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MG MGB Technical - Best Points?

The finest points I ever used in the B were Blue Streak LU1617XP with a lubricating arm. Sadly, I only heard about them a couple years before they suddenly went NLA.

Over 30 years I've used Lucas and these points last 3x longer and never close up. Is there anything aside from going back to Lucas that are somewhat like the Blue Streak. Attaching a photo.


Max71

one of these... :-)
http://www.simonbbc.com/electronic-ignition-kits?sort=20a&filter_id=2
Does the same job way better and never goes out of setting.

Best of...
MGmike
M McAndrew

:-)

I tried electronic points in the past and the car runs better with mechanical. Plus on every run I've been on the only cars that had issues all had electronic points. So I'd rather stay with mechanical.
Max71

"So I'd rather stay with mechanical"

Good man!

As far as I'm aware all points should come with the felt lubricating pad, but some eBay offerings seem to have the position for them but no pad. It probably depends on where you are as to what you can get, the last ones I got were from my local factors and have been no problem at all. But then I've never had any problem with points in over 50 years. If and when I find I can no longer get reliable points then I would consider an under-cap trigger, but only then.
Paul Hunt

Do you have a BAP store near your? I have been purchasing points from them for quite a number of years with good results.

Les
Les Bengtson

2 reliable, quality sources are:
Distributor Doctor (UK)
http://www.distributordoctor.com/

Jeff Schlemmer (USA)
http://www.advanceddistributors.com/

G
Graham Moore

Jeff was the one who turned me onto the Blue Streak. He ran out a long time ago.

Actually Jeff and APT fast did a comparison of a proper built and curved dizzy running mechanical points and then electronic. The mechanical won providing more HP.

After getting one I completely agree that points should come with a felt lubricating pad. But these are only ones I found with one for a MGB.

I'll check BAP store. I've searched the net for a couple years now hoping to find a store that had old stock. Crazy its this hard.
Max71

I have a set of points from Jeff that have a little over 12,000 miles on them.

At 6,000 miles I gently cleaned them with 600 grit sandpaper and cleaned and lubed the distributor cam.

I use moly based CV joint grease on the cam because it is slick and very sticky and will not be flung off.

I occasionally check them with a dwell meter. In the past 6,000 miles the dwell has changed less than one degree.

At this point it has become a science experiment to see how many miles this set will go.
Steven Rechter

"I occasionally check them with a dwell meter. In the past 6,000 miles the dwell has changed less than one degree."

Ditto. The set in my roadster didn't fall out of spec for their life, and the benefit of using dwell to check them is it is non-invasive. As for life, they ran to 15k miles before I started noticing it needed a slightly longer crank before starting. On removal the faces showed some erosion but no spike or pit. I noticed that before removal the gap was completely covered in oil or grease, that could well have prevented the arcing that causes the transference of material that results in the spike and pit, which changes the effective gap and hence the dwell. They were Lucas points, the replacements were in a box marked 'TURKEY'. I did wonder at the time whether that was the country of origin or a comment on their quality, but they have been fine. BTW I've got Bosch 4-point plugs and they have been in for 34k miles so far.

Paul Hunt

I always used Lucas and they always needed adjusting. Even a 600 mile run would almost guarantee they closed up.

Used the lubricam and didn't do anything differently with the Blue Streak and they lasted as mentioned. Never any pitting but always had pitting with the Lucas. I did notice that the Blue Streak had a donut on the plate instead of a solid face like the Lucas. Not sure if that helped.

In another futile search I did find Lucas High Quality points that looks like the ones I am chasing - naturally out of stock so I asked them to contact me. Not sure if its a wild goose chase.

The points you got from Jeff - are they Lucas or anything unusual?

Tried BAP - no luck. Maybe 'Made in Turkey' is the thing. :-)


Max71

I have been using Bosch GL 19/GL 19-C (F005X046333AN), made in United Kingdom, for years. No lube pad but excellent life with minimal wear on surfaces. Dwell lasts very well.

Applications are:

Ford 4 cylinder 56-74 Capri, Cortina
Nissan 71-75 1.2, 1.6, 180B
Toyota 69-75 Corona, Crown
as well as GMH 6 cylinder HQ-HJ and Torana LC-LH (these last are Oz specific).

I would have thought these would be available in both UK and USA given the Bosch make. You might need to adapt the product number but should find a local equivalent from the applications above.

Regards
Roger
R Taylor

Jeff's new points are very good. Knowing the work Jeff does, it does not surprise me that he has commissioned to have very good points built.
Bruce TD4139 Cunha

Both Bosch and Lucas points that we get here are very low quality and are manufactured somewhere other than where they should be
Probably only about one set out of ten would have contacts that go anywhere near lining up properly
I've been using Fuelmiser brand points supplied by Repco here
They are always perfectly aligned and have decent sized ventilated contacts and seem to last quite well without needing constant adjustment - I like them - just saying
Part no---- L19V

willy
William Revit

"... made in United Kingdom, for years"

You amaze me!

Paul Hunt

I think that Bruce is correct in that Jeff has his points custom made.

http://advanceddistributors.mybisi.com/product/points-assembly-for-22d-23d-25d-and-late-dm2-lucas




Steven Rechter

Thanks everyone for all the great input. I too found the Lucas points I could get to be very poorly aligned and I did what I could to realign them.

The Blue Streak were always perfect. I talked to the vendor - BP Northwest - and they said the Lucas High Quality are a direct rip of the Blue Streak as customers have been wanting higher quality. BP warned me there have already been delays. If Lucas can get it together it should be great news.

I certainly respect Jeff. He would have to buy a ton of points to commission someone though. If you could check with him I would appreciate it and I'll order some until or if the Lucas HQ become available. Really spoiled by the felt lubricating pad though.
Max71

Willy,

Certainly not my experience up here. I'll take your word on the Tassie supply situation.

Regards
Roger
R Taylor

I'll give Jeff a go then while I research the others. BTW, when I type in those Bosch numbers all I get is water heaters. :)

A question on breaker plates. I pulled the one off the dizzy in my car that Jeff put in and compared it to a excellent condition 25D dizzy I have.

The original allows you to take it apart to lube but I don't see how you can do this on the new ones i.e. like the one in my recurved Jeff dizzy. Also the pole that holes the points is a pole on the original but on the new on its a nub.

Any comments?
Max71

"when I type in those Bosch numbers all I get is water heaters"

I get vacuum cleaners, having just bought one ...
Paul Hunt

If I type "Bosch contact set gl 19" into google I get pages of aftermarket car parts suppliers as well as the Bosch AU website. If I then use the site search function by car make/model (mgb coupe) I get the two Bosch contact sets for the 1800 engines pre/post December 1974.

Must be the way I'm standing.
R Taylor

I went to Bosch auto parts and did the same vehicle ID as you did and no points came up https://www.boschautoparts.com/auto

Maybe the way I'm standing. ;-)
Max71

Bosch--- GL19
William Revit

or --GL19V----V is for ventilated--
William Revit

They must only be available out of the US. No amount of searching gets me those. I did see you had a post on another forum and those are the only instances of that PN that come up.

Anyway, I have a couple more and hold out for the Lucas ones.
Max71

I have also had a good run with the Bosch points, caps and rotors. I like that they still use a fiber rubbing block. I small dob of HT grease and they really last.
Denis
Denis4

I recently purchased 3 sets of points from Dis Doc. 2 of the sets were unusable because the spring curve was badly formed, too shallow and hence touched the retaining screw. Only one set was had the spring passing outside the line of the points base. I am waiting to hear back from him with his thoughts on the issue. Fortunately I found the issue as I set the dwell up on bench jig, if it had been in the car it would have been much more difficult to find why the car would not start!
Graham Gilmore

"... points from Dis Doc. 2 of the sets were unusable ..."

That's the second strike in recent weeks against Dist Doc.
Paul Hunt

"... points from Dis Doc. 2 of the sets were unusable ..."

DAMN! I just received two sets from them. Haven't fitted them yet as I bought them as spares (the 2 MGs are running ok at the moment). Is there any way I can check over these without fitting them? (They're Doduco brand)
Brian Shaw

Going by what Graham said check the alignment of the two contacts when closed and whether anything rubs or catches as they open and close. If they look right then you should be OK.
Paul Hunt

The attached photo may illustrate what Graham has described. Two sets of points from Dist Doc (packaging is marked 'Doduco 622 replaces Lucas 54423769'). RH points - are as received and the spring would probably touch the head of the points fixing screw. LH points - I've reformed the spring to give better clearance.


Brian Shaw

This is a photo of a spare set I have from Jeff at Advanced Distributors. The spring is formed exactly as the one currently in the distributor.



Steven Rechter

G'day Max,

I have researched this now across Bosch websites in Aus, USA and UK. Though all three sites share the same home page design those in USA and UK do not respond to the search terms producing the results I have found On the Aus site. The two don't even recognise the term "contact set" which leads me to think they now have a focus on modern computer controlled car systems. So it seems you may be correct, these things may not be locally available in all markets - or at least may not be promoted in all markets.

Extending Willy's contributions I have three Bosch point sets covering our MGBs, though the Bosch nominated year descriptions are a bit confusing - they start in 1966. I don't understand why the earlier cars should not be included, the points should suite them as well.

Anyway, here is what is from the Bosch Aus site.

Contact Set GL19

Product No. F 005 X04 633
Code : GL19

Price per unit :
$12.19 inc GST

Suitable for the following vehicles

MG MGB GT 1.8 Cabrio: 01.1966 - 12.1974
MG MGB GT 1.8 Coupe: 01.1966 - 12.1974

Contact Set GL769

Product No. F 005 X04 659
Code : GL769

Price per unit :
$11.57 inc GST

Suitable for the following vehicles

MG MGB GT 1.8 Cabrio 01.1975 - 08.1979
MG MGB GT 1.8 Coupe 01.1975 - 12.1980

Contact Set GL19V

Product No. F 005 X04 634
Code : GL19V

Price per unit :
$16.62 inc GST

Suitable for the following vehicles

MG MGB GT 3.5 Coupe 08.1973 - 11.1980


The Product number shown is described by Bosch as an "Independent aftermarket part (IAM)" number.

Also, It is possible the GST is not payable on purchases from overseas, the local site should be able to tell you. GST here is levied at the rate of 10% on the final purchase price.

I suppose the question now is for how long may we continue to have these available here.

Regards
Roger
R Taylor

Get an electronic switch!!!!
Allan Reeling

The contact alignment looks good enough on Brian's set, it shouldn't be difficult to realign the spring. Interestingly Steven's alignment looks to be between Brian's two!

Go electronic? Never!
Paul Hunt

I checked a couple spare sets - one listed as Lucas and one listed as OEM. Both had suspect contact alignment. Springs different on both.

I'm believing Taylor is right and I suspected Bosch is aimed at modern pointless dizzies and show best to horde good points if they can be found.

Otherwise, maybe a serious look into Ignitor III electronic which I hope it doesn't come to that.

On a different note, what is the specs on the screw that hold the points in place? Kind of messed up mine and my spare has the obvious wrong one and might have bee rethreaded. I really liked the original with the blank threads at the bottom for easy locating.
Max71

Max if you do go electronic you may want to reconsider going pertronix.

Lot's of horror stories about them suddenly failing.

If fact the Pertronix installation instructions suggests that you travel with the points you just removed as a backup.
Steven Rechter

I understand the concerns about the Pertronix set and the need to carry a backup set of points and condenser but is there any better electronic unit. It seems that Pertronix has occupied the field leaving little in the way of alternatives. Just wondering. Jud '72 MGB
J. K. Chapin

There are actually a lot of electronic alternative ignition systems out there. I've been running a distributor for the last thirteen years, made by Davis Unified Ignition systems. It is very similar to the distributor used on the '80 B. It's based on the HEI ignition system that GM used in the '70s and '80s. The coil is mounted inside the distributor cap and all of their components are manufactured in house to the highest standards possible. RAY
rjm RAY

As you say the plain bit on the end (as on the left in the attached) make insertion easier than a standard screw. It's not separately identified in the Parts Catalogue, I see plenty of screws advertised as being for Lucas points, but none have that plain bit. However it should be relatively easy to modify a conventional screw. make sure it isn't too long or it can catch in the advance weights below the points plate and cause some weird problems.


Paul Hunt

Thanks Paul! What is the thread pitch on the dizzy screw? Do you know off hand? A mod I guess would be a vise and a file since no lathe here.

On the Ignitor III - that is a Pertronix unit. Its the newest one and has multiple spark like the MSD units.

Ray you're right. There are many options. I noticed Moss US is finally selling the UK version on their site. I just saw so many failures and use mine as a daily driver. But who knows maybe the Ignitor III is the answer.

Still love the simplicity and dependability of the points - which are getting scarcer as we've discussed.
Max71

Max - a 2BA tap is a nice snug fit in the hole, and the pitch looks spot-on when compared to the screw. The threaded portion is 7mm and the plain portion 4mm.
Paul Hunt

Thanks Paul! Love that the car has so many fastener types. I got a BA for the carb idle adjustment.
Max71

This thread was discussed between 25/09/2015 and 08/10/2015

MG MGB Technical index

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