CrisPDuk

Going to look at a 'B' for a mate this afternoon, are there any specific points that I should be looking at? Apart obviously from the usual general bodywork and mechanical stuff.

wrxmark

An easy hit at you but I cant resist it. " Another type of car "..........I'll get my coat.........

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Check EVERYTHING!

I'm a Triumph man, so I won't go into my opinions of MG's

CrisPDuk

Fat lot of use you lot are

PS Ali, being a jag man personally, I'd better keep my opinions of triumphs to meself as well then

STIdreamer

Sills, castle sections, cross members and jacking points.
Wing seems, inner arch splash guards. Bottom of doors/skins.

brickboy

As STi dreamer sez, with a bit more detail ...

Lift the bonnet and inspect the inner wings. Any sign of rippling / bending means it's been front-ended. Walk away.

The MGB sills are in 3 sections. There's the inner sill, which you can easily see under the carpet in the cabin when you open the door. Lift the carpet and check for signs of rust where the sill joins the floorpan. If there's serious rust there, you're looking at several hundred quid each side plus a respray.

There's the "castle section" which is the underside of the sill -- so called 'cos it's castellated if you look at it end-on. If this is rusty / weak / holed, again its big money.

Then there's the outer, curved bit below the door shut. If it's got chrome sill covers on -- be very wary. People put these cosmetic aids on to hide rust. If any rust has broken through the outer cover, the sills need doing.

At the top of each front wheel-arch, above and behind the front wheel there's a wedge-shaped box, called the "trumpet section". Probe this carefully. You can also poke into it from under the bonnet. This bit supports the front end. If it's rotten, it's an MOT failure and a big welding job. While you're under, check the arch splash guards behind the wheels are in place and in good nick.

Check the main chassis rails & cross members under the car. If they're not 100% solid, walk away. A lot of rebuilt cars don't have the jacking point anymore (which is normally on the main cross member just under the doors). Not a problem if the job's been done properly.

Check round the rear wheel arch for any rust or rust break-through. Check the boot floor under the spare for the same.

Look at the panel gap around the door. Is it consistent, or are the doors sagging? If it's a roadster, signs of sagging mean the whole shell could be weakened.

Engine-wise, they're pretty solid (as you'd expect from a 100bhp 2-litre lump ). Oil pressure should be 60-70psi when starting from cold, and MUST be above 50psi when running at anything above 2000rpm otherwise it's shagged.

Remove radiator cap and check the coolant for oil -- they can blow head gaskets. A Kenlowe fan is a good accessory if it's got one.

If it's got overdrive, it should work smoothly and quickly on 3rd and 4th gear. When you flick the switch, it takes about a second to engage. It should disengage instantly.

Edited to add -- turn the steering wheel to full left lock. Look at the front left suspension's grease nipples. Any sign of grease? Turn to full right lock and do the same for the right front suspension. If you see signs of recent grease, good. If not, be suspicious. The suspension kingpin could be worn (MOT failure), and new kingpins and bushes would be a couple of hundred quid.

Also look for a big fat wad of receipts for work from a reputable garage -- there's lots of them about, so make sure you buy someone else's money pit

Mark A

iTrader: (1)

Rust, rust and more rust. At least the parts are cheapish

Scotsman

iTrader: (3)

I had a 1972 blue MGB GT for around 2 years. Great fun cars and parts/etc are relatively cheap.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Check for Beard Chafing and Real Ale Damage, also check for pipe burns on the seats.


In reality, rust, rust and more rust.

NotoriousREV

*COUGH*1.8*COUGH*

Poor Guy

You should be looking for a Triumph GT6 mate!

BGT is a barge. My GT6 (even when it had a shagged dome topped pistoned mk3 engine) can pace a V8.

steppers

dont bother come and get my cheap f
11500 miles just like new for less than 10k and
no worry about rust repairs etc
oh and its the 160bhp version 0-60 in 6.9
http://img57.photobucket.com/albums/...time/mgf_1.jpg

CrisPDuk

Cheers all you who gave sensible advice ( to all who didn't).

Turns out it belongs to the wife of a guy who owns a very reputable local bodyshop, near enough all of the panels are new, to the extent that I'm sure it would probably have been cheaper to buy a heritage shell The mechanicals seemed solid enough so IMO it won't be a bad buy for him, if he decides to go for it. Not my sort of motor though

CrisPDuk

Cheers, but he want's a slice of '70s cheese, not '90s hairdresser

Nick Martin

Go for a GT6.
or like me spitfire IV for £75 - rip the engine/transmission out, drop in a 2L straight six, stage 3 the head, new free flow zorst, triple 40DCOE webbers +the rest of the engine tweeky bits, change all the brakes suspension,weld yourself up a new body shell - quite likely required - new bonnet respray and new interior and then hoon around everywhere in soft top that goes and goes and goes, sounds the dogs nuts, specially on overrun through the town centre and will keep going past the point where you have to take one arm of the steering wheel to hold the hood down (dragster parachute effect) at approx 120mph which is where i chickened out!

played with a Vanquish down the M11 once - both had smiles

Nick Martin

And a photo or 2 just cos i'm bored
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/...1/PICT0011.jpg
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/...1/PICT0013.jpg

I had to keep the scooby at the end of the drive to stop the bird driving off in it!

beemer02

A good MGB is a lot of laffs, better than any fragile jap-crap!
I'm also a Triumph man but do appreciate a good MG tho!

beemer02

Thats a nice spitfire nick!

beemer02

Ithink the dude wants a car he can drive, not spen all day waiting for the RAC to come tow it away!