Throughout its eighteen year production life the MGB was a lovable sexy looking little roadster, with a low growling engine and a snug cockpit more reminiscent of a world war two fighter.
When first launched in 1962 the two seater MGB looked and felt very modern and went on to epitomise a more middle class view of the 'swinging sixties'. The car was of course built on solid time honoured MG virtues and class, and for the most part of its construction, adopted from its forerunner, the now much sought after MGA.
Built at Morris Garages in Cowley Oxford, the engineers took the MGA's B series 1492 cc engine and re-bored it to the much larger 1798 cc, and by fitting it into the same amount of engine space as the MGA raised the output of the MGB to a healthy 94 bhp. This gave the sports car a very lively performance with a top speed of 103 mph. The MGB could do 0 to 60 in 11.4 seconds. The engine had plenty of torque in the higher gears and it was renowned for the cars predictable road-holding, you could throw it around corners without losing control unlike many other sports cars of the time, which made the MGB popular with both young and old alike.
In the summer of 1965 when The Byrds were Number One in the UK Music charts, MG launched the highly desirable and elegant MGB GT fastback coupe.
The stylish lines of the MGB GT were designed by Carrozzeria Pininfarina whose Italian company had also produced designs for Peugeot and Ferrari.
The GT featured a rear hatch door, what could technically be called a 2+2 rear seat, which was so small a dog had difficulty sitting in it, and was often fitted with a leather sunroof. The extra bodyweight meant that the GT's low end acceleration was not as good as the MGB, however its naturally aerodynamic shape and lines gave it a top speed of 106 mph.
Production of the MGB continued under the auspices of the nationalised BLMC or British Leyland as it was known from 1968, but the MGB received poor investment, despite it being Britain's top export car to the US market for many a year.
In 1973 after much demand from enthusiasts British Leyland made a sincere attempt to pack the MGB GT with a much more competitive punch and fitted the car with Rover's 137 bhp 3.5 litre V8 engine!
Suddenly the quaint lady of british motoring could reach a top speed of 125 mph and do 0 to 60 in an impressive 8.4 seconds. In many ways the MGB GT V8 could claim to be Britains first 'hot hatch'!"
The new alloy engine weighed nearly forty pounds less than the old B series lump and the handling was much improved. Sadly, sales of the car were poor as its heavy fuel consumption did not bode well with the oil crisis and petrol rationing that were occurring when BLMC launched the car.
In 1975 all MGBs were given those rather unsightly black polyurethane bumpers or fenders to be precise. They were actually installed to meet US safety standards. All other changes to the MGB GT were also as a direct result of being so popular an export to the US and included the ride height being raised to meet US headlight standards and a single carburettor and catalytic converter were added to all US models to meet strict emissions standards. This, unfortunately for those driving them in the US, reduced the bhp to just 62 with a maximum top speed of 90 mph.
The final MGB rolled off the production line in 1980 and by then the car had sold over half a million. Throughout that time the second hand market for the MGB and GT was as strong as it is now with very high demand. Buying an MGB today is not beyond the pockets of many and as when new, the classic MGB and the MGB GT still remains affordable and is particularly popular with new collectors of sports cars.
Owning classic used cars can be fun and the MGB and MGB GTs are no exception The car's servicing can be done at home with a limited tool box, a set of axle stands and a decent jack. The spares situation for all parts for both the MGB and MGB GT is amongst the best for any classic car on the market. in the UK MGB specialist and garages can be found in every region and city. Car Insurance quotes are very fair, especially if you compare classic car insurance quotes, due mainly to the MGB's limited performance and the very wide availability of spare parts.
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