thinking of buying a 69 need some info plz

hello everyone, i'm thinking of buying a 1969 MG from my neighbor and was looking to get some info on the car and what a fair price to pay for it, I don't want to rip the guy off at all he is a very nice guy, but I don't want to spend more then what its worth. I watched the guy drive the car around the neighborhood 10 years ago and park it on the side of his house and there it has sat until now so I know the car runs and drives but he did say the brakes do not work. It needs a floor for sure but everything is there on the car and for the car.
I don't know much about MG's just starting my journey into them.

Here are my questions about this car:
Is the push bar on the bumper and hood pins stock? I can't seem to find any pics of one with hood pins and that push bar. Also I believe the hood is aluminum, are these things something special for this car, or are they just something someone added along the way?

What would be a fair price to pay for the car in this condition? Remember he is my neighbor and i must see him everyday, I would hate to not give the man what it was worth.






thanks for any ifno you folks could give me on this car, and i'm sure i'll be back with more questions as I go on this car.
rob

If there is no rust on the sills or frame, I would give him $750-$1,250. But that is just me. remember this is a uni-body car so if the transmission tunnel is rusted away, it is most likely parts. The pins on the hood are aftermarket, the hood is most likely original and worth a pretty penny. It also has aftermarket window winders, door panels, and looks like it has a custom upholstery. More pics would be VERY helpful, but I'm sure the experts will be here soon to help out more

Olin

thanks Youngmgbuilder! the only other pics I have tonight are these, not sure how helpful they will be but they are a bit sad and funny.



rob

500 tops around here.

Welcome Rob,

Good luck on your find, and once you drive one you'll love them. I'm with Olin and will wait and let the experts weigh in.

But.....

New Mexico plates alone should command a higher price tag. (:D

In my humble opinion $500 would be too much. The car needs EVERYTHING. MG'S like that in my neck of the woods are parts cars at best.

About $25-30,000 to get her ship shape plus what you pay him. $200

I would keep looking.

Rob, there is a great resource in the library here on buying an MG. I would read through that then go look closely. The big drawback is the rust. Folks here will tell you to look at a bunch of cars before buying one. You will be surprised how many are out there and what deals can be made.

My 2 B's when I bought them were and still are in far worse condition. We bough them for $300 apiece but the guy gave us a "discount" for being friends for a long time. My '77 is worth around $1,000 now that it has been cleaned up a little and has a rebuilt engine. The car just needs to be cleaned and it would look OK, yes it needs an entire interior, but if there is no rust, I would give a $750 for it today, maybe a little more if it ran. Sorry guys, I might be overpricing but just stating my knowledge :devil:

The car doesn't look to be worth more than a few hundred dollars as it sits. The hardtop alone, if cleaned up or reconditioned might be worth $500 by itself as they are sought after by many B owners. What a shame on the condition of the dash board. It looks to be a cool custom upholstery job that got eaten by critters. I'm sure the seats are in similar condition however those are original 69 seat frames with the one year only "chicklet" headrests. Could be desirable by some. If you can get it for a few hundred bucks and clean it out etc, I think you could get more than your money back even if you flipped it..

If sills & rockers are good which they appear to be I'd go a grand for it. All the seams look good, altho a few more pic's would be helpful. N.M.& Az. cars hold up much better than say a car in tropical environments like Fl.or road salt northern states. If this car has spent it life in those environs,I would speculate there isn't much rust on it. Still,w/new interior & paint, depending on the effort you put into it,your probably looking at four grand in restoration costs. Hope you buy it,nothing like the feeling you get after it's completed. Keep us updated.

One more point... On it being a '69, based on the interior it seems to agree with that, however, the body is missing the '69 side markers. Maybe they were taken off during a repaint??

No offence but that car needs a lot of work. At best it might be a donor car for parts. Keep looking would be my advice

Walk away. The car is missing a lot of stuff and will require a major investment on your part. You can find another B, in much better condition, for much less that what will be needed to bring this car just to the point of being a runner. It's been hacked up, from the looks of it, and the hard top is an after market unit, not a factory hard top. It's worth much less. Just not worth the trouble. Sorry. RAY

Ray x2. Unless there's sentimental value in the car, it's a money pit. I guarantee it would cost at least $5K to get the body prepped and painted, and more depending on the degree of rust. And that's before you address engine, clutch, brakes, exhaust, suspension, upholstery, etc. If you're not particularly gratified by the act of bringing a parts car back to life (I'm that kind of guy, but most are not...) then I suggest you walk away and spend $5K on a decent, running and driving, car.

Dick

You are much better off to buy one that someone else has spent some money already. It will cost $20K+ to get that heap in shape. Zero is too much.

What Ray & Dick said.

I believe that most on here will agree that, unless you just have a "need" to rescue a basket case, it's always better to buy one that is at least running and driving. Many (maybe most) of us who have gone the rebuild/restore route have way more in our cars than we hope to ever get out of them. Keep looking and get one that someone else has spent the money on already.

I just bought one in better shape for $400. $200-$500 tops.

I bought my 69 in similar condition two years ago out of a Texas barn where it rested for 19 years for $450. It all depends what you are looking to buy. I was looking for a restoration project and was pleased that my car was mostly rust free and quite origional and complete. It made it a good candidate for the restoration I was looking to do. Just to give you an idea I'm sure I've got $7K - $8K into it and have a long way to go. If you are looking to find something to put a few hundred or couple of thousand into and have a driver, keep looking. You would be ahead of the game to find something for $1K - $2K to start with. If You are looking for a project and some chalenges, this is it.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Bob

the "push bar" you are referring to is actually a badge/light bar. i believe that one is aftermarket, but i may be wrong.

personally, i wouldn't pay too much for the car, maybe $500 depending on the engine compartment and what's in there. it's definitely gonna be A LOT of work. the cosmetic stuff isn't very hard to do, but can cost. just be careful of rust, but it doesn't look as though it's gonna be too much of a problem...

good luck with your decision

As Peter Plouf stated so eloquently in another post "It takes a serious commitment to financial irresponsibility" to restore an MGB, or most cars for that matter. If you want to do it for fun get it cheap and dig in. If you think you are going to make money walk away.

X2 Peter.

What I can see in the picture is that the outer sill shows major rust. Ok hard to see but if it's true, don't do it unless you are prepared to etc,etc,etc.

If you can get it on the cheap and have a place to part it out, go for it. Use the money you get for parts to buy a better example to fix up/restore. Just my .02 worth.

a great parts car. buy it for around 250 and park it next to your garage until you find one with a totally ratty body and a good interior. make one outta the both. sell the remains and you'll be in one for very cheap money.

In his first post he said "it needs a floor for sure" if that means it is full of rust through holes that tells me the sills, dog legs and everything else will need replacing. Run do not walk from this car unless of course he pays you to take it. I am not sure it even has much parts car value but hard to say without seeing in person. Much better restoration projects out there.

Nothing.

Define your goals...are you looking to fully restore a car? Are you interested in the PROCESS of restoring a car? Expect many years and many nights working to get it going.

If you are just interested in buying a car to drive, go out and find one. Buy the most expensive one you can reasonably afford, that justifies it's condition.

Honestly, if you're looking for an MG, I'd go find one that moved.

Having that one next door will be a great part resource. Parts for MGs aren't to hard to find, but most people don't literally have a part donor next door.

I got a '69 in great condition for under $4k. I'd be willing to bet you could find someting semi-decent that you could actually drive for about half that.

Take away: If you want an MG, go MG shopping, don't just buy the first one that pops up, or you'll regret it.

Robert,

Rebuilding cars for a long time, this car needs everything are you prepare to invest thousands? Looking at the pictures I would give him $50.00 and look for a beter car to rebild and use this for parts. This one is not worth rebuilding.