Junkyard Find: 1979 MG MGB

Murilee Martin
by Murilee Martin

MGB s continue to show up in self-service wrecking yards, with another rubber-bumper Malaise Era example today. In my junkyard expeditions prior to today, I’ve photographed this ’67, this ’71, this ’75, this ’77, this ’77, this ’79, and this ’79 with a Toyota 20R swap, and now we’ve got today’s Denver ’79.

This car appears to have an old Volvo key, attached to a 20-year-old Colorado State Patrol keychain, in the ignition. Knowing British Leyland quality as I do, it’s likely that any key (or key-like object) will work the ignition on a late-70s MGB, or perhaps Volvo key blanks are similar to BL blanks of this era.

The BMC B engine went into a jillion types of vehicles during its 1950s-1980s production run, from the Massey-Harris Combine Harvester to the Nash Metropolitan to the Leyland Sherpa. Neither powerful nor smooth, but fairly sturdy.

This car appears to have been under restoration at some point, but that was a long time ago.

The problem with convertible projects like this is that their interiors get trashed quickly during outdoor storage, especially in harsh climates like Colorado’s.

It’s not rusty, but the black-bumper MGBs are insufficiently prized to be worth restoring when they get this battered.

Here are the happy workers who crafted this classic sports car.

Meanwhile, in London…






Murilee Martin
Murilee Martin

Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Autoblog, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars and Capital One.

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  • MRF 95 T-Bird MRF 95 T-Bird on Dec 01, 2015

    The wire basket wheels on this car probably Keystone or American Racing are way out of place on this. Back when they were popular you would always see them with missing baskets.

  • Spreadsheet monkey Spreadsheet monkey on Dec 01, 2015

    Attention Americans - that YouTube clip of the striking British Leyland workers is almost 40 years old. Please do not think that is representative of Britain today!

    • RideHeight RideHeight on Dec 01, 2015

      Not to worry. That's easily discerned from the atrocious video quality and we know nobody sports sideburns like that anymore. Well, unless they're extras in an Inspector Gently episode.

  • Ronin It's one thing to stay tried and true to loyal past customers; you'll ensure a stream of revenue from your installed base- maybe every several years or so.It's another to attract net-new customers, who are dazzled by so many other attractive offerings that have more cargo capacity than that high-floored 4-Runner bed, and are not so scrunched in scrunchy front seats.Like with the FJ Cruiser: don't bother to update it, thereby saving money while explaining customers like it that way, all the way into oblivion. Not recognizing some customers like to actually have right rear visibility in their SUVs.
  • MaintenanceCosts It's not a Benz or a Jag / it's a 5-0 with a rag /And I don't wanna brag / but I could never be stag
  • 3-On-The-Tree Son has a 2016 Mustang GT 5.0 and I have a 2009 C6 Corvette LS3 6spd. And on paper they are pretty close.
  • 3-On-The-Tree Same as the Land Cruiser, emissions. I have a 1985 FJ60 Land Cruiser and it’s a beast off-roading.
  • CanadaCraig I would like for this anniversary special to be a bare-bones Plain-Jane model offered in Dynasty Green and Vintage Burgundy.
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