Terry's restoration of a 1974 MGBGT

   I did not think for one minute that I would be writing an account of my exploits of restoring a classic car, let alone an MGB GT. It all started about 3 years ago now; I have always dreamed of owning a classic car, so every time the family and I went out for a day trip to anywhere, even the Town Centre, I was looking at old cars. At first I just wanted any make or any model to restore and I told myself that the right car will come along at the right price, then after 2 years of if-ing and arr-ing there it was in our local newspaper.

  The car was advertised as, “ MGB GT 1975, N reg. 1798cc, chrome bumpers, British Racing Green, good runner, OFFERS” with a small photo. I viewed the car after work with my son Aaron and Mark, a friend who happens also to be restoring an MGB GT too.

  We set off to look at the ‘B’. Having a good look round I found a few holes in the bodywork, but at the time nothing looked serious. I asked for the keys to start it up. Sitting in the drivers’ seat, which was all torn and dirty, I turned the key and she started first time from a cold engine.

The engine roared and I was hooked just alone by the sound. A deal was struck at £475. Bargain!

Now to see what I have bought, an up close inspection and the start of removing bits’ n’ bobs from the car.

From the start I decided to keep a record of written notes along with a photographic record.

It is a good idea to take photos before you start the work so that if you get any complications when you come to the rebuilding work, they will be able help you to sort any problems, or just like in my case a bad memory!

My restoration started on 4/9/2006.

Rear boot was cleaned out to look for rust, and you never would have guessed it;

I found 3 areas of rust that I did not spot when I first saw my MG so need two new rear boot quarter panels.

O/S floor panel and N/S floor panel were cleaned and to my surprise no rust holes. Insulation removed from both floor panels. O/S and N/S footwell small holes found. O/S front headlight bowl completely rotten. O/S sill, small hole found.

  I got to start work properly and got well and truly ‘stuck in’ as I want it to be on the road by next Summer 2007, well that’s the target date I have set myself, I wonder if I can do it.

I dug out an old coat, body warmer, for the cold nights to come, some old safety shoes and a good thick pair of thermal socks.

The plan is, if weather and day light permits to work on the MG in the driveway where there is plenty of room. If not I have to use my very narrow garage and I will be struggling to move around the MG.

O/S headlight and indicator removed. I already knew that the headlight bowl was rotten, but when I removed the indicator it fell apart in my hand.

  Rear bumper was removed and yes, I did know about the holes in the rear valance. I noticed those when I first bought the car, but when I started prodding the bloody holes got enormous! Now what do I do? Patch the holes up with body filler, (easy option) or go all the way and get a Welder to patch it up? I have not got a clue what to do so it looks like I’ll be seeking a second opinion.

We went out for a leaving do/ meal in Hanley, Stoke-On-Trent. My old boss was leaving and we all wanted to send her off in good style, but really it turned out very well for me. While my wife, and myself were talking to another workmate and her husband Ian about my new car, Ian piped up that he could have a look at my MG. I said, yes any time. Then Ian said, oh I can weld, that’s what I do for a living. I couldn’t believe my luck. I have never welded anything before in my life and here I have was a welder with 30 years experience and who is also willing to give me some tips on what to do. We made arrangements for a visit.

Ian came and looked at the MG and went through what I needed to buy and said it was best to replace the whole rear valance. Filling in the holes was not really a good thing to do and it was best do the work right. I got my second opinion all right, one thing though;

I can’t weld, so I started to panic.

I told Ian that I didn’t know how to weld and he said, don’t worry about that I will show you what to do but you need a mig welder and you need to order a rear valance and boot floor repair sections. Now the tank is off the car you can have a good look underneath.

This is where my list for parts had come in handy.

Items required are –

1.Rear valance.

2.Boot floor repair sections.

3.2 Splash panels.

4.Rubber seals for splash panels.

5.Splash panel fixings.

  I decided to drive the MG into the garage front first so that I could open the doors and it would give me more room to work on the MG.

He explained what had to be done and as fast as he was talking I was making notes and drawing diagrams.

In a nutshell this is what I needed to do.

Remove both rear taillights, reversing lights, number plate and rear lighting harness.

Remove all the rear internal trim panels, carpets and sound proofing. Remove the rear seat, wooden board to the boot and seat belts. Next mark out where you need to cut off the rear valance.

While I was waiting for the parts that I ordered from Moss, I went on the internet to get some background information about the history of my MG. When I first saw the car advertised in the local paper, it said MGB GT 1975. I already new that the chrome bumpers where discontinued and replaced with rubber bumpers some time in 1974. I could tell that the chrome bumpers were the originals when I first saw the MG. This got me thinking about when my MG was made? After a few nights on the internet I found what I needed from several sources.

Below - disclaimer, this Information is from the Internet and it may be incorrect, and is obtained from various Web Sites.

To mark this highly auspicious occasion (i.e. the 40th Anniversary of the MGB at Abingdon, I have decided to list for you some of the more significant dates and

happenings/changes which have taken place during "our" model's illustrious history to date.

Many I'm sure you will already know; some you may not.

Let's make a start, then, with engine types. I'll give you a range of dates, followed by the prefix number of the engine types being fitted at the time and any other small bits you may like to know.

SCHEDULE OF CAR NUMBERS - MGB, 1962-80

Date Roadster GT Notes

May 62 101 - Start of roadster production

Jan 63 4619 - First car built in 1963

Jan 64 27927 - First car built in 1964

Jan 65 54469 - First car built in 1965

Sep 65 - 71933 Start of GT production

Jan 66 79362 77774 First cars built in 1966

Jan 67 111418 113658 First cars built in 1967

Oct 67 138360 137795 Last GHN3/GHD3 models (approx date)

Nov 67 138401 139471 First GHN4/GHD4 Mark II models

Jan 68 138961 139800 First cars built in 1968

Sep 68 158371 - First 1969 model Roadster

Nov 68 - 158231 First 1969 model GT

Jan 69 165721 165382 First cars built in 1969

Sep 69 - 187841 Start of 1970 model, GHN5/GHD5 series

Oct 69 187170 - Start of 1970 model, GHN5/GHD5 series

Jan 70 196222 195915 First cars built in 1970

Aug 70 218651 217910 Last 1970 models

Aug 70 219001 219002 First 1971 models

Jan 71 232725 233466 First cars built in 1971

Aug 71 254942 256646 Last 1971 models

Aug 71 258001 258004 First 1972 models

Jan 72 268645 269271 First cars built in 1972

Aug 72 293525 2942501 Last 1972 models

Aug 72 294251 296001 First 1973 models

Jan 73 307716 310578 First cars built in 1973

Aug 73 327741 327990 Last 1973 models

Aug 73 328101 328801 First 1974 models

Jan 74 338744 338535 First cars built in 1974

Sep 74 359169 360069 Last 1974 models (last 'chrome-bumper' cars)

Sep 74 360301 361001 First '1974.5' models (first 'rubber-bumper' cars)

Dec 74 367647 367818 Last '1974.5' models

Dec 74 367901 368601 First 1975 models

Jan 75 368082 369069 First cars built in 1975

Aug 75 386267 380574 Last 1975 models

Aug 75 386601 - First 1976 model roadster

Nov 75 - 391501 First 1976 model GT

Jan 76 393834 394663 First cars built in 1976

Jun 76 409401 406357 Last 1976 models

Jun 76 410001 410351 First 1977 models

Jan 77 424714 422728 First cars built in 1977

Sep 77 444499 445979 Last 1977 models

Sep 77 447001 447036 First 1978 models

Jan 78 455670 455283 First cars built in 1978

Jun 78 468880 469149 Last 1978 models

May 78471001 - First 1979 model roadster

Jun 78 - 471036 First 1979 model GT

Jan 79 485110 483820 First cars built in 1979

Jun 79 - 497613 Last 1979 model GT

Dec 79 500904 - Last 1979 model roadster

Jun 79 501001 501036 First 1980 models

Jan 80 5073092 508070 First cars built in 1980

Oct 80 523001 523002 End of production

1GHD5/294951 to GHD5/294987 were also 1972 models.

2First North American LE model built in 1980 was 508885.

MY MGB GT BIRTHDAY –

This was the best I could come up with, which I found very useful. I now know the birth of my MGB GT.

You start by looking (making notes in your note pad) at the engine serial number stamped on the off side of the engine, chassis number stamped on the off side inner wing front, body number stamped on the near side behind the radiator diaphragm and the commission number stamped on the bonnet slam panel.

Using these numbers and the information from above, I worked out that my MG Body was built between March and September 1974 and the Engine was built in August 1974.

LAST CHROME BUMPERS –

That means with the information I have used, my MG looks like one of the last chrome bumpers to be rolled of the production line in August / September 1974 just before the MG’s went to Rubber Bumpers, and was not sold until January 1975.

The other benefit from the above dates is that it looks like the engine and body of the car are the same when the MG was first sold.