In the first of our Project MGB diaries, Adam explains how we came to own our 1978 MGB GT, and how you can win it . . .
The debates in the office had reached fever pitch. Everyone had an opinion. Everyone had a car they were pushing for – assorted Mercs, a Fiesta XR2, the Renault 5, Peugeot 205s, Minis of all sorts, various MGs. As much as we all love cars, we all have our favourites.
The plan, was simple – Hagerty UK buys a classic car, get it in tip-top condition, tour our events with it, (The Hagerty Hill Climb, Festival of the Unexceptional, and RADwood) and then give it away in September 2025.
For me personally, I’d always leaned toward British stuff – my dad had been a big MG fan, my brother in-law raced Minis, and those two things, more than anything, shaped my love for and knowledge of classic cars. If you looked in my garage, you’d find a ’73 BGT and an ’89 Mini, so while I might be biased, at least I know what I’m looking at!
An MGB GT up north needed too much work and was beyond our budget. A retro-styled MG Midget looked fab, but was a little bit on the snug side (as it should be, it’s a Midget). A lovely 1980s Mini sold the day before I’d arranged to go and view it. That was when the debates began – an MX-5 looked lovely, but being north of Sheffield, it was a long way away. A Mercedes SLK looked great but gave me all kinds of worries about big Mercedes-shaped bills beyond my comfort zone. I had the same concerns about a 5 Series BMW. We weren’t making a lot of progress.
Then my colleague Kit found it – a 1978 MGB GT, less than an hour from the office, and within our budget. So, we hit the road and found ourselves on a wet Tuesday lunchtime climbing inside the car. It fired on the first turn of the key and drove well.
A thick file of paperwork showed the car had been well looked after, with plenty of receipts and bills, and after crawling around on the owner’s drive, the key rusty bits on a B seemed reassuringly solid. A little while later, we shook hands and we were on our way back to Bicester, one of us piloting our MGB GT.
The car itself is fairly original. It has gained a set of Minilite-style alloy wheels in place of the original Rostyles, with a pair of beefy four-pot calipers up front. Inside, the late-style British Leyland ‘deckchair’ striped seats have been swapped for much nicer leather items, and the corporate steering wheel later MGs shared with the likes of the Morris Ital has been replaced by a smart wood-rim wheel.
Mechanically, it’s pretty decent, too. The test drive and the drive home passed without issue. But like all old British cars, it needs some attention, so a quick call was placed to the MG Owners Club Spares for a selection of the bits we needed to address a sticky choke, a rusty exhaust, and some spongey brakes – typical stuff you find with an under-used, somewhat neglected classic.
Having lived outside for the last few years, the car was in desperate need of a wash, polish, and detail. We got it over to our Bicester neighbours at Auto Waxworks for an appointment and two days later, it came back looking arguably as good as it would have done when it left Abingdon back in 1978.
Over the next several months, you’ll be able to follow the progress on the car, find it at our events and get to share in the car’s journey. And, just as important, you can enter to make our MGB your MGB.
Great motors. I’ve had an MGB for 5 years now and I reckon I enjoy working on it just as much as driving it. See my mgb.tips blog.
Great cars, the rubber bumper version great value for money. Regularly do 600 mile round trips in my 79 MGB, lowered and running an Oselli engine, never had a problem with it yet, always wanted a GT, so so elegant.
Wonderful sensible classic cars. Spares are still reasonable affordability wise, and a good one with good working overdrive will keep up road speed with traffic today. The “B” was a great package which BL should never have dropped.