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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - LEDs. Legal or not?

There was a thread on Facebook today about converting sealed beams to LEDs.
A number of people contributed, some suggesting just getting Quartz units and swapping the bulbs, others giving names of suppliers of bulbs.
I Checked online and it appears that it is illegal to retro fit LEDs into vehicles for which they were not designed. Plus they will not pass MOT.
I did once try them in my Sprite but they didn’t have the correct cut off line because the reflector is a different shape to quartz units and driving behind my friend he said my lights dazzled him even on dip.
Has anyone here used them with success or had any dealings with the law as a result of using them.
I must say that I did like the brightness of them.

Bernie.
b higginson

Bernie, I think it depends.
It is legal to replace bulbs with leds if they pass the MOT beam pattern test.

Extract from Classic Car leds

"The MOT rules have been clarified from 06.02.23 to allow the use of LED conversions that pass the beam pattern tests for headlights for Class 3, 4, 5 and 7 vehicles (car, private bus and light commercial vehicle) first used before 1 April 1986 and all class 1 and 2 motorcycles of any age."


https://www.classiccarleds.co.uk/products/latest-led-headlights-h4-philips-z-es-hi-lo-beam-conversion-9-32v

It would appear that the bulbs supplied by them are designed to comply with the beam test but other suppliers may not be so scrupulous.
Like you I much prefer the extra brightness of the leds.

On an unrelated topic. Can I ask how you found V&C Engineering when you had your dampers reconditioned? Would you recommend them?
Jeremy MkIII

Jeremy.
V&C did a good job on reconditioning the MGB dampers I have on the front of my Sprite. They even reduced the resistance a little to allow for the lighter weight of the Sprite. They also altered the “droop” of the arms because on the B the dampers are mounted horizontally, whereas the Sprite dampers are angled up so the B dampers had to be given a bit more droop to contact the bump stops. (You have to fit an extra stop on each side to accommodate the twin arms of the B dampers). V&C will do what ever you specify. They are in an old school house in a little village in North Wales.

With regard to bulbs, I recently bought a pair of uprated halogen bulbs from Halfords and they really are quite a bit brighter than standard Halogen ones. They have a slightly blue tinge to them.
b higginson

Thanks for the info on V&C, Bernie. I just need to get my a#se into gear, remove the dampers and take them to V&C.
I've had Classic Car led headlamps (and all other bulbs) which were significantly brighter than halogen and ensured other road users saw me.
I've replaced them with other led headlamps which have built in side and indicator led bulbs. They're used as DRLs to ensure the Midge is as visible as possible, especially to massive SUVs.
Jeremy MkIII

This thread was discussed between 12/11/2025 and 13/11/2025

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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