- Seller: David B (Contact)
- Location: East Haddam, Connecticut
- Mileage: 86,000 Shown
- Chassis #: GHN5UL499538
- Title Status: Clean
- Engine: 1800 Inline-4
- Transmission: 4-Speed Manual
Even now, over six decades past its introduction, you could be forgiven for picturing an MGB when someone mentions “sports car.” No, it’s not fast and modern cars handle far more competently, but there’s something so right about the look of the MGB that it’s easy to fall under its spell. It doesn’t hurt that its durability and sheer production numbers make it one of the best bargains in summer fun, and this 1979 Roadster is no exception. It’s not a show-quality specimen, but it’s a clean driver that you can start enjoying right away. Originally a California car, it’s being offered as a Barn Finds Exclusive in East Haddam, Connecticut, with an asking price of $7,900.
Almost all MGBs used the famous B-Series 1800 cc four-cylinder engine. Of course, by 1979, power had been choked down to some extent (to under 70 net horsepower), but an MGB was never a really fast car anyway, just a practical sports car built for having some fun in the twisties with the top down. This bright red B is mostly original under the hood, and with a reasonable 86,000 miles on the clock, it still holds 60 psi of oil pressure on the road and over 30 psi at idle. The air pump has been deactivated, but the stock Zenith carburetor is still mixing fuel and air, and aside from a small hole in the ANSA muffler, all seems to be good in the powertrain department. The MGB also has power front disc brakes for bringing the fun to a stop.
The interior is in nice condition, with a little wear in the driver’s seat and carpet being the only flaws of note. All the accessories work except for the horn.
Being a California car, it’s little surprise that it looks so solid underneath. The seller mentions that some rust is forming in the “front of the dog legs and the rear of the lower right side fender,” but you’ll find nothing even remotely this clean from the salt states. If you live in Connecticut, where this car is being sold, this is almost a unicorn.
Regarding the paint and general appearance, the seller is extremely upfront:
The car was painted by a previous owner out in Cali, so the paint is over 20 years old but still looks super bright and shiny. There are a few nicks that show up when you look close, the two major issues are on the hood and the driver door/fender shut line. The last owner apparently accidentally backed his tractor into the hood and when he panicked and pulled away, it scarred it even more. The same owner also buggered up the door fender shut line, how exactly we don’t know, but when you look close you can see where the paint has been touched up, [but] the wire wheels help the red paint pop, and from 10′ this looks like an awesome little car. Only upon very close inspection does one see/notice the imperfections.
Those wire wheels were added by a previous owner, and they do offer a connection between this 1979 MGB and its earlier brethren, but if you’re not a fan, the car will come with its original Rostyle wheels, in addition to a tonneau cover, boot cover, extra parts, and paperwork going back almost to day one. Summer is upon us, and you’ll find few roadsters that you can enjoy immediately for a lower price. If you’re ready for an MGB yourself, make an offer!
I’ll say it before anyone posts otherwise on here…. the black bumpers look so much better than the chrome. The MGBs with black bumpers still look contemporary almost 50 years later. Same goes for the Midget and the Spitfire.
I whole heartedly disagree. One of the reasons I changed mine over to chrome. ( not an easy task) I would never do it again. I would either paint the rubber. Bumpers body color or remove them and install the fiberglass “Sebring pieces) That’s how much I dislike the rubber bumpers. Also the fact that they raised the vehicle height for the bumper height laws. They not only ruined the look. But also killed the normal good handling. Ok, I will get off my soapbox now!
Its really sad (and a bit selfish) that you destroyed a car to remove the black bumpers instead of just buying a car with the chrome bumpers. There are far more of those out there, and now one less black bumper car for someone to enjoy. If you like the old fashioned look, buy one that has it.
Sorry JDC, I disagree with you. It is up to the owner to do what he wants. This is basically your opinion, and you know what we all say about opinions. To each their own.
Although one would never hear me say “the black bumpers look so much better than the chrome”… my opinion of them has softened over the years… and the lost power and handling can easily be recovered with reasonable cost and effort… that make the late model ‘Bs perfectly acceptable road cars.
JDC, the car wasn’t destroyed. Not only did I get many compliments by my fellow British car club members. My car was used for the advertising (driving under the Reno Arch) for the national MG meet in Reno a few years ago. Yes, my car is different. 15X7 Konig Grey center wheels and a 2.8 Cologne 150 Horsepower V6 with a T5 speed from an SVO Mustang. And lowered back down to original factory ride height. (Not the Rubber Bumper height) So stock or original? No way! I bought the car for $500. It had been abandoned in South Lake Tahoe for many years under pine trees with no top. Because it had absolutely no rust, I bought the car. The wiring was burned up, the catalytic converter had overheated actually partially melted the intake manifold, (you could actually see over the top of the manifold into the port), the exhaust manifold was a crispy falling apart mess. So I repaired it to close to “stock/original” equipment. And ran it that way for about 5 years. (The bumper changeover happened somewhere during that time. ) Chasing the club down I 80 for 30 minutes because we were late killed the engine. (Oil running out of the air cleaner is not good. ) I nursed it along for another 3 years and it finally wouldn’t pass the smog test. So I had the 2.8 under the work bench and decided to use it. Destroyed the car? I just kept it on the road and managed to make it more to my liking along the way.
Nice.
I “fell under the spell” of a 1969 MGB in 1979. Now, 24 MGBs later, I’m still hooked. I get it.
Looks like an honest, fairly clean car… cleaner than most one will find in the Northeast… …and at a reasonable price. As long as I didn’t find something undisclosed, I’d pay the ask. Personally, I’d loose the wires… had them on a past car and they just were a pain to deal with… and today many garages don’t know how, or can’t, handle them. Besides, I just don’t think they look right on the later rubber bumpered ‘Bs. I’d go for mini-lites… the late Leyland limited edition alloys, or even just the std factory steelies. GLWS.
A year later my 86′ old neighbor still can’t sell his one owner 78′ like this one for
$ 5,000
Hmmm… interesting… well, all I know is if in my neck of the woods a clean, no issue, running ‘B showed up for $5k… even a late model RB, it wouldn’t be there long. That said, I’ve been playing with ‘Bs for 45 years… know them well… and if I had a dollar for every “clean, no issues, runs well” ‘B I went to look at that turned out to be quite the contrary, I’d probably have enough money to buy a nice example…
Wow, what a beautiful looking MGB!
Some people don’t like the rubber bumpers, but this one makes it look more contemporary as JDC said. Love those wheels on this car!
And the rust seems minimal, which is great! I saw one years ago and the car was so rusted, but you could not tell from afar. From 10 feet the car looked great. Did not see any rust at all. Then I went to go open the passenger side door and it would not open and that’s when I realized that the car was folding up on itself, and the passenger side door had now become a structural part of the car to keep it from folding in half.
This version NEEDS overdrive. These rubber bumper cars are geared for the 55 National speed limit. 70 – 80 mph is just too much for these cars. (Go ahead ask me how I know!)
Evening everyone .. coming late to the party again.
I’m representing this rubber bumper B for the owner.
It is a great little driver and as explained, bringing back some of that handling and performance is easy and not that expensive.
My opinion is that the wire wheels make this car pop. I only drove this one for about 20 minutes and even in that short time, several folks waved and gave me thumbs up.
I’ve brokered several MGB’s in the last few months and driving them is really making me want to get my 76 B back on the road .. doesn’t need much .. but time .. which I have in very little commodity.
What I do have lots of are photos .. there are several hundred additional photos and video for the asking.
Any questions, I’ll be monitoring the thread here, so feel free to ask.
Thanks!