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MG MGA - Water Pump Measurements

Colin Manley came round to my place yesterday to talk about 5-speed fitting etc. During our subsequent chat about this that and the other he commented about how far back my fan seemed from the radiator. Worth mentioning here that, apart from Dominic Clancy, I have one of the coolest running (1800) MGAs on this forum. I have just done a few measurements and the front edges of my blades are 1.5" from the radiator. I have read in various places that 1" is the optimum.

I then looked at Barney's site for his MGA water pump information: http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/cooling/cool_108c.htm and he notes that the " ...... Length of the assembly is 3-3/4 inches from the face of the engine block to the front surface of the pulley mounting hub." The measurement on mine is 3-3/8" - 3/8" shorter. I am fairly sure I have an early MGB pump. Are they shorter in overall length? Can anyone verify? I recall an MGB/midget racing specialist in Preston selling me the pump, telling me it was a good pump for my 1800V in the MGA, with an improved vane over the standard MGA pump.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Steve, you may have competition for the coolest MGA!
Mine has never exceeded 180 F, even with the air at 32 C.
I have the original rad with no pad on top.
In fact I'm thinking of a TS change to get it higher.
Art Pearse

Art

I did say I have one of the coolest. I must have been thinking of you!! The key two words you have stated "original rad" I am sure account for it. I think some of my pads may have dropped off too. Must check sometime.

I notice in page 2 of Barney's article ( http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/cooling/cool_108d.htm ) that he has not verified the fit of the early MGB pump in the MGA 1500/1600 engine. I wonder if anyone can answer that one for him. Also, does it increase water circulation? I guess it should do otherwise why would they have changed the design. Still interested to know the measurements so I know what pump it is I have.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Steve

I had issues when I installed my 3 bearing 1800 engine as I related with photos on Barney's site at:

http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/cooling/cool_108e.htm

Certainly the early B pump sticks further forward than the 1500 A one. I thought by about 1/2 inch but this was an approximate measurement so seeing the info here it is probably 3/8 inch.. After my input to Barney I decided to go B pump with B pulley to match the subtle differences (improvements?) of the B block, i.e. 100% early B setup. I initially spaced the radiator forward to maintain the gap but when I fitted my 'Pontefract Radiator' last winter I removed the spacers and currently run with a gap of about 1/2 inch. I have better cooling now (180 to 190) than last year but as I changed radiator and narrowed the gap at the same time I don't know whether the gap is relevant to this.

In summary I don't think you have an early B pump but more likely an A pump. But as you say it works well so I wouldn't touch it. If you want to identify you could compare with my photos on Barney's site. Both pumps are relatively recent purchases from Moss but the spacings must be correct otherwise the original A and B pulleys wouldn't line up correctly.

Paul



Paul Dean

Paul

My situation is exactly the opposite of yours. My pump is shorter than the original A pump and a lot shorter than later B pumps according to Barney's measurements. Consequently I also had to faff around getting the pulley alignment much as you did. I have a very shallow fan pulley; not sure if it's an MGA part. As I mentioned above, no problem with fan clearance to the radiator, in fact just the opposite. I wish I could see the part number on the pump, but not spotted it yet with everything else in place. It's 15 years since I assembled the engine so memory has faded and to be honest, I don't even remember the dowel. May be it is not in the 1800V engine. None of this is an issue with me as I have a very cool and serviceable system, but it would be nice to know.

Steve
Steve Gyles

This thread was discussed between 11/08/2015 and 12/08/2015

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