Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

Uh huh. Drain radiator, undo throttle cable, unclamp manifold from downpipe, remove rockers and head bolts, pull off coolant pipe - then you can lift the head, intake and exhaust manifolds and carbs out of the engine bay in one piece - swap the gasket - put the head/exhaust/carbs back in one go (need a mate to help you with this), put the rockers back on, fill up the radiator - away you go. Stupidly easy. Two hours is doing it on your own - a mate and I did mine in half an hour, although we were in a rush!

This bloke reckons he can do it in 45 minutes on his own!

Thanks to this thread I have been looking at MG-Bs all day... I briefly had one and it was lovely. Not sure if I'd prefer a Midget or a B - the B is definitely a 'proper car' and a pretty comfortable cruiser, whereas the Midget is a little fun shoebox for local country lanes. Perhaps if I want an open-topped A-road cruiser then a 70s/80s Mercedes SL would be a better choice, and not much more expensive than a B these days either.

Not one rounded nut or bolt, check the head for distortion, check the block for distortion. Possible cleaning and reseating the valves. Oil drain and refill with fresh.

Or is this like changing a beetle engine?

Every head gasket replacement I've done has always been work but then I choose not to replace gaskets as a service item, Payen gaskets for the A series are the best.