1974 MG B GT

The vendor has owned this car for 15 or so months and enjoyed driving it around the Lake District lanes and mountain passes where he lives.

He had always wanted an MGB but was equally committed to finding something that started, drove and stopped like a modern car.

His predecessor did all the heavy lifting during a process in which his wallet must have suffered countless severe and savage beatings.

We reckon there’s about £100k worth of parts alone in this car.

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

Sometime in 1991 it underwent its first restoration. Then, between 2016 and 2018, it underwent the full mechanical and aesthetic transformation you see before you today.

The then owner bought a fully roadworthy MGB as a donor car for Frontline Developments to create one of their superlative high-performance MGB GT Abingdon Black Edition vehicles.

This was shortly after Chris Evans had declared the Frontline to be the best car of that entire series of Top Gear.

As a consequence of Mr Evans’ enthusiastic rhapsodies, waiting lists for Frontline cars suddenly got a whole lot longer.

So, our man decided to gain a march on the process by purchasing all manner of parts from Frontline (including the engine, powertrain, suspension, wheels and brakes) and getting other people to put them together in accordance with Frontline’s specifications.

So, to be clear, it’s not a Frontline Developments car, but it has got plenty of genuine, high-spec Frontline bits and pieces in it.

The result is a car that looks like an MGB GT (only far better built than anything that would have left the factory in 1974) and goes like no MGB GT ever went.

In 1974 an MGB GT with a 1.8 litre engine might have managed 105mph and covered 0-60mph in a tad under 12 seconds.

And that’s if you’d just fed it some raw steak, insulted its mother and trodden on its foot.

For context, a Lamborghini Miura P4000 SV of the same era could get to 60mph in 6.7 seconds, as could a Ferrari 308 GTB.

This MGB GT, with its Mazda 2.5 litre 4-cylinder aluminium engine delivering 289bhp at 6,800 rpm, hits 60mph in about 3.8 seconds and tops out at 160mph (Frontline’s figures).

Which is, quite frankly, bonkers.

As we said – it’s come on a bit since it left the factory in 1974.

The car is in very good overall condition. It has been used sparingly (about 3000 miles in the last 1.5 years) and looked after with all the care and attention it deserves.

The quality of the components is evident almost wherever you look, and it’s obvious that an eye-watering amount of money has been spent.

We’ve taken it for a spin and can attest to its blistering performance. It feels pretty well screwed together and the only rattles, clunks, moans, groans, whistles, sighs, creaks and grunts we heard were coming from the passenger.

The 6 speed gearbox is precise and notchy. The throttle responsive is very sharp and the handling and ride are irresistibly grin-inducing.

It really is quite a car.

The car is finished in British Leyland Opalescent Gunmetal grey, a particularly good colour we feel, particularly when matched with the car’s very handsome powder coated black spoke wheels.

These wheels, by the way, were handmade and came in at about £1000 per corner. They are untroubled by kerb rash and are shod in matching Avon rubber with a decent amount of life left in it.

The finish has plenty of lustre and shine to it overall, although there are a few places - just in front of the bonnet scoop, for example - where the lacquer has peeled and the paint is just starting to lift.

The body panels are largely free of any dinks, dents, creases, folds or nicks to speak off, save for some rippling below the chrome strip on the o/s/f wing. Even stone chips and road rash are not much in evidence.

All chrome work, badging, grilles and exterior trim is in decent nick, as is the terracotta-red fabric roof – which both looks great and does what it’s meant to do. The light lenses are clear and free from scratches and cracks.

There is no rust that we could see anywhere on the bodywork.

Some of the rubber trim around the top edge of the hatchback door has perished and cracked.

The inside of the car was actually built by Frontline. And it shows.

The quality of the workmanship is exceptional, with the best available materials and faultless attention to detail everywhere you look.

Even with a vivid imagination it’s quite hard to accept the fact that the donor car was built in the year of the Three Day Week, ABBA winning Eurovision and Lord Lucan disappearing.

It looks like it was built last week – and to an immeasurably higher spec than anything ever contemplated or achieved by MG.

Resplendent in the finest Guards Red Connolly leather, the door cards, transmission tunnel (with its splendid cup-holder paniers) and luggage area are in very good condition and simply ooze quality.

The charcoal grey with red stitching Alcantara bucket seats are firm, supportive and comfortable (once you’re in) and are in excellent fettle.

Charcoal grey carpets, mats and Alcantara door cappings complete the opulent look. All are in top order, save for a piece of carpet that’s lifting slightly just behind the n/s/r light cluster.

Being a Frontline creation, the inside also features heated front and rear window screens, heated front and rear seats, electric windows and central locking.

There is a Clarion NZ502E stereo with Bluetooth, Satnav, DVD, DAB, etc, etc. This is accompanied by a JL Audio 8 inch subwoofer and ZR speakers.

What else? Well, tinted glass, a 3 kilowatt heater, internal lighting in the foot wells, rear storage compartment lighting, and USB charging in the driver’s arm rest and glove box.

Not enough for you?

Try an interior that’s fully lined with Dynamat sound deadening and has Dynaliner heat insulation applied to all floors, doors, bulkheads and the transmission tunnel.

Or seatbelts that come with the kind of webbing and buckles you’d need if you found yourself having to transport a hippopotamus with a Chinook helicopter.

Or the gorgeous Mota-Lita polished alloy steering wheel with its wooden rim.

Still want more?

OK.

It’s also got air-conditioning fitted, a nigh-on £3,000 optional extra. Yes, that’s right, you can now drive an MGB GT with air-con.

Will wonders never cease?

The dashboard, centre console, fascia, dials and instruments are all good and everything works as it should.

All toggles, switches and buttons obligingly (and satisfyingly) transmit the haptic feel of first-class engineering to your fingertips.

The floor of the luggage area sticks to the same story when it comes to uncompromised quality. Lifting it reveals a bagged car cover, a knock-off mallet, the battery, a mahoosive amplifier and lots of pristine carpet.

In addition to the engine, drivetrain and wheels, other Frontline components underneath include aluminium front suspension uprights with tubular wishbones and adjustable dampers, 6 link rear suspension system, fully adjustable coil over telescopic dampers and springs, billet alloy 4 piston front brake calipers with ventilated discs, billet alloy 2 piston rear brake calipers with solid discs, and stainless steel braided Goodridge hoses.

The undersides are in good order and the protective wax seems to have done a good job of, er, protecting it.

The engine bay is a clean and tidy place, albeit not one that any 1970’s MG employees would recognize, and everything in there is clearly of the highest possible spec.

The MG has been registered as an historic car. The car has 11 previous owners including the vendor – all of which is largely irrelevant because, in reality, this is a car that’s only covered 4000 or so miles.

The car has an MoT, with no advisories, valid until 14.1.22.

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.

Frontline are to MGBs what Singer and Eagle are to Porsche 911s and E-Types respectively.

In other words, they’re as good as it gets.

And while this car wasn’t built by them (aside from the interior) and isn’t, therefore, a Frontline car, it benefits from having many of the high quality components that make their cars so sought-after and highly regarded – and that’s a good thing.

Some areas - paintwork, bodywork - are more MGB than Frontline and the car hasn’t had the full benefit of Frontline’s build expertise (aside from the interior) or their post-build snagging and fettling skills.

But be in no doubt that this is a very fine ‘restomod’ MGB GT that more than delivers on performance and is built around a backbone of superbly engineered components.

And if you’ve never driven an MGB GT that can do 0-60mph in 3.8 seconds, prepare to be amazed.

This car, we believe, is a good ‘un.

Whether you want to spend more time and money fettling and tweaking is, of course, entirely up you.

Either way, you’ll be getting an exceptionally capable, thrilling and rare car for a fraction of the amount of money that’s been spent on it to date.

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 very special for auction with an estimate of £39,000 - £50,000.

Viewing is always encouraged (within Govt. guidelines of course), and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon in Oxfordshire; 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’.