1972 MG B V8 Roadster

‘I bought the car in 1996 from a friend of a friend,’ explains vendor Peter O’Neil. ‘It was already in V8 converted form, but a standard MGB in appearance. It wasn’t running very well and I took it on as a bit of a project.’

Peter drove the car for a little while, as he considered how to attack it. ‘I began the work in 2000 and it took four years to complete. I did all the work myself and it had a total nut and bolt restoration.’

He also went to town in terms of specification. ‘I thought if I’m going to do it, I’ll do it right. First of all I decided to make it look different, by incorporating a Sebring body kit from MG Motorsport. This incorporates glass fibre front wings and rear arches, as well as a bespoke alloy front valance.’

The original MGB bonnet ‘with a horrible little bulge’ was replaced by an MGC unit, giving a much more satisfying look. ‘The body kit only fitted MGCs, so I had to do a lot of fabricating to make the front wheels fit correctly,’ says Peter. ‘And I also fitted the correct MG mounts.’

‘I rebuilt the engine to the exact specifications that Ken Costello used in his conversions, including the same Weber DCOE 40 carburettor. In fact the only difference is that I used Rover SD1 ‘big valve’ cylinder heads.’

He carried out all of the work himself – including fitting the wings – except for the spraying, which was completed by a specialist body shop. The full specification included:

• High-compression 12:1 engine block

• Rover SD1 ‘big valve’ cylinderheads

• MGC gearbox (with overdrive) and clutch

• MGC rear axle

• Up-rated rear suspension

• Lumenition electronic ignition

• Weber DCOE 40 carburettor

• Tubular exhaust manifolds, custom twin ‘Cherry Bomb’ exhaust system

• High capacity V8 radiator and double fans

• Factory V8 oil cooler

• Roll bar

• Leather seats

• 7x15 front and 8x15 rear Minilite alloy wheels

• Battery cut-off immobiliser

Peter wanted the car to be right, so carefully considered the work and didn’t just throw parts at it. ‘It’s a really lairy thing, and I’ve only covered 4000 miles or so in since its completion,’ he says. ‘But I think I’ve now outgrown it and tend to drive my 996 Porsche. The reality is that it’s a young man’s car.’

The Sebring kit has been seamlessly integrated – no easy task, given its design for the MGC – and it looks like a cracking little beast. Is it one for an extrovert? Possibly, especially when you factor in the exhaust note from the twin-exit exhaust pipes – just watch the video below for some V8 aural goodness.

As you can see from the pictures, Peter has pointed out one or two blemishes using a biro (including the odd chip and crack). That’s only to be expected, since the build was completed in 2004. However, it’s generally still in very fine fettle indeed.

Since then it’s completed only 4000 or so dry miles. In fact he never fitted a soft-top for that very reason, although the car does come with a lightweight hardtop. ‘I do have a soft-top frame and can provide that for the next owner, if required.’

As he’s selling, the car has recently been back to the body shop for a mop and a bonnet blow-over, to take out some stone chips on the bonnet. So the next owner is benefiting from some extra and recent TLC.

‘The original alloy wheels at the rear were quite badly pitted, but I managed to source a pair at a Beaulieu auto jumble and you can from the pictures that they’re brand new. All four tyres are still very good with at least 6mm of tread on them.’

It’s standard MGB inside, save for the addition of the roll hoop and Sabelt five-point harnesses. The black leather seats and door cards are in good condition, as is the similarly appointed sports steering wheel.

There’s no radio fitted (why would you?) with a blanking plate in place; carpets are in reasonably good shape, and V8 doorsill covers are fitted.

The only thing we’d change is perhaps to whip off the door hinges and have them re-finished, as they’re a bit grubby.

Take a look at that underside; you’ll struggle to find a cleaner car period. The sills look like you could eat your meat and two veg off them, and all suspension components look supremely fresh. Open the boot and there’s no dirt, or even a trace of dust.

It’s also had a light mechanical re-fresh, with a new pair of batteries, new alternator, track rod ends, steering gaiters, coil an electric fuel pump recently fitted. In addition it’s had a full service.

‘The suspension is polybushed all round, so the handling is phenomenal,’ says Peter. ‘Mechanically it starts on the button, and the engine has so much torque. I had a straight-through exhaust system for a while but it was stupidly loud, so I’ve fitted a twin Cherry-Bomb exhaust system and that’s calmed it down a little. Although it still sounds like a big-block V8, because there’s so little baffling.’

He’s very honest in his appraisal of the driving experience it offers. ‘It’s very hairy-chested and uncompromising. With such wide front tyres the steering is a bit heavy and the suspension is stiff. It could also benefit from a higher rear axle ratio, as first gear is a bit redundant. That said it’ll pull away in 2nd and 3rd gear all day long. The engine could also perhaps do with larger carburetion or even fuel-injection.’ Although from the sound of his description, it doesn’t sound like it needs more power!

As you can see from the photo gallery below, there’s very little in the car’s history file (other than the last MOT test certificate from 2016 and the V5 document) and there’s a good reason for that. ‘We had a house fire a few years ago. It started in my downstairs office and unfortunately the whole house was destroyed. Luckily though, I have a separate garage and workshop, so the car was spared.’

It does mean that all the photographs and invoices related to the car were lost. However, the car itself is proof of the standard to which the build was completed.

If interested, we’d highly recommend hitting the ‘contact seller’ button above to arrange a viewing of the car. Peter is more than happy to accommodate prospective buyers at his home in Blandford Forum.

What a cheeky little brute. OE buffs would no doubt cry out that its wearing MGC colours and has a soft top (or not), and has a V8, but this isn’t claiming to be a period-correct build.

Instead it’s one man’s vision of what he wanted his car to be. The build quality is excellent, specification high and it looks and sounds the absolute business.

The main factors here are fun, performance and the smile it’ll put on your face each time you take it for a blast. We believe this absolutely wacky thing will sell for between £11k and £17k.

That’s a relative snip when you consider Peter estimates the build cost at £17k, and that’s before you factor in both the cost of the car and his not inconsiderable amount of labour.

One thing is for sure, the next owner is going to have an absolute blast.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located in Blandford Forum; 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: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings available, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles for sale. We offer far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange inspections for each vehicle thoroughly prior to bidding than traditional auctions, and we never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this. We do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or the result of a long test drive.

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.