While we occasionally feature MGB GTs, less frequently seen are the MGCs with the Austin-derived inline six-cylinder. This example is said to be a garage-find example that was restored many years ago and holding up fairly well. These six-cylinder varieties were produced for just a short time, and while this one is fitted with an automatic, it still looks like an entertaining driver listed with no reserve. Find it here on eBay with the auction closing on Friday.
We love the coupe bodystyle, whether in six- or four-cylinder guise. The slim chrome bumpers pre-date the ugly black rubber safety bumpers that made their way onto later MGBs, and these six-cylinder GTs came with 15 inch wheels and a subtle hood bulge to accommodate a relocated radiator. A number of engine bay tweaks were needed to house the larger engine, along with different brakes and unique torsion bar suspension.
While the seller notes this is an older restoration, there are a number of areas of concern. The body has developed not-insignificant rust underneath the car and in the rocker panels, along with rust blossoming in the front wheel well. The seller says there is evidence of poorly-executed previous repairs, and overall, the body presents me with some misgivings that poor prep work may have preceded what I assume to be a repaint. The interior, however, still looks quite tidy.
The seller notes the engine starts but doesn’t stay running, and explains that he doesn’t want to mess with the carbs (which are also missing their air filter elements). However, the carbs have been rebuilt, so perhaps the running issues reside deeper in the fuel system. The brake booster has been bypassed and the emergency brake cable is disconnected; other minor annoyances are listed in the description. Although far from perfect and more rust may be hiding where we can’t see, the no-reserve auction makes this six-cylinder MG an appealing project.
Looks pretty good for its age, and a LOT better than most. Hope someone adopts this MGC, and does a bit of sorting out…Me? My garage is full.
Plenty of MGB/C body spares around, the bonnet bulge would make the fitment of a small block easier and you would have a great little performance car.
You’ve heard of Bring-A-Trailer? This one’s from Bring-A-Magnet. That rocker isn’t supposed to be mildly concave, it’s missing the chrome trim around the windshield and backlight, there’s a Michigan plate so it’s got rust, I mean RUST. It’s the rule in the Great Lake State.
I will own another MGB/C before I die, but it wouldn’t be this one. Looks nice, but $4,550 is all the money.
Agreed, this is a putty-mobile.
A look at the underside photos makes that abundantly clear.
Might be OK as a driver for a while, but eventually the tinworm will make it’s way back to the surface, and the decent looks will be no more, and require an infusion of $ and labor.
As a kid I had a Corgie one of these…red. Always wanted one until I realized that at 6’5” and “fluffy”…..that ain’t happening.
Wonder how it performs with the automatic.
This ‘C GT’ looks good in most of the photos…..until you get to the ones that show the significant rust in this poor Michigan car. Agree with ccrvtt that the current bid of $4500 is all the money for this one.
The seller sounds honest in his description, and that description seems to be saying that pretty much everything in the car will need to be gone through to make it a reliable runner. Excellent C GTs have sold at auction for about $18K lately. I don’t think you would save anything on that number unless you did all that rust repair and the other repairs all yourself…and it would be helpful to have some spares in your garage. And then you would still have an auto version and less power and resale value than a 3 liter Healey…..
Having played some with SU carbs, many years ago, if the car won’t run, rebuilt or not, I’d start trouble shooting with the carbs. As a teen in 68-69, I worked for a local guy, who did foreign car repairs. I learned a lot from him, but it was also the beginning of my life long disdain for SU carbs and Lucas electronics.
The MGC didn’t sell well, because it wasn’t an improvement over the MGB. The 6 was more powerful, but it was also 200 hundred pounds heavier than the 4. The extra weight kept the MGC from being noticeably quicker, and the extra weight hurt the handling too. The better car was the MGB GT V8, with it’s lighter and more powerful aluminum V8, but unfortunately, it was never sold in the US.
I always liked the GT. I’ve never owned one, but I drove one for a week, when I was in England on business in 1978. The company I worked for had some British subsidiaries, and the manager of one of them was crazy enough to lend me his wife’s MGB GT for the week! It was a fun little car to zip around the English countryside in.
Sadly, another major restoration of a model that was pretty much unloved when it was new. The Big Healey replacement was panned by the motoring press when first launched, and the automatic doesn’t help matters with this example.
I’d suggest the running problems are a result of someone doesn’t know how to balance the carbs (says the guy who’s had a Uni-Syn in his toolbox for about a half century). Sorting out the engine’s probably the easiest thing to do with putting the MGC back into shape.
I know the term “Holy Grail” is thrown around a lot, but if there ever was a Holy Grail for MG’s, this is it. The whole time I owned my MGB ( ’73-’83) I never even knew they made a MGC. I thought it was a misprint, until I actually saw one. Not the best car. The 6 added extra weight to an already front heavy car, the automatic, which many GT’s seemed to have,( 764 GT’s to 453 roadsters) mostly sold to women, and therefore had a better chance of survival, was a Borg-Warner unit, a so-so transmission, but not the best for this car and rumors of a similar car out of Japan (240Z) put this car out to pasture. Only made for 2 years (late ’67- early ’69) which makes it unbelievably rare, rust or not. This is a steal for this.
There is no such thing as a small amount of rust on an MGB or MGC body. If you can see rust, expect that the entire inner and outer sill sheet metal will need to be replaced. There are three main pieces on each side. Then the lower rear quarter panels in front of the wheels will need to be done. And probably the entire lower front fenders. Rusty inner sills usually mean the floor pans are rusty too. This one looks like someone just covered the rust rather than cutting it out properly.
The good news is that sheet metal parts are readily available, and they fit pretty well out of the box. This car can be saved but it will be expensive if you pay someone to do it.
I love the GT body style. I agree this is worth saving but I wouldn’t pay $4,500 for it. That is too high considering the large amount of labor that will be required to make it right.
– John
I had an MGB GT years ago that my brother in law had spent a good amount removing rust, and this is bad too. That plus a slush box is enough to stay very clear of this car. I would like to obtain either an MGC GT or a V8 GT, but not this one!
The handling of the “C” is easily cured with some modern suspension components and tires. The slushbox actually fits the car’s personality quite well, with the torque of the six pulling nicely. It really is more of a true GT, a poor man’s Jag, and will be a great car for someone to go on an epic road trip
Well I have had several MG s over the years. Fun and inexpensive to maintain and plenty of different companies selling parts .
I believe this one has an automatic transmission which is a deal killer for me
My brother bought an MG B GT brand new and it was $3750.00 in 1968. His had the older black leather seats with white piping. It was a great car.
SU carbs are the simplest devices on the planet. Most SU problems reside on the other side of the engine where the distributor, etc live. Speaking of the distributor, I had the one for my C/GT rebuilt by Advance Distributors. They do something unique: rebuilding the advance curve, taking modern fuels into the equation. It completely transforms this engine. Suddenly it LOVES to rev.
I have replaced sills (all three pieces) on MGBs. They are structural parts of these unibody cars, and need to be right for the car to be safe. If you can teach yourself to MIG weld, the process is not all that difficult. The panels available fit really well – and in fact, if they don’t, it’s the car that is crooked! Having said that, MGB floor panels will not fit the MGC.
Not all Michigan cars are rust-buckets. My Michigan C/GT is totally rust-free. It came from California.
Jeff Lavery forgot something: there is not one brake booster on a C, there are two. They are not cheap if you buy good ones, but they are readily available. These cars have appreciated a good deal since I bought mine; Austin Healeys have priced themselves out of the market for most of us. The next-best option for British-car enthusiasts is the C.
Don’t even THINK about putting a C engine in a B! But if you have a 74.5-80 MGB, the BOP-Rover 3.5 liter V8 bolts straight in – the car was designed for it. And that V8 weighs less than the original 1798 cc cast-iron 4-cylinder. There are also a lot of Ford 302s ending up in MGBs. The weight difference is so slight, the original suspension will work fine.
All good advice. Thanks Allen!
Rust bucket but scrapped out for a lot more. Automatic transmission too
Well done Allen, and I’d follow the advice regarding engines if I had the room Sorry I have to pass on this one.
A common conversion on the other side of the Atlantic and the other side of the Pacific is to replace the BorgWarner35/65 auto trans, (based on an old Studebaker design?) and replace it with a 4 stage ZF auto from a BMW or Jaguar or Landrover.
Obviously, if a GM400 would fit there’s that as well, and Australians have the option of using Borg Warner’s own Australian designed 4 stage electronically controlled auto,a replacement for their old three speed, that was fitted to EB series Falcons.
Fiat 130 coupes, Peugeot 605s, Jaguars and P5 and P6 Rovers have been converted to the ZF
https://www.aronline.co.uk/cars/rover/cars-brown-rover-receives-zf-transplant-part-one/
‘ Shouldn’t keep writing like this, but I just took a look at the pictures on the Ebay ad. Whatever body repair this car got, it sure wasn’t $10,000 worth! In fact, what I can see only serves to reduce any confidence in what I cannot see. There is supposed to be a seam between the sill and the rear quarter panel below the doors. It has been filled. How much more bondo is in the car? There is a photo showing rust in a wheel well. Through the rust-hole we see another “repair panel” that does not look appropriate or adequate. That left -side sill looks like somebody was trying to use the jack socket and the sill started to collapse under the weight. Then there’s what appears to be a castle section – approaching disintegration from rust.
Regrettably, this car is for sale in Michigan where we have NO vehicle inspection requirements. I just hope that the future owner has the good sense to trailer the car home. If driven, the four-way flashers would not be available when soon needed because the switch for them has been covered by the home-made radio-delete on the console. This car is certainly worth saving, but I sure feel sorry for the guy who spent the $10K. Whoever took that money ought to be in jail!
I built my own “C”. I installed a 2.8 Colonge V6 with a T5 speed. (B not a GT) Looks good in there but is a tough fit because of the thermostat (Lower left side) housing/block stick way out and no way to remove it.
Very nice car to drive now.
Winning bid:US $8,600.00
I have a 69 mgc ragtop, restored many yrs ago. been in storeage for many yrs. new interior all rubbers replaced new windshield new oem tires yellow in color, nice all around driver, very clean car. all I do is look at it no time too drive. for right price I just might part with it. although it isent costing me anything to keep. new top and all chrome and lens replaced! jack
Hi Jack, please consider listing your MGC on the site as a classified: https://barnfinds.com/sell/
The high bidder was also a lower bidder. New owner started at $4600 (all the money IMO) but car sold @$8600 to same! Ridiculous money for a car with an engine bay and rockers looking as they do. I hope it gets a rotisserie resto, but they will literally be upside down by the time this car rolls into their garage.
MGC went to the bidder that really wanted it……Good on you! Well done.
Hope it has found a good home and many, many afternoon road trips….
I had one in the UK in 78. Ten years old, it was already rusting. A couple of years later it was sagging in the middle, the rust was so bad. A mobile welder patched it up.
A great long-legged cruiser, it handled pretty much as you would expect with an iron engine overhanging ahead of the front axle.
The engine was gutless below 3,000rpm and thrashy and noisy above.
The cabin was comfortable though, and well laid out.
This car illustrates an important general point applicable to any classic car; never buy a new resto. Buy a car that was restored a few years ago. If it’s still holding up, it was done well. If not, run away, it costs much more to repair a bad repair than it would to repair the original car.