73 MGB GT... what to do???

ZV Yoda

Hi folks,

Bit of a dilemma & was looking to like-minded classic owners for thoughts/guidance/inspiration...

I've had my 73 B GT for nearly 3 years now. She's my first classic & has been pretty reliable during that time, having been regularly serviced by a local mechanic who specialises in classics. The body was ok when I bought the car, but I knew in time I'd need to treat the rust that was starting to show (in the usual places - front & back windscreens, front & rear 1/4 panel seams).

I've been debating selling it & buying another in better nick, or maybe even something a bit bigger (given that we have 3 small kids.. although I also have a modern daily driver).

I scraped the rear quarter panel on my driveway pillar while reversing out of the driveway last week :mad: Nothing too major, but when I brought it to the mechanic/body shop today to get a quote for a repair, he suggested the a repair would stand out the car & that I should get all the rust treated at the same time. Cost is prob about €3k.

Now, I know that the car does need to have the rust treated, but if I spend that kind of money, I'll lose most of it if/when I sell.

I don't know whether to spend the money on the car (given that I know the mechanical history etc) or whether to sell it as is, add the €3k I would have spent on the bodywork & spend the lot on another BGT (or similar) in "better" condition (most likely from the UK).

Any ideas?... I'm trying to weigh up "better the devil you know" vs. "don't throw good money after bad".

mike65

What do you reckon a slightly rusted MGB is worth? There are plenty that are 'straight' going for 6-8 grand. If you think you can sell it without taking a bath on it then you proberly should. Is the rear quater worth replacing to make it more sellable?

Mike.

ZV Yoda

Hi Mike... I'm not too sure what an MGB needing rust treatment is worth, but from looking at ads (and talking to the mechanic), I'd reckon €2-3k.

Am I way off?.. I've seen plenty at shows around Dublin that were in worse nick than mine, but asking €4-5k. I just assumed they wouldn't get that kind of money

dlofnep

I'm in the same boat with my mini man. Gunna cost me nearly 2k to get rust treated and her fully resprayed/repainted.

Thing is, advertising that it has been recently resprayed and rust tended to is a big selling point for classics. The buyer knows then that they won't have to worry about the rust.

I have my mini up for sale for 3900, but when i get everything tended to ill have her up for 6800. Makes the difference! Much harder to shift too with rust and such. I'm in a position now where if I don't get her sorted soon, it will be hard to sell. I was trying to cut my losses, but I'm just going to get her sorted and sell it then.

maidhc

I don't know. I'd be turned off by a recent respray. Powder and paint makes the devil a saint and all that.

dlofnep

You'd rather it was riddled in rust than resprayed? Most classics have been repsrayed at some point anyways.

maidhc

dlofnep wrote:

You'd rather it was riddled in rust than resprayed? Most classics have been repsrayed at some point anyways.

Not riddled with rust, but I'd like something that was resprayed a few years, or else that is sound, but in need of a respray and priced accordingly.

It is very easy to camouflage rust and hide it for a year or two with a coat of paint.

Spit62500

I reckon that the main question is: will it meet your future needs or not? If you've got a growing family and you reckon that you'll want to take them with you on your classic car travels then you might want to consider a classic saloon - a Triumph 2000/Rover P5 or P6 or any of the Mercedes saloons might be a better bet. If you reckon that the MG is ok for you in the longer term then you should probably have a long hard look at its structural condition. I'd rather put a couple of grand into a car that I know than spend the same amount overall on a car that I didn't (assuming that you're going to stick with MGs) but there are some cars that its cheaper to move on once welding is required. However, there are a lot of bodged MGs out there and some good ones with bad panel alignment - if yours in basically sound then it might be a keeper.

It boils down to what you need, really.

ZV Yoda

You've all made some good points...

Realistically, I won't need full sized rear seats for another couple of years (I still have a modern daily driver either way), so I could just spend the 3k now & get a couple more years enjoyment out of the BGT. :cool: That way, when I sell the car, it won't have that "freshly painted" look (which might put buyers off). When I sell, I'll probably get most of my money back.

To be honest, I hadn't really made up my mind on what other classic I'd go for - I've always really liked the BGTs (even more than the roadsters). I've considered Mercs (costly to buy... or maintain if you buy a cheap one), Alfas (look & sound great, but don't exactly challenge Toyota in the reliability stakes) or a Stag/TR6 (no garage, so softtop would be lunacy).

Think I still need to mull over it for a few days....:(

Does anybody know any bodyshops (experienced with classics) who'd give me a quote/advice if I brought the car in?

macplaxton

ZV Yoda wrote:

When I sell, I'll probably get most of my money back.

I personally never think about classics like that. I know I'll never get my money back. I just spend and enjoy.

ZV Yoda

I agree with you macplaxton... I don't ever expect to make money on a classic, I'm just trying to figure the least expensive way to enjoy one over the next few years... spend it on the current car, or go get a new one.

I'm sort of leaning towards spending the money on the existing car... although trying to explain to my wife why it's a good idea... that's a whole other ball game!:eek:

dlofnep

maidhc wrote:

Not riddled with rust, but I'd like something that was resprayed a few years, or else that is sound, but in need of a respray and priced accordingly.

It is very easy to camouflage rust and hide it for a year or two with a coat of paint.

Yes but given the circumstances, he doesn't have those options. A respray is very inviting. You just need to thoroughly check the car.

macplaxton

ZV Yoda wrote:

I agree with you macplaxton... I don't ever expect to make money on a classic, I'm just trying to figure the least expensive way to enjoy one over the next few years... spend it on the current car, or go get a new one.

I prefer the devil-you-know route unless the devil is really bad! My reasons for changing would be:
a) wanting a different make or alternative model
b) a car of the same model IF I knew the car / owner / history of it and it was miles better than mine.

I justify it all in my head financially by not having a new car and not having any HP/loan/interest every month while the thing depreciates rapidly. Plus I do a lot of work on it myself. Haven't yet succeeded in convincing the other half yet either :rolleyes:

ZV Yoda

Yeah, I'm leaning towards the "better the devil you know" route... it's a solid car, but if I don't do something soon, it's going to end up in rusty pieces on the back of a trailer... especially after the "summer" we've had:(

Hmm... maybe I'll just tidy up the interior, get a respray from red to racing green & switch from 73D plates to ZV plates. Then the wife will think it is a new car... I can tell her I got a great deal on a trade in plus 3k!:D

FWIW, here's the offending vehicle... in happier times!

mike65

Dang that looks nice! Do it up

Mike.

ZV Yoda

Actually, just thinking about a colour change.. I've always liked British racing green... is there likely to be a big difference (in terms of time / cost / complexity) going for a re-spray of an existing colour vs. a complete change of colour?.

Does anybody have experience of changing colour & does it work in practice? Can anyone recommend a good body shop that has experience with classics?

Oshbosh

Hi,

or Teal Blue !!

I had previously listed this one a while back at 4.5k which i argued at the time was a fair price and it would have been except for a few things which later transpired. One being a cracked cylinder head, leaking radiator and the second being rust around the rear spring hangers, third being worn brakes and lastly i think the Irish market for these, could be overly optimisic.

I've recently had all this corrected, converted to unleaded, new radiator and brakes and welding to spring hangers. It has just passed its MOT so is road worthy and is running really well.

I would still like to sell but to be honest i've realised that the cost of MGs in Ireland is way too high in general and this probably explains why all the same MGs which were listed on carzone last Christmas are still there.

The cheapest one i've found anywhere was on Headford MGs webpage some months back, at 2700 euro and listed as a project car, i still think that's expensive.

I need to sell now as i have my eye on a nice Merc and would take 3k for it, i think that's a realistic price, its in very good condition but does have the usual surface rust and bubbles you'd expect from a car in this price category although not too bad at all.

I'll put up an ad shortly with more photos, would love to hear any feedback on what i've said as this is just my opinion after looking at the MG market here for the last 6-8 months.

cheers

Osh

ZV Yoda

Hi Osh.. assume you are in Nothern Ireland if you need yours to pass MOT?

I also saw the "project car" on the Headfort MG site. Mine's no Concours beauty, but I doubt it should be considered a project case either - structure is basically sound (fully waxoyled when I bought it), the mechanicals are great (very sweet OD), but the surface rust/panels need attention. It's has been my daily driver for 2 and a half years & always serviced by an experienced classic mechanic.

I tend to agree with you about the market here being inflated. I had a quick look on the MG UK website - if the descriptions can be believed, you could bring a mint one (with history) into the Republic for €5k.

Puts it into context really!

I know, maybe I'll treat the wife to a week-end in the UK & "accidentally" stumble across a classic car dealership with a one-owner MGB factory V8 in mint condition ... for €5k:rolleyes:

Eric318

ZV Yoda, what do you mean by "rust treated"? This is a bit like the "piece of string"...

Spit62500

ZV Yoda wrote:

Actually, just thinking about a colour change.. I've always liked British racing green... is there likely to be a big difference (in terms of time / cost / complexity) going for a re-spray of an existing colour vs. a complete change of colour?.

Does anybody have experience of changing colour & does it work in practice? Can anyone recommend a good body shop that has experience with classics?

I've never done it but there's going to be a big difference in cost to do it properly - if you leave the colour the same you probably won't have to respray the firewall, door shuts, bonnet & boot lid undersides etc. A colour change will require a more complete stripdown with the costs reflecting the time that it all takes

ZV Yoda

Good point - hadn't realised the amount of extra work - looks like I'll be staying with the original colour if I decide to get a re-spray

8~)

Unless a respray to a different colour is done with the glass out, doors off, engine out, etc. it just doesn't look right. I personally wouldn't bother unless I'd a car completely stripped anyway.

ZV Yoda

Eric318,
The areas to be treated are:

-Repair to rear quarter panel (scratched it when I scrapped it off our pillar last week)
-Rusted front & rear windscreen surround (i.e. windscreen out job - will need new seals too)
-Rusted on front & rear quarter panel top seams
-Rust around left headlight moulding

Chassi, doors, roof, bonnet (aluminium) are all good. Brightwork is good, chrome rostyles are good, inerior is "original" (needs new rear headlining & genral tidy up). Mechanics are great, no problems there.

... so not a basket case, but definatley in need of TLC to prevent the rust monster taking hold

Oshbosh

Hi ZV Yoda,

i'm in Dublin actually but from the north and so never re-registered down here as i didn't realise i needed a main driver before i could qualify for classic insurance. In the UK you can drive a classic as your main car. I also have an old UK registered Merc 230CE (W123) and to add the MG to my existing policy was 65 quid for 2k miles so it just didn't make sense to register it here.

cheers, best of luck with the restoration.

Perhaps you could get a better deal if a group of people wanted to get theirs done as well ?

Osh

3ps

FYI I used my classic as a main car through First Ireland brokers.

Oshbosh

ah ! cheers for that,

was it expensive ? what kind of classic ? unlimited miles ?