Seen on lunch break: an MG... something

"NaturallyAspirated" (NaturallyAspirated) 11/25/2013 at 16:00 • Filed to: SeenOnTheStreet, DOTS

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I think it's an MGB, but there weren't any badges other than the MG badge so I'm not 100% sure.

It looked like it was in great shape for not having been restored.

CalzoneGolem > NaturallyAspirated 11/25/2013 at 16:01

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Whoa the reefer store?

deekster_caddy > NaturallyAspirated 11/25/2013 at 16:03

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Yup, that's a B. Not in horrible condition either. Rubber bumpers started in the mid 70's somewhere, when the DOT required 5MPH bumpers...

deekster_caddy > NaturallyAspirated 11/25/2013 at 16:03

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double posted

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > NaturallyAspirated 11/25/2013 at 16:04

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Oh it's a MGB allright... with the "big bumpers tho'" :( But a MGB nonetheless

deekster_caddy > CalzoneGolem 11/25/2013 at 16:08

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One of the things I love about this crowd. Last week I posted a pic of a Corvette towing a helicopter and of course the comments are "You are driving a Buick LeSabre with an ABS light on?" Hey at least I got the pic!

Klaus Schmoll > NaturallyAspirated 11/25/2013 at 16:12

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As others have already pointed out, it's an MG B rubber bumper. A car that shows the downwards spiral of the British motor industry. When the US legislated 5 mph bumpers and a certain hight of those bumpers and headlights, they put rubber blocks under the suspension to raise it up. This "factory donking" obviously ruined the handling. They also came up with these really ugly bumpers compared to the original.

A lot of car companies did some last minute adjustments to their US market cars that looked terrible, at that time. Think Audi/Bimmer/Merc with US spec vs. Euro spec bumpers. So MG only did this to the US cars, right? Like all the others did. Nooooooooope! The European market cars were ruined as well!

BTW, in Germany these models are called the "rubber boats".

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Klaus Schmoll 11/25/2013 at 16:43

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The only saving grace is that the engine bays for these ones are the same as for the V8 version, making swapping an RV8 a lot easier.

And that it's reversible as well.

Slave2anMG > NaturallyAspirated 11/26/2013 at 09:46

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There should be an MG octagon on the boot lid; in the salad chrome bumper days it would have also had an 'MGB' badge under that octagon...

The B is the MG you're most likely to see as it was the one produced in the largest quantity. Contemporary with the B was the Midget which is quite a bit smaller, more slab sided, and bluff-nosed. The B has the headlamps sort of pushed back into the fenders; on Midgets they're out front and proud...as seen here on my Midget

As with the B, '75 and newer will have the higher ride height and ghastly rubber bumpers; mine's a '72 but with a mid 1960s Midget 'tiger tooth' grill...because I like the way it looks. There's still something about British cars that nobody else matches...the sound, the way they drive/handle, the leaky tops, the Lucas electrics...:)

Klaus Schmoll > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 11/26/2013 at 15:05

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I think I read somewhere that converting a rubber boat to a chrome car isn't all that easy. It's not a simple bolts off/bolts on job, they must have changed the mounting points and some other stuff as well.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Klaus Schmoll 11/26/2013 at 15:51

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Hum, you might be right. Still, there are kits to do it. Over here at least.

To be honest, I'm not all that much of a fan of the blingy chrome grille. I much prefer the 70s minimal one, although that's probably just as hard to retrofit.

Svend > Slave2anMG 11/29/2013 at 18:42

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That last paragraph was beautiful poetry. I'm going to read it again with Nimrod playing in the background. (my hayfever allergy always plays up when I hear it).