Although I am in agreement with Don's detailed answer, there is no answer
to this question. And I would have answered this differently 20 years ago
when I bought a 71BGT to serve alongside of my 65 MGB. At that time, I saw
the 71 as an improvement - more reliable, smoother running, and even first
and second gear synchros. The doors even stayed shut, a change over my well
worn pull handles.
Now that I have purchased a 67BGT, I'm back to really liking the pre-67 MG
series. The simplicity and the better performance. And I can even leave my
door open all night (its in a garage) and not have to worry about the power
draining.
A lot depends on what features you are looking at. Mechanically speaking, I
think the best years were 68-70, before pollution control changes. Interior
wise, I always preferred the 67 and older with the metal dashes and toggle
switch layout. And I've always liked the wire wheels which started getting
fazed out in 71 or thereabouts.
I've never driven a MG newer than a 71 so its hard for me to compare to the
later years. But the interiors seemed to have improved considerably and
looked pretty sharp after they put a glove box in the car. The Abingdon
pillow minus glovebox was the ugliest change MG ever did (IMHO).
David
67 BGT
71 BGT
At 08:46 PM 6/1/2000 -0700, you wrote:
>That is easy!
>
>In the US at least, any MGB pre-'68. The federal rules really ruined these
>cars. The early cars had:
>
>Metal dashboard
>No smog equipment
>Simpler twin carbs
>Traditional leather interior
>Simple toggle switches
>More horsepower
>Attractive, simple bumpers
>No added exterior lights on the side of the car
>Simple brake master cylinder (maybe not as safe, but a hell of a lot cheaper
>and easier to fix).
>
>Don Scott
>
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