1971 MG MGB

Hatchback

4 - Cyl.

Manual

GHD5UB234609 G

Gasoline

If you were ever serious about owning an MGBGT, this is the car for you. It has had one previous owner in the last 30 years (documented) and is the most solid driving and well-behaved MGBs you will ever experience. I had been shopping for a GT and I had made an offer on this car to the wife of the owner who was in hospice and not expected to come out. She did not accept so I made arrangements to buy a car from California. While my other GT was on it's way from the West coast, the wife called me back and wanted to know if my offer was still good (her husband had passed). I told her yes, figuring I could get the car running, sell it and get my money back, while helping her out at the same time. There is no proof that the odometer has not turned over other than the amazing condition and solidness of this car. The widow said her husband was not a good record keeper and did not keep a file on the car but she was pretty sure the miles are correct as he only drove it occassionally. The car had sat since 2003 in their garage so I had it towed to my shop (Speedwell). During our in depth evaluation of the car, we discovered the car had been parked with a bad head gasket. Thus began the journey.......... I went through this entire car and corrected every problem it had. Following is an account of this process: Engine- I completely rebuilt the engine with the following parts: 1) New fully floating .030 4-ring pistons with new standard crankshaft bearings and rod bearings 2) New stock camshaft 3) New lifters 4) Payen upper and lower gasket sets 5) New oil pump 6) New timing chain and tensioner (the timing gears themselves were perfect) 7) New oil pressure relief spring, piston and shim 8) New 180 degree thermostat 9) New engine mounts 10) New exhaust manifold studs and brass nuts 11) Wrinkle finished valve cover 12) New rocker stand shims, etc. The block was boiled out and magnafluxed for cracks, there were none. It was then decked .004" to make it perfectly flat. The crankshaft (which was in great condition) only needed light polishing. The piston rod assemblies, crankshaft and flywheel were all balanced. Each piston ring was fit by hand at the closest gap tolerance. Main and rod bearing tolerences where double checked with plasti-gauge at the time of assembley. The engine was carefully assembled with each step double checked and our usual special attention to cleanliness. The cylinder head was hot-tanked and magnafluxed for cracks, there were none. It was then resurfaced and completely rebuilt with the following new parts: 1) New manganese-bronze intake and exhaust valve guides 2) New Intake valves 3) New Stellite exhaust valves 4) All new hardened valve seats 5) All new valve springs (dual spring head) 6) New rocker arm shaft 7) New valve seals, etc. Gearbox- I removed the original gearbox and replaced it with a very nice Overdrive gearbox that I had on the shelf (I even used an original O/D wiring harness for the installation). I drained the oil and replaced the front and rear seals along with all the rubber o-rings associated with the operation of the overdrive itself. I also replaced the filter and gasket. I then removed the O/D switch from the gearbox and cleaned and checked it's operation. Solenoid operation was checked and found to be working perfectly. The overdrive is engaged through the factory switch on the column. This turned out to be a great gearbox. The flywheel was resurfaced and we bolted on a brand new clutch kit (disc, pressure plate and T/O bearing). It has a new clutch slave cylinder and associated hose. The slave received a new push rod and clevis pin as well. The clutch system holds Castrol LMA fluid. The gearbox was reinstalled with new mounts and buffer rubbers. Differential- I drained out the old gear oil (which did not look that bad) and replaced it with new 80-90W Castrol Hypoid. The rear U-joint had a slight amount of play so I replaced it with a Hardy Spicer grease fitting U-joint. The front U-joint was tight. There are no leaks from the differential and it operates quietly and smoothly. I installed a new baffled fuel tank (It had been stored with an empty tank) complete with new fuel sending unit, seal, trunk seal and insulating rubber strips. I also put in a new SU fuel pump, flushed the fuel lines and installed a new fuel filter. Carburetors- I disassembled the carbs for cleaning and found them to be in exceptional condition. There is no play at all in the throttle shafts and no goo in the fuel bowls. I simply cleaned everthing up and buttoned them back together (I think the gentleman who had the car previously must have had them rebuilt by a professional just prior to parking it). Distributor- I disassembled and cleaned the distributor. There was no play in the main shaft and everything looked really good. I lightly lubricated it and reassembled with new points, condensor, rotor, distributor cap and wires. Battery- The car came to me with the original type dual 6-volt batteries which I removed and replaced with a single 12 volt unit. Cooling system- I removed the original radiator and had it boiled out, rodded and flow checked. It passed with flying colors and is in an excellent state. I also installed new radiator hoses, heater hoses and clamps. I removed and flushed the oil cooler as well. Brakes- The braking system has new rear wheel cylinders and all new flex hoses. I flushed the braking system with Castrol LMA and that is what is in it now. When I picked this car up originally, I was glad to see an old bottle of LMA on the gentleman's shelf in the garage (always a good thing). The brakes work very well with no pulling to either side. Suspension- The king pins and all the front and rear suspension components are excellent. The only thing I had to do is change the lower control arm bushings (common MGB problem). I replaced these bushings with the more modern V8 types. These were then tightened down with the car on the ground with a driver in place. While I had it apart, I cleaned the lower trunnions and checked them, very nice. I cleaned all the grease fittings and shot them all with new grease. Grease came out of all the appropriate places and everything works well. Tires- These are one year old Vredstein Sprint 165SR14 as originally equipped. The spare is a Michelin XZX and it holds air. The interior is very nice but could really stand to have the original carpeting replaced. The headliner is fabulous. The dash is uncracked and not warped. What you are seeing in the pictures is NOT a Coverlay, it is the original perfect dash. Electrical- ALL of the wiring in this car is original and COMPLETELY unmolested. All gauges and lights are operational. It even has the original Lucas headamps. I had to do NOTHING to the electrics on this car, everthing worked from the start. Glass- All the glass is good. The windshield has no chips or cracks, the door windows are clear and quite nice, the quarter windows are perfect and the rear glass has no problems either. The windows roll up and down easily. Body- This car is a great 10 footer but could stand to be properly and sympathetically repainted. I believe the paint job is a good 20 years old and there is evidence of past minor damage to the RF (see picture of RF engine bay, inner fender) which was repaired. That said, this car presents herself very well and gets a lot of attention when you drive her out in public. There is a rust spot on the LR wheel arch that can easily be fixed when/if the new owner repaints the car. The photo-bucket link below has 137 pictures of the car including a lot of underneath pictures. The car is quite solid. Driving experience- The car is a JOY. She starts with just a bump of the key and purrs like a kitten. We calculate the compression at 9:01 and there is a healthy burble from the exhaust. So far I have put 62.9 miles on her and will keep running errands with her to get her properly broken in. I hope to have 250 miles on her prior to auction end so that she will be well on her way to being broken in. I have put a lot of time and care into this car and want to make sure the engine gets a good start on it's new life. The gearbox shifts smoothly and works quietly. The overdrive snaps straight in and out with absolutely no hesitation. The differential is also quiet and there is NO clunking when accelerating or decelerating. I live out in the country so when I drive her on an errand it is a 20 mile proposition. The drive includes curves and a couple of long straights. The car handles flatly and drives with no vibration or negative input of any kind. The hardest part of driving her is wiping the stupid grin off my face whenever I get out :-) The car remains unruffled by RR crossings or pavement irregularities and simply glides down the road. This car is road ready. I would not hesitate to drive this car to Alaska and back tomorrow. All the hard work is done, now all that is needed are the specific details that an owner would do to make this car his own. There are many pictures posted here: http://s807.photobucket.com/albums/yy356/Speedwell1/Maggie%20the%20MGBGT/ Please feel free to email me with any questions (after you have thoroughly read all of the auction and looked at all of the pictures, including the photo bucket link). I will be glad to arrange a test drive for any interested parties and would really like to encourage that. I have been on Ebay for many years and take this community very seriously. Check my feedback and you will see that I am very straightforward about my items. The widow could not find the title but did produce a photocopy of the title from when the gentleman bought the car 30 years ago. I can provide a bill of sale and letter from the Georgia DMV stating that Georgia does not require a title for cars over 13 years of age. This should be all most states require in order to register a vehicle but I would advise that you check with your local DMV. On Oct-02-10 at 04:54:37 PDT, seller added the following information: FAQ answers: The engine is the original High-compression unit that came with the car. The original radio and speaker do indeed work. The Overdrive speedometer cable is new.