1981 MG B

This car has previously been sold through us here at the market and was recorded as first registered in the UK in July 1981. This UK spec 1970 MGB is understood to have been kept for a time in Paris prior to being returned to the UK. The previous owner kept this much-loved car for around 30 years, reportedly attracting his future wife with its classic looks.

The previous owner had a huge amount of restoration work carried out on the car during their four years of ownership. The brief was to keep it largely original with a few performance upgrades as well as a full colour change from Trafalgar blue to Midnight Blue. Once completed the previous owner set about racking up the miles driving this car, putting around 10,000 miles under its belt meaning it’s a tried and tested package.

The MG B is very tidy all around with very few issues jumping out at us during the photoshoot. The paintwork is nice and deep and lacks any obvious stone chipping or damage save for the one chip on the driver’s door as pictured.

The Midnight blue paint work is accentuated by the black fabric hood which is in good condition, and we couldn’t see any issues with the hood when we were on the photoshoot, please do look through the gallery below to see for yourself.

The chrome trim also serves to smarten up the exterior with no pitting or corrosion seen to the trim and it all fitting nice and snug to the bodywork. The bumpers are in good condition too with no obvious rusting, pitting or corrosion. There are four over fenders in the boot should the new owner wish to install them, however they were removed to give the car a cleaner look.

Painted 14” wire wheels, knock-off centre chrome spinners with Dunlop tyres and a nice chunky sidewall scream retro cool. Hidden behind the front wheels are disc brakes with single pot callipers helped along by drums at the rear. The tyres look to be in good condition and have plenty of tread left with no visible cracking to the rubber or any gauges out from rogue curbs or potholes. These points also extend to the spare wheel, found in the boot.

The cabin in the MG has a sporty/cruiser feel to it, simple folding seats gave you enough support when you wanted to chuck the car along some twisty roads but also gave some room behind them for extra luggage space. The leather trim on the seats and door cards is in great condition and has likely been re-covered or refurbished during the restoration. Being a convertible, you have the choice or riding with the hood up or down in the MG and also with the full cabin tonneau cover fitted and the roof fully down. The full tonneau fits nicely and whilst there might be a pop fitting or two missing on the body, it still fits without excessive gaps, as can be seen in the photos.

Inside with the hood up, the MGB gave a good sense of everything being put together well with the dials falling easily to your gaze and all the controls being ergonomically to hand. Major touch points in the car were all without excessive wear although the wood rimmed, Moto-Lita steering wheel did feel like it could benefit from a re-lacquer to really spruce up the interior space. This was a decision from the previous owner to retain some patina in the interior.

With not a huge amount to discuss in the interior, a previous owner saw fit to add a touch of modern comforts with a USB port discreetly fitted to the right-hand side of the dash.

Underneath the actual body of the MGB looked to be in really good shape considering these car’s reputation to return to mother earth all too keenly. The restoration work to the car has clearly been done to a high standard with the car to still be in the condition it’s in today.

There were no obvious signs of any corrosion that might be cause for concern from what we could see. We’ve tried to show as much as possible of the underside for you to make up your own mind.

Under the bonnet, the rebuilt engine has been repainted in period correct maroon and it contrasts nicely off the midnight blue paint in the engine bay. The twin- SU carburettors have K&N performance air filters fitted, improving the induction noise whilst additions such as the aluminium rocker cover ties the entire ensemble together nicely.

With the mechanicals having new life breathed into and being driven a fair number of miles to ensure correct running in, the MG eagerly fired up and idled beautifully whilst we were photographing the car. We only maneuverer the car out of the garage but we would have loved to have opened it up on a nice stretch of the country’s finest B-roads (minus the numerous craterous potholes that are all too common of course). We have given a video of the car starting and running below which probably hopefully will give you an idea of just how good this car sounds in person.

The cooling system hasn’t been forgotten either during the restoration and there is even a small oil cooler in the front air aperture of the MG’s grille. All in all then, a wonderful looking engine bay that inspires confidence that this MG will not only get you to where you’re going and back again but will do it without fuss.

In the boot all is clean and well presented, the floor is sound and recently painted and houses the full-size spare wire wheel. Carpets and linings were replaced in late 2016 and the car also comes with a full-length tonneau cover for the cabin with longitudinal centre zip should you wish to take a drive with the hood completely removed.

A previous owner has had the engine overhauled and converted to unleaded fuel by Oselli engineering and back in 2014 over £4,000 was spent on bodywork repairs to the sills, underfloor and bulkheads.

In its previous ownership the car saw invoices being accumulated for numerous new or replacement ancillary parts as well as interior trim, inertia reel seatbelts, clutch, full colour change respray, wheel refurb, water pump and hoses, seals, fuel pump and hoses, carbs and alternator. The rear suspension was also upgraded to Spax shocks with new hyperbolic springs to give the car a smooth and firm ride. A new electronic ignition system was also added.

While the online MOT history for this car is rather short, the documents in the history file give a little more clarity. The paper MOTs record a mileage of 94,647 in 1989 - then it appears the car went “round the clock” around 1990 before climbing again up to 25,797 where it has sat unmoving (forgiving the occasional misread by testers in a poorly lit garage) since 1995. Given reported usage since that time, it would be safe to assume that the true mileage on this car is closer to 150,000 miles.We do note from an HPI report that in 1997 the car was subject to a write off, however a previous owner has stated he has no idea why this has been noted as although it was in an accident around this time the only damage was to the near side front wing and there is no sign of any accident damage anywhere including to the chassis, therefore he has no idea why this would have been recorded.

The car’s last MOT certificate has expired and while it is MOT exempt by virtue of its age, we would strongly encourage the new owner to prepare the car for testing.

The MG B is one of Britain’s most iconic sports cars born from an age where British sports cars were all the rage. 40 plus years on this little MG looks as though it’s been given a fresh shot at life on the road and would be a fantastic car to dip your toe into classic car ownership.

We estimate this vehicle to fetch between £8,000 - £12,000 in auction.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with the vendor in Cardiff, United Kingdom. To arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.