1976 MGB Convertible

1800cc Engine, 4-spd Manual Transmission

Upgrades: Carbs, Oil Cooler, Back-up Electric Radiator Fan

This car can be a daily driver, drive while restoring. New spark plugs , oil and filter changed recently.

Speedometer cable is broken, so neither the speedometer nor the odometer are working. I have reported the mileage showing on the odometer, but the car will have to be sold as “true miles unknown.”

Depending on where you live you may have to have this car shipped to you...Please factor in this cost.

As is listed above, this is a no reserve auction for a 1976 MGB convertible. This is a running, driving car, and I have been using it as my daily driver for a while. This car is a blast to drive, It's not fast by modern standards, but there's just nothing quite like driving around in a classic British sports car with the top down on a beautiful day. Late summer and fall is actually the perfect time to enjoy a convertible too, because things have cooled off a little, and you can have the top down all day without being cooked by the sun, or suffocated by the humidity.

This MGB has the 1.8L engine, and 4-speed manual transmission. The previous owner has done some modifications to make the car more powerful and reliable, including: cleaning up some of the wiring in the engine bay, upgrading the twin SU carbs, fitting a large front-mount oil cooler, fitting a back-up electric fan to the radiator that can be switched on manually from the center console, and I think it may also have a long-tube exhaust header, but I'm not certain about that because I don't know what the stock exhaust manifold looks like. It also looks like the rear suspension has been taken apart and put back together, because the nuts and bolts on the leaf springs and axle look relatively new, and not rusty. It looks as if someone was in the midst of the restoration process, and had something happen to them that forced them to stop and sell the car.

Installed are new NGK BP6ES spark plugs 3 weeks ago, and oil and filter last week, with Castrol GTX 20W – 50 oil. The only problem that I have noticed is that when sitting in traffic on a hot day, the car will start to suffer from vapor-lock. It has only occurred on hot days, and only when stuck in traffic on those days. It has never been severe enough to cause the car to stall, and typically resolves quickly once traffic gets moving and the car gets some fresh air through the engine bay. I suspect that the previous owner misdiagnosed the vapor-lock as overheating, hence the back-up fan. The source of this occasional problem was likely created by the previous owner when he upgraded the carbs. I'm not sure which SU carbs are on the car now because I don't know enough about them, but the original carbs were attached to the manifold with 2 bolts, and the current carbs have 4 bolts. However, when the owner changed the carbs he did not re-install the heat shield that protects them from the exhaust manifold heat, thus causing the vapor-lock if the car sits in stopped traffic on a hot day. The heat shield is in the trunk, so if someone wants to put it on, they just have to drill the holes to make it match the 4-bolt carbs, get some new seals, and bolt it back in.

The car has done well as a daily driver. The brakes are good, the clutch is good, the transmission shifts through all the gears normally, it has good oil pressure, the lights, wipers, heater / defroster, and gauges all work (except the speedo, but i'm including a new speedo cable). The top is good, and does not have any holes or leaks in it. All of the glass is intact, and it looks like all of the trim pieces are present. The floors, trunk and undercarriage all appear to be solid as well. There is a spot on the floor behind the driver's seat where a rust hole has been professionally repaired with metal and painted over. In the trunk there is a cover for the top, and another cover that can be installed over the entire interior, similar to what some drivers use for classic sports car racing. There is rust on the body that will need attention, and the paint job is pretty tired, but I will cover these below.

Problems with the Car:

The body does have some areas of rust bubbling up under the paint near the wheel arches, though the quarter panels appear to be solid. There is also a scrape in the paint on the passenger's side quarter panel. There is a small rust spot / ding on the hood, and there are various little dings and scratches around the body that are to be expected for a car of this age. The paint is worn out. It looks really good in the pictures, but in person you can see that it is starting to get bleached. The car was originally green, and there are a few spots, mainly inside the doors, where the red paint is flaking off, and you can see the green underneath. The interior is in original condition. Most of the carpets have been taken out, the seats need to be recovered (they are just frames and foam cushion with Pep Boys seat covers stretched over them), and the dash has cracks. The aftermarket radio is not working. The door key does not work in the driver's door, but it does work in the passenger's door, and both doors do lock. The vapor-lock issue has already been covered. The reverse lock-out is not working, but unless you are trying to speed-shift down from 3^rd to 2^nd, which you shouldn't be, the chances of accidentally engaging reverse gear are slim. The car has a rough idle, but runs fine on the road. I have only changed the spark plugs, so it probably just needs the rest of the tune-up completed. The “EGR Catalyst” light is on. Speedometer and odometer are not working. This is probably due to a broken cable, and should be relatively easy to fix. There are no seat belts, though the mounting brackets for the seat belts are present. Turn signals work, but the switch is getting temperamental and needs to be replaced. The rubber moldings / seals around the windows and windshield have deteriorated and should be replaced as part of the restoration process. Because of this, when driving in heavy rains, I have noticed a slow drip on my left leg from water leaking in.

***I would class this as a “drive and restore” car. It is good enough mechanically to drive every weekend, or as a daily driver, but it needs some of tlc to return to its former glory. I would say that the car is in overall average condition for the type of vehicle and the age. The body and interior may be below average, but I think the mechanics are above average. These are my opinions. This car is not perfect, it is not a museum piece, but it is not a worn out beater either, and is a great candidate for restoration while still being able to enjoy using the car. Please ask any questions in a timely manner, examine all of the photos, and come see the car in person. Depending on where you live you may have to have this car shipped to you...Please factor in this cost.