Background
Any car that stays in production for 18 years must be doing something right. And yet, even after this marathon run, such was its popularity that the MGB simply refused to die. British Motor Heritage started selling brand new bodyshells eight years after the car was last built, and the vast array of parts for the model effectively meant it was now possible to build your own ‘new’ MGB or BGT. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
The MGB was effectively a modernised MGA. The handsome looks are built around a monocoque bodyshell, with the MGA’s separate chassis construction replaced by a stronger, lighter, more modern design.
However, the rest of the car was remarkably similar – why change a winning formula? The BMC B-Series engine had now grown to 1798cc but retained the twin SU carburettors of the earlier car, and now made, for 1962, a healthy 95bhp.
A four-speed manual gearbox with synchromesh on the top three gears was again carried over from the earlier car, as was the option of an overdrive unit operating on third and fourth, and its output fed a live axle supported on cart springs. That non-synchro first gear was replaced by an all-synchro box in 1967.
In 1974 the cars were fitted with black rubber bumpers in place of the old chrome items, and the ride height was raised slightly, both moves designed to keep the car in line with new American safety regulations.
From 1980 onwards BL killed the B and put all its sports car eggs in Triumph’s wedge-shaped TR7 basket, but sales were never a patch on the MG and the Triumph itself became history within a year.
