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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - 1275 drain plug washer

Anyone know the size of the 1275 oil pan drain plug washer. I hate to order just a washer so I am looking for recommendation for a good replacement from a hardware store. Is the orig one copper?

On another note I just completed installing a really good used wiring harness in my midget restoration project and everything seems to be working great. However I have a battery that I bought new several years ago and it charges ok but does not seem to have enough power to start the engine. If I take my battery out of my truck it starts fine. I guess I need to "buck up" and buy a new battery.

I have been doing the restore for several years now and I am so close to the first test drive I can hardly stand it.

I have gotten so much great advice on this site during the process I would just like to say thanks to all of you out there that take time to answer questions in this forum.

Ken Bargeron

To the best of my knowledge, the original washer is in fact copper
B P Beech

Ken,
Loosen the plug and use a caliper to measure it. Or cut your own from a plastic milk jug next time you change your oil and/or run down to the hardware store with the plug in your hand. Or else buy a magnetic plug for it which will come with a nice new nylon washer.

As far as your battery is concerned, what voltage does it show when you have finished charging it? How much after you have tried to crank the engine? If it drops from about 13 to about 10.5, you probably have a bad cell. Once the engine is running, you should be seeing about 14.5V at the battery. As you now know, a new battery should be one of the last purchases of your restorationn process ;-)
David "all charged up" Lieb
David Lieb

if i ever get stuck mid job without the right copper washer, I usually heat the old one up with a blow torch and then quench it. Dont know why this makes them re-sealable (is it annealing???) but it works. However, I proabably wouldn't risk it on important pressure lines like the oil feed to filter head pipe, but on a sump plug its fine.
Nick

Yes it is annealing and it is what I have always done.
Bob (robert) Midget Turbo

BTW, Ken, I happened across my original drain plug from my 72 whilst looking for the key to my snowthrower, so I measured it. The inner circle of the copper washer is 1/2" and the outer diameter is 5/8". Not very wide at all. Of course, as long as the inner diameter is correct, the outer diameter should not matter too much...
David "never did find the key" Lieb
David Lieb

just take the plug down to NAPA and ask for a new copper washer, they have a large selection to choose from.
Stefan

The original washer was folded from very thin copper and compresses when fitted. I guess it should be only be used once, but I have seen them so squashed that they must have been used over and over again.
Dave O'Neill 2

Dave,
Are you telling me that you were supposed to replace the copper washer every time you changed your oil???
David "seems a bit excessive" Lieb
David Lieb

Dave I know the type of washer you mean but I think that type is a modern design, I may be wrong but I thought the original was a plain flat copper.
Bob (robert) Midget Turbo

This thread was discussed between 21/03/2008 and 22/03/2008

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG Midget and Sprite Technical BBS is active now.