Background
Introduced in 1962 and still in production almost 20 years later, the MGB is probably the definitive classic British sports car. It started life as a lightweight, rear-wheel-drive, back-to-basics sports car, and ended its life in much the same way.
Yes, it gained a little weight over the years but then don’t we all? And yes, the latter impact bumpers might lack the elegance of the chrome originals, but at its core the MGB remained true to the original concept of providing maximum fun for minimum investment.
Ken Costello was an accomplished engineer and racing driver, and in the late 1960s he spotted a compact looking V8 engine on the bench of a friend’s workshop. Despite its generous 3.5-litre capacity Ken was impressed to find he could almost lift the alloy V8 singlehandedly.
By 1971 Ken had fitted the Buick-derived Rover V8 unit into the nose of an MGB Roadster. The engine bay of the MGB was originally configured to house a V4 unit that never made production, leaving potential for a bigger unit to be fitted. Importantly, Ken had also learnt that the V8 was essentially no heavier than the MGB’s standard B-series unit. This meant that, unlike the 3-litre MGC, the balance of the car wasn’t seriously compromised by the fitting of the V8.
Costello’s conversion was well received and something in the region of 225 units were thought to ultimately have left his workshops. As is often the case in these situations, the British Leyland mothership was watching and by August 1973 an official Abingdon-produced MGB GT V8 hit the streets.
British Leyland had opted to use a mildly tuned version of the 3.5 V8 with a lower compression ratio and breathing through twin SU HIF6 carburettors. In this trim power was originally quoted at around 135bhp. The key metric, however, was the impressive 193 Ib-ft of torque at a sensible 2,900rpm.
This transformed the car’s driving dynamics, especially compared to the somewhat asthmatic B-series powered cars. Contemporary road tests recorded a 127mph top speed and a 0-60mph time of 7.7 seconds. The standing quarter mile was achieved in less than 16 seconds. For the first time in the car’s history, the MGB GT could now compete on equal terms with contemporaries like the Porsche 911T and Datsun’s 240Z.
With British Leyland being a little late to the V8 MG party, the repercussions of the OPEC oil embargo were starting to be felt by the time of the car’s launch. Between 1973 and 1974 the price of oil had increased by almost 300%. This helped to tarnish the appeal of big V8 engine cars and the MGB GT V8 ceased production in 1976. During this period a total of just 1,856 chrome-bumpered cars were produced.
