MGB Chrome vs Rubber Bumper - RUINED Classic Or Aging Gracefully? (1962 Mk1/1977 Roadster)

RB’s any day. Five bearings are better than three. 😂

good review

I have a 77 rubber bumper and I’m in the process of converting to chrome bumpers. The rubber is so ugly, can’t stand seeing it. I live in Los Angeles and I get weird as looks driving around 😅. They just don’t know style, if it isn’t a Tesla you’re not cool.

I don’t like the interior on the rubber bumper ones

The interior on my unrestored 77 certainly does not look like that, but I DO have a stereo. Think I'll get her lowered though.

Ruined classic! Rubber baby buggy bumpers.

Had a 1980 rubber bumpered MGB and drove awful, steering was all over the place. Preferred my TR7 Drophead that i part exchanged it for. I lived in Abingdon most of my life and the car was sodding awful.

I have a 1975 BGT Jubilee, rubber bumpers with no anti roll bar. I have had the car 26 years and in that time I have experienced body roll once, when I took evasive action when someone pulled out of a side road without looking. Rubber bumpers are effect.A few weeks after buying my B I was hit from behind by a Caterham 7 as I was about to turn left. No damage to me, his front was all staved in. My car is still nippy and sporty on B roads to give you a good driving experience. Yes chrome bumpers look nice, but in my experience the effect of rubber bumpers is perhaps a little overstated. Most of my friends who have a B have a rubber bumper model and have left them on.

Great video! We'll be featuring this one in our upcoming episode - 10 great MGB videos!

They're both great cars in their own right, with the early MGB having the style and the later MGB having the safety features. BMC definitely made a great little car, even though Leyland took over and destroyed MG's upholding reputation. I own a 66 MGB and it's never given up on me ever since I bought it. They're fast, reliable, and very predictable in the handling. Even features such as a heater, radio, and wind-up windows are something unique in the roadster versions of the car.

Chrome bumper and worth more.

have a 77. lowered to pre rb height, twin su carbs, but won't convert to chrome, looks just fine with lower spoiler, but also should mention the conversion kit is far from bolt on, definite body work for signal placement and frame needs to be welded to actually create correct mounting points. so don't think its just buy a kit and swap bumpers

A look at any European sports cars in the early 60's and they had roughly the same or less horse power thane the MGB. Porsche 356 had less but it was a slightly lighter car. In the small, light
sports car market the MGB was on par then.

One last thing. I own a 1977 MGB an have since 1989. I love the car. The ride height needed to be raised due to the 5mph crash bumper and to bring the headlights higher. today with the damn SUV's the raised headlights are a lost cause.

A beuty

I would take home a 1978 rubber bumper vermillion roadster. In fact I did 30 years ago.😅

Was you both holding hands on that test drive ??

I own A 79 MGB. I can do oil changes without jacking up the car the higher height give me enough space to reach the drain plug and get A oil drain container under it.

How did Triumph get away with the black twin bumper guards over chrome bumpers ??

I own a Black 1980 LE with a twin carb conversion which made the world of difference in the proformance.

I just got a 1979 MGB and I love it! I guess I’m team rubber bumpers.

This is the best classic money can buy. I have been driving my rubber nose daily for 22 years, never gets bored. Most importantly it can keep up with traffic give you what cars in the sixties are like and plenty of spares to keep them going. I have been through plenty of other classics and they are either too difficult to live with or problems with spares and expensive ot maintain. The sound it makes is additive some others cars with good sounding exhaust are Porsche 911, The chrome bumpers with wire wheels lokes very good on the move especially with wheels spinning. The rubber nose with rostyles on the move actually is not bad at all. My experience males tend to opt for chrome bumpers but the opposite sex seem to find the rubber nose as good looking. anyhow I sold my other more expensive classic and kept this MGB roadster enjoying every minute and will carry on until I cannot drive anymore cheers!

Traduire en Francais.Mercie 😊

I had a ‘76 tomato red MG with wire wheels and a moto-lite steering wheel. Favorite car ever. Only ran about half the time . Loved her even when she didn’t run.

I have a 1978 MGB roadster, Iv'e thrown the rubber bumpers away as they are heavy and ugly, fitting chrome bumper kit and lowered it back to the pre-rubber bumper height. The big change is I'm making is fitting a 3.5 Rover V8, with more than double the BHP.

Love the reviews guys, but jeez you talk way too fast, and over each other. Had to watch at x 0.75 speed. Oh and a black coupe rubber bumper for me

Way back when... Mazda engineers went through something like 130 different exhaust systems to get to the original MX-5 sound that was to mimic the MGB. I worked at a BL store during the late '70's to early '80's and drove hundreds of Austin's, Triumph's, Jag's and MG's. The best ones over this jump I had on my test-drive area was the MGB and the worst was the Marina. The Marinas would just crash into the ground smashing the undercarriage, the B's would land on all 4 with a slight bounce and get on with it. Of all the cars I drove during my time there my favourites were the TR6 and TR8 and the XJ12L. Never liked the XJS and never got to play with any E-types. We did have SAAB's and Subbies (t'was a BL, SAAB, Scoobie store) and the 99Turbo was a f'n blast (and dang fast too!)

I recently (10/2024) purchased a brown & tan 1978 MGB from the original family with 16,500 miles on it (basically a new 46 year old car). It's wonderful. I've owned a 1964 Corvette and a 1971 VW Karmann Ghia and the MGB is as much fun.

I bought a brand new 1969, the last year for the classic chrome bumper. In 1970 BLM implored the black-out recessed bumper. Then in 72 the God-awful rubber baby bumpers, worse they raised the suspension to meet the ride heights of other 5=mile an hour wort bumpers.
They ruined the classic look in the 70's.

You can buy a kit to convert from rubber to chrome bumpers, but not a kit to go from chrome to rubber bumpers, I wonder why...And just lock at the huge distance between the ftont tire and the wheel arch on the red car due to US regulations, looks really bad.

The chrome bumpers whete NOT banned for pedestrian safety but for new regulations that the car should be alble to handle a crash up to 5 m.p.h without beeing damaged.

Had them all, a nicely sorted soft nose as we called them at BL, is a far nicer car to drive, and I prefer the looks too.

Just a personal thing . When they changed the bumpers in 1970s for the safety regulations of the USA . It spoiled the look of the car . Carnt speak for anyone else ? Uk citizen .

I had a 77 and is was a good driver. My only issue was starting in the cold morning or in a really heavy rain. Had to park where it was warm or forget starting it on cold mornings. Heavy rain would bring misfires. I had no complaints about handling or comfort

My rubber bumper is the BEST... I love this Car!

Chrome bumper snobs always running their mouth. I love my RB car. And, in case no one has noticed, an MGB of any kind is pretty rare on the road these days.

When they went to the rubber bumper,that ruined it.I had a 72,the last year of the chrome.Great little car!

Raising it up was worse than the rubber bumpers!

I liked the mid 60's MGB all right. I had several. I also had a Sunbeam Alpine and found it much better built but a tiny bit slower. Neither marque were burners though. The Sunbeam was just put together better. Or maybe it was just my experience.

Definitely ruined. It can’t be adequately “converted” either, because the extra weight goes right through the car.
Awful awful

Oddly enough, I bought BLF (the rubber bumper on the video) and it’s a fine car for littering around and going to the pub 😎. Chrome is nice, but I wanted a rubber bumper as it’s the style of MGB that was around in my mid / late teens.

I think the chrome bumper versions look far more aesthetically pleasing. I find the add-on rubber bumpers, and the hideous Rostyle wheels, to be cheap-looking and visually disruptive on such a clean looking car.

I'll take the old one, thanks.

If you were a driver when MGB was new you would better understand why the rubber bumper model should never have existed. Already by that time the MGB was a relic compared to the opposition. It was noisy, uncomfortable and simply old.

I love my 77 rubber bumper mgb

Very cool video! 1976 baby!!!

I had a 76 MGB and I hit a 70 Pontiac Firebird head on that was parked, that MG knocked that Firebird over the sidewalk pushed the radiator into the fan, bent the front fender into the tire, and the only thing that happened to the MG was a chunk rubber was taken out of the front bumper and a broken headlight I was impressed. It was a fun car drive when it ran.

Timeless beauty that still looks great today.

Say what you like but the "rubber bumper" ruined the looks of this classic car.

Rubber bumpers just destroyed the look of any car , it took me over 30 years to get a vehicle with chrome bumpers again, my Dodge Ram Big Horn , with front and rear chrome bumpers again! LOL my first car was a 1961 MGA mark 1 had the car in 1966 , it was amazing!

Today I learned the reason for pop-up headlights on cars of that era! Great video, as ever, keep 'em coming.