I've been actively avoiding new project cars for a few months, have a few things going in and really prefer to have my focus there right now, but after a couple of weekends in the house with miserable weather I figured one little project couldn't hurt too much. Firm Jr is now 4.5, right around the age I got my first MGB, and he's really taking an interest in cars - and wrenching on them. So, I figured this is something we can wrench on together over the winter/spring and I'll let him really learn the ropes on it. He came with me today to get it and he has been super excited about it for days....So when we got there, even though the car was a little rougher than I expected, I couldn't disappoint him, so we bought it anyway.
It's a 78 MGB, basically the same car as my blue one, only this one is Brooklands green - and green happens to be the kid's favorite color. Original owner (probably the biggest selling feature for me) passed away in 2017 and the car was caught up in estate dealing until now, it finally landed with his son who put it up for sale and we grabbed it.
It's a decent car, clearly was loved by the original owner, but fell into disrepair more recently as he became less able to care for it. Seats and interior were redone at some point, not the correct pattern on the seats or door panels, but it's all in good shape, so I'll probably leave it alone. Floors are perfect, hardtop is a nice feature to have, softtop looks good (though hard to tell with it folded down), engine bay is very original and tidy. Paint should shine up OK. The worse part is the dog leg area infront of the rear wheels, typical rot in there...Easy enough to patch up, but I wasn't really expecting it given that the rest of the car is so solid.
Bought it as a non-runner, the seller said it hadn't been run since 2017, but he believed it was 'running when parked'. Got it home, and since I didn't want to push it into position in the driveway, Firm Jr and I dug into getting it started. Fresh battery got it turning over, but no fuel. Gave the fuel pump the ole Tonya Harding treatment and that brought it around. Dumped in some fresh gas, and it started instantly! Even idled well! Gotta love an easy fix!
It looks like the brake and clutch hydraulics were done prior to parking it because the brake and clutch master cylinders, clutch slave, and rubber lines all look brand new - another score as all the hydraulics work great - highly unusual in an MG that's been sitting. So, we span it around the block a few times, and it drives well, no bouncing around, no clunking, banging, etc. Shifts through the gears well, and the engine pulls strong.
Mechanically it seems like it's going to be mostly electrics here; no turn signs or hazards, few corner markers are out, no sound from the radio, and the cooling fan runs on high constantly. Someone also added some el cheapo fog lamps that need to disappear as well.
We pulled a bunch of trash, tools, parts, etc out of it to go through another day, vacuumed the cabin and trunk and called it a day. So, now I've got another tired looking hulk in the driveway and a bunch more work to do. It's ok though; Firm Jr looked at me when we got back in the house and said "it was a good day daddy"...and he's right, it was a damn good day.
I HATE when people paint these factory rostyle wheels all silver, so that'll be addressed asap.
