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What's up with O/D prices???

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mgbmedic

mgbmedic

Jedi Trainee
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Why are MGB overdrive trannys soooooo...expensive. I have a 63 Healey O/D tranny and it's worth less than one for the B. Somebody explain this to me. I was hoping for an even trade, but no such luck.
 
B owners have been fooled into thinking its the best option for their cars & is worth the price....myself - though I own 5 or 6 OD's - I would never pay some of those prices....
 
[ QUOTE ]
Why are MGB overdrive trannys soooooo...expensive. I have a 63 Healey O/D tranny and it's worth less than one for the B. Somebody explain this to me. I was hoping for an even trade, but no such luck.

[/ QUOTE ]

Just guessing here, but maybe it's because most MGB's came without O/D, but Healey's came with 'em? And there are a lot more MGB's out there than Healeys, and everyone who now have MGB's w/out overdrive wants one? Simple case of supply and demand?

Mickey
 
I agree, just supply and demand. Notice in the UK, OD transmissions are much cheaper. I contribute that to lower demand since here in the USA the roads are typically more wide open and designed for high-speed driving. If the roads in the UK were more like those in the US, all these old British cars would have been made with larger engines and taller gearing.
 
I watched a B o/d go for over $800 on ebay a few weeks ago and another for $600. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
I have a later model B O/D listed on eBay right now. No reserve, starting bid of $400 and a buy it now of $700. There are a whole lot of watchers but no bids yet. Closes on Sunday but if there are still no bids by Thursday evening, I'm pulling it off.

I have O/D in my 75B and non O/D in my 80B. I enjoy driving both equally. We've driven the 80 to Dallas, TX and St Louis, on two different trips and the 75 was cross country and back earlier this year. I noticed no difference in gas milage between the two cars. They both got approx 30 mpg on the open road.
 
I just bought several - old & new styles - for an average cost of $300 each...& there's nothing wrong with them....

....Personally, I think that's about the high end of their value
 
Sorry, Steve - only 1 early one....but I bought it & some late ones the other day...now I've got one for all my cars & one I can put on my MGC transmission case.....
 
I paid $500 plus shipping for my later model overdrive, from someone on the board here. I wouldn't have paid a dime more to anyone, that was my absolute upper limit. I THOUGHT I wanted an OD for Binabox, but someone convinced me that I probably didn't need it and could always put one in later. The early 3 synchro gearboxes are even higher priced it seems.
 
[ QUOTE ]
B owners have been fooled into thinking its the best option for their cars & is worth the price....myself - though I own 5 or 6 OD's - I would never pay some of those prices....

[/ QUOTE ]

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/iagree.gif
 
JB, drive your running car without using the overdrive. If you like that then you'll like the early car without it as well, and vice versa.
 
If a person is willing to pay the $500 or so & s happy - its a good deal...I looked for years & years for an early 3-syncro OD...from time to time one would pop up at $750 - $1000 & I'd keep looking....finally found one at a decent price....heck, the guy had several MG OD's...patience keeps the price down....I'm working on acquiring another LH OD right now....
 
I'm of the opinion that a MGB with O/D will exert less wear and tear on the engine by lessening the RPMs, is there a flaw in my critical thinking skills? I'm not looking for increased gas mileage, I just want to extend the life of a wonderful old machine.
 
Robert, how many times can you rebuild your MGB engine for $500-$700....doing the work yourself?
 
[ QUOTE ]
I'm of the opinion that a MGB with O/D will exert less wear and tear on the engine by lessening the RPMs, is there a flaw in my critical thinking skills? I'm not looking for increased gas mileage, I just want to extend the life of a wonderful old machine.

[/ QUOTE ]

Will you really be putting that many miles on the car? Religious oil changes help too.
 
Tony...this is now my "daily driver". I bought it a few weeks ago, paid $1400.00, and drove it home. I have a good friend that has a restoration business and is a Moss distributor. Since I've bought it, I have:
1 rebuilt the front suspension
2 installed a new gas tank
3 installed kickin' stereo
4 new carpet, sorta'
5 pertronix ignition
6 new heater valve
7 rebuilding rear suspension this weekend
8 installed british flag licence plate on front bumper
Incidentally, I had one person accuse me of being a redneck for displaying the rebel flag...duh! And I enjoy just about every minute I spend driving it or being under the hood. I don't look forward to an engine rebuild until next summer when I get my 76 roadster out.
 
Bruce B...I use 15W50 Mobil 1 synthetic oil, I'm hoping this will maybe delay a rebuild thru the winter, compression is 148,146,146,148. Should last, but the high rpms on the highway bug me, hope an o/d will calm the revs and my nerves
 
Man, you got a deal! $1400 for a daily driver! You can build an engine a couple of times before you'll pay for an OD transmission....but, hey, if you want one I say 'go for it'! When the engine's out for a rebuild is a perfect time to do it....but that compression tells me its gonna be longer than the spring before you have to build it!

Don't know about the oil though - I stay with Castrol 20w50 year round
 
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