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MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Set Ignition timing

I have always set distibutor and timing to static setting with the engine out of the car.How do I set in the car when carnt see markings on front pulley with a timing light or am I missing somthing
Noel Copping

You're not missing anything. Whoever designed that setup missed
something. What I did was make my own timing marks when the engine was out of the car. I lined up the marks at the bottom of the timing chain cover and then I attached a corresponding plate where I could see it and painted a new mark on the pulley. You can also get a timing chain cover off of a mini but I'm cheap so I used a piece of aluminium that I had lieing about.
Martin Washington

The problem with the mini timing cover is it dosnt have the oil seperator can. ... but thats a small remedie

I think your mini spares in the uk has a timing kit thwt makes the transition here is the usa a company called distrubuter doctor ? Out of minnisota has a nice little kit for around $25

Another option i went with in addition to the distrubuter doc kit is an adjustable timming advanced gun ...its a gun you can actually advance or retard the strobe timing light to match the timming your wanting... to make it really awsome inhot wired in a small aftermarket tachometer so i can see the strobe hitting its marks and the engine rpm at the same time....

but you want to make sure your ATDC by actually finding the top of the stroke and dont rely on the markings incase you have timming chain wear

But yeah... jacking the front end up firing the car up then sliding under nieth from the front of the car... eyeballs only millmeters from spinning engine parts just to read the marks then get out from under to move the dissy a fraction of an inch ect ect .... is more of an amusment ride i care to try more then once in my life time. Esp if karma is hunting you down for some bad past deed.
prop

It's difficult, but can be done - there is a narrow sightline to be able to see the timing mark.
Yes, definitely better to put a top mark on if you get the chance, even one that's just painted on the cover will work if you are consistent with the viewing angle.

Static setting was fine when everything was new and performing to spec, problem is that most distributor advance mechanisms are a bit tired and advance at a different rate and/or a different amount from original. So if you set it at static you have the timing right at that point, but likely out everywhere else. Similarly if you set it at idle, it will be right there but probably not elsewhere. For this reason many prefer to set the advance at higher speeds.

Early MGBs have this problem in a major way - it is not uncommon for most of the advance to be used up at idle leaving the car about 10 deg or more retarded from 1500 RPM upwards if timing is set at idle, or pinking its head off if set static. Either way has a big effect on engine performance or life - or both.

Though midgets don't suffer from this to the same extent, it's still enough to notice a marked improvement when it's corrected.

My page http://www.mgparts.co.nz/advice/technical-notes/distributor-advance-rate-adjustments-compensating-for-high-mileage-wear/ desribes this more fully and has simple remedial actions.
Paul Walbran

Hi Paul,


Can I ask why you think the "early MGB" suffered more timing problems due to wear than spridgets, surely they both used a generic 25D Lucas dizzy like most british cars of the 60's did?
SR Smith 1

It's just something I have observed over the years. Here's what I think the explanation is:

The early B had a very weak primary advance spring that results in the secondary spring just taking up at idle. As a result the secondary spring is chattering on its post at idle resulting in a higher wear rate. If such a car spends a lot of time at idle (in urban traffic as a daily driver like they tended to be when younger) then the conditions which create the wear are more frequent compared with one which takes up at a speed that is not held constant that often. (Perhaps if a secondary spring took up at 3500 RPM then the same effet would happen when motorway driving, but most kick in at lower speeds than that.)

This is not to say that other distributors don't have the same problem, just not as much wear (on average).
Paul Walbran

Paul
I agree with that-
and also have struck in B's but not so much in Midgets
the primary spring rusting and getting fragile and not returning or even breaking, resulting in the timing taking a big jump upwards on startup

willy
William Revit

This thread was discussed between 18/06/2016 and 19/06/2016

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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