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MG MGB Technical - How can i tell if my 1976 mg is really a 1976?

hi, i just bought a 1976 mg, so i get on ebay and look for parts and stuff and i look at all the 1976 mg's and none of them look like the one i have. can someone please tell me what to look for to tell me what year it is? Heres a lil about the car.....Has the heater controls on the left side of the instrument panel, the carb is on the left side of the motor, has three windsheild wipers, 4 speed maual transmission with reverse were fifth gear would be...Thanks for takin time to read this and if anyone can help me out just email me......thanks richie.......
richie

Richie. All MGBs have the carb on the left, or driver's, side of the car. On the dash, to the left side of center, is a strip of metal showing the car's VIN. There should be a second metal plate on the driver's door jamb which should show you the same VIN and a build date as a month/year. With these two pieces of information, you can determine when the car was built and whether it is a 76 model year or a 75 registered as a 76. Beyond that, you need to get a copy of the workshop manual (either the Bentley Publishing reprint of the factory manual and driver's handbook, or the Haynes version of the factory manual), a Moss Motors catalog (shows parts illustrations and gives basic serial/VIN data) and, if it is still available, a copy of the Roadster Factory MGB catalog (which seems to be a reprint of the factory parts data manual). Then, find out if there is a club in your area and, if so, join it. Make a list of what is wrong with the car and then group them into three categories: "Safety related", "Reliability related" and "Other". Do the necessary work in that order. But, do not invest a lot of money into the car until you know exactly what you have, exactly what is wrong and how much it is going to cost to fix it. It is very easy to put thousands of dollars into a car that will never run properly and will require tens of thousands of dollars to make completely right. Les
Les Bengtson

wow thanks, that was really great advice, i had never drove one before and when i did i just loved it, its as fast as stock v8 in my opinion....thanks reply.......richie oh yeah...the carb is on the drivers side, left side if your look at the motor from the front......thanks again richie
richie

im sorry i ment the carb is on the passernger side of the motor.....richie
richie

I think we need to stop the 'drivers side - passenger side descriptions' as Les, your drivers side is not ours....

Do you use offside - nearside in the US??

Richies states, "the left as you look at the motor from the front." This would make it the offside of the car and would mean that the carbs are not in their usual spot. Does this mean it is a crossflow head?

My car is a UK 1972 and has the chassis/VIN number only on a plate under the bonnet (hood) on the offside in front of the radiator - thought i'd mention this as i don't know the differences in model years/markets etc. My opinion is that if you are really unsure of the cars age, using this number is the only way of finding out as these cars are modified in so mny ways it can be difficult to tell!!

Sorry to find fault Les, you're advice is as usual spot on, except the side of the car thing. ;->

~PHIL
Phil

Phil,
How about 'port' and 'starboard'? ;-) We don't use offside/nearside....

For the record: 'left' and 'right' are always absolute when referring to cars -- they don't change depending on how you look at the car. The left of the car is on your left as you are sitting in it, the right is on the right. If you're looking at the front of the car, the left side of the car is to your right, and vice-versa. Just as a person's left and right don't change, neither does the car's.....

A common frame of referrence is a Good Thing! :-)

HTH!
Rob
Rob Edwards

Phil. We do not use near side and off side here in the US. This fellow has posted a similar request on the midget board, hence, he is not familiar enough with the cars to even determine the model. Generally speaking, right and left sides of vehicles are determined by the seated postion of the driver/pilot. When seated, the left hand side of the car is what appears when he waves his left hand and vice versa. This, to a limited extent, does away of the problems of RHD vs LHD. But, it is only a convention and, to be useful, one has to understand the convention. Thus, when referring an inexperienced owner to a "side" of the car, it is useful to offer up "driver" and "passenger" side event though "old heads" such as you and I would prefer to use the standard right/left convention. I agree with you that if the carb is on the right hand side, there must be a cross flow head, thus indicating some significant modifications. It would be nice if Richie could post the VIN so we could determine where he is starting from and whether it is a B or a Midget. Les
Les Bengtson

Richie,

Open the driver's door, look at the tag above the sill - it will tell you the year and month of manufacture. Look on the spark plug side of the engine record and post the engine number - if it's original, we'll be able to ascertain the year from that number also.

rn
RN Lipow

Rob

Good point! ;-> you made me laugh out loud, didn't mean to sound so pinicky, but of course we've so many people reading these threads, trying to gain from them - even if they don't post, that it can often be confusing finding a common reference.

I think the LHS/RHS descriptor as taken from the drivers seat (whatever side this is on!) is probably the best compromise.

Regards



~PHIL
Phil

Hi Phil,

Glad you got a chuckle!

Rereading I see I didn't type everything I was thinking. The port/starboard comment was for your enjoyment, whereas the left/right clarification was directed to the readership at large...

Cheers!
Rob
Rob Edwards

Richie says 'Has the heater controls on the left side of the instrument panel'

I was assuming that location as 'tn' was an abbreviation for a US state (Tennessee - spelling?) But that would make the controls near the driver's/leftside door!

So is this a RHD/UK car? If so, then didn't the controls move down to the centre console in 74?

In which case, with a relocated carb, wrong dash,.....sounds like it will be fun identifying it all!

Curiouser and curiouser!
Martin

Off side, near side......This isn't a horse???????
Bud G

Rob Edwards,
Is the frame of reference, a laboratory frame or a rotating frame? The reason I mention this, is that it would be correct to assume the reader was standing outside the automobile and therefore the left side would be to his left, not the cars left, and would continue to change as the reader moved about. A rotating frame of reference would place the reader inside the automobile and the left would remain the left no matter where the automobile was pointed.
Mr. Lyons

Richie: Yours isn't a Midget instead of an MGB is it? On an MGB the carbs are on the right side of the engine if you are facing the car. On a Midget they are on the opposite side for a 1976.

The car serial # for a 76 B will be in the 390000-409000 range (last 6 digits). For a 76 Midget they will be more like 170000-180000. That and a Midget is smaller :)
Tyson Sherman

Hey Guys - it's easy, think about driving the car, when you turn left, the car's left side is on the inside of the turn, when you turn right the car's right side is on the inside of the turn....
Chris Betson

Nearside - inside - blindside - near the kerb/sidewalk/pavement.

Offside - outside - side furthest away from the kerb/sidewalk/pavement.

Hence two lane dual carriageway, the inside lane is the slow one that has the exit/entrance ramps on the outer edge, and the outside lane is the fast one near the middle or central reservation on the inner part! LOL

Martin.

Martin

Richie,

A 1976 MGB should have a VIN that begins with GHN5. The engine number (located on an aluminum plate riveted to the right side of the engine under the spark plugs) will begin with 18V.

Stock MGB engines all had the carbs and exhaust manifold on the left (sitting in the car) side of the engine. The distributor is on the right, along with the alternator, starter and air pump (if present).

If your car is by some chance a Midget, the car number should begin with GAN5. A 1976 Midget had a Triumph 1500cc engine. I'm not sure how it is configured or identified.

Visual spotting tips: The MGB's headlights are recessed into scallops in the front fenders, while a Midget's are right up front and not recessed at all; an MGB has a much more rounded body than a Midget, whose sides are downright flat; MGB's had a chrome M-G-B tag on the boot (trunk) lid, near the MG octagon, while Midgets had a "MIDGET" tag in the same location.

Is Martin's assumption, that the "tn" in your address refers to the US state of Tennessee, correct? If not, where are you located and is your steering wheel on the left or right side of the car (sitting in the car)?
Paul Noble

Hey, I just noticed that all of my MGs have the heater controls on the left side. Imagine that! I never really thought of it that way, but my window is the only heater control I have that works worth a flip. So, Richie, you do have an MG after all.
Cleve

Dunno if this is true on your side of the pond, but over here it seems to work as follows:
If the ends of the car are chrome, then it's earlier than '76.
If the ends are black rubbery things, then look under the back end.
If it hasn't got a rear anti-roll bar, then it's a '76-only car, which means it's a bit of a hybrid between the early, chrome cars and the later, rubber ones. Look carefully at the parts books and ensure the chassis number you have corresponds to the parts you order. Basically, it's trimmed as a late car, but mechanically it's early in some respects (e.g. still single-circuit brakes).
If it has got a rear anti-roll bar, then it's a later car and pretty much anything labeled "76 on" will be correct. The caveat to this is the '77 cars which (can) have a unique (to this model of MGB) high-output alternator which costs an arm an a leg to fix (yup, you guessed...)
It's entirely possible that none of the "bastard hybrids" made it over the water. Maybe somebody more erudite in this area would care to comment.
T J C Cuthill

Reverse where 5th gear would be, carb on the wrong side, fast as a V8, sounds like it has been converted from a stock drivetrain.
.

Wow! thanks for all the response.....just to clear things up a bit.....the carb is on the left side of the car when your standing outside looking at it.......the heater controls are on the left side of the car when your in the car.....there is no fifth gear but if there was, it would be were reverse is in this car......there's no chrome down the sides of the car or on the back, no bumpers either.....Question: whats worth more? A MGB or Midget in good shape? thanks richie
richie

Richie: Post some pictures, and I am sure you get will many opinions. Although no chrome and possibly the wrong engine and transmission may have an effect on the value.....
Andrew Blackley

Hi Ritchie,

I'm still not clear on the carb -- is the carb on the left side of the car? Barring a right-hand drive car, the left side of the car is the driver's side no matter where you're standing (or sitting)....

And if you can post some pics, all will be much clearer!

Cheers!
Rob
Rob Edwards

This thread was discussed between 16/03/2003 and 19/03/2003

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