1972 MG B Roadster

The vendor of this MGB Roadster is a hotelier and self-confessed MG nut/connoisseur. He bought the car six years ago, “I purchased it from reputable dealer Former Glory, who had sold it to the previous owner seven or eight year prior to that.”

His plan was to make the car available for guests to use at his country house hotel. “I never actually got insurance in place for them to do so, and while it’s been cherished it hasn’t seen much use – just up and down the hotel driveway to keep it ticking over.”

The included V5 document shows that it’s had a total of six owners and, just like our chap, each has used it sparingly as the odometer currently reads just 51,695 miles.

The paintwork was originally a very Seventies Bronze Yellow, but the previous owner had Former Glory re-spray the car in this nice’n’racy British Racing Green.

It’s now time for this ‘B to find a new home, and an owner who’ll give it a soupcon more exercise than it’s had in the last few years.

The body is straight and looks nice and solid, with generally even panel gaps. Paintwork remains decently shiny and looks great from a distance, but up closer there’s a bit of bubbling here and there – most notably on the front edge of the nearside door and where the scuttle panel meets the offside front wing – and there are also a few paint runs that wing and also the bonnet where they meet. The lower windscreen rubber is a bit dried out and cracked.

There’s a touch of light corrosion on some of the bright work (common on cars that have been stored under a cover, such as this) but it looks to be of the surface variety and from experience, we reckon a bit of Autosol (other products are available!) and a large dose of elbow grease will have it looking tip-top in no time.

The hood is still in excellent condition, as are the reproduction Minilite alloy wheels that contrast beautifully with the paint colour and lend the car a sharp look in side and three-quarter profiles.

Tyres are a bit mix’n’match, and the Dunlop SP6 item is exhibiting cracks in the sidewall – we’d definitely recommend the next owner there.

MGB cabins are a nice place to reside – comfortable, pleasant and full of Sixties (and Seventies, and Eighties!) character. Just to lift this one a smidgeon above the average, the vendor has invested in a Burr Walnut dashboard, a lovely Moto-Lita steering wheel and matching gear knob. It is very nice indeed.

There’re apparent no issues with the vinyl seats or door cards, and MG embossed rubber mats protect the carpets. Lifting those behind the front seats reveals the original paint colour.

Up top, the hood frame functions as it should but again, could do with a little TLC in terms of a rub down and being brought back to black (especially the edge that sits flush to the windscreen).

The boot floor is carpeted, with the spare wheel in place. Underneath there’s a touch of surface rust where moisture has probably sat, but this should be easy to tidy up.

“The twin carburettor engine pulls really strongly,” says the vendor. “And its distinctive stainless steel exhaust sounds awesome. It is a joy to drive and handles brilliantly.”

As the car is now located here at The Market’s Abingon HQ, we can confirm that it does indeed drive smartly and the next owner will derive a lot of pleasure from its offerings.

The underside has some fresh looking underseal and other areas that could do with a tidy up; these include the battery tray, rear axle and suspension leaf springs. Cracking out the wire brush and chassis black would be transformative, and protect it for future use.

Under the bonnet presents quite nicely, and the radiator and oil cooler both look to be in good condition.

In the history file you’ll find a number of previous MOT certificates, the V5 registration document and a number of invoices. These are from a combination of the current and the immediate previous custodians’ periods of ownership.

A quick perusal shows that the main works carried out include: the fitting of a new hood and repair of the hood frame; reconditioning of the cylinder head and fitting of a fresh head gasket; and replacement of the starter motor, battery and heater matrix.

There’s also a letter from the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust (signed by archivist and all-round MG guru, Anders Ditlev Clausager), which confirms the month and year of manufacture as being September 1972.

Two sets of keys are also included.

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 good standard.

The danger with absolutely pristine examples of any classic car is that you invariably suffer from parking paranoia – dare you leave it in that pub or supermarket car park?

With this example if you wish to smarten up the visuals then there is work there to do (you could invest in a full re-spray or by the same token, simply tidy up a panel or two), but it is an MGB you can buy, drive and enjoy with no worries straight away.

We think it’ll sell for somewhere between £6k and £9k. If you factor in that a concours chrome-bumper MGB will cost you three-to-four times that amount, then this could well be the most reasonable route into one that you’ll find.

Peppy performance, a comfortable cabin and frugal running costs are the name of the MGB game. This car provides all of those inherent elements, whilst providing scope for gradual improvement.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located at The Market’s Abingdon HQ; 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’.