MGB Roadster (factory development car)

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The praises of the MGB Roadster are widely sung and the technical features of the model are equally widely covered in the descriptions of several other examples of this ever-popular classic elsewhere in this catalogue so they need not detain us here.

Far more interesting is the history of this particular car which comes with a letter from Don Hayter (chief engineer in MG’s Abingdon Design & Development Office from 1956 onwards and who played a leading role in the design of the MGB), dated 30th October 1990, stating the following information:

"Your MGB was the first numbered North American Specification LHD Tourer (ADO23/2157) of a series of cars built for Emissions Compliance testing on a 50,000 mile programme. The number ADO23/1975/01 is the correct body number indicating a body with 'O' series engine mountings and several related small changes in the engine compartment such as, forward mounted radiator, re-run brake pipes, modified charcoal canister location etc."

The letter goes on to say: "The engine was a 2-litre 'O' series with Zenith Feed Back Carburettor System and what was then called a Chrysler Lean Burn engine management control. No other type of engine was ever fitted by Development... This programme was scrapped in about 1978 due to the inability of the system to meet the increasingly severe Californian Air Resources Board Emissions Standards. We then developed a fuel injection system in conjunction with Lucas which was very successful, produced more BHP and 6 cars were tested OK in the USA ready for release to production."

The letter was addressed to a Dr Barlow of Droitwich who had long wondered why his car had such an unusual ADO prefix chassis number (all other MGB chassis numbers beginning GHN5 or GHD5), why it had a 1980 ‘V’ registration number when it was clearly a 1974 car, and why it had so many non-standard features in the engine bay, despite being fitted with what looked like a pretty standard ‘18V’ B-Series unit.

Subsequent research has revealed that perhaps two dozen such ‘O’ series development cars were made, most of which were later destroyed and all of which had their experimental engines removed, these facts being confirmed in an article written about this very car in the March 1991 issue of Safety Fast, the MG Car Club magazine, this being the first time that the survival and true history of this “exciting find” (as the editor called it) became public knowledge (a copy of the article being retained in the history file).

In his letter, Don Hayter went on to advise Dr Barlow as follows:

“I do not think therefore that it would be either possible or desirable to get the parts and reconvert your car to original specification. I also checked your car colour as Blaze Red and the date listed on programme is 25th Feb 1974. I suspect that it did very little road mileage and may have been the Laboratory car for emissions tests on the rolling road."

Dr Barlow appears to have owned the car from 1988 to 2003, keeping a very detailed log of mileage and petrol consumption throughout this period. Invoices show that he also maintained the car meticulously, including some localised bodywork repairs at Reynolds of Rushock in 1997 at a cost of some £1,300.

Other correspondence shows that the car was converted from LHD to RHD by Auto-Class Ltd, probably in 1980 which is when it was first registered for road use, presumably having just been released from the Abingdon test facility. The vendor acquired the car in 2007 and has continued to look after it well with various invoices on file for work carried out, including a new set of tyres in 2010. He states that the indicated mileage of just over 60,000 is correct, the car having covered only 6,000 miles during his 8-year ownership (many old MOTs back to 1988 show that the mileage was 39,096 at that date).

Said to be in very good and largely original condition (with regards to the body and structure) it comes with the desirable overdrive gearbox, a serviceable hood and tonneau cover, and retains the correct three-blade wiper system which was fitted to all the early US market MGB Roadsters. Further said to drive very well and due to be driven to the sale, it has an MOT until April 2016 and, being a 1974 model, is of course tax exempt under the recent rolling 25-year regulations.

One of only two such ADO chassis prefix ‘O’ series development Roadsters known to survive (the other belonging to Don Hayter himself and now fitted with a V8 engine) this historically important MGB is only reluctantly offered for sale due to the advancing years of the vendor and is sure to be of great interest to any MG collector.

With impeccable provenance from the Chief Design & Development Engineer of the MG team at Abingdon, a man who was largely responsible for the look of the iconic MGB Roadster, it will no doubt open many doors to the fortunate new owner on the club and show circuit and is being offered here at no reserve so the boldest bid takes it.