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MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG MG Y Type - electronic ignition

Thinking about fitting electronic ignition kit to my YB as running benefits appeal .
The kit I have come across requires a small unit to be secured external to distributor and four connections made ,power ,earth ,coil and distributor .The points are still used but with much lower current passing and the electronics in the box help produce a better spark .
I have not come across kit to replace points and would welcome suggestions .

Ed Winters
E Winters

Ed,
I have installed several Petronix conversion in TD's.
No points, no separate control box. Got them from Abingdon Spares, but you can buy them direct from the mfg.
Good luck,
SRB
S.R. Barrow

I fitted a unit to my '38 Austin Ten that I used to have that sounds similar to the unit you are planning to use. Can't remember the brand off hand - British, made basically for motorbikes, and it began with B - but all it was was a small unit about 2" square with two LEDs. The capacitor was disconnected. Timing was easy - turn on the ignition and having set the engine at the right point, adjust the distributor until the red indicator light came on indicating points just opening, then lock things in place. Easy to hide too so that no one was aware it was in place unless pointed out. Current owner said the car hasn't missed a beat since he's had it.
Main reason for fitting it was that the engine had a miss in it when running at about 40 mph - you could hear it more than feel it - which I couldn't cure. The electronic ignition fixed it. Units available for either negative or positive earth, and wasn't very expensive.
By the way, the problem I had a couple of months ago with the Y when she wouldn't run very well was caused by the too long tail end of the lead from the capacitor shorting out on the base plate in the distributor. Rough roads must have disturbed it, because I hadn't touched it prior to looking for what the problem was. It won't happen again, I made sure of that.
John Turner
J B Turner

Hi Ed

I too looked to improving the running of my YT and earlier this year I had my distributor rebuilt and fitted with an electronic ignition by H and H Ignition in Birmingham. They did an excellent job and the unit was returned within 10 working days. The cost then including VAT and delivery was £165, I wrote about this on an earlier threas but you can find all their details on the Suppliers tab on this website.

Hope this helps

Sincerely

Jerry
J P BIRKBECK

Hi Ed,

Advantages - reduced maintenence (you dont have to set the points gap which isnt terribly hard) and very marginally better fuel economy.

Disadvantages - cost will never pay for itself given the average low mileage, instalation is more complicated than periodic setting of points, replacement of condenser if needed if already covered in this month's Hints and Tips addition at www.mgytypes.org.

Choice would be entirely the onwers, but provided you have good coil, I have personally never experienced any starting issues with any of my Ys so I cannot see any special advantage to fitting an electronic ignition in my personal opinion.

Paul
Paul Barrow

I tend to agree with Paul - electronic ignition is fine unless it goes wrong (may be a rare occurrence) and you are stuck with what to do. At least with the standard set up all you have to do is change and gap the points every 6 mths to 1 year depending on how often you use the car. I had all sorts of starting troubles which completely disappeared when I had my distributor rebuilt by H & H. Starts first time and runs very well indeed. One final point ..fit the distributor caP with the brass segments rather than the replacement type with the more 'modern' but inferior aluminium segments..the aluminium ones corrode quickly with use whereas the older caps with the brass segments last indefinetly.
D MULLEN

Thank you all for words of wisdom .Indeed on speaking to knowledgable classic cars owners locally they agree with you and went as far to say if something did go wrong with points/condenser system then its easy to fix .
My car is easy to start but is loosing power on hills and just not reving out well .
I think the problem is in the ignition so will check it all out and I know electronic ignition would not solve my problem but a good tune would .
E Winters

Sounds more like the actual distributor than the ignition system per se Ed. You can do a lot worse than contacting Masaaki Sakaguichi in Japan and have him rebuild your distributor. Even including shipping (insured and tracked) both ways he is no more expensive than a UK rebuilder but here is where he scores and knocks the ball out of the park - how many UK rebuilders will take the distributor out of their Y, put yours in and run the car around for a while? Indeed how many of them even care and have a Y or YB? Masaaki takes great PERSONAL care and responsibility over every distributor as if it were his own and loves MG Ys and does a darn fine job too! 3 qualifications there that make him the only GO TO GUY for this.

I promise you, you wont be disappointed in his work. If you are, I will underwrite the cost personally - that is how confident I am of his work ... and yes, I have fitted several of his rebuilds to my own cars and to clients.

Electric ignition is just a magnifying glass - if you have a dodgy distributor it will magnify that, not mask it. Also, they are like a light bulb - burn bright ... but when they fail, you cant fix them.

Paul
Paul Barrow

Hi Ed

The comments on this thread are interesting. The common accepted principle is the need for a good functioning distributor. As Dave and I have mentioned H and H Ignitions to a splendid job in rebuilding them.

Whether you opt for the original system or prefer to fit an electronic ignition is a personal matter. Dave is correct in saying that one can source original points etc through e-bay.Moreover, if you are undertaking a low mileage and do not wish to go electronic, then maybe that's the route.

On the TA I owned for 13 years which included a complete rebuild of the XPAG engine I did have several problems around the ignition system but kept the original distributor. It is pure conjecture to say that had it been rebuilt then (A) I would never have had those problems or whether (B) Electronic ignition would have solved the problem.

I did though cover 35,000 miles during that period with around 5,000 on the re-built engine and on reflection if I knew what I know now I would have gone with a rebuilt distributor fitted with electronic ignition!

I'll let you know how the YT runs in Brittany with electronics but I am not prepared, as a comparison, to return it back to the old system! Although of course it is quite easy to do.

Each to their own. Hope these ramblings may be of some help.

Have fun

Jerry

J P BIRKBECK

Got my YB tuned .
Points were not correctly flush,wearing to one side so bad spark.
Fuel mixtue weak
Timing off slightly
With the above sorted my YB is going great ,actually climbing those hill in top when before I had to go well down the gears . A real pleasure to drive .
In fact going better in all the years I have owned the car.
So the moral of the story is to get somebody who really does KNOW about tuning .I had thought my car was going good !!!!

No need for any modern electronic ignitions here !
E Winters

Hi Ed

There really is nothing as sweet as a healthily tuned Y - very sweet ride!

Glad you got there.

Paul
Paul Barrow

Ed I fitted the small Boyer Bransden inductive discharge unit to my YA but confess that it will be difficult to compare before and after since too many other changes have been made to the car, however I fitted one to my 105e Ford Anglia some years ago. It is so reliable that I just forget to check the points for years since they never wear. The fuel consumption for the 1500cc unit, I measured over about 1000 miles worked out at 39.5 mpg where as before fitting was less than 32mpg. To be fair I suspect that modern fuels burn hotter and so could improve efficiency anyway, but I certainly drive just the same as before. The small discharge unit cost about £30 and probably saved me that much in replacement points and condensers over the years, also I found before fitting the unit that the first sign that the points were pitted is when one needed full power the engine would misfire, not good in a tight situation. That is longer a problem. Bryan
B Mellem

The Pertronix in my daily driver TF, has been operating for 6 years and has not skipped a beat, even under some high revs, running in high ambient temperatures. I love it and am putting a set into my PA. Current cost for a set for the XPAG, is about $125.

However my distributor rebuild is long over-due, so instead of rebuilding my D25 with sleeve bearings, a new Pertronix distributor with needle bearings is not far off, as the cost is in the $235 range..

See:- http://www.pertronix.com/prod/ig/flame/dist/british.aspx

Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué.
Gordon A Clark

This thread was discussed between 27/07/2012 and 12/08/2012

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