MGB: MGB with Auto Trans

Let's hear it.....


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1974-MGB-ROADSTER-CONVERTABLE_W0QQitemZ110453171485QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item19b785a51d

Automatics were a factory option, although arguably not the most sporty things on the planet.

Looks like a nice car,
I'm not keen on the auto, very unsports car like.
However the rarity value off sets the "un-sports car" image so they seem to come out even.
If you've got a bad leg, back or something they are just the thing.

I'd trade my 4 speed for one any day. I like the uniqueness about it.

On a separate note: Ewww a steelers fan!

Looks like it used to be blue, given the paint under the dash. 4 great pics of the trunk, but none of the rockers?

That speaker hanging from under the dash is a nice touch.

I thought that the brake pedal looks like a GM one.

IIRC, there was only one automatic roadster ever sold new in the US. I don't recall the details, but that is my recollection. That looks like the type of shift selector on MGB automatic transmissions, but my guess is that it was retrofitted and not actually original (because there was only one original and this aint it!). The lack of armrest/console on the transmission tunnel certainly doesn't seem like a factory thing.

There were less than a total of 2000 Autos made throughout the production life of the MGB.
I have one but I am unable to get onto the ebay site to see what, if any, differences there are.
The gearbox is a Borg Warner type 35 I believe and is a three speed. The Selector is in a Chrome oval and has a flat top knob
with a pull reverse selector under it. The best way to check is on the engine number to find if it is an original auto.

[quote="Elfis Presley"]
I thought that the brake pedal looks like a GM one.[/quote]

The rubber pad on this car is not correct. You can see the ill fit on the top and bottom. Pictured is the correct rubber pad:

I knew a young lady in Colorado who owned an original one. Not sure where you got the "only one" stat from - but I don't think it is correct. I would guess that most of the auto versions built came to the states.

Saw one on ebay a few months back in Fla. The tranny was from an Austin Marina. That car was red as well but I don't think this is the same vehicle.

I'm paraplegic and drive a '70 B that I adapted with hand controls. A mgb with an automatic takes all the FUN out of it.

The automatic gearbox was offered from April 1967 to September 1973, The E in the VIN on that car shows it to be a 1974 model, therefore it couldn't have had a factory automatic fitted.

Vin decoder: http://www.mgcars.org.uk/namgbr/identify.htm

[quote=scottydawg]
That speaker hanging from under the dash is a nice touch.[/quote]

That works really well if your ears are in your knees, like a cricket!!

I think they only made the auto's in Europe and they were GT's, with right hand drive.

That works really well if your ears are in your knees, like a cricket!!


Or your passengers ears are on your knees!! yikes....

[quote=Barry64]
Or your passengers ears are on your knees!! yikes....[/quote]

I've experienced that with a few girlfriends, it's a pleasurable experience. :P

I have seen a couple of factory MGB autos here in Vancouver over the years but they are certainly very uncommon.
It seems to have been much more common in the MGC.
It's best not to try the "passenger's ears around the knees" bit in an MG unless one or both of you are in the circus. :spinning:

Cheers,
Rich

If it is a factory car, all of the kickdown linkage went the way of the spare tire. That, and the carbs, intake manifold and even the emission equitment should have been included with the car. The speaker magnet serves a dual purpose as is holds the speaker to the body of the car. Nice seats and trim panels though. RAY

Here is some pertinent info from Clausager's Original MGB, page 86, "Automatic Gearbox":
"It has been speculated that the option of an automatic gearbox was introduced to cater for demand in the North American markets. While the MGC automatic was indeed sold in the USA and Canada, the MGB automatic was never offered regularly in either market. The great majority of MGBs with automatic 'boxes were sold in the home market. The only export market to take them in any quantity was Australia, which received a total of 228 MGB roadster CKD kits with auto 'boxes between August 1968 and July 1970. Otherwise the GT was by far the most common model to be fitted with an automatic gearbox."


So, I may have been wrong about "only one" automatic in the US (I could swear I've heard that), but considering Australia got a total of 228 and was "the only export market to take them in any quantity" I'd have to guess that there would have been, say, less than 100 sold in the US, if not more like a few dozen.

Rare as hen's teeth, the real ones are. So if someone says it's "factory original", it's worth checking for veracity!