Lot Ended
Description
Just one lady owner and 50,200 miles from new; electronic ignition;
roll bar; leather seats; Heritage Certificate; lots of history; one of only 420
LE Roadsters made; paintwork needs attention
By 1980 the MGB
had reached the end of its 18-year lifespan so a final Limited Edition LE model
was launched as a bittersweet finale to one of Britain’s best-loved sports cars.
Produced to commemorate the end of production at the historic Abingdon factory,
the LE was offered as both a classic Roadster and a sleek GT coupe. Only 1,000
were made, 420 Roadsters and 580 GTs, making them highly sought-after by
collectors today.
Visually, the LE stood out from
standard late-model MGBs with various unique styling cues. The Roadsters were
finished in striking Metallic Bronze, complemented by gold ‘LE’ side stripes,
while the GT models were painted in Pewter Metallic paired with silver stripes
with a choice of either traditional wire wheels or more modern GKN alloy wheels.
Both variants featured a front spoiler to give the aging design a slightly more
contemporary edge.
The interior of the Roadster
had orange and brown striped cloth trim while the GT had silver grey trim.
Mechanically, the LE retained the tried-and-trusted 1.8 B-Series engine paired
with an overdrive gearbox as standard. The Roadster cost £6,445 and the GT
£6,937.
As the Heritage Certificate confirms,
this LE Roadster left the Abingdon works on 28th November 1980 fitted
with wire wheels and was destined for MG dealership Charles Clark Ltd of
Wolverhampton. It must have sat around in the showroom for quite a while because
it wasn’t actually registered until March 1983 when it was acquired by our
vendor and she has kept it ever since.
It has
covered 50,210 miles and comes with a large file of bills to show regular upkeep
during her 43-year ownership. It never seems to have needed much other than
routine service items, the vast majority of the work always being carried out by
Castle Garage of Ludlow and from 2000 onwards by CE Smith & Son of Ludlow.
Work of note includes front suspension rebuilt
in 1993 with uprated V8 wishbone bushes and waxoil treatment to sill cavities
and rear wheel arches; a new hood in 1994; waxoil treatment underneath in 2000;
a new clutch kit in 2002 at 47,065 miles; new black leather seat covers and a
JVC CD/radio in c.2004, the bodywork receiving some localised repairs at the
same time; electronic ignition fitted in 2021. Most recently, a new Bosch
battery was fitted in April this year.
A roll bar
has also been fitted at some point and the car comes with a tonneau cover, hood
bag and a Haynes workshop manual.
The MOT history
online shows that it was tested every year from 2006 – 2020, always passing with
no advisories and rarely covering more than 100 miles each year. Classed as a
Historic Vehicle on the V5C, it is now MOT-exempt and free to tax.
We
are told that it has only ever been driven in the summer months and has always
been kept garaged when not in use. Driven to the sale
from Ludlow, it has been starting promptly and running well as we have moved it
around on site, with healthy 60psi oil pressure.
As you can see in the photos, this low-mileage, one-owner Limited
Edition MGB looks to be reassuringly solid, the only real defects we noted being
some corrosion to the wire wheels and some deterioration of the paint finish on
the bonnet, the tops of the front wings and the boot lid.
On offer here at a sensible guide price, it seems eminently usable as
it is and could be smartened up over time as desired.
Consigned by James
Dennison – 07970 309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com