- Seller: Daniel R (Contact)
- Location: Mt Penn, Pennsylvania
- Mileage: 76,913 Shown
- Chassis #: GHD5UA193486G
- Title Status: Clean
- Engine: 1.8-Liter Inline-4
- Transmission: 4-Speed Manual w/Overdrive
Although MG was known primarily for its roadsters, there’s some evidence that they truly saw themselves as a company that wanted to make a good closed tourer. Their first real shot appeared as the beautiful MGA coupe, but its confined cabin wasn’t quite was they were looking for. They hit the magic formula, however, in October 1965 with the introduction of the long-running MGB GT. According to the MG Owners Club, some of MG’s bigwigs wanted “to produce this car prior to the open topped MGB, but mindful of the public demand for the MGA replacement the roadster won the day.” Even so, the GT remains a practical way to enjoy sports car directness without the hassle and draftiness of a cloth top. The seller of this GT, which is located in Mt. Penn, Pennsylvania, has driven it over 25,000 miles in the last five years after giving it “a complete mechanical and electrical restoration.” Unfortunately, health issues have gotten in the way of his enjoyment of the car, and he’s presenting it as a no-reserve Barn Finds Auction.
The MG’s 1.8-liter four cylinder is a known quantity worldwide, but the MGB received some sensible improvements in 1968, the year before this car was built, including an all-synchromesh four speed, an alternator in place of a generator, an energy absorbing steering column, dual-circuit brakes, and a negative ground electrical system. This particular GT had some additional upgrades after the current owner bought it in 2020. Dick Moritz, an MG builder and racer in the Philadephia area, rebuilt the engine and transmission and added a little extra power along the way by milling the cylinder head (resulting in a compression ratio just above 9:1) and installing a Delta D9 camshaft. The carburetors are SUs (HIF4s specifically), and the distributor was recurved to match the engine’s new power curve. The seller says that “the most recent compression test returned an average of 150psi cylinder pressures.”
One mechanical issue that has recently arisen is that the Laycock overdrive has begun malfunctioning. Those units turn on with an electrical signal, but they rely on internal oil pressure to actually engage the overdrive mechanism. It could be something minor that’s simple to fix, or it might be a bigger issue; with old cars, you never know until you look into it. The interior of the GT is in fairly good shape and could be made a little better with some new seat covers; however, the seller had the seats restuffed when he started driving the car and finds them “comfortable.” He also added an aftermarket air conditioning system and a good sound system for a little extra cruising enjoyment. Also included in the sale is a box full of new spare parts from Moss Motors, including condensers, wiper blades, a master and slave cylinder, spark plugs, leads, distributor cap, fuses, various key clamps and hoses, electrical connectors, as well as some fun MGB-related memorabilia.
Being an MG from the northeast, you have to expect some rust, but this picture above shows what is probably the worst of it. In the words of Ed Sweeney of Proper Noise Restoration Shop, the car’s most recent mechanic, “the chassis seems to have received a thorough restoration in the past, with rockers, sills, floors, doglegs, and fender bottoms replaced. The rust issues appear to be localized to exterior sheetmetal (doglegs and fender bottoms). Structurally the car remains sound and could be driven in this state without further repairs.” Recent work includes a new steering rack, tie rods, and other suspension bits, which the seller has receipts for. They also have receipts for all the work the previous owner had done and photos of the car when it was treated to a full repaint about 25 years ago. A considerable amount of money has been invested into this car over the past few decades. The seller states that it has been a dependable daily driver and event car.
MG color charts show that the only yellow offered in 1969 was “Primrose Yellow,” a proper name for an elegant little British sports touring car, and touring this car has done. Whether the current shade of yellow is original or not, this is a car that has been loved and used, and aside from the overdrive unit’s misbehavior, it’s ready to be loved and used some more. If you’ve been wanting to hit the road in one of the best-looking MGs to come from Abingdon, make a bid!
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Bid On This Auction
chris bid $5,900.00 2025-10-08 08:20:32
Vegas Tom bid $5,600.00 2025-10-08 08:10:30
TNTHOMAS bid $5,250.00 2025-10-08 07:50:50- chris bid $5,000.00 2025-10-07 18:13:46
Drummer76 bid $3,800.00 2025-10-07 11:55:46
Craig M bid $3,500.00 2025-10-07 11:23:00- Drummer76 bid $3,250.00 2025-10-05 19:02:35
- TNTHOMAS bid $2,800.00 2025-10-05 08:35:35
ThomHenry bid $2,500.00 2025-10-04 11:31:09
Jimmy Wright bid $2,225.00 2025-10-02 12:19:03- ThomHenry bid $1,969.00 2025-10-02 09:29:10
Ramdog I am Human bid $750.00 2025-10-01 19:31:22
Yellowjax bid $500.00 2025-10-01 13:48:58
Bob Rogers bid $100.00 2025-10-01 09:45:14
Right now I am restoring a 69 BGT back to a driver with the look of the earlier GTs. 15″ wire wheels with knockoffs, no side markers and a period restored interior. The padded dash was in poor shape so I stripped it of the vinyl and foam padding and sprayed it with a stone guard finish painted black. It looks much better as a steel dash. This car is actually a 1970 model registered as probably one of the last of the 69 year. The early 69 cars had smaller reflective side markers, not lights. They also had the rounded red taillights and the hatch name plates were of the earlier design on the GTs. My original daily driver 50 years was a 67 GT and I really enjoyed that car. I prefer the GT over the standard B. They are really two different rides even though basically the same car. This car looks to be very well maintained. It need a few minor rust and body repairs and other tweaks but other than that, it looks to be a nice ride. Who ever buys this will probably get a good deal on a car that doesn’t need much. It will be interesting to see the final bid.
You are correct. From what I could gather, this car is a 69, though it has always been registered as a 70, so I’m guessing it’s from late 1969. It came to me with the older style grill and wire wheels, which were replaced a few years ago. I hope the next owner enjoys it as much as i have. Happy to answer any questions about it; thanks for looking!
Dan (owner)
Dan… Good work keeping this old guy in good shape all these years. Had a ’66 roadster for a daily driver during the ’70s gas crisis and enjoyed the runs back and forth to work. Loved the GT when it came out but was up to my gills in cars at the time and never got one.
Nobody, including me, missed that this car has air conditioning.
might B a good buy if staying low $. I think the demographic is gone so not as wide a spectrum for the “buy now/wait for y/m/m increase value to sell”.
This model, ‘the only one to have’ for me (like jeep w/scrambler model ‘the only’). Loved MGB GT then, love it now.
Need to ck out the cam change, intake used, rid it of the 2 current A/C covers. Like the lynx intake & 4 Keihins. Would also look into that, rear end gear, much more (need to do the research involved but might go fer it, if in the mrkt, figure out the rest later, but eye inspection must show no maj concerns B4 money talk). The usual drill~
Well maintained car. Looks like some bondo on the left rear 1/4. (optical delusion?) Sold my only GT a few years ago to Chris Beebee, I hope he is enjoying it. Just have the “B” roadster now as far as MGs go.
There is no bondo on this car, but there is some paint bubbling and surface corrosion on right rear panel. The frame off primrose yellow paint job is about 25-30 years old – car started out as white. I have some old photos of this in a satchel with the car’s history prior to my owning it.
Car will be parked outside this week, under the awning, at Proper Noise Auto Restoration shop in Mt Penn, PA, if anyone wants to take a closer look.
Dan Boone territory. Some of my fav east coast it Bald Eagle & Rothrock norwest of there…
Someone is going to get a well-kept MG at the end of the auction. With winter approaching, it is a great winter project to sort everything out. Unfortunately, it is 2500 miles from me, or I would be bidding.
Good luck and thanks for keeping this GT in good shape! Good luck.