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MG TD TF 1500 - High Beam Indicator - TF

Anyone have a photo of the original "Main Beam" high beam indicator jewel in a TF tachometer? What color is it? Is it flat, domed, faceted, etc? Any idea about the dimentions? Perhaps a tab goes into the hole to hold it in place and to transmit light (?)

The lip around the hole in the face of the tach through which the light from the indicator bulb travels is about 3/16" diameter. Not visable in photos of TF9052.

Barrie Jones from the MGCC stayed with us for a couple of days before GOF-South Mk LII. He pointed out the missing jewel in my TF. He said that the original is amber color. So now, I can't rest until I find an original or make a replacement.

Thanks for your help,

Lonnie
TF7211
LM Cook

Mines blue....thanks to a donation from a Spitfire Speedometer I had laying here. Can't say I have ever seen a real deal.
L E D LaVerne

Hugh Pite would be the go to guy on this one Lonnie. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

TF 1721 owned since 1973, the lens is kind of orange. Perhaps that is the amber color that Barrie Jones
mentioned. It is flat.

Gary
G B McGovern

Gary - thanks. I agree that it sounds like the one that Barrie described. Will you please post or send a photo?

I may try to turn one.

Lonnie
TF7211
LM Cook

Funny, mine is Blue and very bright, now I put all led bulbs in my dash, so I have no idea if that has an influence on the color, but saying that, it was a faded Blue with the original bulb in it. PJ
PJ Jennings

Lonnie,

My tach has worked like a champ for 45 years and I have never opened it up for inspection, so I cannot help with how that tiny little lens is held in place. I suspect that it is some kind of plastic material and it may have discolored with age. To me, it is orange. When the high beams are on, it is bright enough to catch your attention. The photo was taken in a dark garage with panel lights on and high beams on. Reflection is the steering wheel. Hope this helps,

Gary


G B McGovern

Thanks Gary

I’ll be working on my restoration for at least a year, so I have plenty of time to attemp to make a jewel.

I agree — don’t open up your tach. Bezel, face, and indicator needle look new.

Lonnie
TF7211
LM Cook

Odd, my 55TF was bought new in California, it was approximately 8 years old when bought by a doctor, the doctor moved his practice to Alabama along with the car. The front fender and grill was damaged and the doctor put the car in dry storage, as he had a Jaguar family car and a Ferrari daily driver!! There it remained for many years,he then had the car taken to his house where he had a 4 or 5 car garage and kept it there and was purchased from him in the late 90s. So, getting back to the high beam light, hard to imagine someone would purposely change the tiny lens in the tach just for the fun of it during that time. Mysteries do happen on occasion. PJ
PJ Jennings

Gary and Paul,

Will you (or anyone else) please photograph the Main Beam jewel with the lights off so that I can see the color, size, and shape?

Don't know if other MG models had blue indicators that could have been installed on the assembly line. Needless to say, the jewel isn't listed in TF Service Parts List AKD804.

Thanks,

Lonnie
TF7211
LM Cook

Mine doesn't show any evidence of a surface mounted jewel apart from slight discolouration where one might have been. There is basically just a hole with the bulb behind it.

Maybe there were none in the bin the day my car was built.

Michael


M R Calvert

Lonnie,

Here is the daylight picture that you requested. That tiny little thing is difficult to photograph with a phone. I have driven my TF to one NE GOF, five GOF Souths, and numerous other gatherings in the southeast US, so I have been lined up alongside some magnificent TFs. However, I have never ever paid attention to the high beam indicators on any of them. Now I will. Just when you think that you know everything about the original TF, something like your question pops up and we all have different opinions. Amber, orange, or blue. Who knows.

Gary



G B McGovern

Thanks Gary,

Your photo is perfect. I can see the color. The jewel is obviously thin ... it sits below the top of the lip that surrounds it. My be difficult for me to turn a replacement. I'll look for a suitable substitute.

Lonnie
TF7211
LM Cook

Do you have a measurement on the diameter of the high beam indicator? I have some transparent amber rod that might work for this.

Thanks

Rick
Rick

Rick -

Thanks for the offer. But after looking at Gary's photo, the lens appears to be very thin ... thinner than I could turn a plastic rod.

And to confuse matters even more, I looked at a TF a few days ago with a red jewel that fits into the small opening in the center of the raised lip of the tach.

I'll keep looking at TF tachs. It will be a few months before I get to that stage of my restoration.

Thanks,

Lonnie
TF7211
LM Cook

Its missing on my car as well. It looks to be about 3/16" diameter as said above, maybe 1/16" thick and pressed into the surrounding rim. There are some sellers on ebay of amber coloured perspex rod. I reckon it may be possible to find something slightly over size, reduce the diameter to a tight fit in the rim, cut off a slice and sand / polish it back until it fits.
Dave H
Dave Hill

Mine is the same as Gary's, flat and orange.
Original I believe.

Matthew.
M Magilton

I would suggest a 3D printed replacement built on sketchup or some other 3D modeling tool. Turning one would be pretty tricky to do.
Alex Waugh

This thread was discussed between 02/04/2018 and 19/04/2018

MG TD TF 1500 index

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