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MG MGA - Front shroud, bonnet 'shut 'drain hole

In the 'shut' area where the bonnet (hood) sits, at the lowest point in the shroud, i have a drain hole. This lets water drip through onto the scuttle panel but struck me as more sensible than having water standing inside the shut area and still overflowing onto the scuttle anyway. I was intending to run a small drain pipe (i.e. windscreen washer size pipe)from the underside of this hole down through the scuttle (behind the centre line of the grille), to remove any puddling completely. The hole is just visible with the bonnet closed. My question is, is this original?
regards
Colin
Colin Manley

Hi Colin,
Just checked on my 1600 MK1 roadster. I am pretty sure that the hole is original and its only just visible - you have to go looking for it.
I've never noticed any large amount of water dripping onto the scuttle from it , and if its rained or you've washed the car , a small amount water gets onto the scuttle through the grill anyway.
David
D C GRAHAME

Not sure, but would guess that it is original. Mine has one there also.
Jeff Schultz

Yes, it should have a hole, about 5/32", original holes are available from Bob West. Don't use a metric one!


Terry
T Drinkwater

It's to stop water collecting and causing rust (why just there I have no idea)

There is a conundrum (forget the name) which observes that the largest hole designed to act as a drain will inevitably get blocked, whereas the smallest hole in a container will allow the contents to leak out before anyone has noticed it!
dominic clancy

Dominic - I think that's called "sod's law" - cheers Cam
Cam Cunningham

What happen to the boot seal track ? I guess they over looked that big problem. Think!
Cliff(SC)
Jones

Terry

I can supply the hole cheaper than Bob West or yourself as I do not charge VAT at 17.5%.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Please pay no attention to Steve Gyles or Terry Drinkwater.

The hole can be produced in the average home workshop with a simple CNC controlled vertical milling machine.

Neil McGurk

Neil

Hook, line and sinker!

Lol

Steve
Steve Gyles

Colin

I am just wondering why you would want to go to the bother of routing the water away from the radiator duct panel. If it's raining, water is going through the front of the grille onto the duct panel anyway, and forward motion of the car tends to clear this area of water. Any residual water after the car is parked soon evaporates, just like it does from the rest of the body work.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Steve, I think holes are VAT exempt. I doubt if your holes would be of the same quality as mine, if you look in the right direction through mine you have a superb view of the Mendip Hills.

Terry
T Drinkwater

For those of us on the Left side of the Pond, I can provide the holes for lower cost since there will be no VAT or "Air Shipping" costs. There will be a slight packaging cost added to actual cost US Mail fees. I do not inflate the shipping costs. Some may be skeptical on non-British parts on their MGA but I say "What the heck?" Since American gas goes into it, I'm not concerned about the American holes. I probably will get points deducted during the Concours judging.

Chuck
Chuck Schaefer

Steven,

CNC VERTICAL MILLING MACHINE!!!

hook line and......

Come on!
Neil McGurk

Steve,
My main aim was to reduce the amount of water that sat on the scuttle that could "wick" its way under the front body mounting flange fixings into the chassis extension. Secondly, i noticed that the water also runs back from underside of the hole and again, "wicks" into the underside joint of the bonnet catch slam panel. I suppose i could seal around the edges of these positions, but i was looking at taking away the potential in the first place, rather than relying on a seal.
regards
Colin
Colin Manley

I think I should speak up for the quality of Swiss holes here - carefully prepared and precision finished by hand, then carefully ripened in deep caves to produce the perfect round hole.

Nothing else comes close!
dominic clancy

Dominic

You have missed out on them also being neutral, therefore less likely to react with adjacent metalwork.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Dominic - if these are the same holes you put in your cheese - will they make the car rather odourous? Not sure whther my car has had none original holes put in when it was resident in Switzerland - cheers Cam
Cam Cunningham

Just last week there was a guy selling holes on eBay - but they didn't reach the reserve set by the seller. Oh well!

Rick
Rick Brown

Bummer!
I have been looking for a niche product that I could sell and enable me to retire. Now here is another product that doesn't cost much to produce, shipping costs are rather nil, and for the true concours enthusiast is a must have. I am just that much too late to corner the market.
Now, what to do.....
.... any ideas will be appreciated.
Mike Parker

Mike,

Since the now scuttle holes and the wiring smoke have already been marketed, I would suggest OEM air for the tires would be the absolute MUST for the enthusiast. The same air that was used fopr the Mille Miglia.

WE could (note the "we" reference. I'm in this for 50%) compress air from around Abingdon, pack it in dry ice for preservative, and ship it world wide. If we put an expiration date on the package, then we would get repeat orders. Just thiunk of it as the LBC version of bottled water.


Then we could expand by packaging "factory air" from all point of the compass for enthusiasts of all makes and model cars.

Now don't anybody go stealing our secret to fortune...


Chuck

Chuck Schaefer

Chuck

It sounds like a goer to me. Easy enough for one of us this side of the pond to get down to Abingdon for a few days with a compressor and power generator.

You mentioned packing the air cylinders in dry ice. In fact we could do it in various temperatures. I think some bottled hot air could also find a market.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Why not go the whole hog for a truly complete marketing approach. We need a portfolio. I proffer a few suggestions:

Morning mist - Freshest morning air, captured at dawn, andguaranteed to bring you the authentic feel of a early morning drive

Test track special - With just a scent of hot oil and burning rubber. Bring the aroma of the track to your car for maximum performance.

Evening romance - Captured in selected quiet corners of the Abingdon countyryside. Guaranteed to impress your companion and ensure a romantic evening (may be a bit tricky *in* an MGA...)

Lucas edition - Bring the stench of burnt out wiring to your car.

Farmyard special - All the smells of the countryside for the authentic day-out experience.

Any other suggestions for the business plan?
dominic clancy

dominic, in 1966 I somehow had my first "romantic evening" in my first car, a '58 MGA Roadster. Red, Wire Wheels. Black interior. Can't remember much about the woman though.
A. Tirella

A.T

My 1958 red roadster that I had brought back from the States had body damage from being rolled earlier in its life. It wasn't you was it?!

Steve
Steve Gyles

Steve, I don't recall "rolling" it that night. A little rocking perhaps. There was a little damage to the nose that was crudely repaired. I think I sold it around 1967-1968. I never kept any paperwork on it. Would be interesting if it was the same car. I do remember doing some customizing in the armrest area. The original may have been missing or badly worn. At the time I didn't know much and I recall fabricating some semblence of an armrest with woodgrained Formica trimmed with some of of the shelf aluminum bits. I may have replace the wood floors also.

Al
A. Tirella

I've got a couple of Dunlop RS5 crossply's off of my Twin Cam still with the original air inside of them. If anybody is interested I could 'bag' it up and send it. Also high compression air is in stock, it will improve the performance of your 'A', must be handled carefully!


Terry
T Drinkwater

I checked, and according to Anders Ditlev Clausager, in Original MGA, on page 20 under the "Roadster Body" he states " Morris Motors Bodies, in an attempt to reduce cost of manufacture, punched a small hole in the center of each bonnet shroud opening. This reduced steel content of the roadster shell by .0000000001 % and helped provide initial tooling cost revenue for the Twin Cam."

J Delk

Unfortunately I have a coffee mug stain on page 20 and this must cover up that sentence, but I did notice that the said hole is to be clearly seen on page 55 on the Postles' DeLuxe.

Just taking a better look at this picture; should the bonnet catch and rocker cover fasteners not be painted on a concours car?

That said, this car looks absolutely fantastic (and even appears to have crossply tyres for originality). It also has the wood-rim light alloy steering wheel. I really like this wheel and am plannning to get one from Mota-Lita who have remanufactured them.

http://www.moto-lita.co.uk/our-products/Wheel_Details_01.aspx?WH_ID=40

But then I saw this site:
http://www.pbase.com/mdlempert/mgaoriginal

Sorry, weren't we talking holes...
Neil McGurk

That is a cracking concours hole on page 55 Neil. I guess that with the greater curvature of the revised bonnet (hood) they needed a better quality hole to cope with the greater volume of water run-off when stationary. Although the hole saved on the steel content, as described by JD, it was more than taken up by the additional aluminium for the bonnet curve.

By the way everyone, with the current price of copper scrap (about £1 ($2) a pound) you need to safeguard your cars against the heater box water pipe being nicked.

Steve
Steve Gyles

They could have just stretched the bonnet a bit more! However it does need a little more paint!

Steve, one way to protect your precious metals against theft is not to polish them so much - it's the shine that attracts thieves!

Neil

Neil McGurk

You have got the use of the hole completely wrong.. It was designed by the FOX and DEER lovers society and implemented by the MGA factory. It is an early version of what we here in America call DEER whistles. They warn the animules that a hunk of iron,steel and plastic is on it's way so steer clear.
Thank the designers for a freebie accessory.
I ain';t never hit no deer with my MGA.
Sandy
Sandy Sanders

Myself. I have purchased a package of portable holes from Moss Motors. You can place them wherever you want. You can find them on the catalog page with the magnetic seat belt anchors.. those are nice also, they allow you to mount seatbelts without drilling holes in your car, and can also be used along with the portable hole kit so that you can mount the belts and then remove the holes if you decide to sell the car.

Cheers,
Rich
Rich McKIe

I like the sound of magnetic seat belt anchors, so easy to fit! All that time wasted drilling holes! Point of interest, I've just seen an advert for half holes, useful for the race boys as they are lighter. You can drill them yourself with a 'D' shaped drill.
Fox and Deer lovers? not in the UK! We spend most of our time chasing them with packs of dogs. Tally Ho!


Terry
T Drinkwater

This thread is all your fault Terry!

My brother-in-law used to tie holes together to make fishing nets and aircraft arrestor nets on military runways. His greatest speciality in the 50s was the Brodport Dagger, a single hole with a sliding knot that was supplied to the Home Office for doing away with unsavoury individuals.

Steve
Steve Gyles

I meant Bridport Dagger
Steve Gyles

Oh, that I had seen this post yesterday!
I really like the air idea, and we can save a ton of money if we eliminate the dry ice. I propose that we all go to our respective governmental agencies and capture as much hot air as possible. We can then market our hot air with a guarantee..."Guaranteed to be official government hot air. Will postpone important decisions, cause excessive hemming and hawing, assist in placing blame for bad ideas and claim the credit when good ideas are noted."
There's a real market for this.
By the way, the magnetic seat belt anchors should also be sold with a computer magnet, to be attached to the computer cabinet for holding important notes that cannot afford to be lost. "I guarantee that when you use our patented computer magnets, which are 10 times stronger than the competition's, whatever is written on them will be around far longer than the information on your hard drive."
Mike Parker

How about this for a plugged hole. This was taken just under 22 years ago.

Ah, the memories.

http://www.mgaroadster.co.uk/odds_and_sods.htm

Steve
Steve Gyles

Help!! I've lost my holes. I have the drain hole as mentioned above, but there should be 10 buffers (Clausager) for the bonnet to rest on.
I have 9, and there is NO hole for the tenth.
If any Twin cam owner out there is a bit light on metal, he can have mine.
Nigel Munford

Steve - fantastic photo of your Lightning near the "close encounters" edifice - cheers Cam
Cam Cunningham

Cam

Tutt tutt for aircraft recognition, 0 out of 10. That's a mud-moving Tornado GR1. I had not seen the film when I flew past it. I only found out after I landed.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Oops - how could I not have spotted that it's a Tornado in your photo - cheers Cam
Cam Cunningham

This thread was discussed between 26/03/2007 and 05/04/2007

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