• 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 REAL MGBGTV8: How much???`

Share this page

V

vagt6

Guest
Guest
Offline
On eBay now, a real, "numbers matching" MGBGTV8, right hand drive, with overdrive. IMHO, the best deal on a true, GT sports car on today's market:

https://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1974-MGB-...tem170167486897

I say about $18,000 will take it. What say you all? What's it worth?

This, BTW, is my dream car. Very bad timing for me to consider, I'm building a new garage and second story on my home right now. Otherwise, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

Timing is everything, they say. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cry.gif
 
I saw that one as well, and drooled a bit on my keyboard. No idea what it will go for, just that it will go for more than I can afford. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif
 
I'd be pretty nervous about that one. It has had major structural reconstruction work according to the description (no doubt due to rust) and the driver's door obviously has fit problems.
 
Yep, I saw the door fit problems, too. The photos on eBay are not the best, either, hard to tell about the undercarriage, engine, etc.

Still, a very interesting car. I've never seen an "original" BGT V8.

Wow, I covet. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/devilgrin.gif
 
I've seen a nicer one go for about 15K. That car would scare me without a personal inspection. It also has the wrong wheels and are those seat covers?
 
The bottom of the doors look as though they have been bogged. It may be the light, but if I parted with $15000 plus for a car I would want a better finish!
Not seat covers Chuck, my old 75GT had the same interior.
 
The seller states in his ad that he has the original steel wheels. If so, these are really nice looking wheels and a nice plus for the buyer.
 
Sadly, most Americans don't know enough about these cars and good detailed information isn't easy to find. IMHO, that's kept the value down.

This car will be worth MORE after the December issue of The British V8 Newsletter comes out!

Why? Because we're preparing a "Special Editorial Section" on the factory MGB GT V8 cars.

We've already worked-up about twenty-five interesting, detailed MGB GT V8 articles - and we keep finding more good material to publish! We've received permission to reprint period magazine and newspaper reviews, plus we're including the original British Leyland press releases and publicity materials too. Interviews. Remembrances from original owners. Lots of photos! Background historical info on Costello and Rover V8's. We'll even be including a DETAILED look at this particular seller's car. (Kevin was very generous with his time and allowed us to pop in for a photo session...)

So... "bookmark" this link and check back from time to time:
https://www.britishv8.org/British-V8-Current-Issue.htm
(Expect the new issue sometime shortly before Christmas, depending on how long it takes us to sell the cheap adverts that keep our newsletter FREE for all readers.)

---

p.s. if you do buy this car, check the British V8 classified ads because one of our readers is currently selling an original set of the hard-to-find and long-out-of-production MGB GT V8 iron exhaust manifolds.
 
At the risk of boring you all to death because I say this so often, the MGBV8 is, in the opinion of many, the best pure GT car value on today's marketplace. With the V/8 and OD, it will cruise all day at very low RPMs, in relative comfort.

The one on eBay, above, is the first "complete" RHD one I've seen in ages, maybe 10 years or so.

Very exciting just to see one for sale.

. . . gotta win the lottery! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cry.gif
 
Please don't tempt me! I've been thinking about this car constantly since it appeared on eBay. Can't get it out of my head. I'll eventually own an MGBGT V8, but it won't be this one, sadly.

Hey British V8, regarding the overdrive unit in this eBay car, what type of OD would have been installed at the factory in such a car? Is it a Laycock J-type?
 
All of the factory V8s were equipped with Laycock "Type LH" OD. (I honestly don't know the differences between "LH" and "J" overdrive though.) It was set up so it could only be engaged with the tranny in 4th. The transmission itself was geared differently than regular MGBs to take advantage of the engine's torque output.

The MGB GT V8 ratios were:

Gear Gearbox Ratio / Final Drive / Overall
1st 3.138 / 3.071 / 9.637
2nd 1.974 / 3.071 / 6.062
3rd 1.259 / 3.071 / 3.866
4th 1.000 / 3.071 / 3.071
OD 0.820 / 3.071 / 2.518
Reverse 2.819 / 3.071 / 8.657

The overdrive unit apparently worked okay, but didn't make a perfectly smooth disengagement unless you blipped the clutch pedal. One magazine reviewer complained (IMHO rightly) that the overdrive switch belonged on or next-to the shifter, not on a silly stalk switch where MG put it.

Other transmission complaints were that the pedal had to be absolutely fully compressed before going into 1st or reverse (which probably would have improved after the break-in period) and that the car wouldn't go into reverse quickly after bringing the car to a stop. The reviewers generally LOVED the gear ratio selection, and of course the MG box has a very nice shifter. Several reviewers particularly noted that the MG tranny worked much better than the tranny in Rover saloons. I've been surprised, however, that in all the many reviews I've read now, not one reviewer has complained that MG didn't simply make a proper five speed. (Costello had so many problems with regular MG 4-speeds that he designed his own five-speed, although only a few of them were actually installed. By changing gear ratios and limiting OD to top-gear only, MG avoided some of the traps Costello hit. They also derated the engine to lower hp and torque than Costello used...)
 
Thanks for the most informative post. Hey, complete your profile so we'll know a bit more about you! You obviously are a great LBC enthusiast and it's great to have your knowlege here on the Forum.

Ebay auction ended "reserve not met". Higest bid was about $12,000.

Maybe it had issues that showed up upon the eyeball inspection???
 
And that bit folks needs to go in the tech wiwi.
 
WA1KWA said:
Yes, if memory serves the engine used was a low compression Range Rover unit.

Colin
Click to expand...

Aluminum block V8 based on the old Buick 215...the 3.5 litre Rover....not a lot of horsepower...but more than the inline 4 ...and weighed less!
 
And what is the comparison re: torque?
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]Aluminum block V8 based on the old Buick 215[/QUOTE]
& I've got a couple of those old blocks stacked in a corner of my engine building - along with a couple of the Rover V8 intake manifolds (not the MGB ones but the Rover sedan 'high hat' manifolds).
 
Before this particular car was listed on eBay, it was on Craig's List with an asking price of $19,500. I don't know if that's a fair price or not... but there are probably only between 16 and 18 factory V8's in North America (according to Ken Smith).

Yes Colin, the compression ratio for MGB GT V8 was only 8.25:1, like Range Rover, whereas the Rover 3500 saloons were up around 10.5:1. Before they cut off his supply, Ken Costello was buying 10.5:1 engines.

Compression ratio on Rover/Buick aluminum V8s is altered by changing pistons (not heads, as on Olds), so if you have to buy new (over-sized) pistons anyway... According to the seller, this white car has had its engine rebuilt and a performance cam installed. At least this side of the pond, 8.8 or 9.6:1 pistons are easiest to find. I'd bet twenty bucks this car's engine has more compression (and more power) than it left the factory with.

Mark, if you're curious you can read about my "unreal" MGB GT V8 here: https://www.britishv8.org/MG/CurtisJacobson.htm
(It's been awhile since I've driven it through Charlottesville!)
 
Back
Top