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MG MGA - Chinese Copy of 45D Distributer

I was over at Bob West's having my wheels balanced when James showed me brand new distributers arriving from China for the MGB. He reported, grudgingly (he is not keen on Chinese copies either), that this Lucas 45D copy is in fact an excellent bit of kit and has the best profile he has yet trialed on the 1800 engine. Cost is about 50.

I have one beside me as I type. I will fit it tomorrow and report back.

Steve


Steve Gyles

I have one Steve. It cost me £26 and mine says made in England on the side!! Bought mine from Abingdon 4 Parts
Complete with points, condensor, rotor arm and dissy cap bargain I thought
Robert (Bob) Midget Turbo

Hi Bob

No markings on this one. Like yours, all parts included - I must ask for a rebate! Does yours perform well? I am keeping fingers crossed that my Ignitor electronic ignition will transfer straight across.

Steve
Steve Gyles

I fitted it last week in fact Steve but I have leant out my adjustable timing lamp so was unable to check the advance and vacuum characteristics. That said it is set at my basic figures and I will be doing a night rally in a couple of weeks time so fingers crossed...
Robert (Bob) Midget Turbo

Hi
I have one also with all the correct markings on it also included everything including cap and rotor. Although I was under the impression it was made in India??? Got mine about 2 years ago and paid about $140 USD. I put it in my '70 MGB Gt and seemed to work very well until I tried to install a Petronix in it which had problems, not the distributor though. I do notice now that it is not holding good vacume at the capsule. Ran it for about six months or so.
Mike
MK Mike

Steve,

Any news on how well the distributor is performing?

Regards...John
J Bray

John

I am away on business for the week, had to get away from the UK weather! I will fit it next week end.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Just fitted the distributor. Stunning performance. So much more responsive and lively throughout the RPM range than the standard 45D.

Only small issue I had was transferring the Ignitor electronic ignition. The cam on the new dizzy was fractionally larger cross section by a few thou and I had to ease the inside of the rotor with a file to get it to slip over the cam.

I thoroughly recommend this distributor to anyone with the 1800 engine.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Hi Steve - for your info - a friend in our club recently fitted a new dizzy to his TD - on his first run it conked out - after a long search it turned out to be a faulty rotor arm - you just don't expect that on a new part. cheers Cam
Cam Cunningham

Thanks for the info Steve, seems about the best option available at the moment.I will be interested to see what Bob's thoughts are as well.
...JB
J Bray

John

I have been using the car today quite a bit between business sites. Performance is improved throught the operating range, and I felt the mid range acceleration (1500 - 3000RPM) particularly strong compared to the other 45D. It will be interesting to see if I get better fuel consumption, although I suspect not because I have been flooring the throttle a lot - so much fun! Never thought a dizzy change could alter the feel so much. Very, very happy.

Not sure if it is the same dizzy as others have alluded to in this thread as it has absolutely no markings and looks like a standard 45D from the outside. If anyone is interested, check with Bob West or James for more detail.

Steve
Steve Gyles

I understand that not all Chinese 45D distributors are to the same standard or necessarily from the same manufacturer. There are, for example, similar distributers advertised in Safety Fast this month that are no where near as good. I understand that the wholesale price that Bob is paying for his version is more than the retail price some of you have paid (previous posts in this thread) and also listed in the SF adverts. Before any of you commit to one of these distributors I suggest you give Bob a ring to get the low down on what's what and who stocks the better ones.

The other issue is the unknown longevity of these relatively new items. Seems I am one of the guinea pigs! All I can say at the moment is the change in performance has been amazing. If I only get 2 years out of it I will still be more than happy to spend another 50 quid for the better performance. That said, I gave it a good inspection before I fitted it and it looked a very well made bit of kit.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Hi Steve , just before I sold my white coupe I fitted a new dist. from Bob and it was very good, it cured all the pinking problems that I had been experiencing but the rotor arm that came with it failed after about 10 miles, replaced that and it was fine, when I refitted the original dist. that I had rebuilt by Holdens the car did not feel as responsive and some of the pinking returned although the car was set up again


Gordon
g c pugh

Gordon

It's strange how some people have loads of distributor problems and others do not. I have never had a rotor arm, condenser (not needed now with my electronic ignition anyway)nor a distributor cap go on me in 48 years; incorrect mechanical advance cam and worn springs maybe, but never the electrics. It must be my reiki powers.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Sorry to keep harping on, but this is a seriously good distributor.

Coming home from work in relatively open country with no pedestrians (North West England ), matched a boy racer away from the lights up to 70 in his X registered Golf GTI; I backed off as we reached the speed limit and he kept going. The pull on the engine, without thrashing the revs, was nothing short of amazing.

Never enjoyed driving old PSJ 903 so much. Transformed.

Any MGB owners and 1800 converts reading this, have a look at this distributor - and no, I am not on a commission from Bob West.

Steve

Steve Gyles

Steve,

My distributor is on order from BW and I hope to try it out this weekend.

I realize each car will be different, but I'm interested to know what timing settings you have used with the new distributor?

Rgards...John
J Bray

John

I set about 8 degrees static just to get it fired up with the electronic ignition, then set it by feel and test driving. For once, I did not use my timing light, so I cannot quote any figures. That said I may well plot the advance curve over the weekend.

The car is really going well with it. I am surprised I have not got any speeeding tickets in the past couple of weeks.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Steve, do you know who manufactures this distributor? Just wondering where it might be available on this side of the water.
Andy Bounsall

Andy

I don't. The packaging and dizzy are totally anonymous. I will ask the question of BW tomorrow.

Steve
Steve Gyles

I think you are being very unfair there Steve, you can not comment on a distributor that you have neither seen nor tried.

The distributor I bought from Abingdon is fitted and working fine. I can not claim that it is a lot better than my previous because I am not sure too much was wrong with that so if everything was OK before how can it be improved?

For the type of improvement you have got something serious must have been wrong previously. For example a distributor can not improve power above about 4Krpm as this is set by ourselves when we set the timing for this rev range at 32/34 degrees. If this is not done in this manner and we rely on setting the timing using old figures of say 8 degrees BTDC then naturally if the advance curve of the dissy does not suit that figure max power will be down.

However I am pleased you are happy with your purchase but equally the Abingdon dissy (which I personally believe is the same item) is spot on as well.
Robert (Bob) Midget Turbo

Hi Bob

Just got back from a business trip to somewhere hot (not Mexico), so apologies for the delay.

I appreciate what you are saying that I cannot comment on something I have not tried. That was why I used the words "I understand that....". Yes, a certain amount of heresay quoting a third party, but that third party was a knowledgeable MGA mechanic and has since emailed me its advance curve and those of other MGA distributors he has tested. All I was trying to do was raise awareness that there are different versions around, so take care.

Sure, I can only honestly comment on the one I now have on my car. It replaced an Aldon type 45 Lucas copy, bought new in 1997. The performance change I have noticed is all low down to mid range. i.e. idle to about 3500rpm.

Cheers

Steve
Steve Gyles

This thread was discussed between 20/03/2009 and 29/04/2009

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