1974 MG B GT V8

This car was first registered in 1974, having rolled off the production line in Abingdon (just up the road from us) a year earlier.

Everything about this exceptionally original car takes you right back to 1974. Take a look at the Britax sunroof or the Union flag Unipart sticker on the rear window and you’re in the world of The Three Day Week, ABBA winning Eurovision and Manchester United being relegated.

This isn’t 1974 remembered or reimagined: this is 1974 incarnate.

Gaze for long enough at the untouched, crackle-effect black paint on the dashboard and you might just see Bagpuss appear, Lord Lucan disappear, or John Stonehouse reappear.

With just 55,000 miles on the clock, this car has managed to avoid the attentions of restorers – well-meaning or otherwise - for all 46 years of its carefully curated life.

You’ll find originality wherever you look – outside, inside, underneath. In fact, it would be easier for us to tell you what isn’t original, so here goes.

The only significant departures from standard are: a single 12 volt battery with battery cut out switch; a manual fan override switch; and a single-box exhaust system which, the vendor tells us, makes the car sound loudly but pleasingly “like something out of Bullitt”.

The vendor is an enthusiast and a collector. He is selling because, well, he’s not been able to give the car the driving time it deserves.  

This, then, is a real rarity. A 1973/4 MGB GT V8, with a 4spd ‘box with overdrive in 3rd and top, in standard factory guise and, we think, a particularly good colour combination.

Rarer still, it has its original chrome bumpers, a low mileage and every MOT certificate from 1977 onwards.

And, from what we’ve seen, read and heard, we’re confident that it’s as good as it looks and sounds. 

Finished in its original Damask red colour and sporting original Dunlop alloy/chrome composite wheels, this is undoubtedly a good-looking car.

All of the body panels are the originals fitted at the Abingdon factory in 1973. They are in good condition, with no creases or dinks, and the shutlines between them are clean and even. The chromework, too, is in good nick, as is the factory-fitted Britax roof, which works as it should, letting the sun in and keeping the rain out. Also correct are the ‘minimal’ size, factory standard, exterior badges.

The car benefits from a very thorough wax injection job when new. Also, the current vendor has kept it in a dehumidified, heated space for the last 10 years. This car, we are assured, doesn’t have any rust.

There is no bubbling anywhere on the bodywork. In the main, the finish is shiny and has good depth of lustre.

But, this is a respray and it is not without fault. The paintwork is lumpy, blistered and a bit ‘time worn’ in several places and although none of this is masking any rot anywhere, there are places such as below the two front windows where the less-than-perfect finish is noticeable.

There is no electrolytic corrosion to the alloy/chrome wheels, which are pretty much unmarked apart from some superficial flaking to the black paint. The car has 5 matching tyres, all of which have plenty of tread left on them.

All exterior lights and indicators are fully functional. 

The navy blue and black interior is as authentic, functional, spartan and of-its-time as you could possibly want. More importantly, it all appears to be in fine fettle and just as the Abingdon engineers and fitters of 1973 would have remembered.

The seats, door cards, centre console, dashboard and fascia are all good, with no tears or marks, scuffs or stains to speak of, save for a couple of spots of flaking to the crackle-effect paint around the temperature gauge on the dashboard.

The push-button radio is, you’ve guessed it, original, and will satisfy all your MW or LW listening needs. The heater works, as do the heated rear screen, all the dials and gauges, the electrics, and all interior lighting, including the charming light over the radio and an aftermarket map reading light fitted to the passenger side of the transmission tunnel.

The roof lining is original and in fine condition, as are the navy blue upholstery and carpets, and the original rubber mats. A picky person might say that the carpet on the parcel is a little faded from 46 years of sunlight, but be that as it may.

A peek under the floor carpets in the car and in the boot reveals…..no rust whatsoever. 

This car is very solid underneath with the all-important original sills, castle rails and rear springs hangers all appearing to be in excellent un-restored order.

The undersides have clearly been liberally coated with protective wax which would seem to have done the intended job of keeping rust at bay with an impressive degree of success.

The engine bay is a clean, tidy and authentic place. Highlights include the (of course) original cast iron exhaust manifolds, the complete air induction system, and original under bonnet labels. There is a crack in the n/s manifold which, the vendor tells us, isn't a problem. This is a well-known occurrence in this model and we think you’ll find that various replacement/repair options are readily available should you feel the need.

A new fuel pump has been fitted. 

The history is more narrative and anecdotal than documented and archived, although it does have every MOT certificate from new.

The first 3 stamps are in the service book. After that, the servicing history is something of a mystery until the vehicle came into the vendor’s ownership 10 years ago. An experienced collector and enthusiast, and a man more than capable of wielding an adjustable wrench and an oil can, he has personally serviced the car on a regular basis.

The original owner was a Mr Warner (he was also the supplying garage owner)  and it is he we must thank for the car’s highly appropriate registration plate: ‘3.5’ is, of course, the size of the engine.

Mr Warner clocked up 24,000 miles in this car in the first three years and, in his 14 years of ownership, amassed a total of 47000 miles.

The second owner had the car for 4 years and covered 5000 miles.

The third owned it for 18 years and limited himself to 1000 miles. The current vendor has covered around 1,500 miles.

This car, then, has been neither overused or under-loved.

The car comes with the original supplying dealers’ key fob and two keys, handbook, Leyland ‘Passport to Service’ document and the heritage certificate, together with past logbooks tracing its 4 owner history.

The car is MOT’d for 12 months.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been maintained to a very good standard.  

We think you really don’t get many of these to the pound.

A rare car anyway, the condition and originality of this 1974 MGB GT V8 put it in the ‘hen’s teeth’ category of rarity.

The vendor tells us that it drives well, pulls strongly across the ‘box, retains the handling for which the model was famed and doesn’t make any puzzling grunts, wheezes, rattles or clunks.

There’s a reason why this car has never been restored. It didn’t need to be.

It has always done what it was built to do and, somehow, has survived most of the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune that have been chucked its way since 1974.

It’s not concours. It has had a less-than-perfect respray. There are jobs to do.

But getting rid of aftermarket additions and modifications and restoring it to original, factory spec isn’t one of them.

This, we believe, is a good ‘un.

Delivery can be arranged by the vendor, using his own trailer, cost to be agreed with a successful bidder.

We have the confidence to offer this rare car for auction with an estimate of £19,000 - £25,000.  

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with the seller in Worcestershire; 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’.

This vehicle is not with us at The Market’s HQ near Abingdon, which means we have had to rely on the owner’s description of it, in conjunction with the photographs you see here, to compile the listing.

With this in mind, we would encourage potential bidders to contact the owner themselves and arrange to view the car in person, or to arrange a dedicated video call in which they can view the car virtually and ask questions.