MG MGC Buyer's Guide

The MGC (1967–1969) is the six-cylinder MGB: a 2.9-litre, 145hp straight six shoehorned under a bonnet with its tell-tale bulge, built for just two years and misunderstood for fifty more. Our three sold results run from £9,281 to £34,875 with the median at £11,813, which prices the standard cars surprisingly close to good four-cylinder MGBs while the competition-flavoured end goes its own way.

Know your versions

Two body styles, one short production run. The MGC Roadster and MGC GT (both 1967–1969, both 145hp) share the torsion-bar front suspension that replaced the MGB's coil setup to clear the big C-series engine. Period road tests damned the nose-heavy handling, largely because press cars ran incorrect tyre pressures, and the reputation stuck; a properly set-up MGC is a relaxed, long-legged tourer rather than a flawed sports car. The halo is the Sebring-style GTS: MG built a handful of lightweight racers, and re-creations trade on that image, as our £34,875 result for a 1968 GTS re-creation shows. Automatics exist and sit at the bottom of the market: our £11,813 result was one.

What to pay

Three sales: £9,281 for a 1968 GT, £11,813 for a 1968 automatic, £34,875 for the GTS re-creation, median £11,813. An active car estimated at £10,000 to £14,000 sits squarely in the same band. So: standard MGCs, GT or roadster, at £9,281 to £14,000 on our evidence, with competition-specification cars capable of £34,875. With three results we would call that a floor sketch rather than a map, but the two tiers are distinct.

What goes wrong

The bodyshell is essentially MGB, so rust hits the same places: sills (structural, and often badly repaired), floors, rear spring hangers, front wings and the battery boxes. MGC-specific checks start at the front: the torsion-bar suspension and its telescopic dampers are unique to the car, wear points are unfamiliar to MGB-only mechanics, and geometry set-up makes or ruins the drive. The seven-bearing C-series six is understressed and durable but heavy and prone to running hot in traffic; check the cooling system has been properly maintained and look for signs of head-gasket weep. Engine parts are scarcer than B-series items, though the club network covers most needs. Tyre choice and pressures transform the car, which is the cheapest fix in this guide. Verify any car sold with GTS looks or Downton-style tuning has paperwork for the work, since the premium is real.

Our view

At our £11,813 median the MGC is the thinking buyer's MGB: rarer by an order of magnitude, a better motorway car, and finally emerging from a half-century of bad press that was mostly about tyre pressures. The GT with overdrive is the pick for keeping and using; parts and club support ride on the MGB's coat-tails, which secures its future as a running classic. The £34,875 GTS end is an image purchase, and on our numbers the standard car is the value.