alternatives to MGB GT's?

[mr rusty]

You can get a good Vitesse for that money-originally advertised as 'the two-seater beater' as a saloon or convertible, same mechanical bits as a GT6 but even in convertible form it's still got 4 (ish) seats-you can squeeze two adults in the back and is pretty small by Saab 99 standards.

[JPB]

Same engine as the (earlier) Saab 99, only a little smaller than the Saab but with RWD, great parts backup and very good on the fuel, they were known for it yet they're still plenty lively enough.....


Rear legroom isn't quite bad enough to qualify as 2+2, but not far off with a tall driver who likes his seat low.
Best ones to go for are pre-'76 cars so a '72 would fit the bill and be free to tax. Later ones used the same, sh*te-quality Russian steel that led so many Alfasuds to their demise, earliest cars have decent, thick British steel and much other good stuff to their credit.

[trigger]

Good luck finding a tax exempt one, they didn't come out until October 1972! The Rover P6/Triumph 2000 is a good shout though.

[JPB]

They came out well before then, Trig. The club knows of quite a few K-plate cars.

Some J-platers are out there too, such as this one, found on guess whose flickR road test set?.....

[trigger]

Oh Er!, I stand corrected then , I just couldn't recall seeing many L plates so I googled it and Wikipedia said October 1972.

[JPB]

Aye, well that's wikipedia for you.

It wouldn't surprise me in the least to discover that someone who owned an October '72-built example had edited that wiki page to increase the perceived desirability of their own car.

Another idea for the o/p though; how about a Datsun 1200, predecessor to the 120Y? OK, so it'd be hard to find an unmodified one now and they were never that common to start with, but what a cool thing they were. IMHO.

[maph2]

ok, here is some background. i have 4 cars - a modern diesel estate mondeo, a 99 yaris, a saab 99 turbo and my 72 mini clubman, the mini has a vauxhall redtop 2L 16v engine running hayabusa throttle bodies, coilover suspension, rear beam conversion, bucket seats 5pt harness, 6pt cage etc etc. its pretty fast. currently paying road tax on 3 cars so would like to get it down to only 2 cars with road tax, must have minumum 2+2 for very small kids (mgbgt is fine, have tested one for size), not concerned about power as i have the mini for that. Although i do have an american spec log manifold that could be used for a turbo conversion

what i'm after is a car that gives a really period "experience" when sitting in it - take the mgb for example - thin rimmed steering wheels, wrinkle dash, patina'ed leather seats, chrome trim, low seating position, wire wheels. would like some kind of sporty element too -hence why the mgbgt at the moment ticks all boxes

other option is a Hillman minx convertible

[karlsgazelle]

How about this gorgeous example of another Rootes product. Not sure that it'll end up within your 3.5k budget though.

Best of luck in your search.
Karl

[rich.]

I think you've missed requirement "B" Rich.

oops!!
its worth paying a bit of tax to have a much better car

[maph2]

I think you've missed requirement "B" Rich.

oops!!
its worth paying a bit of tax to have a much better car

suppose its what people define as "better", particularly when it breaks down into performance, aesthetics, experience, reliability, spares back up ?

thing is, i'm not going to get an 50's-60's driving experience from a car built in the 70's or 80's am I. sure, there are cars out there that started off in the 60's and continued in prosduction right through the 70's and into the 80's, but then you start getting plastic dashboards, nylon striped deckchair seats, "velour", rubber bumpers etc.

i take on board your love of j-tin and celicas, rx7, silvas etc are all great but not the experience i'm after. i also have to consider finances, currently 4 cars is £800 insurance, £450 in road tx, £160 in MoT's plus maintanance. i need the diesel estate for family and work duty (14k miles pa), the missues uses the yaris, there is no way i will ever sell the mini and the other classic is so we can do the family classic car show thing.

so, to sum up......paying a bit extra tax is a big factor (eg Saab is £210? tax which equals to 4 mot's, and an annual diy service oil/filter,plugs/leads on the mini ). keep the suggestions coming though...somtimes its hard to see the wood for the trees. liking that singer gazelle convertible.