The MGB/GT V8 came about initially as a home-built conversion, in which Ken Costello, of Costello Motor Engineering Company Ltd. developed a conversion to fit the Buick/Rover 3.5 liter V8 in the MGB shell and preformed over 200 conversions for customers. British Leyland had earlier toyed with the idea but their engineers told them the car would have to be widened to accommodate the engine. Ken Costello, however, proved them wrong and after British Leyland got wind of the conversion from reviews in the motoring press and decided to put the car into production in 1973. Although the MGB was available as both a roadster and a GT, the factory version was only available as a GT and only in righthand drive, limiting sales essentially to the home market. Due to US emissions laws, they decided to not export the car, even though a lefthand drive version would likely have sold well in the United States. Sales in Britain weren’t fantastic and likely were hurt by the oil crisis of the 1970s as well. In the end, production ceased in 1976 with only 2591 made. As the owner of most of the major variants of the MGB (only really missing the later RV8 of the 1990s, which, until recently at least, could not be legally imported for road use in the US), the MGB/GT V8 is a significantly different beast. The lightweight Aluminum V8 doesn’t have the understeer issues created by the heavy straight 6 in the MGC and has significantly more power than the stock 4 cylinder. The huge amount of torque means that the driver has to be careful about throttle control, going into and out of corners as it can easily break the tires free if you aren’t careful. These cars were originally fitted with the stock MGB all synchro gearbox, coupled with an electric overdrive, but this example has had that gearbox replaced with a 5 speed LT77 gearbox, as found in the Triumph TR8 and other Rover applications of the engine. The interior of this car was redone with an aftermarket “rally” bucket seat and grey door panels, which are comfortable, but don’t have the advantage of being able to recline, making it a little bit more tight for a tall driver. I may revert to the original seats, which I have, but I would need to recover them. In driving, it is easy to see that this car would have done well in the US market as it is a compact rocket of a car, and if they had ever exported it as a lefthand drive, it would likely be better to drive without the handbrake lever in the same footwell next to your leg that is operating the clutch.