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MG MGB Technical - Floor mounted dip switch

Hi
I am rebuilding from scratch a 69GT Heritage shell and I do not have a donor car as a guide and I have no idea where the floor mounted dip switch is fitted. neither do I have the switch bracket.I believe there were two types of switch which had different brackets. The later one which I assume I require being the smaller of the two.
Can anyone help with some images of where the switch is located and what bracket I need. I have tried a couple of MG breakers and suppliers to no avail.

Many Thanks

Mark
M Dollimore

I have a '66 B-GT, I think the switch and the bracket are the same as the ones used on the 1600 MGA. Will get a photo later in the day if no-one else posts one.
David Werblow

Mark - you raise an interesting question (or two) about originality. I assume you have a loom for a foot dip. I am sorry I can not tell you about the bracket but I can tell you that the first mod my friends and I made to our very early cars (in 1962) was to fit a replacement dip on the dash. The floor dip at best was a bore and at worst - downright dangerous. The long handled dash switch was very widely used and accepted as the norm.
Good luck whichever route you follow.
Roger W

David - Thanks, I also have an MGA and doubt the bracket is the same, the A bracket is fixed in the vertical from the bulkhead portion of the chassis and rests at it's lower end on the tunnel/toe board.
Roger - Good point, originality is not my highest priority on this build, did you mean convert the column stalk to the later models? Or actually position a new switch suitably relayed somewhere on the dash? I would prefer the former if that is a relatively easy fix.

Thanks

Mark
M Dollimore

Mark,
in case Roger not back for a while - I think he means a long handled switch from the dash
Nigel Atkins

Mark
Firstly originality has never been on my list of priorities
The column switches you can buy today are very poor quality and nowhere near as robust as the floor mounted switch, as for being a bore I don't really think about it! just use it when needed.
Dangerous!! please explain my mostly redundant left foot uses this.
Of course its all down to personnel preference how you want your car to look, drive and feel
Anyway heres a pic of my switch

Regards Pete





PJ Thompson

Mark,

I know the MGA 1500 bracket is different from the 1600 one, but it sounds like the bracket on the RHD 1600 MGA is different from the LHD ones. Not sure that a photo of a LHD B-GT will help you but here goes anyway.


David Werblow

David and Pete thanks for the responses, I am getting closer. It appears I have the correct switch and some idea of its location for the rhd GT. so now all I'm missing is what the bracket looks like.
Hopefully it will not be too complicated for me to fabricate one as I have so far been unsuccessful in locating one from a breakers, which does surprise me somewhat.


Cheers

Mark
Mark Dollimore

I never had any problems operating my floor-mounted switch.

I can't post a pic at the moment, as the car is upside-down on the rotisserie.

Let me have your email address and I can put you in touch with a possible source for the bracket.

daveo138 at yahoo co uk
Dave O'Neill2

My car is a 1963 MGB which I have owned for 46 years. Personally I prefer to keep most things as original and don't just change things like some owner without a good reason.
I have changed my dipswitch to the column mainly because I am 6'4" and with the floor mounted dipswitch removed I can put my left foot alongside and behind the clutch pedal on a long drive. This is much more comfortable for a tall person.
I also found over the years that water migrated down the wires to the early model dipswitch and caused corrosion and eventual failure.
Finally when driving on tight hill type roads when high beam is needed it is easier to flick between beams at eh same time as changing gear.

FWIW

Ian
Ian Buckley

Mark. Nigel gave you the right answer - it was a long handled switch on the dash. Not the most robust but very easily changed. I think Ian B has explained the rationale for the change - remember we were driving our cars very hard, day and night, on a very very old road system - one's left foot was quite busy.
Roger W

when I had a foot dip switch I found that I'd sometimes need to dip the lights as I was changing gear which meant perhaps getting flashed by the car coming the other way as you can't do both at once - Sod's Law this would happen more often than you'd expect
Nigel Atkins

A bit of an aside I suppose but I'm contemplating the change from the foot operated switch so I can convert that to a footrest - older legs and comfort over originality.

Just wondering how many drivers of moderns would even notice if we converted our low and aged bulb lights to permanent high beam? It's not as if my HB exactly lights up the horizon!

Regards
Roger
R Taylor

Thank you all for your responses. Assuming I can get a bracket I think I will now stay with the foot switch so that it is the same as the 'A'.

Cheers All
Mark
Mark Dollimore

Mark, here's a scan of the bracket (#16) from a '60s BMC parts book. RAY


rjm RAY

Roger,
we couldn't do that over here as it'd fail the MoT any way why not just change to the H4 conversions, I did and am pleased with the light from them, better than some much more modern car

and it's not a law that you have to fit relays unless you want to or need to because your wiring or switches are decrepit - mine have been fitted without relays for nearly 4 years now, on a car that gets plenty of use even at night and/or in the rain so headlights on

(my apologises for mentioning it to those that go queasy at the thought of driving a classic in the rain and/or at night)
Nigel Atkins

Nigel, I agree. My GT lives outdoors under a breathable cover and is used all winter as long as there isn't too much salt on the roads. It has Cibie H4 light units which are much, much better than the Wipac ones, and have better beam projection and control than my modern VW. The Cibie units are available in the UK from Europa Spares. http://www.europaspares.com/auto-electrical/lighting/headlamps/cibie-h4-headlamps-7-inch.html
Mike Howlett

on my midget I put the Lucas H4 flat face units as they were supposed to give a better beam than the curved Lucas H4 and I'm happy with the light they give but sometimes I do notice the flat glass looks a little odd on the car but not often enough for me to care about it
Nigel Atkins

Mark

I took the foot dip switch off my MGA as my size 13 foot kept on jamming between the clutch pedal and the bulkhead when I tried to operate it.
I replaced it with a special relay that is operated by a single flasher switch on the dashboard.
The switch is the long-stemmed momentary action type of switch that you normally see used as a main beam flasher switch.

The relay is a special AUDI/VW one (from a Beetle I believe) that operates as a headlight flasher unit when the headlights are turned off.
But once you switch the headlights on, the same switch then operates as a headlight dipper, switch with each press of the switch alternating between dipped and main beams.

It is just so much easier to dip the lights now, with the added bonus of having a headlamp flasher which the MGA never had.

This works brilliantly on my car and is one of the best modifications that I have done to it.

If you would like more info about this relay, have a look on the MGA GURU website, put AT-113T into the search box and there is an article about it.

Colyn
c firth

Colyn

I like that mod. You've made my mind up, I will convert both the A and the B.

Thanks

Mark
Mark Dollimore

Mark,

I am in the middle of writing up an article on this mod for Safety Fast magazine.

Its not finished yet but should be in a few weeks.
It normally takes them a month or two to publish once they receive it. So maybe after march april time?

On an MGA there is no problem attaching this relay to the original loom, just a little awkward to reach it under the dash. I also made certain that no extra holes or non-reversable mods were made to the dash in the fitting process.

I dont know the MGB very well but my brother in laws 77 roadster has panels under the dashboard which look to make access really awkward.

If you need any more info you can send me a pm.

Colyn
c firth

Colyn

Have purchased relay and about to purchase Holden switch as Barney suggests. I'm sure I can fabricate a shelf like structure to mount the relay behind the dash.
If all goes well then I'll think about doing the same to the MGA but that is still a little way off.

Mark
Mark Dollimore

This thread was discussed between 03/01/2014 and 09/01/2014

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