• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

MGB-GT Newbie researching MGB GTs

Share this page

S

Schoenbrau

Freshman Member
Offline
Hi everyone,
I'm looking to own a vintage British sports car in the next couple years. I have a couple young kids and don't have family to watch them when the wife and I go cruising so whatever I get needs to be a 2+2 so they can come with.

Some really nice folks at the triumph forum steered me onto the trail of the MGB GT. Does anyone have info or recommended books/websites about which MGs were 2+2 and if they had a v8? I believe I've heard that the MGB v8 conversion is popular here in the states- what's your opinion on swapping a v8 into an MGB? If I'm not mistaken, no v8 MGs were imported to the states, but, I am a newbie so I could be wrong.

Any help, tips, or suggestions would be much appreciated. Thank you!
 
The "2+2" is the GT. There were V8 GTs made but none were exported to the States. As the last MGB/GT V8 is now over 25 years old, you can now import one legally without restriction.

There is a LOT of information available about V8 conversions and MGBs. Go to https:///www.britishv8.org and go to the photo gallery as well as the MG Forum there. (You just missed BritishV8 2015 in Indianapolis).

I see you live in St.Louis. Go talk with John Mangles of All British Car Repair. He is very knowledgable on these conversions and has done several (he did the body work for my conversion). https://www.themgdoc.com/

The back seat of the GT is vestigial at best. Your children will fit if not too big at this time. You can install seat belts for the rear seats. Some, but not all, car seats may fit.

attachment.php
attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • Ingram MGBGT V8 July 2011.jpg
    Ingram MGBGT V8 July 2011.jpg
    72.7 KB · Views: 156
  • Engine bay 7-1-11_resized.jpg
    Engine bay 7-1-11_resized.jpg
    77.9 KB · Views: 169
Welcome. There are probably several real MGB V-8's here, brought in by the owners. I have never seen one in real life however. While the GT
does offer a back seat, I am not sure it is Ideal except in the short term. The kids will grow up and this will be a lot less tractable soon. Perhaps you might consider a sports saloon. The Rover 3500 S V-8 comes to mind. Most of the MG conversions I have seen that were well done, generally command high prices. Most V-8 conversions emulate factory practice with the Rover V-8. Of course there are a lot of others using the Ford 289, and several Chevy choices. These generally involve front end changes due to weight. As an MGC owner I can tell you
that extra weight in the front means meticulous maintenance. Good luck in your search and let us know what you find. Tom.
 
number6 said:
As an MGC owner I can tell you
that extra weight in the front means meticulous maintenance. Good luck in your search and let us know what you find. Tom.
Click to expand...

The BOP/Rover aluminum block actually weighs about 75 pounds LESS than the stock four cylinder engine. Using the Ford 302 with aluminum heads will come out a little heavier than the stock four cylinder engine but not significantly more.

The stock suspension of the MGB will indeed handle most of these conversions...I would, however, recommending upgrading the front brakes. The stock differential of the MGB will sustain horsepower up to about 250bhp without problem.

A Triumph Vitesse/Sports 6 would be a good option for a "family" car.


attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • British Mark R.I.P..jpg
    British Mark R.I.P..jpg
    37.6 KB · Views: 177
Tried looking it up and couldn't find it on the site. Be careful of whats offered on the E site. If the car is local and you can see it
in person, great, if not you may find a member on the forum who lives close and may help you by checking it out. If you find one in the Rochester NH area, let me know and I will check it out. I caution you only by way of what I went thru. Found great MG door, arrived
worse than pictured and ultimately couldn't use it. Pictures never tell the whole story. Let me ask you if you are looking for a project or
a complete car you just drive? If not a project, dig deep and buy the best example you can find, and get it on a lift before you buy. I didn't
do that with my first Rover 2000 TC, I was stupid and it was a huge mistake, I paid for dearly.
 
No such thing as a GT convertible. Depending on budget, interest and ability to do your own work, can I suggest:

Hardtop:

Triumph Herald/Vitesse
MG Magnette
Morris Minor
Austin Counties (look them up)
Morris Oxford Farina (look them up)
Jaguar

Soft top
Morris Minor
Triumph Herald/ Vitesse
Jaguar XJS - very good value right now (or XK also a good value)

another option (soft & hard top) is a Triumph Stag

welcome & good luck!
 

Attachments

  • $_57.jpg
    $_57.jpg
    116.4 KB · Views: 162

Attachments

  • $_57.jpg
    $_57.jpg
    77.1 KB · Views: 163
Thank you all for such great information and help! Here's another question about the MGB: what would be a good way to search for 2+2 MGBs, specifically? Such as- were they only within a certain few years, hardtop only, or is it just I have to see photos to see if it's a 2+2?
 
Schoenbrau said:
Thank you all for such great information and help! Here's another question about the MGB: what would be a good way to search for 2+2 MGBs, specifically? Such as- were they only within a certain few years, hardtop only, or is it just I have to see photos to see if it's a 2+2?
Click to expand...

When you do your search, do not refer to the car as a "2+2"...refer to it as MGBGT, MGB-GT, MGB/GT, or possibly just GT. You will get more hits. Unlike other sportscars of the era such as the Datsun 240/260/280Z and the Mustang, they were never known as "2+2"s here nor in the home market..

The MGB/GT was manufactured from 1965 through 1980....but only exported to North America through December 1974..The 1965 and 1966 model years are somewhat rare...the 1967 through 1974 fairly abundant here in the States. I doubt you'll find many 1975-80 MGB/GTs in North America.
 
rick_ingram said:
When you do your search, do not refer to the car as a "2+2"...refer to it as MGBGT, MGB-GT, MGB/GT, or possibly just GT. You will get more hits. Unlike other sportscars of the era such as the Datsun 240/260/280Z and the Mustang, they were never known as "2+2"s here nor in the home market..

The MGB/GT was manufactured from 1965 through 1980....but only exported to North America through December 1974..The 1965 and 1966 model years are somewhat rare...the 1967 through 1974 fairly abundant here in the States. I doubt you'll find many 1975-80 MGB/GTs in North America.
Click to expand...



Awesome, thank you!
 
You might want to consider a 1970 GT with the split rear bumper. I believe the only year they had that.
 
Just remember ...... IF you put kids in the "back seat"
of a GT,CPS will probably be paying you a visit.
Or,you could have their legs removed.

- Doug
 
This is the "back seat" of our '74 B-GT. The blue jug is a 1-gallon container - just for scale. The driver's seat is set for me, and I'm 5'8", and there's only a couple of inches between the back of the driver's seat and the back seat cushion.
 

Attachments

  • 100_2822.jpg
    100_2822.jpg
    67.2 KB · Views: 109
  • 100_2826.jpg
    100_2826.jpg
    59.8 KB · Views: 123
Flash_Harry said:
This is the "back seat" of our '74 B-GT. The blue jug is a 1-gallon container - just for scale. The driver's seat is set for me, and I'm 5'8", and there's only a couple of inches between the back of the driver's seat and the back seat cushion.
Click to expand...

.....as I said.....vestigial.
 
rick_ingram said:
.....as I said.....vestigial.
Click to expand...

Wow, I knew the seats were small but man that's wild. Thanks for the pics! Fortunately, my kids are 2 and 0 so by the time I buy they'll still be pretty small, BUT depending on traffic law where we live, I may need to test fit a booster seat in the back and who knows how that'll go. I think the best thing to do is find an MGB and other cars that I've got my eye on and see if I can't take a peek inside in person.

If anyone is in the St. Louis area, there's the All British Car Show coming up on September 26th! I'm hoping that I'll have the opportunity to check out some MGBs there!
 
AngliaGT said:
Booster seat + MGB GT = NO WAY!!!
You were kidding?

- Doug
Click to expand...

LOL you're right Doug - though once I have seen the "child car seat" that you could buy for the MGB - a cushion for the transmission hump - how times have changed.

That said, I had friends whose 4th and 5th children were twins and they had a VW Rabbit. they bolted the car seats to the floor in the luggage area. Oh, and, it does amaze me on cruise nights how many cars roll in with car seats in the back. "Honey if you are going to that cruise night again, at least take the kids!" :p
 
Back
Top