[Mgs] FW: dashboard install

[Max Heim]

I am not a huge fan of playing with electrical systems, speaking for myself.

When it came to wiring my completely stripped-to-metal MGB roadster, I re-used the original harness that I had pulled out of the “barn find", on the theory that the copper doesn’t go bad. Since the cotton wrap had more or less completely disintegrated, I removed the remnants and rewrapped it in black plastic. This gave me an opportunity to inspect the entire run. When removing it, I had used small Avery labels to identify each connector, and had cleaned every male bullet and bought a supply of the female connectors. In the end, I had to make a few splices to reverse the polarity on the tach, hook up the alternator, and replace some brittle insulation in the engine compartment runs. To address one major flaw, I installed a headlight relay kit, out of sight under the bonnet latch platform. But I did not feel it necessary to redesign the system or install multiple extra fuses. I have a points distributor, I am not even running a radio, and certainly have no intention of adding gimmicks like power door locks or windows, heated seats, or air conditioning. The charm of the MG is its simplicity.

--
Max Heim
'66 MGB



> On Apr 21, 2020, at 10:26 AM, Richard Lindsay via Mgs <mgs at autox.team.net> wrote:
> 
>    Great fun and encouraging to read this, Dave. There must be some primal satisfaction involved. There certainly is for me, even if poorly understood. My TD got new harnesses. See attached.
> 
>    I am now finishing a TR6 and keeping the original harness, but have replaced most connectors and verified / improved grounds.
>    Next up? My 1971 Volvo 1800E project is getting 'new' self-made dash wiring and engine room harness. Woohoo.
> 
> Rick
> 
> On Tue, Apr 21, 2020, 12:09 PM dave via Mgs <mgs at autox.team.net <mailto:mgs at autox.team.net>> wrote:
> In fact I very much enjoy wiring.  I have built entire wiring harnesses from scratch, carefully following the color scheme.  I will admit on one car I changed it from a 4 fuse system to a 10 fuse system.  Everything had its own fuse and everything was grounded directly.  Never an electrical problem on that car!
> 
> I am now restoring 2 mga’s, albeit one at a time.  I will be emulating the factory harness in every way possible, building it from scratch.  That takes a lot of research and questions, and Barney has been extremely helpful.  Get the right color through the right holes, use the connectors in the right places, all a challenge.  Fortunately the one is my reference as I do the other.
> 
> And, btw, I didn’t start out to restore 2.  Someone offered me a deal I couldn’t refuse on the second one, which needed a new throw out bearing.  But the paint was wrong and so awful we were going to clean it up.  and then . . . .    shipwright’s disease totally got me.  The wiring was so bad (the DPO pretty much just used red and blue wires) that I cut it out and threw it out.
> 
> Today I hope to make some big progress on the chassis (it is half restored, as in the back half), and I’ve got parts hanging in the side yard that I painted this morning.
> 
> From: Mgs On Behalf Of Richard Lindsay
> 
>    Perhaps I'm the only guy who enjoys wiring and electrical systems! I just find it rewarding to get everything connected correctly and the harness bits aligned. Go figure!
> 
>    My TD is simplicity itself but the other LBC project takes some thinking. It's a US specification 1975 TR6. And as we all know, the '70s was a time of turmoil for our LBCs; None the least of which was the electrics! Part of my goal with this car is to create a CORRECT wiring diagram with CORRECT color codes! Nothing I have found published matches my car, including the schematics labeled 'U.S.A. Only'.
> 
>    Still, for a guy like me who builds and restores cars rather than driving them, this is a perfect challenge (storm?)! There are other projects in the queue too, but they are even further OT than Triumph talk...so I will leave Volvo, Lancia, and Jaguar words for others.
> 
> Rick, in Houston
> 
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