At $26,000, Is This 1970 ‘MGB SVO’ An Authentic Deal?

Today’s Nice Price or No Dice MGB is a one-of-a-kind custom, but according to its seller, it could have been the first of a series of Carrol Shelby specials. Let’s see if we’re buying both the story and the price tag.

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The 1969 Avanti II we looked at yesterday reminded me of a story I read years back about a “haunted” edition of the car. Its owner imagined the car to be possessed because, upon every application of the throttle, it would suddenly leap forward uncontrollably. It happened every time. The culprit turned out not to be spectral but instead, a broken engine mount that caused the entire motor to rock under load, pulling on the throttle linkage. There was likewise nothing supernatural about yesterday’s Avanti and its $17,500 asking price. That combo resulted in a real-world 80 percent Nice Price win.

Thinking about it, how many of you have been drawn in by a great story told by someone, only to question its veracity when it came to a close? I once met a retired engineer while judging at a car show. During our lunch, he regaled me with a story about how, as a teen hanging out with his father, who was working security for GM at the time, he was given a ride in the Buick Y-Job by none other than Harley J. Earl. After asking the teen what his plans were for the future, Earl then agreed to become his benefactor, funding his education and later helping him get an engineering job at GM. Over empty dessert plates and sweating glasses of iced tea, this gentleman then told me another story — one about how Adolph Hitler had escaped his Berlin bunker hidey-hole and then lived out the rest of his days in Argentina. Um, yeah.

Today’s 1970 MGB is a wild custom with a Ford 2.3 SVO engine and its own great backstory that may or may not be true. I’ll leave it to the seller to spin it:

Interesting back story. Bought the car from the widow of the last owner. Supposedly designed by Shelby during his short retirement period and built by others. Was proposed as a joint venture between Shelby, Ford and MGB. Ford and Shelby had a falling out. Ford continued with the SVO Mustang and SVO Thunderbird. Shelby went to Chrysler to design their turbo coupe. MG went with the Rover V8 in the MGB. Story seems to fit with known history but hasn’t been authenticated. If you can authenticate the story, then this collectible will have a significantly higher value.

See? That’s an awesome yarn, and it’s just crazy enough that it might be true. The car itself is crazy, too, with only the doors, windscreen, and convertible top acknowledging the car’s MG origins. On either side of that, the car has been outfitted with flared fenders, a pointed clamshell nose — fitting over the original MGB hood for hinging and added support — and VW Rabbit taillamps in the back under a knife-edge spoiler.

Underpinning all this is a ton of Ford parts. Let’s start with the engine, which, as noted, is a 2.3-liter Lima four. That’s been pulled from a Thunderbird Turbo Coupe or SVO Mustang and makes 205 horsepower in its blown and intercooled form. Behind that is a five-speed stick and that feeds a positraction diff in a narrowed Ford 9-inch rear end. The ad touts not only the engine’s greater capability over the original MG B-series but its lighter weight as well.

The interior was not ignored during the car’s customization phase and wears leather upholstery and a completely updated dash with new gauges and eyeball vents for the climate control. And yes, there’s A/C. It all looks to be in exceptionally nice shape as well.

The exterior presents well, too, although not like anything you’ve ever seen. A weird bit of the design is how the headlamps stay in place when the hood is popped, lending the car an odd cannibalized look when the engine is accessible. It’s also amazing that the fat tires don’t rub the wheel arches, as they look to be a tight fit.

The car comes with a clean title and a claimed 17,300 miles on the clock. The asking price for the car and the movie rights to the backstory is $26,000.

What’s your take on this custom MG, that Shelby connection story, and that asking price? Does that seem to all jell in your mind? Or is it all just a load of hogwash?

You decide!

Treasure Coast, Florida, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to Don R. for the hookup!

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