The MGB was such a hit that over 525,000 were sold worldwide. For a first foray into the vintage car world, an MGB is a prime candidate. Usually, the initial price of the car is reasonable, and parts availability is superb. You will not need to find a 3D printer to produce some bit of unobtanium, like Jay Leno does. Here on craigslist is a 1967 MGB roadster for sale, with an asking price of $8,000. This car is located in Edmonds, Washington, and the seller says it has been garage-kept for the last four years. Thanks to Matt H. for the tip!
MGB production began in 1961 as an evolution of the MGA. British Motor Corporation reached into the MGA parts bin for suspension and brakes. The motor was a redeveloped 1947 Austin 1200 cc lump, creating the B-series engine. The B-series went on to fame and fortune, with production running from 1953 to 1980. It proved itself very malleable, with loads of special tuning parts and techniques available. Early MGBs received a 1798 cc three main bearing engine, but by 1964, cars were being fitted with a five main bearing version. Until 1975, the cars were fitted with twin SU carburetors. It had a four-speed manual transmission, with non-synchro first gear. This combination produced 95 bhp, competitive with its peers. Top speed was 105 mph, and 0 to 60 was in the 12-second area. This engine has aftermarket air cleaners, and a new radiator, cap, and hose. The starter coil looks new, and the seller says the carbs have been rebuilt. Mileage is 55,000, though we don’t know if the odometer has turned over.
In the cockpit, the dash is superb. The driver’s seat has been recovered; the passenger seat looks original. The carpet is loop style instead of the fuzzy type that picks up every dog hair you bring with you. The tonneau matches the seats. A soft top and frame do come with the car. The seller claims this car is 90% original, and if it’s not that, then it has certainly had a sensitive touch on the cosmetics.
The car comes with wire wheels and a knock-off hammer. The owner says it has very little rust. Sighting down the fender seam, it looks straight. Panel gaps are great. It does have a driver’s door dent, but after all these years, that’s not a big sin. The 1967 MGB is often considered the best model year, with the best trim options and no emission controls yet. I’ve seen more expensive MGBs that were not this nice. If you are tolerant of a few cosmetic issues, this car could be a great buy.
The ’66 and ’67 MGBs, and the “Spridgets” had their best years before bowing to the federal regulations about almost everything automotive. Note the clean dashboard that mirrors the Sprite’s above as an example. Nice car, good price for a fun car.
Grt car …5 main engine, knock offs, electronic tach.- only missing a LAYCOCK OD. or is it?
’67 was the best year for the B.Flat dash,5 main bearing engine,
& no smog pump.
I have a ’67 GT,& it will be the last car I’ll part with.
I cannot disagree with the 1967 year comment.
The owner says 90% original. I would like to know what the 10% is though it may not really matter. The carpeting looks like replacement. Not the same as the carpet I had in my 1967 and mine was 10 years old when I bought it with 40,000 miles. The tonneau is sweet looking. there is that front on view but would like to see a rear view look
not a bad price. Bruce
Triumphs,MG,are the most fun to money you can have as a first time hobby car guy. So SCRAP THAT CORROLLA and have some fun! Drive ’em to work, grocery store or just a cars ‘n coffee near you. After 1 weekend you’ll know if yer a car guy and you won’t be out much cash!
Nice car. That Craftsman tool box looks like the same vintage. Is that included?
Very nice car. A guy I used to know had his engine balanced and blueprinted. Wow, would that thing jump to 6000 rpm in a heartbeat.
While I only like the chrome-bumper version of these cars, the worst part of their design is having to pull the engine in order to do a clutch job. The Healey’s and TR6s designed their interiors so that you remove the transmission tunnel and take the tranny out from the top. I believe that they all had the X frame underneath. I assume that MG figured that it was only a 4 cylinder engine, so pull the whole mess out. The Healeys and TR6 had a big heavy 6. Maybe that’s the reason for the difference. If it is, I don’t get it because MG could have done the transmission tunnel approach. It may have been the bean counters who didn’t want the extra part to have to fabricate.
actually, the MGB body design was really early unibody and the transmission was structural. the sill/rocker structure and the transmission tunnel keep the body from folding in half on the roadsters. sorry Eric.(TR6 and the Austin Healey had frames)
The TRs and Healeys are BOF construction cars, but the MGB is a unibody, and the steel tunnel provides torsional rigidity to the body structure. That’s why the tunnel is not removeable. My TRs always twisted and creaked and rattled, while my 63 MGB is rock solid. It’s as tight and rattle free as a modern car.
Bultaco, Wayne, I hear both of you WRT the unibody construction. And yes, while it’s been 30 years or so since I was wrenching for a living, I did pull a number of engines/transmissions from Bs and Sprites. Under the cars was an X-type frame that prevented you from dropping just the transmission. It would seem to me that the transmission tunnel could have still be made removable without much compromise of the unibody.
My first car was a 1965 B. Many MGs followed and I like to say “show me a washer from an MG and I’ll tell you where it goes and which side is up”. The dash brings back fond memories. That steering wheel is part of the 10% though.
What a nice looking B. The red against white with the metal dash really works on this one. A wire wheel car, and hard top, add a overdrive and take off to Penny Lane.
Eric_13cars , The difference is that the MGB is a unit body car. The tunnel is a stressed part of the body. AND, if you ever pulled the engine and transmission combo out of one of these cars you would swear that the transmission is the heavier of the two. I don’t really know for sure, but the last one I pulled out of an MGB it sure seemed like it! The transmission weight has to be close or more than the engine, it is HEAVY!
I agree, this is a gem for that price. I’ve looked at a 1000 MGB ads on CL and these sell much higher usually. I bet it’s gone soon.
Eric… What X type frame?
Sorry Bob. I was wrong. There are 2 cross-brackets, only one of which is removable, but even removing that, the narrowness of the tunnel above makes pulling the transmission back far enough to clear the main shaft impossible. I suspect that even if the tunnel were wider, the fixed cross brace would still make it impossible. That said, I don’t get why the cross brace had to be fixed in place. Sure, supposed body stability, but that could have been obtained with sufficient bolting it in place. However, unless you could pull the transmission down at an angle, the narrow tunnel would still impede. A design flaw in my opinion. Miatas are unibody and like a go-cart to drive, yet there is no impediment to pulling the tranny by itself.
Yanking engines and transmissions out of our two Sprite race cars gets to be routine after several years. One thing we did was cut a hole in the pan under the front U-joint so it’s easier to put the driveshaft back on. For you folks without holes all over your car you can pack the front U-joint with pieces of paper towel to hold it straight making putting it back into the transmission much easier.
Looking closely at the oil cooler platform to the right, you see either damage that has been beat out or a bad picture, to me it looks like crinkled metal that’s been planished out but you can still see where it looks like it took a hit.