No, it’s not an MGB, it’s an MGC. And that one little letter means a lot of changes under the skin, turning the somewhat agricultural MGB-GT into a long-legged tourer worthy of those formerly sacred Gran Turismo moniker. This one is for sale here on eBay but the auction ends shortly, so hurry up and bid! The little GT is located in Ambler, Pennsylvania and bidding hasn’t even reached $7,000 yet!
So what exactly is an MGC-GT? Take the already stylish MGB-GT, add a 3-liter inline-six related to but not exactly the same as the Austin-Healey 3000’s torquey unit. Now add an available automatic (but this car has the hugely desirable four-speed plus overdrive setup!), torsion-bar front suspension, larger 15″ wire wheels, and a few other niceties and you’re there!
As you can see from this shot, there are a few areas of the bodywork that need to be addressed. The owner details them further in his thorough description; this appears to be the worst location. The really bad place for MGB/MGCs to rust is right in front of the rear wheels, but those areas look solid from the pictures.
As the owner describes it, this is a driver and has been treated as such. We’re told the cover over the driver’s seat is for comfort only and that the upholstery is fine underneath. Unfortunately, there isn’t a better shot of the interior to share, but all components are readily available should you want it to look like new.
Underhood looks pleasingly stock and taken care of, as it should be. This seems like a great tourer that could stand a little freshening up around the edges, but you should be able to drive it throughout the process which is a great plus. The auction ends shortly so get your bid in now, and let us know if you have ever driven a “C”!
How can you say it’s affordable,
when you don’t know what it will
actually sell for?
Because it’s way undervalued at the moment and I’m ever-hopeful that a low bid will win!
In what sense is an MGB “agricultural”?
king pins up front, leaf springs out back. Engine has Siamese intake ports that restrict high rpm airflow.
And they fitted the B Series engine into combine harvesters.
Have been a passenger and driver of a MGC-GT. Was real nice and quite different from an MGB. Remember well the claim that it was too front heavy and poor handling. Did not find that at all. As you would expect not a sports car and not trying to be. Preferred it to an AH 3000 as was more comfortable and could drive it for hours.
You know I’m hoping to have one of these someday, I’m fairly sure it won’t be this one. Opportunity knocks more than once, I’ll be patient.
At the time this car was built the company didn’t have enough money to upgrade anything, much less the suspension to take the big 6 engine. As said, nothing sporty about it but it’s a great cruiser.
Ended:Dec 02, 2021 , 6:00PM
Winning bid:
US $8,102.00
[ 17 bids ]
Very cheap at that price, below what similar car would sell for in the UK.
I did drive one when nearly new which was heavy to steer and understeered. For me, all the early critcisms were correct but you can either tune the foibles out or accept that it is a nice mini GT and go slower into the mountains.
As I´ve said before, the MGB GTV8 was the one which ticked all the boxes, but RHD only…
Anyone else notice that this LHD car has the brake booster and MC on the right side of the engine. How’d MG manage that? When I worked on the MGBs in the early 80s, everything was on the left (for LHD) and it was a pain in the patoot to replace the MC on it unless you had tiny hands (I don’t).
Is the MC on the right, or just the remote servo? My Lotus has correct remote servos, separate from the MC.
Quite correct JGeezer. The MC on this car is very definitely on the left hand side if you look at the pictures and the brake booster is a remote server as you suggest.
Eric,
The only possible room on the left side for the booster was way too close to the exhaust pipe. Also no room under the floor, the booster is simply too big around at the vacuum side. The master cylinder is still on the left side, so they ran brake lines to the booster, and from there out to the axles.
I own one and drive it frequently. Reviews back in the day were horribly skewed by inadequate tire pressure errors in test-driving. With modern tires inflated to 35 lbs, steering/handling are incredibly improved. Mods as simple as a Schlemmerized dizzy (from Advance Distributors) really wake up the beast.
I respectfully disagree with Martin regarding the steering – which is, surprisingly, LIGHTER than my B/GT. But I have to admit that’s because they lowered the steering ratio – from 2.9 turns lock-to-lock to 3.5. Yep – that’s less sporting, but easy to drive. Handling on the road is nicely predictable. BTW, in the later ‘70s, they switched to the 3.5 ratio for MGBs too. I have a 3.07 rear end in my car – giving me 30 mph/1000 rpm in O/D 4th. Very leisurely engine pace for cruising: at 2500 rpm, I’m going 75.
I was going to sell mine last summer but changed my mind. It’s such a unique MG and the engine can be much improved by simply installing a lighter flywheel and improving the manifolding. I really want to try these mods – the possibilities have re-ignited my interest.
Jolly good, 3:07 differential AND overdrive? Allen you got yourself one helluva ride that can compete with today’s econoboxes both in fuel efficiency and interstate driving. Cheers!
this one had the style and performance to grab this kid’s (13 – 22 yrs old) eye (~’65/75 in usa). Loved the hatch too (early adopter). Dont 4get the i6 and usa designed alu bent8 models!