1974 MGB GT (Updated 21/04)

Bookmarked! Looking forward to see how this turns out

Thats my favourite colour for these -so much better than red , green etc .

That GT is pretty much gone below the doors anyway. Why not cut the entire underside out of the B from bumper to bumper and use the entire Miata chassis as a "Floor repair section"? The two wheelbases are pretty much identical. The Miata track is 7" wider so Seebring style flares are required.

I looked at doing just that with my MGB GT, but went ahead and used the Volvo P1800 shell for the project.

Bjornagn - It is a rough shell and you're right it's gone in some places. But panels aren't too expensive and easy enough to replace. My expertise aren't quite there yet to take on that task. Plus I like the idea of a live rear axle!

It's not the expertise you start with that matters, its where you end up when you are done.

I have done at least half a dozen MGB rustorations, so am very familiar with the process. I developed a method that lets me do sills in a week-end. Posted to this thread, if you are interested I think page three is the one where I describe how to remove the old sill.

retrorides.proboards.com/thread/183293/vanessa-1979-mgb-dat-rust?page=3

My advice to anyone doing a rustoration on an MGB is to buy the Heritage panels. The rest are rubbish by comparison and wont save you money in the end. We are very lucky to have these panels available.


Pic of the GT I have had since 1978.  Not driven much anymore, but I will always be a fan of the style.

Bjornagn - That's a great link and I've bookmarked it for future reference. My comments about having the expertise were in relation to mating the top half of an MGB to the bottom half of an MX-5! That's some work there. I have enough projects on the go at the moment.

Nathan - Yes I was happy to use the 149bhp VVT power unit, I think coupled with a nice 4 branch and system she'll send the GT along quite nicely. My only worry is separating the engine loom from the Mazda correctly so that it all works when fitted to the GT. The GT is a similar kerb weight to the MX-5 so the GT will definitely need to go on a diet as it weighs far too much.

Alu bonnet and alu door skins?

I'm watching this! I've been thinking about doing that same engine swap to my car for a few years. But my wrenching/wiring skills are not quite there, so the more details the better!

bgt - Thank you for following buddy. I will definitely give you as much detail as possible. Will be a little while before I start stripping down the MX-5 as I want things to be in order as I can imagine I would get confused with both different wiring looms if I'm not careful.

JoshO - Thank you. I will no doubt be taking you up on that. Can you get everything for both then?

Ok time for an update today. I'm getting really stuck in to the strip down now. Once you get going stripping down it's quite addictive.
First job was windscreen out. Unfortunately the screen is scrap as it has been scratched by the wiper arm somehow over the period of its life. I also had to cut the rubber as it had hardened.

I then decided I'd make a start on the inside of the car. It's full of old junk and curse word.


Got most of the dials out, removed the centre console and all parts surrounding. It's only a few wires holding and cables the dashboard in now.

I did have a little bit of a helper, wasn't much use though and mainly just slept on the job.


Next up I decided to have a look at the front wing. I removed it, most of the screws/bolts had to be drilled off. However the wing is a very good panel with no rust at all. This can be reused.

Bottom of the inner wing and A pillar is really rotten. Not sure how bad this is in MGB terms.

A lot of crust fell out along the outer and inner sills. Along the bottom of the inner wing too. Nice bit of weight saving I suppose!

Most of the rest of the inner wing looks pretty good and solid. Not too bad around the rest of the panel.

I just need to find a home for all the removed pieces and parts now.


Thanks for looking and all comments welcomed and appreciated as usual.