MG MGB and MGB GT Tech Talk
I notice that many of the MGB for sale and that have been restored have things like seats etc that are not the correct style for the year. Do many of you restore the cars to their original or do you put in different years parts into the original. Just kind of curious.
Yes. :D
Seriously, it's pretty much up to individual taste, availability of parts, and the purpose of the restoration. For somebody who wants a comfortable driver, trying to stay 100% stock is much less important than it is to somebody who wants a show car. Both are good goals, but the end result can be pretty different in each case.
Mine is original except for AC and new seat foam and bottoms and cleaning it up and replacing worn out stuff. Gonna maintain the Breed.
I just want mine to look nice and clean and hopefully will start and stop easily!
How does it count if you take off rubber bumpers and put on chrome.
I have a 1970.
Putting on front park/turn signals from 68/69.
Rear tail/brake lights from 68/69.
Front grill from 68/69.
Early bumper overriders (no rubber) front and rear.
I think the "to each his own" is a good philosophy, BUT, are we not stewards of these cars. If we erase the original cars and just make them comfortable or what we like then how will they be remembered.
They cut down the Bs and made a parking lot. Put them in a museum and charged a quarter to see'em..
I believe in making them as comfortable and enjoyable as possible but try to keep them also as original as possible...
See what a few beers and a Carolina 30 point win will do..
GO HEELS
Where was Arkansas today? Think they left their game on the bus....LOL
Is this another Championship year? Sure hope so...GO HEELS !!!
Personally, I am going for up grades in comfort, performance saftey etc. But, anything I do, must be reversable and I keep all the original parts (if reusable). That way, if an all original goes for big $$$ at Barret Jackson, I don't have to kick myself in the a....
My '64 has a lot of original things, but many changes have been made including color change inside and out to colors not offerred in '64 and black aftermarket tonneau, alternator & negative ground conversion, modern radio and speakers, trunk carpet, radiator overflow catch bottle, brake light switch relay, tube shocks in the rear, aftermarket fuel pump, petronix ignition, maybe more. I still have nealy all of the original stuff including the red tonneau and red boot cover, generator, fuel pump, and so on.
I always happy when it runs and works right and gets me home.
Modified for reliability, safety and personal taste. Budget also comes into play. It's your car, do what you want.
Oh, remember MGB stands for Might Get Back
Larry, I think a lot of changes are because of lack of the correct parts. Seats and seat frames are like the floors, easy to damage and rust away. When you get the floors replaced and start looking at the price of new seat frames, foams, and covers and a good set of later B seats shows up at the swap meet it's often just good economics to install the later units or some from a Miata or Fiero. The same goes for a lot of items on the car. Most are not trying for a concours restoration, so if something looks ok and fits and if is a MGB part it's a plus.
I wanted leather seats in the 1971 car so I out the Prestige set in. In 1971 the seats were vinyl.
The carpet was a loop style in 1971. Moss did not have it. The only place that I could find it was TRF.
The stock headlights are not much good. They have been replaced with Sylvania Silver stars.
Thanks for all the input it is certainly appreciated. I am going to try to replace the parts as close to stock as I can as I want to try to put collector plates on the vehicle.
If you have any questions or just want to brag (or bitch) then this is the place, Larry. Lots of opinions here, but lots of knowledge to go with them. And half the fun is in the fact that every now and then the opinions and the knowledge come in the same post. :D