1969 MG C GT

Registered in April 1969, this MGC appeared near the end of the model’s production life - manufacture ended in August of that year. The vendor, who admits to not knowing too much of the car’s history, bought it at Christmas, and is the first owner since its restoration. He’s only driven it about 200 to 300 miles in that time and “never in the rain”, so it is effectively pretty much still fresh out of the box. While there isn’t a great deal of documentation, the rebuild seems to have been done very recently - certainly the bills in the history file suggest some pretty major expenditure during 2020, plus there are photographs showing the car enjoying a ‘rotisserie’ bare shell restoration.

The superb condition doesn’t just extend to the outside; the engine has been rebuilt with a lightened flywheel and sits within a nicely-detailed engine bay, while the cabin includes fresh black leather trim. Overall, the car seems to have covered very few miles during the 21st century. And that seems a little bit of a shame, because, for a car that is this good, it deserves to be properly enjoyed.

The Snowberry White paintwork is practically immaculate. In fact, just drop ‘practically’ - it is immaculate. The quality of the restoration - and how well it has subsequently been looked after - just speaks for itself. From a distance, it all looks flawless. Get up close and… nope, the flaws still aren’t there. The finish is just excellent - which includes areas that often get overlooked such as the valances under the bumpers - and all the panel gaps are tight and consistent. You’ll even struggle to find too many stonechips, and there are certainly no significant ones at all. For those who delight in nitpicking (and there are always one or two), the weatherstrip at the top of the rear hatch does show some signs of weathering, but that is about as far as any issues goes.

All the chrome looks like new. Which it pretty much is. There’s no tarnishing, and certainly no scrapes or any other damage. Everything is well-mounted and sits exactly as it should.

The 15-in wire wheels are chromed, and knowing just how long it can take to clean all those spokes says a lot for how much attention has been devoted to keeping them spick-and-span. There is no rust or scraping of the rims. All the tyres are Fulda Y-2000185/70 R15 89V items, and they’re free from sidewall damage with plenty of tread left.

As good as it is on the outside, it’s on the inside where this car particularly shines. MG interiors from this era can quite easily look a bit tatty after some years. That’s not the case here; this car looks like it could have just rolled out of the Abingdon factory yesterday. Nothing looks worn or even particularly used at all.

The interior is finished in black leather, with the carpeting also in black. It’s almost possible to believe that nobody has even sat in any of the seats, because there’s practically no surface cracking at all. The carpeting is similarly spotless - there’s no fading or marking to be found. This extends through to the rear load area as well, which doesn’t look like anything has ever been carried in it. It’s like this MGC has lived in a bubble. It’s worth browsing our gallery to look, in particular, at the how speckless the inside of the hatchback is, as well as the hinge area of the passenger doors. They’re typical of just how much care has gone into making the car just right. Overhead, the headlining has no issues.

The crackle-finish dashboard is excellent and even the MG-branded radio blanking plate is still in place, as it the standard steering wheel - no Mota-Lita replacement here. This is a pure MGC interior just as Abingdon intended. The vendor tells us that everything works as it should.

Aside from the lightened flywheel, we don’t know too much about what might have been done to the engine, but it all looks stock under the bonnet. Even the air filter casing mounted on the twin-SU carburettors is to the original spec - they’re often changed for freer-breathing items that may give a little extra power, but always look a little out of place in such a classic engine bay. There’s simply nothing amiss here.

Although there are some isolated metal areas where surface rust has gently blossomed, overall the engine bay is very well-detailed. The rocker cover, for example, is pretty much as shiny as the chrome on the outside of the car, while the block is in the correct shade of BMC metallic green. There are no signs of any leaks, and a check on the fluids reveals they’re all a healthy colour and at the levels they should be.

The car has been comprehensively undersealed underneath. We can’t imagine tinworm managing to establish any foothold here for quite a while, especially if the car continues to be as well-looked after as it obviously has been up to now.

The vendor reports that the engine fires up easily, runs well and “never misses a beat”. It is “quiet and extremely usable, and more than capable in modern traffic”. Part of that ability comes from having overdrive fitted, meaning this MGC is quick to get up to higher speeds, and then happy to just eat up the miles cruising along at reduced revs, courtesy of that handy little dash-mounted switch.

There isn’t a great deal of paperwork in the history folder, and not much at all relating to the car’s 20th century life. Lots of parts ordered during 2020 from respected MG specialists such as The MGB Hive, Brown & Gammons, MG Owners’ Club Spares Ltd, no doubt relate to the restoration. There are earlier bills from the start of the 21st century suggesting it had quite a lot of work carried out then too. Also in the file is the owner’s handbook plus, of course, all those pictures of the restoration underway. There are a few MoTs; a 2002 MoT certificate lists its mileage as 45,766 miles; almost 20 years later, it’s just 45,938 miles. So it’s highly possible that this MG was long-term restored over several years, and has done next-to-no miles over the last 20 or so. If so, it’s just ripe to be used now.

Frankly, this MGC is little short of stunning - so much so that our pictures and video don’t really do it full justice. We’d invite any inspection so you can see the car for yourself - and as the car is now back in Abingdon, the town where it was built 52 years ago, we’re sure it will be on its best behaviour for any prospective bidders.

But even if you can’t visit, we can assure you that this is probably one of the best MGCs currently around. It’s fresh from a very high quality restoration, drives exactly as it should, and has hardly any blemishes. What a car to own. What a car to enjoy. And we’ve no doubt that whoever buys it will enjoy it greatly.

While there is no reserve on this MG, we’ve put an estimate of between £25,000 to £30,000 on it, reflecting, quite simply, that it’s little short of fabulous, inside, outside and underneath. It’s genuinely that good, and needs nothing more doing to it, other than to relished as the top example of its breed that it is.

Inspection is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon - yes, it’s back in its town of birth. 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’.