Stewart asked:
> Anyone know the differences between a regular B and the limited edition
> 1980 model? I think I may have one but some work has been done by the
> PO ??? which doesn't look the same as a 77-78B.
>
> Is there a listing of parts anywhere?
>
One of the mechanics I worked with back in '79 bought the first LE in
San Diego and proceeded to collect LE trivia. Here is a core dump of
what he told me:
The LE model was a basic MGB with what was essentially a trim package. It
was the first black MG exported to America since a special edition MGB-GT
in '67. Other than that it had a trunk rack, a dash plaque, special LE
stripes down the sides, and wheels very similar to Triumph Stag wheels.
The Limited Edition MGB was limited to a quarter of all production for
'79 which was 20,000 cars. There were more Limited Editions made than any
other single color of car for that year. The story on the wheels is that
Jaguar Rover Triumph had 2,500 Stag wheels left over and decided to make
a limited edition MGB to use up the wheels. Once the advertising was
already going, JRT discovered that the wheels didn't really fit so they
had to make a limited run of similar looking MGB wheels. I vaguely
remember Stag wheels having black paint and the MG ones having dark grey
paint or vice versa and the widths or offsets or something being different.
Anyway, to make the limited run of wheels somewhat more cost effective, they
had to make enough wheels for 5,000 cars. That's why there are so many
"Limited" Editions.
For people who will quibble about the paucity of black MGB's, a lot of
black MGB's other than the '67 and '79 limited editions were SOLD by
dealerships, but they weren't black when they got here. There was a GT
color combination of a lavender car with a yellow interior -- not beige,
yellow. Almost all of these were painted black before being sold. In
'79, there was a Triumph TR7 that was painted a dark metallic blue-green
and had a black, grey, white and red plaid interior.
Now, without actually entering the fray, TATERRY will give us the TRUE
story.
All of this reminds me of a joke:
Q: Which car has the second worst engine in the world?
A: The TR7. (The Triumph Stag has the worst.)
Q: How much better is the second worst engine?
A: Twice as good. (The V8 Stag engine is two TR7 engines put together.)
Denise Thorpe
thorpe@kegs.saic.com
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