Cheap 1969 MGB GT Project

Check out this shiny red 1969 MGB GT project car on Craigslist near Seattle. It seems to be a distress sale, so you could get a great deal. The car looks tidy, and only a carburetor issue is keeping it off the road. And it comes with new carbs! The owner is willing to sell for $3,000. The owner says the car is a runner, and new carbs have been purchased but not installed. There’s a sad story here. The poor MGB has been down at a local garage for six months, and a local who was interested in buying it “has not contacted me in many months.” From long experience selling cars, I would say that’s a lost cause. Thanks, Curvette!

The chrome bumper MGB “may need a tune-up after sitting for a while. And given the carburetor issue, it may need to be towed. No significant rust concerns; it’s always been stored in my garage and the garage of the prior owner.” Something weird is going on around the rocker panel on the driver’s side, just below the back edge of the door. The panel looks a bit wavy—could be some Bondo in there. Nothing else seems amiss. The chrome is shiny, all the trim is there, and the interior looks totally original and in very good condition. The black leather seats with red piping are intact, as the factory intended.

The MGB GT was launched in 1965, three years after the iconic MGB roadster. The idea was a more comfortable car for long-distance travel. The B droptop had little luggage space, and those early leak-prone British “hoods” were a nightmare to raise and stow. You’d think in a country where it rains all the time…

The GT brought a fixed roof and a hatchback to the party, plus a small rear seat, making it a 2+2. Jim Stimson designed it under lead stylist Syd Enever’s direction. Pininfarina then tweaked it for a more attractive roofline. Says BritishMotorVehicles.com, “The new car looked like a miniature Aston Martin DB5, with a sloping roofline, a large rear window, and distinctive B-pillars.” The GT was a big hit at the London Motor Show in the fall of 1965. Thanks to a larger windshield, it offered better visibility than the roadster, plus more headroom, better insulation from noise and vibration, and lots of storage. Improved aerodynamics added five mph to the top speed.

Under the hood was the same 1.8-liter four as in the roadster, developing 95 horsepower and 110 pound-feet of torque. Overdrive on third and fourth gear was optional—not sure if this one has it. Discs were up front, drums in the rear. It took 13 seconds to reach 60 mph, and the car topped out at 105 mph.  The MGB GT was built until 1980, including in less sought-after rubber-bumper versions, and a more powerful (and now somewhat rare) six-cylinder MG GT was produced from 1967 to 1969. Classic.com puts a good example of the 1969 MGB GT at $14,911, with values sinking somewhat. Still, if all this one needs is a pair of carburetors and a shake to clear the storage cobwebs, it’s definitely a good deal.