I want your opinion on this car I might buy

  • Thread starter Thread starter gibson
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Not to be picky, but MG is one of the world's most prestigious vehicle marques when it comes to sports cars. Well, they used to be, before they went belly-up and the Chinese bought them last year. But thats another story...

A good friend of mine from High School actually works at a specialty MG/Mini shop just outside of Grand Rapids where I grew up. Cars like these come in quite often and owners demand restoration, and I will be the first to let you know that these are not cheap cars to fix. This being said, MGB GT models like what you've got there can be worth a fair sum of money when in the right shape. A kid I went to school with had one, absolutely loved it, a gift from his father who owns the MG/Mini shop.

...Anyway, back to the question...

The car appears to be in fairly good shape, but its hard to tell without seeing it in person. Northern weather could have been hell on the car, particularly if it has been sitting since 1988. Our '68 Camaro did much the same in our barn, but there was a fair amount of damage that was done. Nothing is perfect...

My guess would be that it would be a good car to learn with, but having someone who understands MG/Mini products would be most helpful. They aren't like your regular Chevrolet or Ford by which parts can be picked up anywhere, and more often than not, switched back and fourth between models. Parts aren't going to be cheap on the car either, much less be easy to find. The local MG/Mini shop has cars coming in from all over the Mid-West to be worked on, all in varying conditions. They will occasionally buy fixer-uppers and re-sell them as well.

===

If you have the time, patience, and most of all the money to fix the car, then by all means. It would be a very cool car to have at any age.

But, if you're looking for a fairly easy "starter" project, I'd suggest something else. Something like a Volkswagen Bug would be far easier to deal with in terms of cost, overall knowledge and parts... But the easiest things would likely be anything Ford or GM made post-'73 but before EFI was common, so before '85-ish. They're going to be cheap, easy to work on, and in some cases fun to drive. Otherwise, keep an eye out for cars like Volkswagen Sciroccos or even basic Rabbits. They aren't too hard to work on, parts can be had fairly easily, and in many cases can be quite cool (particularly Sciroccos).
 
I'd say as long as you have something else to drive, and a good job, go for it. Otherwise, I think it may end up with a lot of "custom" parts on it that someone attempted to fix themselves, because of the lack of funds to do things right.

I've seen a lot of jobs like that. Someone starts out with good intentions, then tried to do things themselves to save money, and just aren't very good at it, and it ends up looking like crap, and working like crap.


What kind of experience do you have with cars?
 
i can rebuild engines, i can set up axles, some eltrical work, some brake work, some body work, some suspention, and some interior, my dad will also be helpin.
 
The question largely is then whether or not you know enough to work on a British MG versus that of an American Chevrolet or Ford... Furthermore, if you've got the time and money to do so...
 
Think of it this way:

Mechanical stuff is doable. You can do it yourself and get acceptable results. There is a wealth of information out there on everything MG.

When you have to farm out work to someone else it gets expensive - Upholstry, bodywork, and paint. So if you've got your heart set on an MG, make sure it's one with a workable interior and minimal rust. It's likely that any MGB or BGT that you can afford will have spots of rust here and there, but if it's structural, you're pretty much hooped unless you're a competent welder and bodyman. Even then, you're looking at a difficult and time consuming process to rid your car of the cancerous stuff.

I had a phase of a few months that I really, really, really wanted to find myself an MGB GT - I even located an MGC GT (B with an Austin Healy inline six from the factory) in my area - But it was rusty and had some damage down one side of the car.

Bottom line? The better car you start with, the better you can finish with. Rust is the biggest issue to be wary of, since mechanicals you can mostly fix yourself. If it's got to be your daily driver while you're working on it, then it'll get hard. You've got a car that you can't complete because you have to drive, but that you can't drive because you have to complete.
 
the interior would be gutted in favor for a cage and a set of sparcos, so, the interior is no issues, and rust can be taken car of, as long as i can get patch panels or make them easily.
 
That car is going to be one huge money pit. Even off the showroom floor they sucked at everything. Usually they had to tow them to your house since they wouldn't start on the lot.
 
Very true, as the engines have been known to self-destruct at the local MG/Mini shop. They had a modified MGB running a light-boost turbocharger, overall a very basic modification on a brand-new engine, and it blew after running less than five minutes. It was roughly $10K down the drain for the shop owner not only in parts, but in man hours as well. Needless to say, the owner wasn't too happy.

If you're thinking you're going to build a race car, I'd go the easy route and just pick up a late 2nd Gen Chevrolet Camaro. They are cheaper than hell to buy, fix, and run... Furthermore quite easy to fix. Since my run with CAMAROBOY, I've been itching to find myself a late-'70s Z28 to build up, and while I know that I could afford it very easily, the hard part is just getting the cash. And the time. Mostly the cash.
 
Honestly if you're seriously going to buy that car plan for an engine swap with something less British. If you can't afford that, then don't even bother.
 
MistaX
That car is going to be one huge money pit. Even off the showroom floor they sucked at everything. Usually they had to tow them to your house since they wouldn't start on the lot.
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:lol: Sounds like older Porsches to me.
 
the motor will be swapped for something with more pep, maybe a Jaguar i6 or sr20det or even a chevy 4.3. i know it will be a money pit, but so are jeeps, so its either 5 grand for a jeep or 800 for a MGB. either way, both would have about the same about of cash put into them
 
gibson
maybe a Jaguar i6 or sr20det or even a chevy 4.3.
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#1 I said less British
#2 Buy a 240.
#3 LS1 or bust.


But seriously, if you buy a $5000 Jeep you can.. drive it. That's a bit of a plus than having an $800 MG that won't move without $4200 worth of TIME.
 
gibson
http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/car/385679108.html
is it good, bad, or in the middle for a first car. im 15, so ill be rebuilding it. does an one have ofr had an MG? are they good cars? thnx!
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1. It's a terrible idea.
2. No, I don't have one, never had, and never will. That is because they are...
3. Awful awful, hateful things.

Even if you spend a million dollars and a million hours rebuilding it, it will still be a s***box.

On a less extreme note, I respectfully raise the following points:
  • This is too much project for a 15-year-old to take on. If you do this properly, it will swallow your life. So instead of playing with this, go out and find girls to play with. You're 15, for goodness's sake, not 45+.
  • Following on from above, I think back to when I was 15, and I don't think I had the attention span to polish a car, let alone completely rebuild one.
  • This car has been "sitting" for 20 years. That's longer than you've been alive.
  • It's advertised "for parts". Which means that even an optimistic seller thinks it's madness to try to restore it, and - given that the seller is an MG owner, and therefore devoid of rationality where it comes to the "fixer-upper"/"total junkheap" line - this should tell you that this car is a lemon, even by MG standards.
  • When you're learning to drive, you really don't need to be worrying about whether your steed is about to fall apart. Seriously, you don't want to be a bit rough with the clutch (as all learners are) and have the gearbox go bang, or be thinking about how you're going to handle the diff blowing on a country bend. Get something anodyne, in which you can learn to drive, then worry about learning to cope with mechanical failure once you're a better driver.
 
gibson
the interior would be gutted in favor for a cage and a set of sparcos, so, the interior is no issues, and rust can be taken car of, as long as i can get patch panels or make them easily.
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IS this going to be a street car or a track car? Do NOT put a cage in a street car. Just don't. It's dangerous.

My suggestion is to buy something normal for $500 that's butt-simple and ugly, but is solid and runs every time you turn the key. Drive that for what you actually need a car for. If you want a project to tackle with your father, then buy the MG, but do NOT buy the MG thinking it will be a great daily driver after you spend a little time on it.

It's been sitting, not running, for longer than you've been alive. At a minimum it's going to need a complete teardown of the engine, transmission, and braking system. MGB parts are not rare, and are being reproed or re-engineered by specialty shops every day... but it's NEVER going to be like running down to your local NAPA and picking up a set of valve lifters for a small-block Chevy. It's going to be swap meet finds and internet networking and eBay and luck.

From a few pictures it looks like a solid start to a project... but there's a reason it's being billed as a parts car.

Before you even think about buying this, find an MGB forum and ask the same questions to a bunch of dedicated guys who have been there and done that more than once. Don't ask us here - with a few exceptions, we're shade tree at best, and not MG experts.

[edit] Oh, and go read Giles's post again. Now read it again. Really. And if you're considering an engine swap using a wide variety of trendy motors, I'm less convinced than ever that you understand what you're getting into. If you think $5k will get that thing running with a Jaguar - or worse, a Nissan engine - you are deeply mistaken unless your father is Smokey Yunick. And this is speaking as the son of a man who could fabricate anything necessary in his own machine shop.
 
GilesGuthrie
this car is a lemon, even by MG standards
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*universe explodes*


Even owning a MINT MGB is an exercise in patience and a guessing game rolled into one - will it start this morning - let alone a complete beater shed, static for three presidents since. Mint MGBs spend 364 days a year off the road due to rain/snow/strong sunshine/being broken again (usually the latter)...
 
I have owned a 73 MG Midget for about 15 years and the first thing I should tell you is what "MG" stands for MONEY GRABBER. I have rebuilt everything on the car except the rearend. The MG's are fun to drive and work on you can buy larger MG motors for them. As far as parts you can find anything to fix them with but as others have said when you start swapping parts you will run into problems.
 
hey look, It's from pittsbuyg
[/fat tony voice]
 
so basicly your all saying find an old ugly beater. the problem with that is every one around here has one. in i found hte pefect engine, 2.2 ecotech.
 
The MG is a really nice looking car, and when they work they are fun as hell. But like Famine said, a good one is poor for reliability, no soory that's an insult the to use of the word poor.

If your after something along the lines of an old sportscar I would normally suggest a Spitfire, a friend of mines dad used to have one, it was a great car. It was pretty good reliability wise, like any car of that age, you will still have problems here and there, but it was reliable enough to use regular. I don't know if you can get one of thoes in the US though. I don't know if there's anything American that is similar in concept either from that era.
 
gibson
the motor will be swapped for something with more pep, maybe a Jaguar i6 or sr20det or even a chevy 4.3. i know it will be a money pit, but so are jeeps, so its either 5 grand for a jeep or 800 for a MGB. either way, both would have about the same about of cash put into them
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SR20 would be the best bet for something like this. And to address the part in bold let me fix it for you...

so its either 5 grand for a jeep plus the cost of it falling apart every mile plus the cost of a transmission rebuild within 40,000 miles plus the cost of replacing the cooling system which is rubbish on Jeeps plus the cost of actually looking like a hillbilly plus the cost of owning a POS or 800 for a MGB
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I'd grab the MGB, and that is only if these are your ONLY two choices.

MistaX
#1 I said less British
#2 Buy a 240.
#3 LS1 or bust.
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#1 = lol
#2 = no, buy a 200SX SE-R 5spd
#3 = lol

Duke
My suggestion is to buy something normal for $500 that's butt-simple and ugly, but is solid and runs every time you turn the key. Drive that for what you actually need a car for. If you want a project to tackle with your father, then buy the MG, but do NOT buy the MG thinking it will be a great daily driver after you spend a little time on it.
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</thread>

That ladies and gentlemen is the winnar! At 15 yearsold, buy something cheap and reliable for your first car THEN after getting a well paying job (and finishing high school) buy your project car.

It's been sitting, not running, for longer than you've been alive. At a minimum it's going to need a complete teardown of the engine, transmission, and braking system. MGB parts are not rare, and are being reproed or re-engineered by specialty shops every day... but it's NEVER going to be like running down to your local NAPA and picking up a set of valve lifters for a small-block Chevy. It's going to be swap meet finds and internet networking and eBay and luck.
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Quoted for truth.

I like MG's, but only if they're in mint condition--and that'll usually last about 20,000 miles. Grab yourself an old Volvo, at least those last forever.
 
Ok, before you consider buying an MG go to www.mossmotors.com.
Look thru the MGB-GT catalog. Figure out how much of your cash will be going into the car.
You'd actually be better served by finding a an old Triumph TR-4.
They had better quality control at the factory. They are easier to work on.
They are somewhat bigger (more comfy), and less mechanically complex.

But again, price your replacement parts. Total up the entire amount you'd have to spend to get the thing on the road.
You may be unpleasantly suprised...
 
They are pretty rare cars for Mercury, based in fact on the Mustang. I haven't seen too many of them even here in Michigan, the most that I recall was a few weeks ago at a car show I attended. I would hope that you would choose to restore it, not tear it apart, as models in good shape can be worth a fair bit of money.

If you're thinking you want a race car, don't hesitate looking at Second-Gen ('70-'81) F-Bodies (Camaro and Firebird). They can be had for quite cheap, and at least for the Z/28 and Trans-Am, post-'77 models were known more for their handling than their straight-line speed.
 

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