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MG MGA - Ignition Points - Rookie Question


I have never touched a distributor in my life so forgive my ignorance.

Should I remove the distributor before attempting to service the points? It's god awful tight in there to work plus I can just imagine everything falling to the garage floor as soon as I loosen the first nut.

If it is recommended to remove it, should I remove the entire clamping plate or just loosen the bolt and leave the plate attached to the engine? It looks very difficult to get to the two bolts attaching the plate.

Thanks
Jeff Bennett

Jeff, to replace and/or adjust the points I have always found it easier to remove the distributor. This is really not a difficult exercise. To remove I undo the 2 bolts and withdraw the distributor and clamping plate. As you say it is tight and fiddly but certainly not that difficult with a little patience. I find its best to takeout the engine dipstick and use a small ring spanner.

Hope this helps

Steven

S HILL

Jeff You will find removing the distributor much easier if you bend some 7/16 spanners at various angles to suit.Same goes for the air cleaners and carbies.There are plenty of cheap spanners available that will do the job and it is well worth the effort.Have fun Jim.
jim mckenzie

Yes - definitely take it off the car. If you slacken the pinch bolt to remove it, make sure you mark the position of the dizzy before you do ( I use a blob of tippex)or you will have to redo the timing - which you will probably be doing anyway. Taking out the whole clamping plate keeps the timing but requires a bit more patience to undo the bolts.
Cam Cunningham

I've never removed the distributor to adjust the points on any car. The service manual says that you do it in place.I would expect that there's plenty of scope for upsetting the timing doing this.

It's quite easy to find the maximum opening either getting an assistant to turn the engine over with the crank, or you can do it yourself by turning the fan at the front of the engine.

Of course make sure that the ignition is off when doing this.
Dan Smithers

I would remove the distributor and install a pertronix in it. Set the timing once and you are done messing around with points forever.


Ed Bell

I've used both methods and they are merits to both. I caution that replacing or adjusting points using either method without resetting the timing is a sure way to have the timing off. Best to plan on setting the timing after fiddling with the points. If you use the factory method (static timing) then it would add maybe one more minute to the job. For a beginner, maybe five minutes.

Chuck
C Schaefer

It's much easier to do accurately by taking the dizzy out. Cam uses the same trick as me with a blob of correcting fluid. Although it is theoretically possible to end up with a different timing setting that way, I have always found that if the timing was correct beforehand, it is also correct afterwards when I have used this quick and easy approach. practice confirms the practicality of the approach

Beware that the use of unleaded fuel means that the book timing settings are no longer appropriate. If you have a car that is running reasonably, then measure the current timig settings using a strobe lamp, or use a static light to mark the pulley against the the timig teeth.

Pertronix has the advantage that it never goes out of correct setting, once correctly set. It will not correct problems caused by a knackered dizzy. But if it fails, it does so with no warning, and can't be bodged to get you home. I also found that the base plate for a Pertronix needed adjustment to get the gap correct for optimal operation.


dominic clancy

In my 1600, I use a rebuilt-original distributor with stock points & condenser and a Lucas Sports coil. Car starts right off and runs like a tiger. We have drive in rain that forced "normal" cars to the side of the road.
David Werblow

"...install a PERTRONIX in it. Set the timing once and you are done messing around with points forever."

Until it fails and you have to install points to get home! ;) Sorry, had to say it. The only catastrophic ignition failure I've ever had in 20 years of MGs was with an EI unit.
Steve Simmons

...The only catastrophic ignition failure I've ever had in 20 years of MGs was with an EI unit...

Ah, but in that 20 years, how many times have you had to replace, adjust, or otherwise fiddle with points, condensor, etc?
Andy Bounsall

There is no arguing the fact that points take periodic adjusting or replacing, while electronic ignition needs no adjusting. My issue with EI however is being stranded on the side of the road with your entire ignition system inoperable, versus the points being a little out of adjustment.

There was a point in time recently when replacement condenser quality was very poor and cars were sputtering down the road without warning as the condenser began to fail, but fortunately that problem seems to have been solved.

I do use EI in one of my cars, but that's the car that was dead in the water 20 miles from home until I could order a new unit. I plan to put some spare points in the boot next time.
Steve Simmons

I'm sure the well founded arguments on both sides could run forever on this one! But, putting in my two-penneth, the attractions of consistency and no maintenance persuaded me to go Pertronix. It works wonderfully well and it has'nt broken the bank to refurbish an old spare Lucas distributor with a another Pertronix set up ready in it, which is carried in the boot. In the event of breakdown, just unplug the distributor and plug in the spare, white Tipex marks ready to give a reasonably good state of timing, and off we go! It might cost a few bob but combines the best of both worlds - better ignition and a solution for any breakdown. Surely that makes sense?
Bruce
B Mayo

The idea that anyone would carry a spare distributor or El module in the car makes it self-evident that they don't trust the El module. Aside from the cost of two El units and a spare distributor and the time required to set it all up, there's a space problem. When I'm on a long road trip I don't have space to stow a spare distributor, not even in the trailer, and I wouldn't want to haul it all over the world for the rest of my life. A spare condenser and contact points is much easier to hide away in the tool box.

My idea of reliability is how likely it is that the car will get where it's going every time without ever being stranded. If you ever get stuffed on the side of the road with a EL module failure, one awsh*t wipes out all attaboys. To that end, I wouldn't trust an El module as far as I could throw it. If I had one installed I would be carrying a spare condenser and points anyway.

If you do your periodic maintenance properly, the tiny bit of time spent checking or adjusting points may be done in the convenience of your home garage during the annual spring tune up, and it rarely (if ever) requires any fiddling on the road. I must admit I did stop to change or adjust contact points once on the road. That was 12,000 miles into the Alaska trip in 1997 (shortly after I paused to repack wheel bearings).
Barney Gaylord

Why carry a complete dizzy as a spare. Just take a second base plate that the points mount ontp - it's two small screws to switch them over, takes no space, and can be set up in advance and just switched over in situ.
dominic clancy

Honestly I wouldn't carry a second EI unit. I would instead carry points as spares. If an EI unit goes bad due to an electrical problem in the car, replacing it with another EI unit may result in two dead modules and no way to continue driving. Points are FAR more tolerant of voltage and current issues, and don't care about polarity. That's what I plan to do in my one car with EI, once I find the necessary parts to convert to points on the road.
Steve Simmons

I sure opened a can a worms with my rookie question.
Jeff Bennett

Jeff, You will find a wealth of knowledge and information is available to you on this forum. You will also find that there just as many opinions offered. Some people are "purists" and try to make their cars just like they were when built. (I don't know where they get the British air to inflate their bias ply tires?) Others are just trying to keep these old cars on the road any way they can. And most are somewhere in between. All have merit and value. The bottom line is that it's your car and you can do whatever you want to with it. The nice thing about this forum is that it will furnish you with lots of choices. It is up to you to sift through them and find your own comfort zone. Good luck and happy motoring.


Ed Bell

Questions are good. Even a common one can turn into a good conversation about other topics such as this one.
Steve Simmons

This thread was discussed between 11/01/2008 and 13/01/2008

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