MGC GT

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First seen in 1967, the MGC was BMC's attempt to plug the gap left in its range following the demise of the Healey 3000, without having to go to too much trouble.

Never properly marketed by BMC, the MGC was quietly shelved in 1969 after just 8,999 examples had been built, half of them roadsters and half GTs.

Nowadays though, because of these low production numbers, the MGC is keenly sought after. With modern tyres and a few subtle suspension tweaks the handling can be transformed and, with a strong torquey engine, they make excellent high speed cruisers.

This GT was one of the last to be registered, hitting the streets in February 1970. A manual with overdrive model, it has covered around 105,000 miles, comes with a decent history file including 25 old MOTs which help substantiate the mileage and shows considerable expenditure on care and maintenance, which includes a new set of batteries just fitted.

Believed to have been restored in around 1995, there are some photographs showing the work carried out which included the fitting of a Sebring-style front valance and a smart set of Minilite-style alloys. Just last year it was treated to a respray in its original shade of Tartan Red, which extended to the well-stocked dashboard complete with a Brantz Retrotrip electronic stopwatch and Halda Speedpilot for the rallyists amongst you.

To help tackle the corners, the suspension has been uprated with gas-filled shocks all round and the Aldon Rolling Road tuned engine has a Stage-2 head and LCB exhaust manifold fitted by MG Mecca. The full-length Webasto adds a fresh-air dimension when the sun comes out, and the rest of the interior looks smart and nicely finished including a leather-rim Moto Lita wheel.

Magazine featured in March 2005 Classics Monthly, this eye-catching, mildly-tweaked C GT looks great value and a lot of fun.