MGB GT

[soe8m]

Who does have MGB GT in the family or laying around in the garden and can measure some sizes. The width of the tail gate and the widht and hight of the rearscreen I would like to know. There's a strong need in converting one of my Allegro's to an hatchback as an exercise for the Dolomite estate later this century.

Jeroen

[Bumpa]

I have a 1969 BGT in my garage. I can measure it tomorrow.

[soe8m]

That would be great. There are two tailgates for sale in NL but the seller can't or will not measure. The reply on my question what is the size was "the same size as all MGB GT's and it will fit yours..."

Jeroen

[Carledo]

That would be great. There are two tailgates for sale in NL but the seller can't or will not measure. The reply on my question what is the size was "the same size as all MGB GT's and it will fit yours..."

Jeroen

Some people have no imagination! I get the same thing from brake caliper suppliers when ordering calipers for Trackerjack conversions!

Me :- will these calipers fit a 240mm disc? Them:- we don't know, they are for Ford KA!, Me:- but Ford KA come with 3 different size discs and a choice of vented or solid, I want calipers for a 240mm vented disc, are these those ones? Them:- sorry we don't know!

No sale then!

Steve

PS, you'd better get moving if you want the first Dolomite estate, I'm already on the track of the 2 door roof I need and expect to start on my 2 door Toledo shooting brake in the autumn!

[soe8m]

PS, you'd better get moving if you want the first Dolomite estate, I'm already on the track of the 2 door roof I need and expect to start on my 2 door Toledo shooting brake in the autumn!

Yes we tell eachother that for over 10 years now I believe but our concepts are different. You are planning to have a long window two door iirc and I will create a 5 door version.

Jeroen

[Bumpa]

Here we go Jeroen. The BGT tailgate is 1100 mm at the widest part. For the glass I measured what I think is the actually size of the glass, including the small amount under the rubber seal. The maximum sizes are height 600 mm and width 930 mm.

Hope that helps.

Mike

[soe8m]

Hello, thank you that helps. I will measure exact today but it seems that is would fit. The allegro screen was around 55 high but for a hatchbak the screen can be higher in total more towards the rearbumper.

The width should be max 120 to fit the existing hole. First a cardboard dummy I can make now with your measured sizes to see if it fits.

Jeroen

[Carledo]

PS, you'd better get moving if you want the first Dolomite estate, I'm already on the track of the 2 door roof I need and expect to start on my 2 door Toledo shooting brake in the autumn!

Yes we tell eachother that for over 10 years now I believe but our concepts are different. You are planning to have a long window two door iirc and I will create a 5 door version.

Jeroen

I Still reckon my job will be easier and more successful than yours when finished! Doing it with a 2 door means I get a useful tailgate that reaches down to the bumper and my roof extension is a mere 435mm. Using another 2 door roof will give me the side window framing and the inner rear side panel stiffening to give strength and finish to the job. 1 thing I WOULD like to find though, is an early Dolomite roof stiffener, (819153) the one that holds the interior light on early cars. i reckon that will help if I put it across the join in the 2 roofs (i'm only planning a single join) both to keep the alignment and as reinforcement. I'm thinking of using a Herald estate tailgate frame and the top half of it's tailgate, glued to the bottom section of the Toledo's boot. I've been doing a lot of measuring lately and i'm sure I can make it work!

I reckon a 5 door on a longtail shell is gonna be a lot more work to make the roofline look right and end up with a tailgate like a letterbox. But you might surprise me! What I DO want to avoid is the clumsy pooping dog stance of the prototype 1300FWD estate that was built in the 60s On the basis of the couple of pix i've seen of it, i'm not surprised it never made production!

My deadline for getting the Dolomega on the road is this year's TDCIR, Sept 9th (whether or not it actually happens with Covid around) I'll then be free to take the Carledo off the road for a bit of much needed TLC, it's been a daily for nearly 9 years and it shows! So I plan to do the estate convo as part of that mini resto. I might even go for a more adventurous colour this time! And maybe a Vinyl roof to hide my sins!

Steve

[soe8m]

More details:

The longer shell gives a more "estate" than the shorter shell. The rear will be like the Toledo boot, like the mk2 2500 estate has upright lights too instead of the horizontal ones. The roof section will not go downwards like the dollies have. I was planning to modify the rear door window frame to have a "square" window to keep the roofline horizontal. The roofpanel will be custom made but will still follow the original roof swage lines. As it will be a sprint estate some minor flaws will be coverered by the vinyl. The tail will be a full tail what opens from the bumper till the roof.

You can follow the building thread of this car in the restoration section from june 8 2026.

Jeroen

[Carledo]

More details:

The longer shell gives a more "estate" than the shorter shell. The rear will be like the Toledo boot, like the mk2 2500 estate has upright lights too instead of the horizontal ones. The roof section will not go downwards like the dollies have. I was planning to modify the rear door window frame to have a "square" window to keep the roofline horizontal. The roofpanel will be custom made but will still follow the original roof swage lines. As it will be a sprint estate some minor flaws will be coverered by the vinyl. The tail will be a full tail what opens from the bumper till the roof.

You can follow the building thread of this car in the restoration section from june 8 2026.

Jeroen

Yeah! I reckon i'll be cheating and fitting a vinyl roof too! Are you going for opening rear door quarter windows too?

Steve

[sprint95m]

1 thing I WOULD like to find though, is an early Dolomite roof stiffener, (819153) the one that holds the interior light on early cars. i reckon that will help if I put it across the join in the 2 roofs (i'm only planning a single join) both to keep the alignment and as reinforcement.

Another, much more common, source of the roof stiffener is a T2000 saloon?


How about a Dolomite three door estate?
However I guess that has kind of been done by folk making Vitesse estates?



Ian.