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On my own with this one...what do I look for?

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jaybird

jaybird

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Check this thread
https://www.britishcarforum.com/ubbthread...p;page=0#137294

Son's in Michigan recruiting, dahubby is gone for a week fishing. I have to do this myself. I know the basics, but the car's been sitting 20 years. 1971 MGB, $1100. Woman didn't know when it has last been started, but I'll know that before I go look, hopefully tonight.

I need a list of things to ask, things to look at/for!

Help a girl out please! I may be bringing a car home on my own.
 
JB, this is really a hard one. First I would check for rust. (how much?). I paid $1000. for my 70', but I knew the drive train was good. Didn't have to do much to it. Just give her an over all check. You might mention that a restored MG will go for about 4500.-6000. (rough estimate guys, don't jump on me). I'd offer $700. with the knowledge it hasn'teen on the road in twenty years. Check the wiring under the hood, mice like to chew on it. If rodents have gotten into the wiring, personally, I'd walk away. good luck. Lee /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hammer.gif
 
I had intended to offer her $800 if the engine turns over and it's not full of rust maggots. She told me the windows on the top had gotten 'foggy' and you couldn't see out of them and the hood needed repainted. That's all she mentioned, but again, I was talking to the daughter. The car either belongs to her parents or grandparents.

And even if it's been in a garage 20 years, some garages aren't much more than barns, and cars can rust just as easily sitting in a garage for 20 years.

And yes, I figured a guestimate of $5-6000 to get it into good shape, depending on what's going on under the hood. Other than wiring and checking the engine, anything else? Besides rust of course. Door sills particularly?

Of course, it could have been well-maintained all these years. Started regularly, fluids, etc. If they've had the car 20 years, there's a strong possibility they could be original owners or 2nd owners on it. (a girl can hope, right?)

Dahubby is going to choke (me, probably) if he comes home and there's another MG in the garage in the space previously occupied by his boat.

Ack, best call my brother-in-law and stop by and get his car dolly.

Double ack, our truck isn't here to tow it.

I'm jumping the gun, aren't I?
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif
 
TRIPLE ACK!

Just got an email from our car club. The chairman sent out a notice to every freaking member about this car!

ARGH. Got to hurry, got to hurry before 'you know who' scarfs it up!
 
~thumps head~

If the car's been sitting 20 years, it's not going to turn over, the battery is going to be dead! Now what?
 
Reach under the rockers (behind the seam where the paint stops) and make sure you can't reach up into them anywhere (meaning there aren't any rust holes), especially in front of the rear wheels. also pull up as much carpeting as the owner will let you especially up in the front outer corners of the footwells and along the inner rockers
I'd reccomend taking a small screwdriver to poke around with,a good flashlight, and a refrigerator magnet to check for bondo.
Also very good to know that the engine spins over.
If this stuff is good then I'd say it's worth 800 to 1000
Good luck J.B.
 
Engine's not going to spin if the battery's 20 years old. And it could have 2 6 volt batteries in it still. Do I take a battery along, we have one here, an extra from the boat.

I have the flashlight and magnet already to go.

((now where exactly are the rocker panels?))
 
Put it in neutral, pull the plugs out, squirt in a few drops of oil and see if you can rotate the engine from the crank pulley. You'll need a big socket for this. Use your car to find the socket that fits and take it. Remember, RUST, not necessarily mechanical condition, determines the price of the car. It may fire up and run, but if you've got rust issues, you're looking at serious time, effort and cash to get it up to snuff. Trust me. My '69 B is proof. $500.00 purchase price car with $7,000.000 in resto work not including my labor! If the body's good, the rest can be made good on the cheap. Now get out there and take a look!
 
Okay, (I'm proving every second that I'm NOT a gearhead) -

Any sort of oil?

Squirt in in where the plugs were?

I have NO idea where the crank pulley is. But I'm heading out to pop the bonnet on the B right now and try to figure it out (where's my Haynes!?)

And yes, I'm far more concerned about the body/rust condition than the engine and tranny.
 
if it has an od tranny....buy it


mark
 
~grins at Mark~

You KNOW I will. And if it's that bad, I'll part out the rest of the car bit by bit, bolt by bolt.
 
Might there be someone in your car club you could take with you to check out the car? Might help if you knew they weren't at all interested in it but they could offer some advice after seeing it in person with you.

And food helps, too...lure them there with the prospect of food.
 
And ya better meet the Hubby with a REAL Nice boat cover upon his return.....



mark

ps. the crank pulley is the one way down low in the front of the engine. It bolts to the crank, hence the name "crank pulley".
 
He's got a real nice boat cover Mark, and we store the boat over the non-fishing months so I can get BOTH my vehicles in the garage.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif

Ahh, never thought about asking someone to go along. Guy in our car club lives a couple blocks away! I'll call Gary.

If I put the car in 3rd or 4th and push it, won't that tell me the engine isn't locked up?

And how do I tell if it has overdrive? I know I need to crawl under it, I know where the tranny is, but not exactly sure what to look for!
 
Gary just finished his Super 7, has a B, and 2 other cars in various stages of restoration. I know he wouldn't be interested, Robin would KILL him if he came home with another car!!! But he's not home yet.
 
an od will have a switch for it, on the later ones it was on the stick shift itself, i am not sure about the earlier ones. on the dash maybe??

if you look underneath it you will see a big lump on the back of the tranny, it wont looke like yours at all.

and dont take your B to look at another one, one, it will get jealous and two, if the seller knows you have one... they might want more.

mark
 
Ahh, yes, I nearly forgot how sensitive Emma is! I was taking her, because I thought if they knew I had one, that I wouldn't be dying for another. Good point though! I'll take the neglected stepchild Toyota!
 
[ QUOTE ]
because I thought if they knew I had one, that I wouldn't be dying for another.

[/ QUOTE ]


hmm i suppose it works that way too..... i try to never take mine to look at another, i would prefer they (the seller) not even know that i even have one.



mark
 
You're right. I don't want them to know that I know too much about the cars.

And it looks like I'm on my own, can't get ahold of the guy that lives near me and everyone else is over in Missouri, a bit out of the way.

I can do this. In fact, I want to do this on my own.
 
I'm going at 7:30. At first he wanted to show it Friday evening but I'm out of town for the weekend and I heard the wife in the background saying a couple other people wanted to see it over the weekend. Being the persuasive person I am, we're going tonight!

The guy is the actual owner, just storing at his mother's house until they sell the house. One dent, a small spot of rust on the hood (I think he said) and part of the door panel is missing (all minor in my book) No wire wheels, which doesn't matter to me either. Back window on top has deteriorated (who cares, top always stays down anyway!) Black. I'll take pictures and I intend on leaving him with a big enough deposit that he'll hold it and not show it to anyone else until dahubby is home to look at it...IF I can't make a decision on my own. (which has never happened in my life!)

YAY! I'm excited. Watch it be a POS.
 
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