MG B Reviews

The MGB was greeted with great excitement when it arrived here in 1963. It was the latest in a long line of sports cars from the British carmaker that had come to define the very essence of what a sports car should be, but the B also caused a sensation because it was such a shift away from MG tradition.When earlier MGs were stripped down to the bare minimum, had a bone jarring ride that threatened to shake the fillings from your teeth, the B was as smooth as silk. MG traditionalists were aghast at this newcomer they regarded as soft and for sissies.MODEL WATCHThe B had indeed departed from MG tradition, but the result was a smooth and sophisticated sports car for its time.Gone was the separate chassis used on previous models, the B was MG’s first unitary construction car, and that resulted in a much stiffer car with more predictable and precise handling.It was also pretty, with classical long nose and stubby tail proportions, and clean uncluttered lines, although critics at the time had problems coming to terms with the fins that had grown from the rear guards.The mechanical package was simple. The engine was a BMC B-series four-cylinder engine of 1.8 litres capacity. It was a long stroke unit with pushrod actuated overhead valves and was fed by twin SU carburettors.On full song the B put out 71 kW of power at 5500 revs, and 145 Nm of torque at 3500 revs, enough to push the 920 kg roadster to 97 km/h in 11.3 seconds, and through the standing 400-metre sprint in 18.2 seconds. When pushed to the limit it would reach 170 km/h.The numbers rightly suggest the B was no fire-breathing monster; nevertheless it was quite spirited for its day.When first released the transmission was a four-speed manual with synchromesh on the top three gears, and a precise gearshift.Underneath, the B had independent front suspension with coil springs and lever type hydraulic shock absorbers, while at the rear it had a live axle slung from semi-elliptic leaf springs and lever type shocks.The B’s brakes were quite good for the time, with solid discs at the front and drums at the rear.Rack and pinion steering was direct, but precise and with quite good feel.Wire wheels, 14 x 4.5 inches, finished off the picture of a classic sports car and the tyres were radials. In standard form the wheels were painted silver, but for an extra dash of gloss they could be bright chrome plated.Inside, the B was quite roomy by sports car standards. It had a broad cockpit with a pair of black trimmed sports buckets either side of the centre tunnel. Carpets covered the floor; there was a black thin-rimmed wire-spoked steering wheel and a full complement of Smiths black-faced gauges.A smoother engine, with five main bearings instead of three, was launched in 1965, and an electrically operated overdrive gearbox followed in 1968.Later in 1968 BMC released the Mk II B, which then boasted an all-synchromesh gearbox as the main change.The final act came in 1970 when the B was replaced by the restyled L, which ran through to 1972 when the then British Leyland ceased local production. The B continued in production in England until the 1980s when it was finally put to rest.A number of these later cars, generally referred to as rubber bumper cars because of their American low speed crash bumpers, have been imported over the years, but don’t have the same appeal as the original chrome bumper cars built here.IN THE SHOPThe simplicity of the B makes it perfect for a restoration project, the sort that bonds a father and son, but beware of restoration costs because they often blow out of control to the point they can exceed by many times the price of buying a car already restored.Rust is the main problem with the B, as it is with any car that’s 40 years or more old. Look for rust in the sills, the floors, around the battery boxes behind the seats, in the front guards, boot floor and in the scuttle.Rust repairs really require expert skills and shouldn’t be tackled at home unless you have the experience to do them properly.It’s best to search for a car that has minimal rust, even if the mechanicals are worn out because it’s much easier to rebuild the engine, gearbox, suspension, steering and brakes at home than it is to cut out rust.The good news is that parts are readily available from specialists, and they don’t cost an arm and a leg by classic standards.The B is also a good base on which to develop and improve. There’s plenty of specialist knowledge available on what to do to improve the performance, and handling, like fitting telescopic shocks absorbers in place of the old level type.OWNERS’ VIEWSJim Bradley was attracted to the MGB when as a young man he saw one zipping around his hometown of Woodend. Later, as an 18-year-old he bought a three main bearing '64 model, which he says caused him nothing but trouble, but looked charming and he missed driving it after it was sold. Ten years later he restored his father’s B, which was in a very poor state. He enjoys the characteristic engine note, reasonable performance and handling.LOOK FOR• good looking classic sports car• solid unibody construction• modest performance by today’s standards• good brakes• avoid rusty resto rockets• ready supply of replacement parts at reasonable cost• affordable fun classic• great club sceneVERDICTSmooth driving and affordable classic British sports car that won’t send you broke if it breaks. Good club scene offers plenty of fun social motoring.RATING75/100

While it hasn't quite disappeared it appears to be in its death throes with little real chance of being saved. MG is the company that defined the sports car genre with its Midget series that dates back to 1928.The first MG was created in 1925, it was in effect a stripped down and tuned up Morris, but it was the Midget series which established MG's pre-eminent position in the motoring world.BUYING AN MG TODAYIt is a simple task to buy your own MG now, as there are lots around. There are also plenty of experts who can repair them and keep them running sweetly.And there are plenty of local suppliers who stock just about everything needed to restore or repair an MG. And, if a part can't be found locally, there are lots of companies reproducing parts in England and America.Before you buy, it's worth getting advice on the model you're interested in.Here's three to consider.MG TCIf any model really encapsulates the MG ethos it's the TC, which was really a pretty simple update of the TB.With a modest 1.25-litre overhead valve four cylinder engine, albeit with twin carburettors and a sporty camshaft among a number of modifications from the family car engine it's based upon, the TC's performance is spirited rather than sizzling.The exhaust note is one of the true joys of driving a TC and the gearbox is the other delight. A four-speed unit, it has the best shift of any car ever built.The brakes are dodgy by modern standards and it rides like a dray, but those criticisms quickly fade away on a sunny day when the open air is blowing through what hair you have left and the exhaust is resonating behind you.The TC was in production from 1946 to 1949 and some 10,000 were produced.MGAThe MGA was the first modern MG. Built between 1955 and 1962, the A had sweeping lines derived from a one-off streamlined T-Type special raced at Le Mans in 1951.While the A still sat on a separate chassis, it now had a 54 kW 1.5-litre BMC B-Series four cylinder engine and four-speed gearbox. But like all MGs it handled well.Top speed approached the magic 100m/ph (160 km/h) mark.An update in 1959 saw the 1.5-litre engine replaced by a 1.6-litre version and the front drum brakes were replaced with discs.The final update was the Mark II in 1961 which had more power and the top speed finally exceeded 100m/ph (160km/h). There were also pretty coupe and hot twin cam versions of the A. In the seven years it was in production, 101,470 As were built.MGBThe B replaced the A and proved to be the most popular of all MGs with more than half a million built between 1962 and 1980.The B was quite sophisticated, with wind-up windows and opening quarter vent windows, a useful boot and even a folding roof.The body was of monocoque construction with a hint of fins and it looks good even today which, is testament enough to its design.Its B-Series engine was stretched to 1.8-litres which pushed the power to 70kW and the top speed to around 170km/h.

The MGB was greeted with great excitement when it arrived here in 1963.  It was the latest in a long line of sports cars from the British maker that had come to define the very essence of what a sports car should be, but the B also caused a sensation because it was such a shift from MG tradition.Earlier MGs were stripped down to the bare minimum and had a ride that threatened to shake the fillings from your teeth, but the B was as smooth as silk.  MG traditionalists were aghast at this newcomer, which they regarded as soft and for sissies.Model WatchThe B was MG's first unitary construction car, resulting in a much stiffer vehicle with more predictable and precise handling.  It was also pretty, with long nose and stubby tail proportions, and clean, uncluttered lines.The engine was a BMC B-series four-cylinder of 1.8 litres capacity. It was a long-stroke unit with pushrod-actuated overhead valves and twin SU carburettors.The B put out 71kW of power at 5500 revs and 145Nm of torque at 3500 revs, enough to push the 920kg roadster to 97km/h in 11.3 seconds and through the standing 400m sprint in 18.2 seconds.  The transmission was a four- speed manual with synchromesh on the top three gears and a precise gearshift.It had independent front suspension with coil springs and lever-type hydraulic shock absorbers, while at the rear it had a live axle slung from semi-elliptic leaf springs and lever-type shocks. The brakes were quite good, with solid discs at the front and drums at the rear.Rack and pinion steering was direct but precise, with quite good feel. There were wire wheels, 14 x 4.5 inches. The tyres were radials.  Inside, the B was quite roomy by sports car standards. It had a broad cockpit with black-trimmed buckets either side of the centre tunnel.There was a thin, wire-spoked steering wheel and a full complement of gauges.  A smoother engine, with five main bearings instead of three, was launched in 1965, and an electrically operated overdrive gearbox followed in 1968. Later that year BMC released the Mk II B with an all-synchromesh gearbox.In 1970 the B was replaced by the restyled L, which ran through to 1972 when British Leyland ended local production. The B continued in production in England until the 1980s.Some of these later cars, referred to as rubber bumper cars because of their American crash bumpers, have been imported, but don't have the same appeal.Owner's viewsJim Bradley was attracted to the MGB when he saw one zipping around his hometown, Woodend.  As an 18-year-old he bought a three-main-bearing '64 model, which caused him nothing but trouble, but looked charming.  Ten years later he restored his father's B, which was in a very poor state. He enjoys the characteristic engine note, reasonable performance and handling.The bottom lineSmooth-driving and affordable sports car that won't send you broke if it breaks down. Very good club scene offers plenty of fun, social motoring.Rating15/20