New MG owner as of tomorrow
Discussion
Well here she is.... and I very pleased with her 
She is a 1981 MGB GT LE one of the last off of the production line so I guess relatively rare?? Anyway needs allot of TLC over the coming months, including outer and almost certainly inner sills, general mechanics, tarting up and paint etc, not sure about the engine yet but will hopefully not need rebuilding, time will tell
All new to MG's so all advice welcomed......
Hope you like
She is a 1981 MGB GT LE one of the last off of the production line so I guess relatively rare?? Anyway needs allot of TLC over the coming months, including outer and almost certainly inner sills, general mechanics, tarting up and paint etc, not sure about the engine yet but will hopefully not need rebuilding, time will tell
All new to MG's so all advice welcomed......
Hope you like
My advice is always buy a paper copy of the Driver’s Handbook and carry out a full 36,000 mile service during the restoration then drive it regularly
Driving it regularly to;
a) to get rid of the wrinkles as soon as possible b) to learn to drive the car to it’s full potential c) to get it to be reliable, well handling and fun to drive and own
Ref: 0053 – http://www.mgocshop.co.uk/catalog/Online_Catalogue...
You can also get a DVD which also has the factory Workshop Manual and Parts Catalogue not as convenient as paper copies but all in one place for one price – http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-HMCC3007DVD
Apart from what’s needed for the restoration don’t do any cosmetic or improvement work until at least 12 months of regular use (unless you need to replace parts or components) as you may need to use the money elsewhere on the car
If you have original parts in good condition then keep them rather changing to new as many new parts are very poor
The two aftermarket flick switches could be interesting, do you know what they’re for?
Driving it regularly to;
a) to get rid of the wrinkles as soon as possible b) to learn to drive the car to it’s full potential c) to get it to be reliable, well handling and fun to drive and own
Ref: 0053 – http://www.mgocshop.co.uk/catalog/Online_Catalogue...
You can also get a DVD which also has the factory Workshop Manual and Parts Catalogue not as convenient as paper copies but all in one place for one price – http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-HMCC3007DVD
Apart from what’s needed for the restoration don’t do any cosmetic or improvement work until at least 12 months of regular use (unless you need to replace parts or components) as you may need to use the money elsewhere on the car
If you have original parts in good condition then keep them rather changing to new as many new parts are very poor
The two aftermarket flick switches could be interesting, do you know what they’re for?
Edited by nta16 on Friday 19th July 21:38
The LE's were the best looking of the rubber bumpered car, my car is an imposter! 
Make sure to change your coolant hoses and the rubber petrol hoses to the carbs. Parts are cheap and plentiful, MGB Hive, EBay etc.
One of the extra switches on the dash may be the fog light, it should be illuminated or have a light somewhere on the dash.
Have fun
Make sure to change your coolant hoses and the rubber petrol hoses to the carbs. Parts are cheap and plentiful, MGB Hive, EBay etc.
One of the extra switches on the dash may be the fog light, it should be illuminated or have a light somewhere on the dash.
Have fun
mgtony said:
Make sure to change your coolant hoses and the rubber petrol hoses to the carbs.
but be aware there's still loads of rubbish rubber out I'm having to deal with rubber that couldn't last 6 months - old rubber is much better and lasted many years but it didn't last forever so bear that in mind with also with the tyres, regardless of tread depth (shelf life) - http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_bible.html mgtony said:
One of the extra switches on the dash may be the fog light, it should be illuminated or have a light somewhere on the dash.
I'd have thought id it was a factory fitted switch it would have been a rocker switch with pilot light by then those look decidedly previous owner fitThanks for your comments, I have solved the mystery of the 2 additional switches, after very carefully ruling out ejector seats and nitros it turns out they operate a rather badly fitted rear wash wipe system that will be being removed asap.
I managed to turn the car over today by hand but even with a new battery it would not fire the starter, I'm hopeing it is just the starter relay but will have to do some investigation, also I didn't hear the fuel pump rum so that could be duff especially as I know there is no fuel in the tank!
Tony you said you thought the LE was te best looking RB car, why is that, is it not just the wheels that are different?? TBH I have been thinking of changing to Sebring bumpers and wings as not a fan of the RB really, is there any good reason not to do this? As far I can see it will never be worth a huge amount even restored so may as well make it look good
Thanks again
Paul
I managed to turn the car over today by hand but even with a new battery it would not fire the starter, I'm hopeing it is just the starter relay but will have to do some investigation, also I didn't hear the fuel pump rum so that could be duff especially as I know there is no fuel in the tank!
Tony you said you thought the LE was te best looking RB car, why is that, is it not just the wheels that are different?? TBH I have been thinking of changing to Sebring bumpers and wings as not a fan of the RB really, is there any good reason not to do this? As far I can see it will never be worth a huge amount even restored so may as well make it look good
Thanks again
Paul
na said:
My advice is always buy a paper copy of the Driver’s Handbook and carry out a full 36,000 mile service during the restoration then drive it regularly
Driving it regularly to;
a) to get rid of the wrinkles as soon as possible b) to learn to drive the car to it’s full potential c) to get it to be reliable, well handling and fun to drive and own
Ref: 0053 – http://www.mgocshop.co.uk/catalog/Online_Catalogue...
You can also get a DVD which also has the factory Workshop Manual and Parts Catalogue not as convenient as paper copies but all in one place for one price – http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-HMCC3007DVD
Apart from what’s needed for the restoration don’t do any cosmetic or improvement work until at least 12 months of regular use (unless you need to replace parts or components) as you may need to use the money elsewhere on the car
If you have original parts in good condition then keep them rather changing to new as many new parts are very poor
If you want more of my notes and suggested web sites just PM me – all will be general stuff nothing technical or strict restoration
The two aftermarket flick switches could be interesting, do you know what they’re for?
I do have a copy of the hand book as well as the workshop manual, they both came with the car along with a lot of other interesting things including the news paper full page ad that the original purchaser saw and ordered this car because of.Driving it regularly to;
a) to get rid of the wrinkles as soon as possible b) to learn to drive the car to it’s full potential c) to get it to be reliable, well handling and fun to drive and own
Ref: 0053 – http://www.mgocshop.co.uk/catalog/Online_Catalogue...
You can also get a DVD which also has the factory Workshop Manual and Parts Catalogue not as convenient as paper copies but all in one place for one price – http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-HMCC3007DVD
Apart from what’s needed for the restoration don’t do any cosmetic or improvement work until at least 12 months of regular use (unless you need to replace parts or components) as you may need to use the money elsewhere on the car
If you have original parts in good condition then keep them rather changing to new as many new parts are very poor
If you want more of my notes and suggested web sites just PM me – all will be general stuff nothing technical or strict restoration
The two aftermarket flick switches could be interesting, do you know what they’re for?
Not sure I can wait 12 months before making it look good
as soon as time permits, (3 week old baby in arms as I type and building work to finish) 
I intend to get cracking as have other plans for next year I would appreciate any supplier links etc you have, always good to know of trusted shops.
Paul
Paul,
My personal opinions in liking the LE's are firstly the colour, the front spoiler which makes them look like they sit a bit lower at the front, (these should have been fitted to all the RB cars when new) and the wheels instead of Rostyles.
Line it up with some of the other lovely BL coloured B's, and it will look the classiest!!
But like you say, that doesn't mean it's of historic value. It would be nice to restore it to original, but I have no problem with people losing the bumpers and converting to Sebring valances. Then there is going the full hog and doing the arches aswell.
A couple of pics on MG motorsports homepage:
http://www.mgmotorsport.com/
One other thing, the top of the fuel tank tends to rots away, water/moisture sit there on the flat surface and eventually rot leading to bits in the tank. You can somtimes see the top of it through the small holes in the spare tyre well.
My personal opinions in liking the LE's are firstly the colour, the front spoiler which makes them look like they sit a bit lower at the front, (these should have been fitted to all the RB cars when new) and the wheels instead of Rostyles.
Line it up with some of the other lovely BL coloured B's, and it will look the classiest!!
But like you say, that doesn't mean it's of historic value. It would be nice to restore it to original, but I have no problem with people losing the bumpers and converting to Sebring valances. Then there is going the full hog and doing the arches aswell.
A couple of pics on MG motorsports homepage:
http://www.mgmotorsport.com/
One other thing, the top of the fuel tank tends to rots away, water/moisture sit there on the flat surface and eventually rot leading to bits in the tank. You can somtimes see the top of it through the small holes in the spare tyre well.
By the sound of it I’m sure you’ve got the correct copies, recently when a new Midget owner finally looked at his copy of the Driver’s Handbook he found it was for a later B
as I had to retype this and had more time I’ve included hyperlink links so you can click straight to them
as far as general parts suppliers go which poor stock they have in and when varies between them it’s all just a gamble
I use MGOC Spares and Sussex Classics there’s also Moss and the others mentioned earlier
prices for exactly the same made part can vary enormously, e.g. the plastic vented and filtered oil filler cap is about £4 from MGOC but £10 elsewhere
you’ll also need to cross reference and check before ordering parts as there are variances and errors in the suppliers parts list, I’d suggest having the paper reprint of the factory Parts Catalogue (Ref: 0008)
also of course don’t assume the part already fitted to your car is the original or correct part or is fitted correctly
for a few original tooling parts it’s Ashley Hinton he also sells some of his stuff on eBay – ashleyhintonmgparts2002
a lot of parts with rubber in can be rubbish such as hoses, fuel line, gaiters, boots, wipers, drop links – for coolant hoses I’d suggest silicone sets from Classic Silicone Hoses or perhaps MGOC Spares
many electrical parts have been poorly made recently including indicator flasher units, brake switches, column stalk switches, CB points, condensers, rotor arms – for CB points, condensers, rotor arms I’d suggest Distributor Doctor
you can also get two types of electronic voltage stabilizers – solid state and semiconductor
if you plan to do upgrade there is one cowboy outfit you should avoid I’m not allowed to say who here so if you want to know PM me
Useful websites:
Insurance: Peter James
Nuts, bolts and fixings: Wrights Auto supplies
Electrics: Auto Sparks
Electrics training: Kevin Sullivan's Autoshop 101
SU Carburetters
Bearings: Ramsome and Marles
Gearbox repair: Hardy Engineering
Upgrades4MGs
Carbibles.com
John Twist (USA) - interesting videos covering MGs – http://www.youtube.com/user/Universitymotorsltd#g/...
Loads and loads of useful info here including the fasteners list and cut away photos – mgb-stuff
as I had to retype this and had more time I’ve included hyperlink links so you can click straight to them
as far as general parts suppliers go which poor stock they have in and when varies between them it’s all just a gamble
I use MGOC Spares and Sussex Classics there’s also Moss and the others mentioned earlier
prices for exactly the same made part can vary enormously, e.g. the plastic vented and filtered oil filler cap is about £4 from MGOC but £10 elsewhere
you’ll also need to cross reference and check before ordering parts as there are variances and errors in the suppliers parts list, I’d suggest having the paper reprint of the factory Parts Catalogue (Ref: 0008)
also of course don’t assume the part already fitted to your car is the original or correct part or is fitted correctly
for a few original tooling parts it’s Ashley Hinton he also sells some of his stuff on eBay – ashleyhintonmgparts2002
a lot of parts with rubber in can be rubbish such as hoses, fuel line, gaiters, boots, wipers, drop links – for coolant hoses I’d suggest silicone sets from Classic Silicone Hoses or perhaps MGOC Spares
many electrical parts have been poorly made recently including indicator flasher units, brake switches, column stalk switches, CB points, condensers, rotor arms – for CB points, condensers, rotor arms I’d suggest Distributor Doctor
you can also get two types of electronic voltage stabilizers – solid state and semiconductor
if you plan to do upgrade there is one cowboy outfit you should avoid I’m not allowed to say who here so if you want to know PM me
Useful websites:
Insurance: Peter James
Nuts, bolts and fixings: Wrights Auto supplies
Electrics: Auto Sparks
Electrics training: Kevin Sullivan's Autoshop 101
SU Carburetters
Bearings: Ramsome and Marles
Gearbox repair: Hardy Engineering
Upgrades4MGs
Carbibles.com
John Twist (USA) - interesting videos covering MGs – http://www.youtube.com/user/Universitymotorsltd#g/...
Loads and loads of useful info here including the fasteners list and cut away photos – mgb-stuff
na said:
By the sound of it I’m sure you’ve got the correct copies, recently when a new Midget owner finally looked at his copy of the Driver’s Handbook he found it was for a later B
as I had to retype this and had more time I’ve included hyperlink links so you can click straight to them
as far as general parts suppliers go which poor stock they have in and when varies between them it’s all just a gamble
I use MGOC Spares and Sussex Classics there’s also Moss and the others mentioned earlier
prices for exactly the same made part can vary enormously, e.g. the plastic vented and filtered oil filler cap is about £4 from MGOC but £10 elsewhere
you’ll also need to cross reference and check before ordering parts as there are variances and errors in the suppliers parts list, I’d suggest having the paper reprint of the factory Parts Catalogue (Ref: 0008)
also of course don’t assume the part already fitted to your car is the original or correct part or is fitted correctly
for a few original tooling parts it’s Ashley Hinton he also sells some of his stuff on eBay – ashleyhintonmgparts2002
a lot of parts with rubber in can be rubbish such as hoses, fuel line, gaiters, boots, wipers, drop links – for coolant hoses I’d suggest silicone sets from Classic Silicone Hoses or perhaps MGOC Spares
many electrical parts have been poorly made recently including indicator flasher units, brake switches, column stalk switches, CB points, condensers, rotor arms – for CB points, condensers, rotor arms I’d suggest Distributor Doctor
you can also get two types of electronic voltage stabilizers – solid state and semiconductor
if you plan to do upgrade there is one cowboy outfit you should avoid I’m not allowed to say who here so if you want to know PM me
Useful websites:
Insurance: Peter James
Nuts, bolts and fixings: Wrights Auto supplies
Electrics: Auto Sparks
Electrics training: Kevin Sullivan's Autoshop 101
SU Carburetters
Bearings: Ramsome and Marles
Gearbox repair: Hardy Engineering
Upgrades4MGs
Carbibles.com
John Twist (USA) - interesting videos covering MGs – http://www.youtube.com/user/Universitymotorsltd#g/...
Loads and loads of useful info here including the fasteners list and cut away photos – mgb-stuff
Wow, thanks so much for your efforts, I am just about to start looking through all the URLs, should keep me busy for a while as I had to retype this and had more time I’ve included hyperlink links so you can click straight to them
as far as general parts suppliers go which poor stock they have in and when varies between them it’s all just a gamble
I use MGOC Spares and Sussex Classics there’s also Moss and the others mentioned earlier
prices for exactly the same made part can vary enormously, e.g. the plastic vented and filtered oil filler cap is about £4 from MGOC but £10 elsewhere
you’ll also need to cross reference and check before ordering parts as there are variances and errors in the suppliers parts list, I’d suggest having the paper reprint of the factory Parts Catalogue (Ref: 0008)
also of course don’t assume the part already fitted to your car is the original or correct part or is fitted correctly
for a few original tooling parts it’s Ashley Hinton he also sells some of his stuff on eBay – ashleyhintonmgparts2002
a lot of parts with rubber in can be rubbish such as hoses, fuel line, gaiters, boots, wipers, drop links – for coolant hoses I’d suggest silicone sets from Classic Silicone Hoses or perhaps MGOC Spares
many electrical parts have been poorly made recently including indicator flasher units, brake switches, column stalk switches, CB points, condensers, rotor arms – for CB points, condensers, rotor arms I’d suggest Distributor Doctor
you can also get two types of electronic voltage stabilizers – solid state and semiconductor
if you plan to do upgrade there is one cowboy outfit you should avoid I’m not allowed to say who here so if you want to know PM me
Useful websites:
Insurance: Peter James
Nuts, bolts and fixings: Wrights Auto supplies
Electrics: Auto Sparks
Electrics training: Kevin Sullivan's Autoshop 101
SU Carburetters
Bearings: Ramsome and Marles
Gearbox repair: Hardy Engineering
Upgrades4MGs
Carbibles.com
John Twist (USA) - interesting videos covering MGs – http://www.youtube.com/user/Universitymotorsltd#g/...
Loads and loads of useful info here including the fasteners list and cut away photos – mgb-stuff
Paulbav.
This is only a suggestion, so please feel free to tell me to get lost, but, if you prefer chrome bumper cars .... buy one of those.
Unless you spend a lot of time and effort (not to mention money), converting a rubber bumper car, they just never look correct.
Love it for what it is, all the anti rubber bumper feeling seems to have gone these days.
This is only a suggestion, so please feel free to tell me to get lost, but, if you prefer chrome bumper cars .... buy one of those.
Unless you spend a lot of time and effort (not to mention money), converting a rubber bumper car, they just never look correct.
Love it for what it is, all the anti rubber bumper feeling seems to have gone these days.
Paulbav said:
Wow, thanks so much for your efforts, I am just about to start looking through all the URLs, should keep me busy for a while
no problem I've got loads more stuff tip of the iceberg (that will sink you with overkill)others on here know the technical stuff and engine bits but really get runing, drive it and see what required - or better still run through the 36k service as at least a checklist
the engine will appreciate through oil changes and air filter changes and - well it's all in the Handbook
don't rush to change too much too soon, servicing, mending or replacing worn out bits with even some standard bits should have it driving and riding quite well
so many Bs get over 'improved' and over 'upgraded' that the true nature of the car is loss and spoilt
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