• Absolutely beautiful home restoration

• Interior retrimmed in leather and walnut 

• New fuel tank and stainless exhaust system

• Thousands spent on restoration

The MGB is Britain’s most popular and best-loved classic car, and for a very good reason. With around 25,000 survivors, it’s easy to own and very straightforward to look after, with an industry built up around its survival and a thriving owners’ scene.

Introduced in 1962, it instantly became the most popular British sports car, enjoying an incredible production run of 19 years thanks to its Italianate good looks and its simple engineering. 

The fixed-roof MGB GT came three years after the hatch and sported a ground-breaking “greenhouse” rear end, designed by Pininfarina – offering sports car looks and hatchback practicality. 

This one is a stunner. Rebuilt in 2016 by the vendor in is workshop at home, the standard of the work completed is top class. 

In terms of early history, not much is known about the B other than that it was acquired as a slightly tatty example by the current owner in late 2015 and was immediately taken into his garage and stripped down. 

What he found was a fundamentally solid car but one that needed some localised repairs, carried out by the vendor over a 12- month period in 2016, sourcing parts from well-known MG parts suppliers and culminating in a full respray in British Racing Green cellulose. 

The project was completed with a sense of perfectionism and a file kept of all the work, along with some photographs of the car at various stages of its build. 

There are stacks and stacks of bills with tis MGB, documenting parts as substantial as a new fuel tank, full stainless exhaust system, wheels, tyres and brakes, right down to minor objects such as trim clips and battery clamps. 

Most of the receipts are from very well-respected names in the MG world, too, with the MG Owners Club workshop and the MGB Hive in Cambridgeshire both featuring heavily in the chunky invoice pile. The owner hasn’t totted it all up, but the expenditure runs into tens of thousands. 

There’s also a receipt from a bodyshop for a full bare metal respray at the end of 2016, since when the car has been kept in the owner’s garage at home and only used in dry weather. 

Also with the car are a full UK V5C in the owner’s name and a brand new MOT valid until August 2022 – as even though the car is test-exempt the owner wanted to prove its roadworthiness before sale. 

You can tell that the owner of tis car is a perfectionist when he points out paint imperfections that you can’t see – but that just shows how good this car is. There are a couple of very tiny micro-blisters in the paint finish that we’d not even have noticed had the vendor not pointed them out, as the rest of the bodywork is absolutely breath-taking. 

The condition is superb, from the smoothness of the panels to the paint quality, through to the exacting panel gaps and near-flawless badges and trim. It’s a lovely, lovely car. 

Is it concours? No, not quite. There are a handful of the tiniest imperfections that you might want to put right to take the car to the next level, but they’re few and far between and are easily rectified. 

Purists might bemoan the fact that it’s not 100% original – indeed, most of the car has been renewed or replaced – but the harsh reality is that the quality of this car is probably far, far better than it was when it left the factory!

Here’s where the MGB comes into its own – and again, it’s not one for absolute purists. When new, it would have had narrow bucket seats, a black crackle-finish dash and a pretty austere cabin, whereas 53 years later it has sumptuous cream leather with green piping, thick green carpets, a walnut veneer dash and matching door cappings. It’s as if there’d have been a top-spec MG in the day, it would have been like this – and it’s absolutely gorgeous. 

Once again, the workmanship is terrific. The seats were trimmed and fitted by the vendor himself and the quality of the leather is lovely, the door cards are fitted with absolute precision and with not an exposed screwhead in sight, and the presentation is impeccable, from the spotless dash to the wonderfully clean luggage area. There are very few MGBs that are this nice inside. 

The engine and gearbox of the car are original and while the recorded mileage can’t be proven, all of the previous MOTs show mileage readings below the current 39,500. Read into that what you will, but the engine runs well with no excess smoke or leaks. The vendor reports that he recently took it on a 200-mile round trip with no problems whatsoever. 

Everything else, though, is new. New brake discs, pads and linings, new suspension components throughout, new bushes, a new steering rack, new leaf springs, a reconditioned rear axle and diff, stainless exhaust system, new fuel tank, new modern-spec fuel lines, all underbonnet ancillaries – it was all renewed as part of the car’s comprehensive strip down and rebuild. 

There are loads of MGBs on the market at any given time. But there are few that are even a patch on tis example. 

It’s a wonderful rebuild, done with craftsmanship and attention to detail, and while it’s not original, it’s a superb car and in absolutely fabulous order throughout. You’ll genuinely struggle to find better.