MGB GT V8 — Let's go to plan 'B'

Here’s a challenge: find a rust-free MGB GT road car, then strip it down and have it professionally rebuilt into a competitive V8 racer with all the necessary mods – all for less than £25,000.

It would be a tall order on such a budget, which makes this fully sorted example being sold on behalf of its current owner by long-established Kent-based dealer Anthony Godin seem like a bargain.

According to Godin, the car was bought by a former clubman motorcycle competitor after he decided it might be prudent to switch to four wheels – but he only managed three races and a hillclimb in the ‘B’ before blowing the engine.

Rather than rectifying the situation with a budget rebuild, he entrusted the broken engine to a specialist and, £15,000 later, the car was returned with its 3.9-litre Rover V8 running sweetly and churning out a rather healthy 275bhp (or a dyno-rated 274.4bhp, to be precise).

Fed by an Edelbrock carburettor bolted to a JWL twin-port manifold, the engine growls through a full race exhaust system and is cooled by a high-flow radiator with two electric fans.

Underneath, the car has been fitted with adjustable GAZ shocks, polythene bushes and four-piston alloy brake calipers paired with twin master cylinders and vented discs, with drive arriving at the rear wheels through a limited slip differential.

 

Inside, the race specification continues with an internal fuel filler, plumbed-in fire extinguisher, a full rollcage and OMP seats. A removable steering wheel sits ahead of a matched set of white-dialled gauges and to the right of the alloy-topped lever linked to a five-speed Rover SD1 gearbox. Finished in MG Mallard Green and with twin bonnet bulges and Minilite wheels, the de-bumpered B looks well and truly ready for action and, as Godin points out, is not only suitable for competitive circuit racing but also for track days and a host of MG Car Club events.

“The car is as sharp in the metal as it looks in the photographs and, despite having been extensively modified, it is still registered for the road and remains street legal,” says Godin.

“The current configuration would make it a bit of a handful for regular highway use, but with slightly softer suspension and a bit of soundproofing it would make an ideal car for historic road rallying.”

There are, no doubt, plenty of readers who had every intention of buying, starting and finishing a ‘winter project’ in time for the arrival of the new competition season – but, if you’re among those who didn’t quite get around to it , this turnkey B could be your short cut to the track in 2023.

And if you did decide to make use of it as a fast road car, there’s still room beneath the GT’s hatchback to stow the shopping.

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1972 MGB GT V8

On sale with Anthony Godin, Maidstone, Kent. Asking: £21,995. anthonygodin.co.uk

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Sierra Cossie has Steve Soper stardust

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