1963 MGB - Features of an early MGB

Grille Badge

Early MGB’s had 2 different types of grille badges.  The very early cars had a badge with a reflective red wavy line background surrounding the “MG” letters, similar to the horn push on the steering wheel.  Due to safety concerns, the reflective red backing was discontinued soon after production started, and replaced with a non-reflective red material, although the wavy lines still continued.

The 2 types of early grille badges have been reproduced by Kip Motors in Texas, USA.

Side light lens.

Very early MGBs had unique front side light lenses in that the flutes on the lens were horizontal, matching the horizontal flutes on the signal light lens.

Kip Motors have started to reproduce the early lens with hortizontal flutes

Front Grille

The thirty-seven vertical slats on an early MGB front grille are all individually riveted to a frame, as can be seen in the picture.   The later slat assembly consists of a single stamped piece of stainless steel.

These early grilles are not available anymore, but do occasionally appear on auction websites.

Windscreen

The windscreen pillars have a “stepped” overlap where they meet the top rail.

Rear bumper Filler plates

Early MGB rear bumper filler plates were colour coded.  Later filler plates are polished metal.  Original filler plates were mounted using 4 screws, while later ones had 3.

The filler plates are necessary because the original rear bumper on the MGB was designed in 3 separate sections to allow it to fit snuggly around the rear of the car.  However, the supplier of the rear bumper managed to find a way to manufacture the complicated shape as one unit, which represented a cost saving.  But the new single unit bumper left a gap, which the filler plates now fill.

Under Front wing splash plate Seals

The spalsh plates seals on early MGB's are mounted with copper bifurcated (split) rivets with copper washers on the rear.