Original Low Mile Sports Car: 1980 MGB
Up for sale is a wonderful, classic British sports car in nice survivor condition! This 1980 MG MGB convertible is in wonderful condition and has had one owner up until now, allowing you to be the second. At this point, it has drawn 27 bids totaling $8,900 and the reserve has not yet been met. It is located in Villa Park, Illinois. The seller has listed 15,909 miles on the odometer, a VIN is given, and the title is said to be clear. You can view more on eBay.
Some work has recently been done to the car after it has been in storage for 28 years. The 1.8-liter inline four-cylinder engine has a Weber carburetor and a new fuel system. They have put in new hydraulics as well as a new brakes and a clutch. Sadly, they do not provide any photos of the engine. What they do provide though are a few photos of the underside of the car where some rust is present, but not much.
While there are no photos of the engine, there are plenty of photos of the interior. The seats look like they are in great shape and the carpet doesn’t have a spec of dirt. The dashboard does not have any cracks. Nothing is mentioned about any of the gauges and their functionality, but it can be assumed they still work. The soft top appears to be complete as well. What is visible in photos of this car are all good things.
Having a complete, running, classic British sports car to cruise around in over the holiday months might be a fun thing to have. While it might not work so well in Illinois over the winter months, if you are looking for a fair-weather vacation car to leave down south, this could be that car too. If it lived through almost three decades of storage, it can be tucked away for a few months at a time.
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Comments
Black is the only color that works on these rubber bumper cars. Lower it to prior years height, and It could look even better in my opinion.
Asking a question to the group. Are these reliable? I really like the presentation, however when I was 10 yrs old(in ‘80), a family friend received one of these as a HS graduation gift, and they had nothing but problems with it right from the start. It sat in his driveway for years, probably because he could never depend on it.
Would be interested in thoughts.
I have had 2, a 67 and a 70. I have always enjoyed the automobile hobby, so repairs were just part of the deal. But I am willing to bet that the majority will say “no” Lucas electrical components aren’t the list of highly reliable parts, neither are the Girling hydraulics… I enjoyed mine, and they were “relatively” reliable.
Well yes and no. Several problems have been worked out with newer technology but there are still several issues that you will have to deal with month to month. Keep in mind these British cars are not daily drivers and this one is too nice to keep outside or drive in the rain/winter. Rob ’72 Triumph TR6 owned for 20 years.
Looks a lot like the one featured a few months back, that one had 2k miles on it so probably not the same one?
We had a ’66 that we repainted and used as a go to work car during the ’70s gas crisis. Ran like a train and got 30 mpg. I’m with John. Get it where it doesn’t look like a dune buggy and you got something.
The original single stromberg carb is the weak point.Auto choke hangs up causing over rich running. The resulting glowing cat converter can cause a carb fire or at minimum a warped combined intake /exhaust manifold. Best option change to earlier spec dual SU carbs and separate manifolds,boosts power too! This will make it reliable.
Every English car or motorcycle I own or have owned in the past was a labor of love. I am constantly doing something on my 96 Discovery or my 67 BSA. They leak something all the time. So if your not the kind of person who doesn’t want to tinker or wrench on something, then a British vehicle of any type probably isnt for you.