MGB MGB flap and air box

[Aussie Chris]

Chris,
Looking at the photos you'd posted earlier of your dash, I just noticed there's what appears to be an original 3rd/4th gear overdrive switch just right of the fuel gauge? I know yours is a later car, with the four-synchro gearbox. Does it also have the overdrive unit fitted?

If so, that's really nice to have! >jealousy icon here<

Ours here is the three-synchro box, no overdrive. The switch in the position is a headlight switch, intended for an eventual set of period Lucas "Flamethrower" lights. First position on the switch is for the fog lamp only, second position lights both pencil beam and fog. Just now I've a set of Lucas "Square-8's" mounted beneath the bumper, wiring and relays fitted.

Doc,
Yes it does have an operating overdrive it was serviced when engine was rebuilt it drops revs by about 500.
The engine was rebuilt in Jan of this year.
like the look of your b very nice got any other pics of it and your other cars ?
Chris

 

[DrEntropy]

got any other pics of it and your other cars ?

Lots of pix, many posted here on the Forum. The "traveling media" banner at the top of the Forums page has 'em "en passant" sporadically.

If you go to the "Groups" heading, in "Photography" there are more pix in my posts there.

The current MGB:

 

[Aussie Chris]

Doc,
just wondering your choice of headlight and indicator upgrade I have replaced the interior lights to led and it i much better you can actually read the gauges at night as for the external lights not sure what to do with headlights and indicator lights .
The B is nearly back together just have to put the centre console and seats back since I made the woodruff key to replace in the choke cable the car starts so much better, cold full choke starts first kick .
Regards
Chris

 

[DrEntropy]

Headlights are a "try 'em to see if I like 'em" Lucas LUB319, left-hand drive (US) 7" envelope with halogen bulbs. May see if I can find an appropriate LED to fit. If not I'll change back to a Cibie enclosure and H-4 LED substitutes. Have yet to get LED replacements for tail & front running and brake lamps. Life events interfere.

 

[drooartz]

I'm running the Cibie housing and LED bulbs on my Morris (same size headlights as the B) and intend to put a set on my B when it's back. The light is good and it looks stock.

Cibie:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008DQV88Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

bulb:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TQLK6SH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Grantura_MKI]

I have just wired an fitted LEDs to a Sunbeam Talbot. What a pain in the arse. Owner chose full LED, not just the bulb…it had feed back on the indicator circuit that wasn’t easy to trace as it acted like a bad earth.

 

[DrEntropy]

I have just wired an fitted LEDs to a Sunbeam Talbot. What a pain in the arse. Owner chose full LED, not just the bulb…it had feed back on the indicator circuit that wasn’t easy to trace as it acted like a bad earth.

Can you shunt it with diodes?

 

[Grantura_MKI]

Yes, had to send them back to the manufacturer. Also needed a 30$ flasher!

 

[JPSmit]

Yes, had to send them back to the manufacturer. Also needed a 30$ flasher!

I can't help but feel that if you google $30 flasher you will regret it.

 

[Grantura_MKI]

10$ of that was posting, JP.

 

[JPSmit]

10$ of that was posting, JP.

wasn't worrying about the price so much as speculating what the search might bring up

 

[Aussie Chris]

Doc
Just finished puttting a new soft top on all good so far but I as also was refitting refurbished dash vents when I lost power to
both heater switch and wiper switch , applied 12volts and both work I then checked 12 v was coming from the ignition which it was so somewhere between the cable from the ignition disappearing into the loom and reappearing at the switches I have lost voltage. It would be easy to just run a new lead and cable tie it to loom have you had this problem and what did you do ?

Regards
Chris

 

[DrEntropy]

According to the schematic (AdvanceAutoWire site) there's an in-line fuse between the wiper/heater switches and ignition:

 

[Aussie Chris]

Hi Doc,
I found the in-line fuse with blown 17/35 amp Lucas replaced with 20 amp , the radio has been removed so it is only the wipers and heater fan operating off this circuit I believe the cause for the blown fuse was the active lead for the radio had lost its insulation tape and shorted to frame .
Chris

 

[YakkoWarner]

Always seems like radio wiring is beyond sketchy - I just had to spend hours with my hands wedged into the dash panel of a late 80's Suburban reworking pure fire-hazard grade wiring (an always-hot lead with the correct 20A fuse, but spliced through a cut-out peice of actual 24 or 28 gauge telephone wire, with the splices at each end consisting of nothing more than twisting the wires together and putting (peeling) blue vinyl tape over it). My MGB had a lot of "questionable" wiring behind the dash - there is still some. Fortunately the dash panel is sitting on the floor outside the car and it won't be reinstalled until all the electrical weirdness has been made right. I probably won't even put a radio in there - in order to hear it while driving I'd need a rock-concert level amp and speakers wired in somewhere, so not much point.

 

[DrEntropy]

My MGB had a lot of "questionable" wiring behind the dash - there is still some. Fortunately the dash panel is sitting on the floor outside the car and it won't be reinstalled until all the electrical weirdness has been made right. I probably won't even put a radio in there - in order to hear it while driving I'd need a rock-concert level amp and speakers wired in somewhere, so not much point.

Therein lies the reason Lucas got such a foul reputation. Jackleg mechanics and DIY-ers would pigtail things together and tape 'em over, too lazy, cheap or uncaring to do it right. Once wiring (on ANY vehicle) is sorted correctly, it will just WORK.

 

[Grantura_MKI]

Back in the late nineties, I worked at a dealship that sold a lot of 308 Ferraris. Most would have battery, courtesy lite, etc issues. These where mostly due to someone fitting an alarm and splicing into any odd wire that would work.

 

[YakkoWarner]

Therein lies the reason Lucas got such a foul reputation. Jackleg mechanics and DIY-ers would pigtail things together and tape 'em over, too lazy, cheap or uncaring to do it right. Once wiring (on ANY vehicle) is sorted correctly, it will just WORK.

Normally this is true - but I have found that as vehicle age, it often becomes necessary to add additional grounding points to keep things working because corrosion gets into spaces you can't even see (everything from the MGB to Chevy/Ford and even trailers). I've added actual ground wires to each individual light fixture on the MGB, and even though the engine and transmission are still sitting on stands every light works perfectly now, as do the horns, wipers and fuel pump. I've contemplated adding a fuse to that brown wire that is always hot behind the dash, theres a lot of places for things to go wrong in there. It already has had some jacklegging corrected (where it splits out behind the dash to various components the previous owner had just twisted all 4 or 5 branches together and thrown a section of shrink wrap over the whole mess - now reworked with the proper british-style bullet connectors like the rest of the car has). Still need to finish sorting the mess in the center where the radio would be - fortunately its all easy to access right now.

 

[DrEntropy]

Gotta agree about the grounds. Added a few to MG's over time. Good work with keeping the loom to the British connectors, too.

The "plastic" (Lotus) cars have ground wires IN the looms. Very reasonable solution to my mind. With a few chassis ground points as well. Cheap redundancy.

 

[Aussie Chris]

Doc,
The wiring was a birds nest so started cleaning all connection points and sort out loom basically pretty sound a few dodgy additions have been removed or replaced.
A couple of photos of the B near completion but I would like to replace the Kangol seat belts they are the type that clip onto the back deck, do you know any place that sells them for a reasonable price ?
Regards
Chris