Joseph asked:
> Now that I'm officially shopping for an MGB roadster, I have a few more
> questions. If '65, '66 and '67 B's are virtually identical, why is the '67
> deemed the most desireable? Am I missing something?
My three B's are all registered (or titled) as '67's, however, the one I've
owned for 17 years is really a '66. The major difference between it and the
other two is that it doesn't have backup lights. I actually prefer the way
the back of the car looks without backup lights, but I've discovered it's a
safety hazard. When people don't see backup lights, they assume the car
isn't backing up even when they can see it moving backwards under power.
Other than that, sometime in those years, the B got a bigger gas tank (12
instead of 10 US gallons). All of my cars have the bigger tank. And the
rearend was upgraded. My '66 and one of the '67's has the earlier rearend
(even though it has backup lights) and my other '67 has the later rearend.
The later rearend is supposed to be easier to work on, but since all B
rearends are somewhat bulletproof, this isn't a big deal. BUT, I've never
driven a B with a later rearend in the rain and I'm hoping that the rear
brakes are less susceptible to getting wet and no longer working.
The best years for B's are '66 and '67 (IMHO). As far as I know, all '62
through '65 B's have the 3-main engine and refrigerator door handles.
There's a lot of confusion about the model years of B's. This is because
the cars were originally registered by the year they were first sold, hence
my '66 registered as a '67. But in '68 when smog and safety equipment
became big issues, it suddenly mattered what model year a car was and what
it said on the registration. A lot of '66's are registered as '67's, but
no '67's are registered as '68's. However, the major change from the 3-main
to the 5-main model must have been something worth keeping track of because
I've never seen a 3-main '65 registered as a '66. In fact, I've never seen
any B registered as a '66. So, if you're looking at manufacture date, you
may want a '65-'67, but if you look at registration, '67 is not the best
year, it's the _only_ year of 5-main, pre-smog B.
> Also, a reference guide I recently saw lists '65-'67 B's at the following
> prices/conditions: $900/#5; $2100/#4; $3400/#3; $5350/#2 and $8250/#1. Do
>these
> prices seem low? I ask this because most of the cars I've seen don't follow
> this scale. Are the owners just hoping to recoupe their restoration costs?
The cost of anything is what the market will bear. The market varies from
place to place, from one season to the next, with whether a Republican or
Democrat is in the White House, and with what people think _other_ people
think the value of something is. Is a baseball card for someone you didn't
know about really worth $10,000? Only if you think someone else will want
it for $12,000 in a few years. The fact that someone wants a '67 B without
knowing why a '67 is better illustrates this principle. The price of chrome
bumpered B's has been surreptitiously sneaking up lately. Price quotes may
not be valid for more than a week in the near future. Climb on and enjoy
the ride.
> Joseph
> Looking for a '67B. (I think)
Denise Thorpe
thorpe@kegs.saic.com
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