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MG MGB Technical - Looking for Finish Details

Hello Everyone,

I am restoring a North American 1972 'B'.
She has seen better times and is going to need alot of
extensive restoration.
Before I start the process, I am trying to research the
finish ( paint, zinc plate etc ) of many of the pieces.
So far, I have not had much luck. I purchased Clausager's
book "Original MGB with MGC & MGB GT V8" and while there
are many beautiful examples shown, many of them have
already been reworked and it is difficult to determine if
pieces of interest are refinished authentically or not.

So I am looking for information on the paint sheen of
the Heater Box, Radiator Support and master cylinder
shroud. Where they originally painted Gloss black ? or
Low Gloss ?

Were the door latch assemblies Bright Zinc plate or
Zinc plate with a Yellow passivate coating ?

As well, is this sort of information accumulated
anywhere in a document, or some-such that a fella could
purchase ?

Sorry for the long-windedness !

Wally
Wallace Daniels

Hi Wally,
I'm doing mine at the moment , although it's a '68. I posted a similar question here recently and I believe the finish for the engine bay black components to be satin black. I'm using Hammerite smooth satin as I can spray directly on to the steel. For the radiator I'm going to use a BBQ paint spray from Plasticote which I'm told is satin finish although I believe Hammerite would be ok for the rad too. FYI I painted all the non visible parts with Hammerite smooth satin but used a brush on version. It's cheaper than the spray variety!
Steve Church

Good Morning Steve !

Thanks for this, it is a big help.
Good Luck with your resto.

All the Best, Wally
Wallace Daniels

I've gone for a gloss finish on my '72 roadster for most of the engine bay items. This has mostly been done with a black gloss powdercoat, with Hammerite smooth gloss for odds and ends and for the underbody parts.
Richard Coombs

Wally,

If you want factory finish go for a semi-gloss / satin black with varied thickness, preferably with some runners in it. ;-)

Some concours judges view the finish as "how would the factory have wanted it to look, if cost was no object".
A radiator would then not be polished polished copper but a high gloss black might have been what the factory wanted.

I use satin black Hammerite when painting underbonnet or suspension.

I would use the "yellow" plating on door latches for a '72.
Willem vd Veer


Good Day Richard / Willem,

Thanks for all the helpful information.

I am surprised after all these years that someone out
there has not compiled component finish information. Then
again, maybe they have and its one of the secrets to their success :-) so to speak !

My car is in pretty bad shape, so I am going to have
to work on almost everything. The objective is to make
a dependable daily driver that is as close to the way
it looked when it left the factory as I can but not
concours.

As I write this, it brings another point to mind. My
intention was not to sell the car, as these projects
tend to be a labour of love and its not very likely that
I could recoup all the money put into it. However I was
considering a complete colour change from Harvest Gold
to Pale Primrose which was not a colour in 72. Have any
listers ever encountered a drop in value of their vehicle
because it was not painted the correct colour ?

Wally
Wallace Daniels

<<Have any listers ever encountered a drop in value of their vehicle because it was not painted the correct colour?>>

My '73 MGB is for sale and it is in it's original Blaze (orange) colour. A lot of people don't like that colour and want a green or red car.
So I now encounter a drop in value or at least saleability because of the "correct" colour....

I'm not sure if Pale Primrose would be the best colour for reselling? As said Dark Green (BRG) or "MG Red" sells best.
Willem vd Veer

<<I'm not sure if Pale Primrose would be the best colour for reselling?>>

LOL ...Yeah It seems you either like yellow or you don't. :-)

Interesting tho, I did not realize that BRG-Green was
as popular as the Red shades.
Wallace Daniels

You said "I'm not sure if Pale Primrose would be the best colour for reselling?" Pale Primrose is a rare color that would appeal to many drivers who don't want an MGB painted Resale Red or Everybody-and-His-Brother British Racing Green. To most prospective buyers who do not want to repaint the car to their personally-preferred color, the condition and completeness of the paint job is what matters. The important thing to remember is that a quicky, low-dollar exterior respray with no attention to rust removal and/or sanding smooth chips in the underlying paint does not transform a $3,000 dollar car into an $8,000 car!

It's true that if you're selling to someone who is sincerely looking for a car that is only what the factory would have produced, a non-year-correct color will hurt. However, since you're not building a Concours Contender, you'll probably not encounter such an individual other than at a car show.

A few mercenary-type prospective buyers may try to get you to sell the car to them at a lower price because the paint color is "not correct" for the year that it was made. If you are unfortunate enough to have to deal with one of these S.O.B.s, refuse to budge on the price. Tell them that you're not trying to sell a rare, Concours-correct pre-war collector's item show car. Condition is what dictates the value. Bide your time and eventually the right buyer will come along.
Stephen Strange

'72 Roadster - I'm not bothered about selling so I've modified my car to suit my taste. Amongst other things, it will have a chrome grill instead of the original recessed black arrangement and is resprayed in Tartan red, only originally available up to 1971.
Richard Coombs

Being the owner of a 67 GT that is Pale Primrose Yellow, I have to say that I get a lot of complements on the car, but when I show it at the public voting shows I always loose out to the Red MGB's.

Have not tried to sell it yet. But, there is a 67 Jag XKE in town that is also Pale Primrose, and that is a nice looking car also.
Bruce Cunha

I'm restoring my 78 B "Rubbernose" roadster and I'm sticking with original colour simply because I love the carmine red.

For what it's worth, I wouldn't worry about whether it's original or not when it comes to resale.
I'm guessing most people who buy MGs are happy doing restoration work themselves. I don't think the average MG buyer would be looking for a completely restored and original car with nothing left to do on it. Where's the fun in that? You might as well buy a new car then.

Like others who have commented though, I wouldn't sell mine after doing so much work on it anyway. Resale is a moot point for me, unless you have about $1 million and a shotgun held to my head.
D O'Brien

The heater was finished in a semi matte black, the finish is more utility than show. Radiator the same. I have refinished my pedal box but it was a smooth glossy black originally. Its true that BRG and Tartan Red are the popular colours, ours was BRG from the factory but a register meet tends to be a sea of red and green. I always liked OEW with red trim personally.
Stan Best

I'm hardly the expert you fellows are, but I do still have a 70 B engine in my shop. I bought the car when it was less than a year old, drove it for 17 years total, acquired a 71 engine cheap that I bored out and so on and put it in place of the original engine which is still on an engine stand. First, the underhood finish appears to have been applied as an "after thought". The black paint that is still intact on parts of the engine (engine is red although I owned a 72 GT for a while that had a black engine) might have been called "gloss" in its day. One of the mistakes that many MGB owners make is not being aware that MGB exterior colors were acrylic "enamel" not acrylic lacquer. Thus, gloss enamel doesn't appear as shiny as lacquer. Second, the black components of the engine (coolant tube to heater mounted over the valve cover, for example) have visible oversprays of the factory red engine color. Thus, I can only conclude that major components like the engine block and such might have been sprayed in a booth, but during final assembly, spray cans may have been pressed into use. There are also areas where the spray did not totally cover the part. For purposes of authenticity, it appears you want to be haphazard. A very detailed and thorough finish would not be factory correct, but how do you duplicate random spraying and the appearance of hand assembly? I really don't think anyone will care that much. I would opt for (and have) being utilitarian and using the paint that is best for the application in terms of heat and rust proofing.
Rick Penland


Thanks Everyone for the insightful comments.
The research is turning out to be as much fun as the
"Hands On" !
All the Best to everyone and hope you have good driving weather !

Wally
Wallace Daniels

Wally,

I think you have it in a nutshell!
Roger T

I was having my'67 Pale Primrose B's tires balanced yesterday and it was the center of attention. You'd think that it was the first one that they had ever seen. Granted, I've had the car for 38 years and have maintained it to a very high level, but it is certainly not concours. One gentleman was taking pictures of it to show to his father who restores Bs because his uncle had had one many years ago that was identical to this one. RAY
rjm RAY

Hi Everyone,

I'm interested in the colour of the under-bonnet components for later planned work on my 1967 mk1 GT. I think a satin black colour looks more realistic. A gloss finish also demands the subsrate to be excellently prepared as a gloss finish shows up even minor imperfections.

I'm trying to find the correct, or near correct, shade of black. Intuitively, the colour looks deep but is it jet black or more of a graphite black?

Look at the following RAL colour links below to see what I mean.

RAL9005 - Jet Black
RAL99017 - Traffic Black

The German colour scheme looks comprehensive so I'm planning on using one of these colours. The colours above can be viewed easily from the following easy to use link:

http://www.e-paint.co.uk/Colour_alternatives.asp



I'm planning on using a modified urethane paint, which I believe has better impact resistance than 2-pack acrylic. This paint is used on plant & machinery applications. The engine bay is subject to minor knocks and scratching during servicing. Your thoughts & experience on this is welcome.

Any feedback on experience and knowledge appreciated.

Many thanks,
Brian McIlvenna
Brian McIlvenna

Satin black more than gloss, and I doubt there were any 'shades' of black when these cars were built.
Paul Hunt

Paul,

Can I take it that jet black under RAL colour scheme is as close to the mark as practicable? The Hammerite referenced in this archived thread is close to this if I am not mistaken.

Many thanks,
Brian
Brian McIlvenna

I really couldn't say, Brian, and in any case on my monitor in a light room I couldn't see any difference between several of the blacks on that site anyway. Hammerite smooth gives a quality finish, but I've also used Plastikote yellow for the fan and that came out almost like powder coated.
Paul Hunt

Here is my recently finished Mk1 engine bay, with satin black polished to glossier in places like the dynamo.


B. G. Griffin

BG. Very Nice. Unsure if you are going for exact original or not, but if you are, I believe the windshield washer bottle holder should be blue.


Bruce TD4139 Cunha

Thanks Bruce, but mine is a late Mk1, mid '66, so I think it was black by then, but not sure. Can you give me the source of that? I only saw a blue for the first time recently in the MG Exp' forums about originality? I also found the original Torquoise Throttle Cable Sheath amongst my box of bits given to me by the prev' owner and refitted it on my newer cable. It's missing the ferrule at the pedal end and is a bit snatchy. Might have to ditch it again.
Brian.
B. G. Griffin

Later pic


B. G. Griffin

Hi Brian.

That is on my 67 B GT. It is an end of production MK1 and it does have a few things that came on the MK II such as backup lights and a day/night mirror. So I am not sure if earlier MK I had the blue or if the MK II had the blue.

Paint is original as far as I can tell on the washer bottle holder. I took it off when I resprayed the car and it did not look like it had been repainted on the bottom side.

Can't comment on the throttle cable as mine is a LHD and the throttle cable is only about 18" and is a gray/cream color (also appears to be original)


Bruce TD4139 Cunha

The *bottle* had the printing in blue, I'd be surprised if the cradle did given the colour of so many other components in the engine compartment.
Paul Hunt

Thanks for all the contributions. Doesn't the engine bay of these early cars looks so clean and uncluttered? It looks like a satin finish in Jet black is as near to original as one can get.

What is you experiences or feelings on using a modified resin polyurethane paint? To get technical, I feel it will resist minor knocks as well as experience less brittleness caused by engine bay temperature cycling.

I wasn't aware the dynamo was also in black. A previous owner on my Jan '67 BGT painted the dynamo in the MG maroon. I've only ever seen the bottle cage in black, but that may not be the full story with changes taking place regularly.

Thanks,
Brian
Brian McIlvenna

As you can see the washer bottle holder is blue, when I bought this car it had never been touched from new, and apart from the servo and new master cly, it is as it left the factory In 1969. A.T


andy tilney

I noted this 67 GT on Ebay. The washer holder is rusted, but I think you can still see a hint of blue on it.

But then I also note that the valve cover has been painted blue and we know that is not correct.


Bruce TD4139 Cunha

This thread was discussed between 26/07/2010 and 24/03/2015

MG MGB Technical index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGB Technical BBS is active now.