Rare Brit: 1969 MGC Roadster
Introduced to the motoring public in 1967, the MGC only remained in production for less than two years. It was initially touted as a replacement for the Austin-Healey 3000, but it received enough bad press and reviews when launched to ensure that it was never as widely accepted as the manufacturer hoped. In the end, only 2,483 MGC Roadsters were sold in the USA, which was a long way short of expectations. This 1969 MGC Roadster is from the final year of production and is located in Catonsville, Maryland. It is listed for sale here on eBay with an opening bid of $4,500, and a BIN price of $6,800.
I guess that this wouldn’t be an MG project car if there wasn’t at least some rust to be addressed, but the rust in this car seems to be quite minimal. There is some surface corrosion visible in the floor, and while some of you might think that I’m being overly cautious, I would probably be inclined to address this fairly quickly. There is also some corrosion visible around the rear wheel arch, but I don’t think that this has penetrated through. The rust in the rockers will definitely need to be fixed, but the parts are included to do this. The rest of the car looks to be pretty good, and while the owner does mention the fact that many new parts are included, he doesn’t indicate whether this includes the missing rear bumper, tail-lights, or other minor trim pieces that currently aren’t attached to the car.
To accommodate what was a significant engine upgrade, there were a number of engineering changes made to the engine bay and the floor of the original MGB in the transition to the new MGC model. This was due to the fact that the MGC was fitted with a 6-cylinder engine in place of the 4-pot unit in the MGB. Space was tight, but this was eventually achieved. The 2,912cc engine in the MGC produced 150hp, and this provided a very noticeable improvement in performance and top speed. The trade-off was the fact that the new engine was substantially heavier, and the handling of the MGC wasn’t as nimble as its smaller engined brother. The engine in this MGC doesn’t run, but it does turn freely. Bolted to the back of that engine is the very desirable manual transmission with overdrive. The owner also has a spare engine, and this will be included if the buyer chooses to exercise the BIN button on the sale. There are no photos of the interior, so beyond the owner indicating that the dash is free of cracks, there’s not a whole lot that I can tell you there.
The MGC is a British sports car that seems to be something of an acquired taste. There are some people who are really taken by the whole idea of the extra power that the 6-cylinder engine provides, while there are some who feel that the extra weight has too much impact upon the car’s handling. This is a pretty decent one that could be quite a nice car when it is restored, and given the fact that there are currently 36 people watching the auction, I have a feeling that this one is about to go to a new home.
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Comments
at they buy it now it should already be sold. I wonder what the underside looks like? Must be something up….
Prince Charles had one. It was a Birthday Gift from his mother the Queen. Seems like she didn’t loved him very much, otherwise she would have bought him a MGB V8.
Little too early as the factory MGB GT V8 didn’t arrive on the UK market till late 1972.
Prince Charles also had Princess Diana and ditched her for Camilla.
Wonder what he got after he ditched the MGC?
A Yugo?
He didn’t ditch the MGCGT, I believe he passed it on to his son Prince William.
…He had his beautiful blue Aston-Martin DB roadster converted to electric. Just saw this in a TV documentary about him as told through his sons and Camilla.
Chaz gave it to Prince William. Still stored in the Royal garage!
For a car as obscure as the MGC, there seems to be several surfacing, and most, with what I feel would be justified with 5 figures, aren’t bringing it. The MGC is a novelty for a British sports car buff, but there were better cars, like the Z car, or TR6, and the MGC was severely outdated. I like MGB’s, would like another, but the MGC is too much for that car.
For me, the MGC is a much better car all around than the TR6 and Z – The Z is a generic Japanese conveyor belt made transport with no soul and the TR6 is one of the most uncomfortable rattle trap this side of the Atlantic. It’s a matter of opinion of course but I have had dozens of all of these cars and never go by what someone might say about any car in the magazines. I am not particularly an MG fan but the MGC is an excellent, solid driving car and in the long run will far outpace the thousands of available TR and Z’s in value. They are one of the best values around for what little they bring today.
Couldn’t agree more!
The 4 cylinder MGB stock was not a great handling car. They did nothing to really compensate for the extra front end weight with the 6 cylinder engine. There is a whole aftermarket source of suspension parts that can turn these cars into great handling vehicles. Our ’66 4 cylinder was fun but I’ve always wished we had run across one of the 6 cylinder cars just for the uniqueness of them.
Made my own MGC. 2.8 V6, 5 speed.
I have 2 MGB’s, a ’76 Tourer that will be back on the road this year, and a ’65 Tourer that is a long-term resto project. I’d love a C as it is a comfortable touring car (vs a sports car). And it wasn’t mentioned but they do have a completely different front suspension than a B, using torsion bars and tube shocks instead of the coils and lever shocks on a B. That was necessitated primarily by the height of the engine. I would love a CGT to cruise in.
Before we get all teary eyed about the MGC, let us consider its 2 major problems.
The engine was a huge underpowered lump of cast iron, that produced a ridiculously low amount of power, but not only weighed a ton, but was badly positioned in the body.
The brakes were totally inadequate – period.
Having driven one of these pigs on a race track and on fast rally stages, and then spent a lot of effort trying to cure its really poor understeer and terrible brakes I eventually gave up. It’s a pig !
In comparison, the MGB was a nicely balanced, but yes underpowered car, that handled well and had reasonably good brakes. Don’t underestimate the MGB, for its price it had few competitors worthy of beating it. It also responded very well to modification for racing and rallying, and performed astonishingly well, as its polar center and low C of G helped it to be a great competition car.
I think the criticism of the Datsun Z is a little harsh. It’s one of the few Japanese cars that was not a clone, and actually had local Japanese design imagination. The engine was a marvelous piece of engineering, and considering its competition success, it was a great expandable design. Aside from the fact that it looked absolutely marvelous for such a low budget car.
One of the few Japanese cars I have always yearned after, that and an early Mazda RX2……..
Hear, hear Peter Pentz! One only has to visit the Lane Museum in Nashville for their Datsun-specific tour of the Nissan Heritage Collection to get perspective on the development of the Z and it’s marvelous debut, race history and fan base. While I appreciate Richard’s comments above about the MG-C, perhaps they come from the perspective of a touring car with a British lineage and creature comforts. That, I’ll give ya! Some MG-C came with automatic transmissions, air, and a sunroof.
I owned a CGT for three years, 78-81. A good cruiser, high geared, comfortable cabin where everything fell readily to hand.
Otoh, it was a non-handler, and the engine was gutless below 3000 and thrashy above.
And at ten years old, it was rusty. Came home one evening to find it sagging in the middle where the driver/s sill (rocker) had rusted through. Had to call out a mobile welder to come and fix it.
Later, I owned a TR6 for ten years. The TR6 (injection) was a throbbing hairy sports car. The C was the sort of car your granny would buy.