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MG MGB GT V8 Factory Originals Technical - Fantastic V8 Roadster for sale

http://www.v8mgb.com


Sally Crewe

Why waste all that money when you could have this?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6783&item=2400150383
Dana

Trading in a V8 for an Aston? My father used to have a DB4 and I would say that while it's obviously a stupendously beautiful car, it can be really, really, REALLY expensive car to maintain. I mean, like ten times as costly as a V8! You can't just call up Moss and get a needed widget. But of course you only live once. Interesting, a wee lass in her 20s with interest in fine autos. It's perfectly fine, don't get me wrong. My own dear wife absolutely couldn't care less about cars!
Ted

Dana, good G*d that is one nasty-looking conversion! All I can think of is trailer parks, potted meat and Tammy Faye Baker ... Sweet home Alabama/where the skies are so blue/Sweet home Alabama/ Lord I'm comin' home to you ...
Ted

Another V8 owner in their 20's, and a female at that? Maybe I should look at buying another car ;)

Justin

p.s. Your car is gorgeous, and I certainly hope you're taking a serious upgrade here!
Justin

What's the big deal boys??! If it's such a shock to you that a woman can appreciate nice cars then maybe you should let your wives out of the kitchen and hand them the car keys! ;)

A DB4 owned by an American in America is hardly the same as a thoroughly specialist vetted and approved low mileage, original DB6 owned in London. DB4's are very rare and expensive - and I can only imagine how much more so in the US. DB6's are of course no MGB in terms of being a common site in London (I see as many B's as MX-5's/Miata's), but they are still not as rare and expensive as DB4's or even DB5's (the James Bond car).

Plus you're forgetting the all important fact that I live in England, where these are *domestic* classics! I have the world renowned Aston Martin specialist, Ian Mason, a 2 minute drive from my house. On top of that, the basic mechanical stuff can be sorted out by my regular classic car mechanic (who works on MGs. Minis, Triumphs, Astons, Austins, etc.), who in turn is only 10 minutes away and charges very decent prices - cheaper than a regular modern car garage, that's for sure! Insurance is really cheap too.

I appreciate your concern, but I think one reason we are asked to state our location when we post is to avoid such generalisations. Of *course* your father's DB4 was expensive to run and fix - it's rarer and older than a DB6 and you're in a country miles away from where the things were built, where people often call them 'Austin' Martins.

Justin - you're right, she's a beauty! But.... so too is my DB6 and if I want another V8 roadster can have one custom built for the same price as garaging this one for 4 or 5 years... The way I see it is this is too good an opportunity to pass up. I was looking at getting a second car because I need more space sometimes, and I was lookig at modern cars. Then along came my dream classic, a DB6 for the same price as these modern cars I was trying out. What better thing than to be able to own your dream classic car as your daily driver? I would get the load lugging space of the modern car I was looking at, plus the everyday style I usually get with my MG. I would rather drive a classic every day than have one in the garage 6 days a week and submit to a modern boro-box to do the shopping in. These things should be on the roads being enjoyed!
Sally Crewe

Damn - why can't you ammend these posts? I repeated myself like crazy!!! heh-heh, sorry! : )
Sally

Oh, I get it ... you're one of those "let's talk about me" chicks ...
Ted

Sally. Pay no mind to Ted's last post. I found everything you said interesting and I am glad you posted. Let us know how things go with your new pride and joy.
Dana

nice car, been on sale for quite a time i believe, hope you get what your asking, proably too high for this side of pond, there is a higher speced rdstr for sale on these pages in PA that is a couple thousand less pounds than sally's and the steering wheel isn't upside down, dana, did i get that listing correct on ebay, this fellow would payme $500 to have that lump shipped to my house?, that could easily cost 20k $ to sort out, jim
jim m

Thanks Dana. I'm used to responses like Ted's. I think some men find it uncomfortable to find a young woman who's interested in cars or knowledgable about them or - god forbid - has I nicer one than they do! ;-) I've worked hard to afford to pursue my interest in cool cars, and no grumpy old man is gonna spoil that for me.

Jim - I only put my car up for sale this week. I have had my site up for years, yes, but the car was not for sale until this week. I am realistically expecting nearer £14k, but you've gotta start the bidding somewhere and I didn't want to rule out the chance of some rich person coming along and falling in love with it!

My steering wheel isn't upside down. I'm presuming you mean it's on "the wrong side"...? I think a proper UK spec factory V8 car will always fetch more than the home-built Americanized equivalent. I guess we'll see. If no one has the money to buy it, then I have a great excuse to hang on to it afterall... : )

Sally
Sally

sally, upside down, a little tongue in cheek for you, yes it is a very nice car, but factory speced v8?,, to my knowledge the factory never built a roadster which makes this no different than any converison done on this side with a rover engine, jim
jim m

There's a big difference - just ask any professional MG specialist whether they would rather service a factory V8 car or a homemade conversion. This car has been a V8 MGB all of it's life. It has a factory V8 chassis number and a V8 engine number, not an 1800cc car's identity with another car's V8 engine stuck in. Therefore it has a factory gearbox, factory suspension, factory exhaust, etc. etc. This makes the thing much more reliable and much easier to service, because it came with a factory manual and genuine replacement parts are available off the shelf (at least here in England they are).

I'm not saying that creating a V8 roadster the other way is at all a bad idea - there are many fantastic conversions out there and many are faster and handle better than mine with the benefit of more modern components - I'm just stating how my car is different to the usual run of the mill conversion and how that is a valid plus point for it in many respects.
Sally

Sally,
You go girl! I have to admit, you have a very nice car. I am in the process of making my roadster a V8 conversion and I only hope mine comes out nearly as nice as yours.

Too bad I am already married, for it has always been a dream of mine to have a girl that loves cars...especially MGBs (since I have had my MGB longer than I have had either of my wives). I once saw a country musice video with a Woman mechanic working on a MGB (that a guy pushed into the shop). I use to joke that if I ever met her, I would drop down on my knees and propose to her. Sounds like you are close, since you are real.

Anyways, nice car and good luck selling that sharp MGB. Also, enjoy your new car.
Eric

Give it up Sally, This is a conversion if I ever saw one. So you used a Rover drivetrain and a chassis number from a V8 car. It's rebodied, with custom leather interior, custom stereo, custom air cleaners, different alternator, gauges, steering wheel, grille, custom wheels, mirrors, tail lights and even ELECTRIC WINDOWS, this is not a factory V8 car. Male or female, it makes no difference to me. A horse is a horse, of course of course.... for all the stateside folks.
MG fan

I don't think £14k is an aggressive price at all. I'd like it to have one of the bigger motors and a bigger gearbox, but still, at least in this country it's not hard to spend $25K for BV8s ... it's very much a sellers' market, at least for good ones. That being said, there are an awful lot of crummy ones that are worth a few grand at most. It's also perhaps the one area where a GT might be worth more than a roadster ... I say this because I found it physically impossible to find a BOP/R converted GT, and that is what I would have slightly preferred over my roadster. I've never heard of one for sale, so demand exceeded supply when I alone wanted one!
Terrence

Another two cents worth about spending $25,000.00 on a MGB V8. This one just finished up on eBay for quite a bit less. Looks worth all the money to me.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1876282146

If I din't all ready have too much stuff, I would have considered it.
Dana

'MG Fan' (always nice when people post anonymously...) Of course it's not a factory V8 roadster, but it *is* a factory V8 car, and that was the only point I was trying to make... if you were buying this car you would be interested in this one not insignificant fact - I know I was and I know my MG specialist was - after 27 years experience in the trade he said it the best V8 roadster he'd seen because it was done 'the way it should be done' (his words)...

Everyone else - thanks for reminding me that *most* people on this board a decent people with the capability of actually being pleased for someone else. I haven't posted in ages so I'd forgotten why I stopped last time.

Changing the subject a little... I got news today that my Aston Martin is ready and waiting for me to collect, so I have just reduced the MG to £13k for a quick sale.

Sally

Have you found a suitable forum for echanges of information with Aston Martin owners?
Carl

Dana,
Someone got a good buy, very nice. But that first car, good grief!, not only are there very generous portions of rust but a can opener seems to have been involved in the "conversion". It has established a new baseline I think.
Peter

Sally,

Greetings from the middle of the US. Please don't stop posting to this board due to a few igornants (sp!). Most people here, both men and women, are happy to see other owners of ANY vintage car successfully pursue their passion, and thoroughly enjoy the human aspects of our 'communication' here. I looked with interest at your MG site previously, and must confess that I didn't know, or even consider or care, whether you were male or female.

Good luck with your new purchase, and please don't forget about us MG V8 wannabe's.

Steve

ps. if I were in Europe, I'd probably come check you out... I mean check out the car... I mean, I'm married, and not really thinking about trading for a girl interested in MG's, or anything like that... really!

Steve

Thanks guys : )

Yes, there is an Aston Martin Owner's Club in the UK which I have joined, and it does have a bulletin board although it is nowhere near as active as this one. Although I did source an Aston specialist through it to inspect the car for me.

Steve, you can check me out - oops I mean the car - no, hang on, I mean me - at http://12xu.net . Drive it like you stole it.
Sally

I think I'm in love- oh yeah, the MG is nice too. To take the heat of the nice lady, you can all flame me instead since I'm putting a Firebird V6 in my GT.

http://www.formatc.org/mgb/

One question: If a car is reshelled with a new body, is it the same car, or a new car built with a single donor? What defines the car?
Stevo

Steve,

The UK Drivers & Vehicles Licensing Agency (DVLA) regulations state that:

Vehicles that have been substantially rebuilt need to be examined by one of the DVLA Local Offices. The DVLA Local Office will assess whether the vehicle can retain its registration mark or if an alternative mark should be allocated. This will depend on whether the majority of the major components come from the original vehicle. If a second-hand chassis/monocoque bodyshell is used, the vehicle must pass a Standard Single Vehicle Approval test after which a "Q" prefix registration number will be allocated

For vehicles that are substantially altered from their original specification the components used from the original vehicle will be given a numerical value and, in order to retain the original registration mark the vehicle must score eight or more points.
The following values will be allocated to the major components used:
Chassis/bodyshell (original or new) 5 points
Suspension 2
Axles 2
Transmission 2
Steering Assembly 2
Engine 1

It would appear that Sally could legally retain the original registration and ‘chassis’ number as her car uses the original running gear and therefore has 9 points. However the regulation also state that ‘if less than eight points are scored or a second-hand or modified chassis or altered monocoque bodyshell is used an SVA certificate will be required to register the vehicle and a 'Q' prefix registration number will be allocated.’ Sally’s car had an altered bodyshell when it was converted from a GT to a roadster. (Incidentally black and silver plates are not permitted on a ’73 car so Sally’s is technically illegal)

My experience suggests that it depends on the interpretation of the regulations by the individuals in the DVLA Local Offices as to whether the original registration mark is retained or not. My converted 1800 GT (now a V8 roadster) has the original registration mark but a new ‘chassis’ number. The car is described as a GT Convertible in the documentation.

Geoff
Geoff King

This thread was discussed between 13/01/2003 and 26/01/2003

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