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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Previous owner bodge removal - Alternator

I have finally got round to remedial work on my 71 Sprite. It’s been sitting in the garage for a while with expired cooling system. I’ve removed all the cooling system, main air intake, alternator, water pump etc and this has given me a good look at what lies beneath for the first time.

I’ve always known the previous owner had a ten gallon hat and stable doors but I am now worried that the alternator conversion may be the dodgiest of the lot (after the poorly installed servo, hideously relocated fuel pump and lethal welding but I digress).

I have peeled back a load of insulation tape and filth and seems the previous owner has upgraded to an alternator himself. What I assume is the dynamo cabling is flapping around just down from the coil, the control box has been removed leaving the two grey joiner blocks left. He has fabricated a heavy duty cable from the alternator straight via a spade connector in to one of the ex-control box sockets and then added a thinner one in to the other socket. This was then taped to the wiring loom and routed down alongside the main wiring loom in to the back of the alternator. When the car was running this has worked, no sign of any overheating cabling anywhere and the battery gets charged.

I want to tidy this up and do it properly. I’m wondering if the best way to go is to find a control box, gut it and then use it as a dumb terminal block, properly affix 60 amp cabling, route it and fix it to the body fixings and heat shrink it. Would that be all I need do ? I assume being as it works the alternator has a built in regulator. PO has removed the control box – what else will this affect (and is there another atrocity waiting for me when I go looking!?)

All help gratefully rx’d. Confused here!


JS neal

all sounds about right. There are good resources on the net for this conversion, a lot of Morris Minor guys have done it, and wasn't there an article in MASC mag a while back? Also try Paul Hunt's MGB site (principle's the same). Have you done a Google of 'MG dynamo to alternator conversion' ??
David Smith

Cheers, will have a look there. I've half a mind to revert it back to dynamo to eradicate another trace of the PO ;-)
JS neal

Mascot July 2011 edition. Back issues are archived and available to Masc members on the members section of the club website.
JS if you are not a Masc member and you would like to read the article that I wrote then e.mail me at alan dot anstead @ btopenworld dot com and I'll scan it to you.
Alan
www.masckent.org
Alan Anstead

It sounds like a single wire alt and very similar to what ive done on my conversion

What id to replace my control box is I used a project box from radio shack... the same.size and shape I then hid the wiring inside the box and ran the old dead wire into the underside so it looked like it has a place to go....no one has ever caught it and it looks good

I wouldnt go back.to a dyno... they were okay at best in the 70s ...but modern times require upgrades


Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

This thread was discussed on 15/09/2014

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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