Tech Tips
A collection of some of our own member technical tips as well as links to others we have accumulated over time. These links are listed in alphabetical order. Please click on a letter below to jump to that section of the list or take a leisurely scroll through the listings. Also the club did some video tech sessions during covid. They are at the bottom of the page and you can click here to jump to them.
Our own member, Simon Dix, has been working on a dedicated website for all things MG. Check out his site at https://mg-stuff.stlbrits.com or jump straight to his knowledge base section at https://mg-stuff.stlbrits.com/knowledge-base/
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Welcome to our Tech Tips section. Here we have tips for maintaining your MG listed by category and by model. The general tips are those that cover any model MG. Please note: Some of these techniques offered here are rather drastic and are undertaken at your own risk. The Chicagoland MG Club cannot accept any responsibility for injury, loss, or damage incurred by any of these methods.
Classic Car Hub Articles & How Tos
Some Useful articles with pictures covering such things as (1) Restoring Old Paintwork (2) Spark Plugs (a chart to help diagnose engine related problems) (3) Setting up and tuning SU Carburettors (4) Tuning and fault finding using a vacuum gauge (5) Waking the dead
Check it out if you’re looking for some advice – the above is just a sample!
Color Wiring Diagrams – Advance Auto Wire
Perhaps none of our products are what you need. Maybe you want to keep your Little British Car stock, and just want to repair what you have. In that case, you might want a wiring diagram for your car that you can actually read! To help you, we have redrawn as many of the wiring diagrams as we could find. To make them more readable, not only have we re-arranged them, we have also drawn them in color, with each wire printed in its correct color code.
Degreeing a Cam The Easy Way – Documented Procedure by Crane Camshafts
Talk to any cam grinder, engine builder, or racer and you’ll find overwhelming agreement that “degreeing-in” a camshaft is a vital step along the route to optimum engine performance. At first that may seem strange because “degreeing-in” a cam pertains to checking the accuracy with which it was manufactured.
Actually, by degreeing-in a camshaft, you’re insuring that valve opening and closing events are in accordance with specifications, regardless of the cause. Actual valve opening and closing events are influenced not only by accuracy with which a cam was ground, but also timing chain stretch, keyway position in the crankshaft, crank timing sprocket, and dowel pin hole position in the cam sprocket also play a major role.
Griot’s Garage car care tips
How to read a vacuum gauge with nice animated examples.
Improving the Drivability of the Overdrive Equipped MGB – MG Club of St. Louis Tech Tip
I wanted to increase the “drivability” of the car by having the overdrive drop out at stop signs. The solution I arrived at is a device called “toggle flip-flop”. I tried to keep it as simple and reliable as possible, so it is implemented with four relays and a resistor (resistor value is approximately twice the relay coil resistance). I used relays from a Dodge Stratus because of their relatively small size, but almost any single-pole double throw (SPDT) relay can be used.
John Twist / University Motors MG Tutorials
John’s sharing his tips as videos on YouTube – some interesting stuff. Check it out if you’re a visual learner or if the books just aren’t making any sense
Meguiar’s Complete Video Guide
Meguiar’s Complete Video Guide Hot Product Videos, Detailing Tips and TV Commercials. You can find a complete listing of all the Meguiar’s Car Care videos including exclusive detailing secrets, car care demonstrations, product videos and more!
MG Experience Forums and Help Site
The #1 MG resource on the Internet! Not only do we have pages and pages of technical information on everyone’s favourite LBC, but also one of the best online communities you’ll find anywhere.
MGB Roadster – How to Install Your Interior
A nice guide written by the friendly folks at Victoria British to help with installation of a new interior in an MGB roadster. See the Parts & Service links for a link to their web site or http://www.victoriabritish.com
Mothers brand of car care products own guide to car detailing
North American MGA Register – Tech Tips
MGA! Tech Session Reprints Now Available
Very helpful guides: (1) A picture guide to building an Octarine engine (2) MGB 1800 Engine building guide (3) MGB 4 sychro overdrive gearbox servicing guide
Overdrive Gearboxes (Transmissions)
An article by Tom Sotomayor. This article is not intended as a “how to” installation guide, but rather to assist in selecting the correct model overdrive transmission (or OD for short) for any given year MGB. Selecting the proper one from the start will likely be the most cost-effective choice in the long run!
Repairing the MGB Rubber Bumpers – St. Louis MG Club Tech Tip
Repairing the MGB Rubber Bumpers By John “The MG Doc” Mangles, owner – All British Car Repair
As a professional restorer, I’ve been asked many times how to repair / refinish the rubber bumpers of the MGB. After years of use, many bumpers have nicks and scratches as well as a weathered look due to sun bleaching. In this article, I’ll try to explain how to properly refresh their appearance.
Replacing the Fuel Tank Sending Unit – MG Club of St. Louis Tech Tip
Getting my 72 MGB operational again I have had the opportunity to tackle several jobs I have never thought of before, or that I have any experience in tackling. The fuel tank sending unit was one such job and so I thought I’d share my findings on how to fix this. No big secret for many perhaps, but, if you’ve never had to deal with this, it’s not nearly as bad as I (or you) might have thought. This took about 30 mins for me including taking a few pictures at each step.
SU Variable Choke Carburettors Explained
The S.U. carburettor is one of the simplest carburettors ever invented! Unfortunately, following discussions with many people, the operational principles of this carburettor appear to be poorly understood. SU carburetors have a minimal number of moving parts and are easy to tune, providing of course you understand the operational principles! It is the intention of this article to help clarify those principles in the hopes that many owners will be able to tune and maintain their SU carburtetors aided by better knowledge and less blind experimentation.
Voltage Stabilizer Replacement
Replace Your MGB’s Thermal Voltage Stabilizer with a Solid State Regulator Inside the Lucas Case
When a recent Midget project ran poorly after an engine rebuild due to an over rich mixture, I decided it was finally time to find out what makes the water choke mechanism so mysterious and widely despised by many owners of later model MGs. I scoured the MG archives (http://www.mgcars.org.uk), got my manuals together and ripped into it. After studying for a short time, I thought some pictures would help and grabbed my digital camera.
MG Club of St. Louis Video Tech Sessions
Well everyone learned new skills and technologies during Covid. Here’s the 2021 video tech sessions that were created.