History of the mgb

                                                                                   These specifications are presented in good faith researching information from various sources.   However, no guarantee or warranty is given to the accuracy of the above information.   You are advised to verify the correctness of these specifications prior to using them.  Use of these specifications assumes agreement with the disclaimer below. They are provided as a convenience to fellow enthusiasts and the author makes no expressed warranty to their accuracy, use at your own risk.

Specifications for each model group are available by clicking on the buttons on the lower left.  An Excel Spreadsheet is available to download with this information as well.

History of the MGB

The MG Model B was produced from September 1962 until July 1980 at the Abingdon Works when the last MG B rolled off the production line.  The Plant was closed by Margaret Thatcher as part of the British Government's Privatization Plan.  The "B" was the successor to the MG A, and because of the popularity of the car became synonymous with the definition of sports car.

In fact when Mazda was creating the first of the MX5 Miata's their design team used the MG B as the starting point and design model.  North American Export of sports cars became a larger and larger piece of the factory's sales, and the "B" was the most popular model ever produced.  About a half million MG B's found their way to this side of the pond.  This makes these cars still affordable as collector cars, and due to their rather primitive (by today's computerized standards) design still reparable by the shade tree mechanic.  I always say, that if you need a finer adjustment, just use a bigger hammer.  They are easy to repair, and replacement parts are plentiful and inexpensive to get, which makes them a very affordable car to drive.  While some find their way into concours competition, in my opinion, the MG B is a poor choice.  Because they are plentiful by collector standards, they never will achieve a high value, and therefore will rarely reflect the value of the investment to turn a 25+ year old car into a 100 pointer.  Instead, why not capitalize on the lower purchase price, and easy maintainability, and let these little gems do what they do best.  Use 'em, drive 'em, enjoy 'em, and yes love 'em.  Take cross country trips, and picnics, rallies, hill climbs, and all the other club events.   They were made for driving pleasure, so enjoy them.

As the factory evolved the roadster to meet the tastes and driving conditions of the North American Market the B changed very little over the course of its almost 20 year life span.  Most changes were additions to meet mostly US safety and emission standards.  The change that would have had the most impact never saw the light of day, scheduled for introduction in mid 1981-82 with the introduction of a Rover V8 engine.  Rumors also existed of the introduction of an automatic transmission to market the car to a wider US market.

When first released the 1798cc 4 Cylinder roadster weighed in at about 2,000 pounds and was rated at about 100 Horsepower.  The only major changes to the power train were the addition of electric overdrive as an option in 1963, and going from a 3 main bearing engine to a five bearing engine in 1964 1/2.  Otherwise Abingdon met each new emission and safety requirement by bolting on new parts rather than redesign and retool the factory.  Thus when the last car rolled off the line in 1980 the car had gained 800 additional pounds, and was sporting a whopping 62.5  Horsepower.  The advantage to the existing "B" owners is that parts are mostly interchangeable.  While this is no consolation to the Concours Crowd, it means that most parts for most years are interchangeable.  The only real exception is that the Early B's 1962-65 still used British Standard Whitworth (BSW) bolts and threads.  After 1965 the factory changed to the US SAE threads, but generally used SAE Fine threads rather than the standard coarse thread found on US Cars.  Want wire wheels, pull the half shafts out from the differential & replace them, or replace the whole rear end, replace the front hubs, and bolt on some wires.  It's not that hard to do with some