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"B" roadster body shell

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Bob Claffie

Bob Claffie

Jedi Knight
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"B" roadster body shell

My son has a '71 MGB that hasn't been driven in several years. He has gone over to the dark side (3 Miata's). I would like to rerestore the B if I could find a mostly rustless body, the earlier the better. His car has good mechanicals but marginal chassis. I know this should be in the classifieds but am sure more people will see it here. Anyone have suggestions? Bob
 
Re: "B" roadster body shell

I don't know about Cali, but here in the Seattle area, there seems to be a glut of Midgets on Craigslist... tons of 'em. Not sure what the deal is, but plenty of pickings. One is only $100 for the shell. Ad does not say if it's a B or not. There is also a very pretty sprite for sale in West Seattle. I think the seller is way low on the price. It sure is clean. There's even a couple of two-fers out there! I wish I had a shop and more land! Let me know if you want me to take a look at anything. Always willing to help find homes for Midgets and Sprites.
 
Re: "B" roadster body shell

Tony - you up yet...?
 
Re: "B" roadster body shell

Ed, I've brought a couple of them home this month.
No shop yet but the back yard is beginning to fill up...
 
Re: "B" roadster body shell

People are crushing rust-free bodyshells out here all the time. Nobody needs or wants them here, and the folk back east who really do need them won't spend the money to ship, understandably.
 
Re: "B" roadster body shell

Great article, Tony. Something I can use for sure.

Jim
 
Re: "B" roadster body shell

RickB said:
Ed, I've brought a couple of them home this month.
No shop yet but the back yard is beginning to fill up...
Click to expand...

So the guy selling the pretty Sprite in West Seattle must have figured out he was way low on it.. he went from $4900 yesterday to $6500 today!

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/1089806875.html
 
Re: "B" roadster body shell

I Have a 67 roadster that I have juststarted to "attempt" to restore. I have just got it to the point where its all stripped down to bare fame. The frame isnt too bad, in my opinion, should I get it blasted or would it be worth it to try to fid amodl with a good body and fram and go from there. Ill put up pictures as soon as I get them. Also if i should get another shell, what wold work with a 67 roadster. Thanks aot.
 
Re: "B" roadster body shell

You'll find that the MGB is a uni-body design - no frame. Rust is the biggest enemy of MGB's...if you're is too rusty to restore, look around in the South for cars with much less rust that's repairable - or cars without rust.
 
Re: "B" roadster body shell

Thank you very much Tony. And yes, that was what I mant reagarding the frame, stripped down to as much as possible. I called a local restoration place toinquire about rough costs to sandblast, as they said dipping was a bad idea. They told me roughly 2000 for what i described, for that much, would it be worth purchasing another body, or am I going to encur that costs no matter what. I plan on doing everything ese myself, except for the blasting as it is not possible for me to do it. Thanks alot.
 
Re: "B" roadster body shell

$2,000....HOLY SH!T!! Even Canadian...HOLY SH!T!! I can get an entire MGB body sandblasted & primed for $400US!
 
Re: "B" roadster body shell

ahah wow, I thought it seemed a little steep. In my opinion the frame isnt in too rough of shape, consdering all factors. And I did a littlesearching on ebay, and there are some pretty cheap mg's out there, but i dont want to run into the same problem. And I also want to stick with the earlier models. AndI still have to find two front panels asthe on that came on the car were fiberglass, all cracked, and looked like crap. What is the deciding factor on if the frame is worth the money or not, any specific things that I should look for, because in my opnion I think its pretty good, but I dont want to throw all kinds of money at it, if its not worth it. Thanks alot.
 
Re: "B" roadster body shell

Don't waste your time on a car that's full of rust! I have 2 early pull handle cars sitting around here that would make nice candidates...one is a rolling bodyshell that needs rockers; the other is a complete car that needs refreshing. Both are less than what you were quoted for sandblasting!

There are lots of good cars out there - not many pull handle - but, lots of good cars.
 
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