1974 MGB GT V8

The MG name was introduced in the 1920s under the sales promotion branch of Morris Garages out of Oxford.  A separate company named the MG Car Company was incorporated in 1930 and remained under William Morris's ownership until being sold to his holding company.  They gained in popularity and the small sports car was perfect for the streets of England.  In the late 60s they made an attempt to create a high performance version of the MGB called the MGC and incorporated a 3.0L straight six engine.  It was quickly cancelled after wide criticism pointing to the nose heavy motor that ruined the handling.  A racer and engineer, Ken Costello, set his sights on the Rover 3.5L V8 that was all aluminum and actually weighted in around 40 lbs less than the standard 4 cylinder.  He started building aftermarket version which were fast, reliable and handled perfectly.  This got the attention of the factory which launched the official MGB GT V8 model in August 1973.

 Approximately 2,591 units were built before pulling the plug in 1976 despite its rave reviews.  This 1974 MGB is a fastback coupe but did start its life as a 4 cylinder.  The originals are pretty rare so this beautiful example was built as a nice tribute.  It is painted in the Pewter Silver Metallic paint which has a great finish and is paired with the Black rubber safety bumpers.  It has been badged with the MG BGT emblems and V8 emblems.  The car sits on the limited edition aluminum wheels with MG center caps, exposed lug nuts and the Pirelli tires.   

Under the hood the car is very clean and has been redone as a tribute to those factory GT V8 cars.  It has a nice chrome air cleaner, Black valve covers, a Mallory unilite distributor and ceramic coated valve covers.  Backing the motor is a 4 speed manual transmission that shifts smoothly with no issues.  Being a light weight sports car with the power of a V8 the car is very fun to drive and zip around in.

The interior is done in all Black and is in great condition.  Being the fastback model these had both front bucket seats and the bench rear.  Open up the hatchback rear and you will find a nicely carpeted area that offers plenty of extra storage space.  The original console runs up to the dash and is where you will find the floor shifter with MG knob.  An aftermarket Sony Xplod AM/FM/CD/Aux/USB stereo has been added and sounds great.  In front of the driver are the original style gauges which reflect 27,439 miles and a 3 spoke woodgrain steering wheel with MG horn button.

This is a really neat car that you really don't see many of.  The originals fetch a pretty good price due to limited production so here is the opportunity to get one in your collection for much less cost.