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