Advice needed

[Stephen Aitken]

Hi
New to the forum so hello. I’ve just got myself an mgb gt LE recently which has a few niggles I need to sort but don’t doubt these will not be new so here goes:
1/. Sunroof. Looks like sunroof has shrunk a bit somehow and whilst no sign of any water coming in keen to fix. I see you can get just replacement vinyl or mohair roof cover - how easy are they to take out the old and put in the new one? a straightforward swap?
2/. The ignition light is illuminated when driving suggesting alternator may not be working? heard that the belt might need tightening or replacing is that true for this type of fault?
3/. Wipers are very slow and when at the highest speed stops in mid sweep also screen washers don’t work. Can they be related? Heard that the motor may need some lubrication or just replaced?
4/. Would look to swap alloys for wire wheels. I can see I need an attachment to the hub to take the wheel but is there anything else I need? seen some changing rear axle which looks s big job just for wire wheels
Any help on any of the above very gratefully received..
Thanks
S

[Charles Farran]

Hi Stephen,
Welcome to the forum.
I can make some suggestions on the alternator & wiper situation.
The ignition light stays on when there is not equal voltage each side of the warning light. A loose / worn belt may cause this which is easily checked. After that check all the electrical connections are clean , paricularly on the ignition related circuits. As a general rule these cars are as a minimum nearly 40 years old ( I have had a 1980 roadster from new ) & the bullet connectors corrode around the bullets. I like many have cleaned/replaced all the connectors that suffer from the elements, both heat & wet under the bonnet & in particularly under the front bonnet slam plate.
It is relatively easy to remove the alternator & have it checked by an auto electrician. The rectifier & the brushes wear. The small brown wire to the back of the alternator which goes to the ignition light finds its' way to earth through the alternator. When I had possibly a similar situation last year,I tested this on my work bench with an old battery & test light there was no circuit made. The auto electrician replaced the rectifier & the brushes & it is back on the car with no red light problem.
You may find the wiper problem & washer motor sort themselves once all connections are checked & cleaned. Make sure the earthing strap to the battery & from the back of the engine block to the chassis are in good condition as our cars suffer voltage reduction through corrosion in these areas. Make sure the fuses & contacts in the fuse box are clean as well as the line fuses immediately below. I would assume first of all that the wiper motor itself is OK as it is a pig to get at & remove .(Far be it for me to promote another site ,but there is some excellent information on this & other issues on the BBC site). We are all here to learn more & look after our cars aren't we????!!!!
Good luck
Charles

[Charles Farran]

Hi Stephen,
I should have typed BBS not BBC.
Cheers, Charles

[Peter Cresswell]

Hi Stephen
some thoughts on fitting wire wheels to your alloy wheel GT.
The wire wheel cars used a narrower rear axle than the disc or alloy wheel cars because of the greater inset of the wire wheel, so to do the change correctly you need to change the rear axle assembly, and make sure you get all the parts. A downside aesthetically is the wire wheels are 4.5 in wide and use 165 x 14 tyres whereas the alloys are 5in wide and use 185/70 x 14 tyres so the wires don't fill the arches as well and the alloys. Also the rear wheel brake cylinder is a different bore diameter on the GT to the roadster so you need to get a GT axle rather than a Roadster axle. You can though swap the backplates off your existing axle easily. You will have to pay around £200 to £250 for a good axle, maybe also new splined hubs as they can wear badly plus the cost of the 5 wheels, spinners and a new set of 5 tyres, although this can be offset by selling the axle, alloy wheels and tyres you have.
Another option is a wire wheel hub that bolts onto the disc/alloy wheel drums using the wheel studs, but you can see the nuts through the wire wheel and to my mind they don't look right.
The front hub is much easier to deal with, as you just need the hub part and the rest of the suspension is the same as far as I am aware.
If you have the correct alloys for the LE then these are unique to the LE cars and since around only half of the last 1000 (the LE Cars) were factory fitted with them the cars are quite rare in original spec. The JULE register knows which cars had which wheels as fitted from the factory, so originality of these cars is more important than for other MGBs. Incidentally they are not Triumph Stag wheels.

[Vic Butler]

The Stag alloys have a different offset from the LE wheels. I've got a set of LE alloys on my 77 BGT.

[Peter Cresswell]

Stag wheels are wider rim as well.

[Stephen Aitken]

Thanks everyone really helpful. I have the original le wheels and can see the point of not replacing given they’re original though for me I do prefer a wire wheel though appreciate it might not be in keeping with the car. Another thought is whether with the rubber bumper with the wire wheels would also not look right as a chrome bumper wire wheel combo looks more correct..not sure now..perhaps just refurb the originals...
Anyone any thoughts on the roof and whether anyone has replaced it..

[Peter Cresswell]

I've not seen a mohair cover for a sunroof - only for hoods for the roadster. The mohair is quite thick and it might be too thick for the sunroof to fold correctly.
You could try these to start - www.tudorwebastosunroofs.com/
or these - http://www.thetrimmingcentre.co.uk/

The roof looks best if it matches as close as possible the colour of the roof which I think in the case of the LE GT is black vinyl.

[Vic Butler]

In my opinion wire wheels do not suit a rubber bumper B. Neither do black and silver number plates as I saw a P suffix BGT with them recently, perfectly legal as it's a historic vehicle so I won't be putting them on mine.

[Charles Farran]

It's personal choice of course. I would stick with the original LE wheels. For my 1980 roadster I never liked the standard Ro Styles which deteriorate rapidly. I considered bolt on chromes wires but felt they were out of character with rubber bumpers. One year on the Silverstone weekend Brown & Gammon had an offer on for minataur mini light style 14J alloys complete with tyres (185/70). I ordered them on the Saturday & had them fitted in the old pits on the Sunday morning . (A friend of mine brought my old wheels home on his pick up while I have stored in my garage for the last 10 + years)! I have never regretted the purchase.
Cheers, Charles