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MG TD TF 1500 - Interesting bolt heads!

I took the plate off the back of the engine today to remove the water heater hose connector (which I replaced with a cap so that I can drain the system completely). I'd never noticed these odd octagonal bolts before! Can someone tell me a little about why they used them here?

Geoffrey M Baker

They didn't, at least not in that form! The correct ones are round-head slotted screws; perhaps someone ground down four sides so a wrench would fit? It's pretty tight back there on the car.

Tom Lange
MGT Repair
t lange

My guess is that someone modified the original round head slotted screws to be able to use a wrench.
Jim Merz

Very interesting! And actually, a fairly smart thing to do... no room for a screwdriver in that space! I might look to replace them with hexhead screws for that reason!
Unlike virtually every other thing that PO's did to this car, this one actually makes sense...
Geoffrey M Baker

Those are the stock screws with flats ground in. If you don't care about originality to that degree, you can replace these bolts with hex heads, which is what they should have been from the beginning. 6x1.0 thread IIRC.
Steve S

Steve, I think I will. I don't believe originality should ever trump safety or common sense.
Geoffrey M Baker

Geoffrey,
I replaced mine with allan head screws. Easy to get at with an allan head lever.
John
John Walton

Of course, the originals are also easy to get at with a simple right-angle screwdriver...

Tom Lange
MGT Repair
t lange

Easy to get at, but nothing is easy to turn with a right angle flathead screwdriver! ;)

I run a solid brass plate, painted engine color. It can be tightened down more snugly (especially with hex bolts) and will never rust. I do appreciate originality though, and strive for it in most cases.
Steve S

That's if you have a right angle screwdriver and an allan head screw key rarely slips off the head.
John
John Walton

I went with hex head bolts. They are an easy on-off with a wrench or better yet a small socket; even a small adjustable would be able to take them off.
FYI, these are 8x1.00, not 6x1.00 as stated earlier. I put on lock washers as well.
Geoffrey M Baker

Thank you for the correction, not sure what my fingers were thinking at that moment. There is a 6x1 but that obviously won't do the job!
Steve S

This thread was discussed between 25/01/2015 and 26/01/2015

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