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

Sierra Cossie has Steve Soper stardust

• Touring car exemplar Steve Soper was no stranger to flinging a Sierra XR4, RS Cosworth and RS500 around the track in the ’80s. He also ran this 1986 Ford Sierra Cosworth, inset right, in his racing pomp – an ex-Ford press car. Restored in 2015, it’s on sale at The Car Cave in Bonnyrigg, Midlothian for £47,995. That spoiler still looks the business.

• Toto Wolff… in a Ferrari?! Well, no more. Tom Hartley jnr in Leicestershire has recently sold the Mercedes F1 principal’s 1990 F40, below, price not specified. The luxury car dealer said it had been “used sparingly, perhaps due to him not wanting to be seen driving a Ferrari in his downtime”.

• Most cars associated with Juan Manuel Fangio are £POA, as is the case with a long-nose 1956 Maserati 300s, chassis 3069, on sale at Fiskens in London. It was driven to four sports car victories in 1957 by the bandy-legged one in Portugal and South America – and remains a stalwart of the track today.

• The Institute of Customer Service has published its latest UK Customer Services Satisfaction Index with Suzuki once more top of the automotive list, while it’s a ‘must do better’ for Land Rover, which props up the table. Kia was second and Hyundai third.

• It seems that the British are monochrome mad when it comes to choosing a colour for new cars. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders revealed that 25.7% were grey in 2022, with 20.1% black and 16.7% white. Green is enjoying a surge of popularity, up by 74.2% on 2021 – with a quarter of those EVs. LG