Not much cop for stroking your chin down the Ellesmere-on-the-Wirral classic car rally. Which, of course, is precisely why we like it.
Rubber What?:
Bumper, dear. The MGB was introduced as a more user-friendly update of the fifty year old MGA roadster. Appearing in its first incarnation in 1969, the MGB was an instant success. Plus a near-tolerable asking price of £834 on the road ensured not only the rich and corrupt could afford to buy one.
Lots of chrome and a low-profile chassis proved to be a winning
combination for Rover (actually still British Leyland, but we’ll keep
things simple). Happy customers and swooning dolly-birds kept sales of the MGB brisk year after year. Europe loved the little sausage. Everything it seemed was all right.
But in 1974 Rover – showing the kind of get up and go that would
come to elude them in latter years – decided they wanted a piece of the
U.S. market. A piece of fat-ass, if you will.
Unfortunately American safety regulations meant the MGB’s chrome bumpers had to be replaced by rubber ones and its overall height needed to be raised by 1.5 inches. A move that made the car’s handling take a nasty turn for the Sigourney Weaver. By 1980 it was all over for good. The now pugly-ducking MGB was dead.
Who Would Buy Such an Infernal Machine?:
Loads of celebrities. Joan Collins, Big Daddy, Roger Daltry, Ian McKellen, they’ve probably all owned an MGB at one time or another. This is despite the rubber bumper model actually being detested by most people who laid eyes on it. The owner of Frank’s Fruit and Veg in Gerrards Cross showed a particular dislike, apparently refusing to let anyone park a rubber MG within glaring distance of his shop.
The yanks however got chair-lifted out of their homes in record numbers to purchase the oh-so-Terry Thomas-on-stilts British roadster. Nearly 23,000 MGBs were sold in the US by 1977, proving that Rover did have the right stuff to make it overseas. Even if their biggest export handled like a hippo giving his mate (another hippo) a piggyback on a skateboard.
What a Load of Old Blarney. Come On, I’ll buy one:
Then you’ve made a wise decision. For all its aesthetic and speed-inhibited abilities, the rubber-bumpered MGB is one of the most reliable classic motors you can buy. Go for a post-1976 model if possible. The late-fitted anti-roll bars seriously improved the MGB’s now ingrained handling faults.
Nothing will last forever on a Rover, but there’s a huge buddy network of MG owners out there waiting to lend a hand, should that kid in Halfords be too busy trying to remove his electronic tag to help. Try the MG Owners Club for a start and then see where their handy links page takes you.
We have sourced a lovely little MGB for sale on eBay. Our best advice when buying such a specialist car is to find someone who knows more than you do and take him or her along for an inspection. And for pity’s sake make sure you do this before you place a legally binding bid.
The MGB Roadster: Most important thing to remember? Never, ever, buy one in white. Ever.
[story by Chris Laverty]
JJ says
actually, the MGB debut was at the ’62 Earls Court motor show as a ’63 model, not 1969.