MGB MGB Project for my daughter and I

[dvu101]

I have have been an Austin Healey owner for 30years and do most all the work needed on our driver.
My 15 year old daughter will get her drivers license this fall and wants to work on a daily driver so I thought of looking to a MGB. I would like to start with a driver and then work on it together.

My questions are:
what years/model should I look for,
What should I stay away from.
Which could be the best value,
What are the biggest things I need to watch out for
How much should a driver cost

We live in the Washington DC area, in northern virginia

Thanks so much for the assistance.
Scott

 

[JodyFKerr]

My daughter and I are also doing an MGB for her first car. I would recommend a late chrome bumper if you can find it. Benefit is that it's a chrome bumper car and has synchros on all the transmission gears.

Jody

 

[drooartz]

MGBs are rugged little cars, so would be a good classic for a driver -- though of course lacking in most modern safety equipment (ABS, air bags, etc).

For a driver in the US I'd probably pick a '72-'73, and probably a GT over a convertible. These years have a bit better ventilation (with dash vents), collapsable steering columns and dual circuit brakes. The MGB GT is more likely to be waterproof in the rain, so that might hold sway for a true daily driver.

(I say this even though I bought a roadster with a metal dash, non collapsible steering column, and single circuit brakes -- and RHD to boot -- so take it all with a grain of salt.)

These years will have smog equipment, which does complicate things a bit under the bonnet but not too badly. The later padded dashes look pretty good as well (though I admit I'm much more partial to the steel dashes of the early cars). These years are also a bit less expensive (again, the early steel dash cars are more generally desired) and are a great value.

Rust is your biggest enemy -- but you've got a bit Healey so you know all about rusting. Prices vary a bunch by area, but less than $10k should get you an excellent chrome bumper convertible driver with no real issues, with the GTs going for a few grand less.

I'm not a fan of the later rubber-bumper cars, but they have a following as well and are cheaper still. The last of them had a nice dash design and those bumpers do offer more protection. In the end, any year with a great condition body and decent mechanicals will do you well. Values have been pretty stable, so you won't make bundles on a sale down the road, but you're also unlikely to lose much on a good car.

 

[JPSmit]

For a first car for a teenager I would go for an old volvo 240 or an old saab or even an old benz. Still major cool and workability factor but much much safer.

 

[tr8todd]

I'd stick to a rubber bumper car for a new driver. They are 5mph impact rated with no damage. Stay away from any kind of front valance. It will just get crushed when she tries to pull up to a curb stop. Add a roll bar, and get her into a driver training program. My kids are not getting behind the wheel of a street car until they have several autocrosses and or track days under their belts. Worked wonders on my nephew who thought he was an excellent driver till he ran his first autocross in my TR8. After that he stopped driving like an idiot on the street.

 

[billspit]

I'm another who supports the rubber bumper car and possibly the MGB/GT.

As has been stated, you may want to consider a Volvo or Nissan Maxima tank for her first several months of driving.

 

[Marvin Gruber]

I did a Range Rover for my Daughters first car. She got T boned in pass side 1 month after she got it. She walked away without a scratch. Rover was totaled. Not wild about them but for the money I would go with the rubber bumper cars. 1978-80. More of the bugs were worked out by then.

Marv

 

[bobhustead]

I was at Webb Motors in Roanoake some months ago and they had an original BGT in decent shape. About 6500.00 May not still be there, but you could call them.
Bob

 

[dvu101]

thanks guys for all the info.

I will think on it some more