they buy it and enjoy messing w it. Fun cars for sure, the 6cyl is heavy and slow but still great cars w lots of enjoyment on the cheap.
Great find. I hope you can get it. I think they only made them for about 2 years though making them fairly uncommon.
Parts would be readily available of course from Moss or Victoria British. But as mentioned, rust will likely be an issue. Given the abundance of the MGB, I myself would look for a nice driver B for around 4 or 5 K, and leave this car to someone who really loves the MGC.
To save this car just for the sake of getting it out of this guy’s driveway won’t make a lot of economic sense, given the shape it appears to be in. OK, if it could be bought for under a thousand, maybe.
Try to find out more about it and then decide if it’s worth your time….
Keep us posted…..
Wheelchair ramp? My mother needs one…..
Not even 2 years. 1967-Aug. 1969. When I had my ’71 MGB, I never knew the C existed. It wasn’t until several years later, I thought, how cool. Truth be known, it really wasn’t a very good car. Way too front heavy, and I read, the suspension used to compensate for the weight threw the balance way off. Still, pretty rare, and keep pestering them. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Speaking of wheels, didn’t ’67 MG’s have the “2 ear” knockoff’s? Those look like a later style that required the “special wrench”.
Early 67’s had 2 years, but, as with all things MG, there was a running line change at some point during the production year. Generally speaking, if its a ’67 with backup lights it will have octagons.
Should say ‘Early 67’s had 2 EARS’ not years… and this one has the backup light indents on the rear valence…
Oh, and it’s quite a process to change from ‘eared’ knockoffs to Octagons, as they have significantly different thread pitch (the eared type are much finer), so all of the hubs would have to be changed.
This car is worth saving. Get educated; talk to people that own these cars. It continues to amaze me all the misinformation that gets perpetuated by those that have only read the reviews and haven’t lived it. If you don’t love it find someone that will.
The C’s bring a 50-100% premium over a comparable B of the same year. 1967 is arguably the best year for B’s. If this is done correctly this will be a $30K+ car and won’t be hard to sell. You can pretty much build a B from a catalog, so basically all parts (outside of engine) are available and affordable. Even if it needs floors and all 3 rocker panel sections (inner, outer and castle rail) the parts will be under $2K. Rip it apart and buy a welder. I would also recommend lightening the flywheel by a few pounds… makes a HUGE difference on the fun factor with these and the engine has plenty of torque without the added weight to get things moving.
Hi guys.
The C is a rare bird and as for the heavy front, the story goes that the first impressions of the auto Journalists was so negative (In marketing’s infinite wisdom they drove the a pre production car, not a production model) and it got plastered all around the world that it was heavy and in the front. Unfortunately the “C” never recovered from the bad press ( hence the poor sales and cancellation of the model) , and as you can see that reputation is still out there. The story read goes on to say the engineers beefed up the sway bars before production . And from my experience ( granted I only drove one once) it was not a problem from my experience of the car. In my opinion it is a highly underrated model and given its low production numbers it will be more valuable than a like “B” . The beauty of this model is that is shares a vast majority of parts with the “B” that can be readily obtained at Moss motors; and other British Car part specialists.
If I remember they switched from ears ( two prong) to nut based knock offs in 69.
But I am not sure about the thread pitch issue, I always thought they were the same.
I personally had a Canadian export 68 MGBGT and it had the Two prong, however they could have changed them for a US export model??
knock off threads are same on Bs and Cs.octagonal or winged makes no difference.Ive swapped all of them between Mgs,AHs,Triumphs,etc.The only one that wont work is one from an Etype which is larger in diameter.Same with earlier XKs.
Roy,
A salient point made below is, knock ons come either fine or coarse threaded to match the hubs. Aston Martin as per Jag and others use larger hubs and knock ons.
I always get a kick out of the wealth of mis-information that bounces around on these boards whenever an MG comes up. I mean really,,,
North American MGC’s were only available as 1968 and 1969 models. Period! Build dates from the fall of 67 don’t make it a 1967 car.
The “pillow” dashboard (you can barely see it through the passenger window, but the view through the drivers window shows the square Oil Pressure gauge, first out in the ’68 cars) was first shown on ’68 MG’s as were the “wrench style” knock off’s as an unfortunate result of the new federal safety rules implemented with the 1968 model years.
The 8 TPI knock offs became standard in the 1964 production run, replacing the early 12 TPI’s. This car would have the 8’s as all MG’s had until the end of the production run. As to the change from eared knock off’s coming about in mid model year ’67, that’s just not true. My ’67 B came with eared knock offs from the factory, while the ’68 I’m building has the later style (once again, think federally mandated rules). Canadian cars answered to a different rule book, although all North American C’s were outfitted to the US spec.
Listen guys, I’m not trying to be argumentative here, but every time I post spec’s on a car here, I know that I must be factual or some guy who lives and breathes that particular marque will come along and straighten me out. Like my Dad used to say to me, “if you don’t know what you are talking about, be quiet”. I’ve only been re-building MG’s since ’94, have only owned a dozen or so (not counting Midgets) so I don’t know it all. But if you doubt my facts, check “The Original MGB including the MGC and MGBGTV8” by Anders Clausager, generally accepted as the most accurate resource for these cars.
Have fun
Rufus
Good point Rufus, but to be technically correct, the “C” was never officially imported into Canada. The ‘pillow’ dash is standard in the US but Euro spec cars came with a version (I’m not sure it was identical) of the 67 “B” dash, at least in early production.
Gentlemen, I am currently restoring a car nearly identical to this one. Before I acquired “Rusty”, I missed out on a Canadian 1967 MGC with a metal dash that is completely different from that of the early MGB, that car number was 2895. This style, metal, dash is even available on eBay in the RHD configuration and was used throughout the cars production worldwide. The “Leyland Pillow” was only used to satisfy US market safety requirements. Rusty is car #3141 and has the pillow dash, she was imported to Pennsylvania in 1968. Some C’s were built as early as 1966 and ceased in 1969. They built 4,747 convertibles and about as many GT’s.
You can get fine OR coarse thread knock-offs and install them on any car with a wire wheel. The hard top on this specimen is aftermarket and worth only about $100 as opposed to the factory hard-top which goes for about $1,500. Car is worth 3K as it sits. Likely to need 3K more in steel; sills, rockers, floors, boot, door and fender bottoms. Doing it yourself is the only way to make it “profitable”. It will cost at least 10K to have the metal work done right by a professional. I have learned to weld doing this restoration and it is some of the most gratifying work I have ever done. Reproduction steel parts are very easy to fit, especially if you buy the complete replacement panel – not the partial.
When finished, the C can demand $30K – $50K depending on quality of restoration, configuration and the buyer…the MGB with more than 500,000 cars built, in the same condition, could only beg to get $25K maximum. People in the UK are gobbling these cars up…The automatic transmission, though more rare than the standard would not be worth as much, at least in the US market. Before I found Rusty, I lost an auction to a guy overseas who paid more than $12K for a C that “ran” but had no doors, top, seats, interior or paint…
I was born into the MG family almost 50 years ago and learned to drive in my mother’s ’63 Iris Blue B. I have been an enthusiast all of my life. Until recently, I had only ever seen an MGC in person a couple of times, not to mention had the opportunity to BUY one!! The MGB’s are a dime a dozen with respect to their sibling C. This car MUST BE SAVED if not for you, for someone that truly recognizes how special it is.
The answers to all of these questions posted here are available through the British Motor Heritage Organization, your local MG Club or the book that Rufus cited.
If a US delivered car was titled in 1967 it would have been titled as a 1967 model despite its production lineage. So an owner today might call it a 1967 understandably. But I agree that no C had the desirable attributes found in the ’67 B.
The C is desired for altogether different reasons and probably by predominantly different audiences. From my research the 1969 cars had subtle refinements that should make them the more desirable models (gear ratios for example ) Full diclosure I own a very late prodution MGC GT (4 spd).
You can easily find B’s in this condition for $2-4k. If you want to restore a car for profit, buy the C as it will be worth more for similar effort/cost (better still restore a more valuable car!) If you want to drive the car, buy a really nice early B for $7-9k as you can save a lot of effort, enjoy it right now and get your money back whenever you want to.
I helped a friend get one back on the road last year. Sourcing parts especially the brake booster and master cylinder kept us looking for over 4 months. I finally found one each in England. As for the handling, it isn’t near as bad as reported. It turned out to be a nice driver and went back to England for much more than we had in it. The pillow dash is correct for US standards. The metal dash was still used in European cars for a year or so, until they ran out.
Rufus, don’t be ashamed to mention having owned Midgets. I don’t consider them any less worthy of driving pleasure and investment.
Kevin G — I picked up an MGB roller with an almost perfect body shell last weekend. Same color scheme and even a black hardtop (since sold) like in your photo! If you’d be interested it could be the basis of a nice C conversion using parts from your driveway find. The car is located south of Nashville Tennessee ready to roll onto a trailer.
Alexander, I have to leave out the Midgets, or you’ll think I’m showin’ off.
Have fun
A “B to C” conversion?. Seriously?
In agreement with most of what has been said. Drive both cars,the 4 banger vs the 6 and you’ll clearly feel the loss of balance with that larger block up front. I’ve owned both and know this from personal experience.
The Aussies liked this car a lot and there are a couple of companies down under dedicated to making these MGCs perform/handle better, but they aren’t selling cheap parts.
The C is a very nice road/highway car in North America, but it was always an outlier amongst the MGs of the period.
If you like the MGs and want the ultimate drivability out of one, then you’d opt for the GTV8 which gives you great balance (the aluminum block V8 weighs about 30 lbs less than the cast iron 4 banger) and delivers considerably more hp than the 6 banger.
I’ve owned and raced all three and I loved the 4 and 8. In fact, if someone wants an interesting project, I’ve got the wreckage of my GTV8 race car (another long story) a replacement shell and a Sebring flare kit available. I don’t have time for the project which is too bad as motor and tranny are both fresh…less than an hour on them and that’s the most expensive part of the buildout.
Yes . . . a lot of similarities to a B body, BUT, beware that not all body parts are interchangeable with a B. Fortunately, Vicky B, and Moss to a lesser degree, are stocking the main body parts which are specific to a C. Just don’t go blindly assuming it is the same body with that 6 cyl lump.
Converting a B body shell into a C is not as easy as it looks from the outside. There are MGC body panels that cannot be replaced with B panels – including the floors, for example. The C has it’s own unique torsion-bar front suspension that would not fit a B shell. Of course, anything can be done, but at what effort and what cost? I believe C production was in the ballpark of 2900 cars and the common belief is that bashing from the automotive press rather killed the model. But there is a solid core of hardened C enthusiasts in North America (and probably elsewhere), there is terrific club and aftermarket support for the cars. There is the American MGC Register Association, and the North American MGB Register also caters to these cars. Interest has been on the upswing and we have some specialist suppliers. I just bought a brand-new set of Australian brake boosters from Kirk’s Auto Refitters. A bit pricey but much better than the originals and they last forever. ‘ Love ’em.
Amazingly, the steering on my C/GT is lighter than my B/GT. Anybody who claims these engines are slow has not driven one with a distributor rebuilt/recurved by Jeff Schlemmer at Advance Distributors. Boy does that wake the beast up!
Anybody who speaks of restoring these cars for profit is living in fantasyland. I’ve owned mine for about 14 years and I love it. But I could not restore it properly for a profit! They have appreciated some in recent years. I don’t think a decent driver could be had for less than about $6K. I have a pet theory that the incredible rise in Austin Healey prices has driven C prices up simply because the C is seen as the successor to the AH.
All in all, this is a wonderful collector car. The questions are how realistic is the project, and does condition match price. I don’t know how well you know MGs and I don’t know where you are, but there are MG and British car clubs in substantial numbers across North America. You need the opinion of an experienced MG hobbyist to evaluate it. From what I see, the car could be a bargain or it could be a disastrous rip-off.
For the right price I’d buy it in a heartbeat, but I’m a passionate MG enthusiast. If you are not, or cannot resolve to become one, the best you can do is call this to the attention of someone who appreciates it. If you want to find out more about these cars, Rufus is totally right: the world’s authority on MGBs and MGCs (as well as most other MG models and a number of other cars) is Anders Ditlev Clausager. If you wish, you can contact me with your approximate location (bachldrs at comcast dot net) and I can refer you to a club – maybe even a contact person. Good luck!
Sorry, I meant to add and forgot to that the automatic transmission used by MG on MGCs was the Borg-Warner 35. It’s a true slush box but pretty durable and many older hobbyists retrofit them into cars when they can’t use a manual anymore.
There are other autos that might work but you’d have to do some engineering to make them work. I believe there were many of these Borg-Warners used in the Austin Marinas, but assume it would be a rare yard that might have one of those still around.
I remember looking at some guy’s MGC in front of a car parts store when I was in college at Virginia Tech back in 1976………..He had the hood up and it had 2 brake boosters!…..I asked him if it was fast and he said’ ” not for a 3 liter…….”
Jeff –
I taught at VT from 1977 til 2006. ‘ Bought my C/GT while I lived there – but long after you were gone, I’m sure. BTW, two brake boosters (twice as expensive, wouldn’t you know) were standard on US import MGCs.
hey Allen–I graduated in June, 1978……..drove home to Charleston, WV every weekend………I drove my blue ( with white top ) Mini Cooper the whole 5 years I was there………..I also drove my red Mini VAN occasionally……….Did you ever see me?…………I still have ( and drive ) both….There was a Mini Traveller running around in town…..My deal to buy it in 1976 fell through….I still am angry about losing it!……
Geeze – back in the ’70s I wasn’t yet into MGs. Caught the bug in 1984, and haven’t looked back. 1977-78 was my first year at Tech. Was living down in C’burg at the time – real estate was much cheaper. Eventually bought a house up on Lucas Drive in B’burg, then moved up into Craig County where we spent our last 14 years. Traveling weekly to Charleston must have been a chore back then – before I-77 was built. You can do it in not much more than 2 hours now. I bought my ’73 B/GT in ’86 and have driven it daily – except when snow/salt are on the ground ever since. Now in Michigan.
The error in my first post above has gone unchallenged – but I have to correct it myself. I said about 2900 MGCs were built. No, one source says, it was more like 8999. FWIW…
There were references to MGC sale prices of $50,000. Can anyone document the details of such a sale?
Oh the memories. I had a ’69 MGC in the late ’70s. Sometimes I think it’d be fun to have one again but I lie down until the feeling passes.
I currently have a ’69 MGC/GT. Occasionally I’ve thought I should sell it but then I lie down until the feeling passes…
;-)
A lot of experience and knowledge here so let me ask the brain-trust that knows: Were MGC banjo steering wheels wrapped in leather by an artisan near the Abingdon factory? And, therefore, a related question: did all MGC’s have the same steering wheel hub size and spline count? Or were there differences between US and Canada MGC’s? Any and all steering wheel banjo leather hub spline info you can provide is greatly appreciated.
1967 are rare enough a definitive answer is hard to offer. Later the MGCs were lumped into “NA specification” but 1967 COULD be per UK spec or US spec in several areas. If the body isn’t rotted it well worth restoring and GREATLY undervalued in the USA. I am a resource for many MGC unique parts and own two myself. kirks-auto.com
All MGC had banjo wheels with leather rims. Spine count on the hub could be UK or NA spec depending on collapsible column.
Robert – Great to hear from you here! For those of you who do not know Robert Kirk, know this: he probably knows more about MGCs than the next 100 of us all put together. And he sells MGC parts that you won’t find anywhere else. I have a question: I have on occasion seen perhaps two or three MGCs with the earlier metal dash. I believe all of these Cs were Canadian. Is it possible that these are in fact ’67s, and ’67s got into Canada before they came into the US? I also know conversions are possible, although it’s a BIG job. Much bigger than it looks!
Almost any MGC is worth saving, AFAIK. The worst rust areas are in parts of the body that ARE interchangeable with MGB panels. But if rust extends into the torsion bar anchors, beware! Repairs may involve some knowledgeable fabrication. $$$$$.
IMHO, don’t compare these cars with the big Healeys. Isn’t it an interesting coincidence that Big Healey production ceased on the eve of the oppressive new American emissions requirements beginning in 1968. Had they built a 1968 AH, performance would have suffered – and would not have exceeded the MGCs. What we got with the C is a car that cornered and handled better than an AH, while performing better than an MGB. That’s the comparison that should have been made.
The Cs are going up in value. ‘ Wish I had bought two or three instead of just my one. But they are still Abingdon’s best-kept secret.
Point on Allen, the C was designed to replace the AH and no doubt Mr Healey had something to say about any USA mandated changes to “HIS” car. Our Fed mandates kicked in about 1968 but the information on 1966 and 1967 MGC is very sketchy and hard to research. I believe all the 66 cars were UK spec. The parts manual shows a clear difference in early Canadian market cars and those coming into the USA.
Hey just saw this online when my son brought it to my attention.
This is my 1968 MGC in MY driveway!!!