1973 MG MGB GT

The first owner kept the car for an incredible 33 years, so it’s fair to say it was a much-loved member of the family for the three decades she had it. The intensity of this long-standing love is reflected in the car’s amazing service history, which can be seen online. A highlight is the bodywork restoration and professional respray that she commissioned in 1986 at a cost of £2,700 – or nearly £8,000 at today’s prices!

The car’s fifth and current owner has lavished a huge amount of time and money on the car in the five years he’s owned it. A long-time MG enthusiast, he’s owned four MGAs and two more MGBs before this one, so it won’t surprise you to hear that he’s also a member of the MG Car Club and the car itself is recorded on the MG Register. And, to close the circle, he’s still in touch with the car’s original owner; how lovely is that?

In addition to the respray in 1986, the car was fully Waxoyl’d and undersealed in 1989 prior to the latest restorative work in 2015-16, so the underside is as solid an example as you could ever hope to find.

The external coachwork restoration started with the car being stripped to bare metal. It was repaired as necessary before being fitted with new front wings and rear panels and then painted in Jaguar Old English White. As you can see from the photographs, the chaps who did the the work did an amazing job. (As well they might, given the £4,500 bill…)

But, we think they earned every penny as the panel gaps are tight and even, the doors shut with a precision ‘click’, and the flanks are free of ripples and other defects. New rubber seals and badges were fitted throughout.

However, the work didn’t end there as the owner then paid another £6,500 for Crown Classics to carefully and painstakingly reassemble the car. The result is one of the nicest examples we’ve ever seen thanks, in part, to the “party in the Moss catalogue” they had!

The five Minotaur Minilite-style wheels are shod with good tyres. The headlamps – upgraded with Xenon bulb conversions – are supplemented by two wonderful period-style spotlamps. The Webasto sunroof is new, and is leak-free and seals beautifully.

The chromework is generally in very good condition although some of it, most notably the two rear bumper overriders, could do with refinishing to bring them up to the same high standard as the rest of the car.

The black leather seats, replete with white piping, are still very supportive and only mildly patinated and sit in front of a newly retrimmed rear seat. The black headlining was custom-made and new carpets, door trims and seat belts were fitted at the same time.

And, while some of the metal interior surfaces like the steering wheel are lighted tarnished, the overall effect is delightful, even down to the Minidisc stereo head-unit. (When did you last see one of those?)

(By the way, have you seen the rear hatchback strut supports? The springs that tension them are a piece of art in themselves. Seriously, if MG had continued to engineer cars to this standard it’d have a darned site more credibility than it currently does.)

The four-cylinder 1800cc engine has been rebuilt with a stage 2 cylinder head complete with hardened valve seats to allow the use of unleaded petrol. Polished ports and a lightened flywheel play a supporting role to the Weber 45 DCOE carburettor, which was jetted on a rolling road. When the session ended in January 2018, the engine produced a mighty 112bhp helped, no doubt, by the electronic ignition and sports coil.

An oil cooler, Kenlowe fan and new radiator help keep things cool and the whole thing breathes through a freeflowing stainless steel sports exhaust. An alloy rocker cover smartens the whole ensemble up and the entire electrical system has been converted to 12 volts. A new clutch, battery and alternator have also been fitted and the manual gearbox is fitted with an overdrive.

The owner tells us that the car revs beautifully, thriving at the upper reaches of the range. “Keep it on the cam” is his advice, as it “loves the Weber carb!” The underbonnet area is very smart and tidy and a credit to him.

Additional recent mechanical work includes Spax adjustable front shock absorbers, new uprated and lowered rear springs, new kingpins/stub axle, stainless steel brake hoses, a new fuel tank, and new brake discs and uprated pads.

The owner tells us that he has eradicated pretty much all the niggles that are inherent with classic sports cars of a certain age.

Please do view the car’s extraordinarily complete service history (26 invoices from the same MG specialist between 1992-2006 alone) in the ‘Gallery’ section online – but please do set aside some time, as the collection of old bills and invoices might take a while to wade through…

The vehicle comes with a new MOT and the online MOT history shows nothing that would concern us.

Oh, it also comes with the original sales invoice. Obviously.

While this MGB GT is gorgeous and extraordinarily well sorted, it is not a concours example – but, having said that it isn’t that far off should the new owner want to take it in that direction. However, we can see the car going to an enthusiastic driver who wants to enjoy the uprated suspension and engine either on the road or track; after all, it would be shame to consign such a well-sorted example to the back of a trailer to be shuffled from show to show…

With an estimated sale price of £8-10,000 (and an even lower reserve) we expect this car to generate an awful lot of interest, so please feel free to make an appointment to come and view the car here at Patina HQ in Abingdon at your earliest convenience; 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’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.