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MG MGA - MGA Fog lights

I'd like to add fog and/or driving lights to my MGA. Most I have seen are the large round Lucas variety, mounted on the bumper (or overriders?) but for me they are a bit ungainly and detract from the beauty of the front of the car and grille.

Are the rectangular Lucas FT/LR8 lamps appropriate for this vintage MG? I know they were offered on Cobra Shelbys and Mustangs from the mid-late 60s, but were they ever offered new on MGAs? I think they would look discreet under the bumper, on either side of the license plate.

Also...when installing accessory lamps onto a Mark II roadster, is there already a relay or do I need to add one? Do most folks wire separate fog and driving lamp switches, or do they use the F knob on the dash to control both? Thanx for any advice.
Harry

Harry,
I guess it's a matter of personal preference, but I don't think the rectangular lights would look appropriate on an A. There really is nothing else rectangular in the design of an MGA. Even the grille, which was carried over as a variation of a traditional shape, has rounded corners to blend with the overall line of the body. Although rectangular fog lamps were popular (on other cars) in the later years of the A's production, the MGA has a distinctly 50's style to it which is enhanced by the use of 50's period accessories.

Of course this is just my opinion and you can use whatever style you feel belongs on your car. Either way you obviously care how your MG looks or you wouldn't have asked. And that's what counts.

Bill
Bill Boorse

Thanks Bill, actually I agree with you. But the Lucas FT/LR8 lamps are flat on top and bottom but fully round on the sides, sort of a nice compromise. Not sure if they were ever offered specifically for "A"s but they don't look as "new" as standard rectangular lights.

You are right about maintaining a "fifties" look and feel to the car though. I've also seen Butler, Miller, Notek, and Raydyot lights which are a bit smaller and less obtrusive.
Harry

Harry

Check your state regs for what is legal concerning headlights, fog lights and running lights. In some places the driving light(s) are legal ONLY when high beams are on. And the fog light is not effective with high beams since it is the backscatter from the upper part of the beam that you are trying to avoid.

Check the Moss web site under MGA Electrical / Lights, Lamps & Reflectors / Accessory Fog And Driving Lamps. These are the same style as the ones I bought back in '61 and are often used on the A. I have mine on my YT with the driving light powered from the high beam ciruit and the fog lamp from the parking lamp circuit.

FWIW

Larry
58 A
Larry Hallanger

Take a look at the picture on the bottom of this page:

http://zippo.homelinux.org/mg/index39.html

Is that a driving light or a fog light? It's certainly rectangular!
David Breneman

Regarding relays and installation, I did an install over the summer and detailed the procedure in a page that Barney Gaylord put up on his MGA site. Check out www.mgaguru.com, tech pages, eletrical section.

As to whether square 8's were original equipment on MGAs, the answer is "no, but who cares". If you are going the concours route, you want Lucas SFT 576 (round) lamps with the non-ridged crest and a build date appropriate for your car. If you aren't into concours, it's just a matter of personal aesthetics. Your car, your rules.
Mark Lambert


So, can anybody identify the light in the picture?
David Breneman

David.

The round light in the photograph is the "correct" light for the MGA.

It is a Lucas SFT 576; the companion spot/driving light is the SLR576.

They are 146mm in diameter which must be about 5.75" and are available from:-

http://www.vintagecarparts.co.uk/pf-parts.phtml?Category=/lamps/head+and+spot/

Chrome light brackets which fit to the overrider should be available for many sources such as Moss etc..

Nigel J S Steward

David,
That's an interesting photo. Since it appeared in 1955 on a works car it's safe to say that either light is "correct".
Bill
Bill Boorse

Quite agree Bill if it was good enough for Syd and John then how could a show judge ever argue.
Bob (robert)

Mark, about a year ago I purchased what I was told was a period (for MGA) Lucas driving light, in very good condition. It seems to be original, LUCAS is stamped on the reflector body, the mounting nut is a worn brass piece. Are there stamped numbers for "SFT 576", and a build date, to authenticate a period lamp?
George Goeppner

George

I have both an SFT 576 and an SLR 576. Neither have date stamps on them - just had them apart to check.

Steve
Steve Gyles

I personally think the "authentic" round lights look much better on an MGA, in fact the rectangular light in the picture looks a little kludgey; but rectangular it definitely is, and those two uncharacteristically angry looking fellows were not airbrushed in. :-) Although, I can sympathise feeling that way after a day long press event. "Let's get a picture with the car. Let's get a picture with the sign. Let's get a picture behind the wheel. Is this all you have for catering?"
David Breneman

Dave,
Nice website.
mike parker

There were a few kinds of 576 lamps. The ones for an MGA had a plain Lucas crest on the top of the chrome bucket (no ridges), a round "SFT 576/Made in England" logo stamped into the chrome bucket on the side, and a 3- or 4-digit build date (mmyy, e.g. 1161 for November 1961) stamped into the mounting pedestal on the back. Later types (mid-60s forward) had ridged crests and no build dates. Even later types had ridged crests, no build dates, and were stamped "SFT/SLR576" rather than "SFT 576". The Moss reproductions have some sort of crest with Lucas on it, but no stamps on the bucket and no build dates. Ah, the trivia wasting space in my head...
Mark Lambert

Most interesting Mark. Just had another look at mine. The SLR576 has 862 on the back of the mounting pedestal. The SFT576 has no marking. Can you descibe a ridged crest for me. Thanks

Steve
Steve Gyles

If you look at the top of the crest or "eyebrow" at the top of the lamp, you'll see it is either flat, or has a raised center section running the length of the crest toward the back of the lamp. It's very easy to see in a photograph, and somehow hard for me to explain in words. By the way, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if there were more combinations of crest type, build date, and stamp type, but these are the ones I know of.
Mark Lambert

Harry:

There was a good spread of lamp sizes available in the UK during the MGA production period, as most manufacturers served the motorcycle market also. Trade Catalogues of the '60 to '62 period detail these British-manufactured lamps with case diameters smaller than the Lucas lamps you don’t care for:

Approx 4.5" Eversure; Halfords; Wingard
Approx 5.5" Miller; Lumax; Notek

Notek "Blue Spot" lights are interesting; concave lenses make them look smaller than they are, and they have stainless steel cases. Perhaps for those reasons, they seem to have survived quite well.

If you want to take your research farther, and are interested in function as well as form, try to obtain a copy of an article which appeared in "The Motor" (The Temple Press, London) for 27 December 1961. This gave photos and dimensions for lamps from eleven British (and a few furrin) manufacturers, along with photographs of their beam pattern as projected onto a graduated screen. Worth reading.

David:

Interesting question. Never was too sure of the answer, as my copy of that particular photo is in an early Brooklands Books MGA anthology and reproduction is not very good. However, with the aid of some imaging software. . . since it’s a LHD car (from the set of the windscreen wipers) the lamp on Enever’s side of the car should be a fog lamp. If we accept that, then I think it’s likely to be a Marchal Rectilux 650. The only other rectangular fog lamp I can trace from around that period is the Auteroche Savoy; and the earliest available reference for this one dates from ’58 -’59. So it seems a less likely candidate. Thanks for posting that photo - we may well be on the way to solving another puzzle.


Alex

A. W. Risk

Mike -

Thanks for the compliment! I'm hoping to have some more "after" pictures up after I finish fixing a friend's juke box (long story).

Alex -

All I can say is "My heavens, Holmes! What remarkable deductive reasoning!" :-) I'll check the original in the magazine and see if I can get any more detail out of it.
David Breneman

This thread was discussed between 20/01/2005 and 24/01/2005

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