MG Car Club of South Australia
LETTER TO THE EDITOR From.. Chris Napier Walters
WHY AN MGB?
pparently approximately 500, 000
A were manufactured, about 450,000 of which were sent to the United States
There is no doubt that any MGB in pretty good condition is“ silver” an Australian made one is silvar with diamonds. An MGC( 6 cyl) is Gold and an original MGV8 in top condition is“ gold with diamonds” I do not have the information as to whether 6’ s and V8’ s were amongst the Australian made MGB’ s, but if they were add rubies to them.
Without going into prototypes and other low production and one-offs what in my rather worthless opinion would be one of the most valuable MG; s? It has to be the MGCGT which was owned by Prince Charles( photo) and restored completely and given to Prince William for his 21st birthday. What about that, owned by two future Kings, it has to be platinum with gold, diamonds, rubies and pearls.
You probably thought that there had to be a point to this article? You are right. Apparently in USA most of the Classics such as corvettes, thunderbirds and the like have been swallowed up by enthusiasts and are now over $ 100k in value, likewise, a very large percentage of the MGBs in USA are in the hands of enthusiasts or have been“ parted out” and my prediction is that in the near to medium term, the Yanks are going to search countries like Australia for cars that
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were exported to the USA and can be verified as such, what price an original USA import MGBV8? Th price has to rise!
Any good condition MGB is a bargain when you consider that to fully restore one ie; bare metal paint, convert to RHD, recondition engine, gearbox, diff, upholstery and suspension, is going to cost at least $ 30,000, that is if it not effected by“ steel worm”.
So ladies and Gentlemen, do not lose faith in the MGB and its variants, in good condition, they are all very good investments, keep them out of the rain, polish them( with Auto Glym if you can afford it) and love them and just wait to see the value go up!
Chris Napier-Walters