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MG MGB Technical - Headlamp Bowl

Hi All
Anyone any experience of using the replacement plastic headlamp bowl instead of the metal one, does it fit OK?
Ron
R. Algie

I used some on my Sprite and they fitted fine, although they were from a late Mini and not aftermarket IIRC.
Dave O'Neill 2

I have them on my B, they fit well and the H4 bulbs haven't melted them! The outer chrome rims don't fit as tight as they do on the metal bowls, but they have never fallen off in 15,000 miles on the UK's bumpy roads so are tight enough. Mine were branded Wipac.

If you're looking to buy them (or metal one's for that matter) have a look at the online Land Rover suppliers, they're much cheaper for the same product as sold for MGs elsewhere ;-)
Mike

Hi
Thanks for the info and the Landrover tip, my NS one has a fair bit of surface rust and is holed at the bottom, surprisingly the other side is OK, they were new in '95 so I suppose they've done not bad.
Ron
R. Algie

I've used them on two MGBs with no problems at all.
Mike Howlett

They fit, but you may have problems with the headlamp ring fixing. Even the replacement metal ones I got from a well-known source had the wrong fixing (a screw up from the bottom) but fortunately my spring-clips were OK and I could change them over. A pal's car had this conversion and just has a large Phillips screw permanently in the bowl, screwed in just the right amount so you can push the ring over the head and lever it off again.
PaulH Solihull

The ones I got from MGB Hive have needed no mods at all to make the chrome rings fit properly. You would think there is only one maker of these things, but maybe not.
Mike Howlett

I wasn't surprised that the Wipac ones weren't a direct replacement as I got them from a Mini parts place. I was shocked that the MGOC ones weren't!
PaulH Solihull

I have wipac ones on my V8, the internals are different to the ones on the metal bowls and it is difficult to find replacement parts. The plastic ones are a bit thicker on the rim so there is a lager gap from the edge of the wing to the chrome ring.
I have just bought a pair of metal bowls and will be fitting them soon but will give them a couple of coats of hammerite before fitting.
a goldup

This thread was discussed between 28/09/2010 and 30/09/2010

MG MGB Technical index

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