Thanks for the thoughts, guys.
Neither of you are in California, are you? Just throwing up a Hail Mary because there are some issues with getting the post-74 cars smogged. I gather you're not supposed to have any engine mods at all, but the technicians who do the inspections don't really know what's stock on these cars, and you can always tinker as needed to pass smog. I don't know if it's worth it to pay more for a good pre-74 example. It sounds like a pain in the ass; but people seem to get by OK, and it sounds like the power is never going to be more than arguably-acceptable anyway.
I've never driven one of these before so the test drives were interesting (and FUN, even going 20 mph in a residential neighborhood)! It reminds me of my dad's old boat. Sometimes 30 mph feels like warp speed.
On to some specific points I wanted to discuss a bit more... sorry for the long post, I have so many questions and so few informed people to discuss them with...
Re: straight body being more important than mechanicals. I'm glad you said that. For me, it's a strange adjustment looking at used cars and trying to focus more on cosmetic stuff. I always look at the engine and transmission above anything else and it feels odd to dismiss a rough idle but care about whether there are any rust spots. But from everything I've heard that's 100% right, so it's good to have confirmation.
Re: MGB vs. Spitfire. I kind of liked the Spit better, but I gather the engines are thought of as less reliable. Any idea exactly how big the difference is? Personal experiences, etc? I'd have hoped the hood would make the Spitfires a bit easier to work on, but perhaps not?
Re: overdrive -- is this pretty much a must-have for me if I plan to drive it on Southern California freeways at all? I didn't get up to highway speeds on the test drives. I liked the first MGB I saw but it was $5900, a little rough around the edges (missing stereo, no connection point for the driver's seatbelt, engine shaking at idle and died during test drive, but otherwise solid and a mechanic's daily driver) and didn't have OD. I don't want my freeway experience to be limited to going 55 MPH at 4500 RPM (exaggerating a little for effect--it's not really that bad--is it?) so it kind of sounds like a must have. Would it be worth it for a good example without OD?
Also, if I get the car in good working order is it reasonable to expect to be able to autocross it semi-regularly? Or is that going to be too much additional strain on an antique car.
I guess that's all that comes to mind right now. I keep going back and forth. I guess the $5900 MG with no OD and some missing parts has to be a no-go, eh? Will just have to get a mechanic's opinion and see what they think, I guess. Overall what do you guys think is a reasonable price for a say mid-70s MGB or Spitfire in reasonably good condition?
Would you rather have a car that's mostly original and hasn't been driven much, or a car that a mechanic has restored himself? Is it important that the car be a previous daily driver? (Some say it's better to buy a car that has been daily driven on the theory that the last owner probably worked out most of the kinks. Again I keep going back and forth on that.)
Thanks to both of you! I'm sure I'll have more burning questions after checking out the cheaper MGB in Oxnard today.