My friend is thinking about buying this 1980 MGB Limited

[Acid House]

Good deal? He was going to give him the asking price, I think he should barter it down (needs a new steering wheel, etc).

http://wilmington.craigslist.org/cto/3758183449.html





I love the look of it, and nice and clean apparently.

I'm going with him in the morning to do the deal, should I convince him to haggle the guy?

All said its a really nice MGB, he fell in love with it immediately.

[Mark 88/M5 Houston]

Its his money and it will be his car. If there are bargaining points that you see, let him know about them and allow him to decide whether to dicker or not. The only way to loose a friend faster than advising an auto purchase is to sell him a car.

[oldskool]

The British Car Club is kinda strong here in southeast NC. Has this car been shown? What does the club know about the seller/car? Lots of info there to be mined, plus you can always ask Duke here at MyE28.com.

[Acid House]

He's smitten, I guess I don't really care how much he spends as long as he's happy with it.

I'll get some better pics tomorrow, I definitely see why he likes it so much.

[Acid House]

The British Car Club is kinda strong here in southeast NC. Has this car been shown? What does the club know about the seller/car? Lots of info there to be mined, plus you can always ask Duke here at MyE28.com.

I will look into that for him, might be a good way to source a steering wheel and anything else he wants to improve also!

[winfred]

if unmolested/non rusty they can be pretty neat cars, one of the few that with a little care will tolerate daily driver duty without too much drama

[L_N_Love]

I agree that you should ask Duke. He is the ultimate expert on everything, especially British automobiles. Your friend should also ask Duke to do the price negotiation...Duke should be able to nail a deal down for half of what the guy is asking.

[Mike W.]

...Duke should be able to nail a deal down for half of what the guy is asking.

Based on what he paid for a Hartge valve cover? If anyone remembers that.

[garageboy]

A friend who owned a 1980 MGB (the last year here, I believe, which means it was the best year to get) used to say that owning it is the same feeling one gets from owning a boat. It's like going up to an open sewer with your wallet, and taking out twenties and one by one, placing them in the sewer (try the visualization; it works!).

Grease the king pins. Daily. Or more frequently if you have the time. Even the days you're not driving it because it's not running. Grease the king pins.

The advertisement was entertaining. I was waiting for the punchline: the reason he is selling. Because no one has an MGB where "everything works", and if, by some bizarre twist, the planets aligned and 90% of everything was actually working, he would not be selling it. And so I waited for a punchline that didn't exist...

Buyer beware. As long as you're not financing any portion of this venture (beer's ok), there's gonna be 33 years of story with this car, so hopefully you will get to enjoy hearing that part when you look at it. Hopefully it's not 100 pounds heavier from Bondo...

Good luck!!

[Karl Grau]

My friend is thinking about buying this 1980 MGB Limited

I wouldn't advise it if it's going to be his only car. I had a 1974+1/2 which was the last year with dual carbs and it was slow. Fun but slow. I don't know anything about the "Limited" edition but I guessing it's in reference to top speed.

[desmofan]

My friend is thinking about buying this 1980 MGB Limited

I wouldn't advise it if it's going to be his only car. I had a 1974+1/2 which was the last year with dual carbs and it was slow. Fun but slow. I don't know anything about the "Limited" edition but I guessing it's in reference to top speed.

And anything BMC related in the late 70s or 80s should be (IMHO) avoided at all costs. This comes from a guy with an Austin-Healy and MG in his garage. Late model British stuff that is no longer in production is no longer in production for a reason.

[Mike W.]

Yeah, I've always heard the early ones were the best. Not sure if that's reliability or the driving experience, but they were less complicated. Of course with your location rust is more a factor than here, so keep that in mind. Still, it's an early 60's design, just have him keep that in mind with those expectations.

[WH]

I find it humorous reading this thread. Having owned British cars for over 30 years I can attest that if maintained in a normal fashion English cars are very reliable. The Prince of Darkness Lucas only rears his head if a British car owner ignores normal automotive scheduled care and refuses to sacrifice a chicken on the first full moon every other month during the summers. I myself have never been stranded in a British car if one follows this advice.

As for the MGB, the most sought after ones are the early cars 1962-1964, (3 bearing main) and the series II cars (1965-1967) with 5 main engine bearings. Especially cars with electric overdrives fitted. These cars have the very much loved steel dashboard and are very attactive and drive and handle well. The later 1968 cars + suffer from the dreaded Naderised padded dash and increased safety regulations and emissions added to the cars to meet USA specs. These cars with minor changes carried over till around 1974. Then the UGLY rubber bumper cars hit the USA to meet the 5 mph crash protection mandated by US standards.

The 1975-1980 cars were the worst of the MGB's as the bumpers ruined the otherwise simple lines of the car and engine power was even more strangled. Performance was dismal compared to the early cars. Ride height and handling was ruined too as the whole car had to be raise to meet US legal height. This was done by fitting lifting spacers to the suspension front and rear. The "limited" edition had different paint and wheels and was the last of the breed. It was pretty much like all the other later B's in every other aspect. BMC or later Britsh Leyland was famous for introducing special editions when sales numbers dipped.

These last MGB are ok cars, decent drivers but will never be worth the $ of the early chrome bumpers rides.

WH
1938 MG TA
1954 & 56 Austin Healey 100-4's
1960 Bugeye sprite
1965 MG Midget
1965 Ford Cortina
1966 Lotus Cortina
1968 MGC GT
1968 Sunbeam Imp
1969 Lotus Elan S4
1973 Lotus Europa Twincam
1974 MGB GT V8

[Jeremy]

Yeah, I've always heard the early ones were the best.

No emission compliance concerns/addons, ride height wasn't raised due to crash test regulations, and they weren't built by the company's chief rival. Rubber bumpered B's with the Zenith-Stromberg carbs have much less power and are notoriously finicky, cars with the SU carbs are more reliable. Cars that haven't been molested and jury-rigged by a string of previous owners are more reliable still. Get an earlier B or plan to spend some time converting a late car to early car specs. At least get one with the overdrive option, especially if you plan to drive on the highway with it. Does that factory A/C work?

(the last year here, I believe, which means it was the best year to get)

Under what sort of logic? While that may be true for some cars, it's not a universal rule by any means.

[garageboy]

(the last year here, I believe, which means it was the best year to get)

Under what sort of logic? While that may be true for some cars, it's not a universal rule by any means.

You're absolutely correct. I was working under the misguided notion that in any series of a production run, the later versions have more of the major bugs worked out. That assume the manufacturer cares about that.

Grease those king pins.

[Duke]

IMO the MK II is the best. The 5 main bearing engine had the most HP of any MGB and the steel dash was the best looking. Knock off wire wheels and chrome bumpers were very desirable.

I had a 67 MGB/GT that I installed the optional OD three syncro tranny in. I then had seven gears.

Bought it like this -





I restored it to this -





Yes, that is A/C that I also installed.

The 1980 MGB "Limited" is the worst MGB ever made. Choked with emission equipment (engine made ~60HP), ride height raised to meet headlight standard and the hidious rubber bumpers and pillow dash made it the worst.

[Duke]

How to get a whopping 101 RWHP out of a MGB for $4000 -
http://classicmotorsports.net/articles/ ... -your-mgb/

[m-racer]

Those bumpers make me hurl.

[jproctor43]

I have helped to install a 215 buick v-8 and a 302 ford in an 80 MG, both with five speeds. We had to install NOS on the 215 but the 302 is amazing fun :-). the sweet thing is the 215 got 25-30 mpg and the 302 has never been below 20 mpg. The MG get commuted daily in the summer 120 miles a day. My favorite is the MGB GT.

[Acid House]

Well he bought it, and I like it!

It's definitely not fast, but its clean and runs pretty good.

He's got $3200 in receipts from two owners back , covering all the rubber suspension stuff and a clutch problem, along with a new alternator and other misc. service. Everything works, just a little "loose" around the seams if you know what I mean.

Apparently the guy was a member of the British Motor Club of Cape Fear, so my friend is going to sign up and try to meet some guys who knew the PO and the car.

The seller has had it stored for a year basically after getting it from the PO who is deceased now.

Interesting story, but he loves it so I won't tell him its the worst one ever made

[Acid House]

I have helped to install a 215 buick v-8 and a 302 ford in an 80 MG, both with five speeds. We had to install NOS on the 215 but the 302 is amazing fun :-). the sweet thing is the 215 got 25-30 mpg and the 302 has never been below 20 mpg. The MG get commuted daily in the summer 120 miles a day. My favorite is the MGB GT.

Haha, my first thought when I looked under the hood:

"There isn't shit in here!"

You could definitely cram a bigger engine in there without too much trouble.

[Duke]

You could definitely cram a bigger engine in there without too much trouble.

Have him look here when ready - http://www.britishv8.org/Photos-MG-Conversions.htm





http://www.britishv8.org/MG/DaveKirkman.htm

[Acid House]

He mentioned lowering it as a first step, are the spacers removable or is he going to have to look for another kit? The front end is rather high indeed for such a small car.

[Jeremy]

The front end is rather high indeed for such a small car.

Crash restrictions. They had to raise the ride height to make the car "crash compatible". I don't remember all the details. The rear I think is fixable by removing the spacers, the front might require different springs. It's not "lowering" it per se, it's bringing it back to its designed ride height.

The "clutch problem" I can guess at. Few people realize it, but the MGB motor and transmission does not have a true throwout bearing. It has a throwout plate that has a sacrificial surface on it. This means that it has a definite and very finite lifespan. They get worn out extremely quickly if you have a tendency to leave the clutch depressed while sitting at stop lights.

Don't do that. Depress clutch, change gears as needed, release. If you're sitting still, put the gear shift in neutral and release the clutch pedal. If you do this, you're unlikely to have issues with the clutch.

[Acid House]

The front end is rather high indeed for such a small car.

Crash restrictions. They had to raise the ride height to make the car "crash compatible". I don't remember all the details. The rear I think is fixable by removing the spacers, the front might require different springs. It's not "lowering" it per se, it's bringing it back to its designed ride height.

The "clutch problem" I can guess at. Few people realize it, but the MGB motor and transmission does not have a true throwout bearing. It has a throwout plate that has a sacrificial surface on it. This means that it has a definite and very finite lifespan. They get worn out extremely quickly if you have a tendency to leave the clutch depressed while sitting at stop lights.

Don't do that. Depress clutch, change gears as needed, release. If you're sitting still, put the gear shift in neutral and release the clutch pedal. If you do this, you're unlikely to have issues with the clutch.

Wow, good info I will pass it along, thanks!