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MG MGA - Spot light brackets

Here is an easy one for you. I have just bought 2 cranked MGA spot light brackets for my pair of SLR 576 spot lights. All the pictures I have seen suggest that the brackets are fitted with the cranks pointing outboard from the overrider attachment bolt. I have yet to remove the overriders, but on offering the brackets up in the general position it would appear that the spot lights partially overlap the main lights. Is this the case? The brackets are cranked 3 1/2 inches attachment hole centre to light hole centre.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Steve,

I am about to fit similar brackets to replace the ones I fitted on the badge bar, and I noticed this light position also.
There are quite a lot of pictures in the gallery on the MGA Register website (go to the www enthusiasts home page, click MGA and follow the link) which illustrate this. On all the spotlighted? cars, except one, the spots seem to overlap the mains slightly. I guess it doesn't affect the lighting too much, especially when the spots are lit. It's a much neater arrangement than the badge bar brackets so I guess I will go ahead and fit them.

Cheers
Tony
tony goodall

I have just put one on the passenger side. There is a small overlap but it is smaller than it looked when I did a fit by hand. Dont know the effect on the light b/c mine is not wired yet. I was not replacing a badge bar as I never had one, but I think the look is better. I had to grind a small amount from the side of my overrider. Im sure it is not meant to work this way but mine did. You will have to drill one hole in the bumper (two pieces b/c of the overlap) WTM
Bill Mitchell

I've got a pair of SFT576 lamps mounted factory style, and there is no overlap onto the headlamp units. The edge of the fog lamp is barely even with the chrome headlamp rim. I think your brackets are the wrong size. My OEM brackets have a distance from overrider hole to light hole of only 3". I think Todd Clarke makes good reproductions; you might ask him for the dimensions and check against yours.

You definitely don't want to mount the brackets the opposite way because the lamps will obscure the grille and inhibit cooling. If you want more info on mounting and wiring, check out Barney Gaylord's mgaguru.com site.
Mark Lambert

I was considering mounting fog/spots using these brackets but thought the whole point was NOT to drill holes in our (sometimes original) bumpers?
Jim Paul

Jim,

That was my idea as well. I don't want to drill holes in the bumpers and therefor was planning on buying the brackets. BTW, I've seen pictures with the lamps mounted close the headlamps and others obscuring the grille. I even saw a picture in 'Original MGA' of the Mille Miglia car where they mounted only one lamp in the grill. Didn't they have a cooling problem back then ?
Koen Ackermans

Just fitted the first bracket and light. I also have the badge bar in place. I did not need to drill any holes as the bracket is held rock solid by the overrider bolt and the dome headed bolt that holds the 2 sections of bumber together behind the overrider. Biggest problem was getting the overrider bolt to mate as there was precious little clearance (none) between light bracket arm and the back edge of the overrider.

There is no overlap with the headlight on my car, so very pleased so far. The outside edge of the spotlight is exactly in line with the inner edge of the headlamp rim.

Many thanks for comments. Looks like another case of far eastern companies failing to match the exact specifications of the original item.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Steve,
The white mga on the register website page has standard
brackets and normal Lucas fog/spot lights and they do
not overlap the headlights.The third spotlight is
mounted on the overrider (three extra lights was the
limit in the regs )Hope this helps.

Regards David
david

I (wrongly) fitted my lucas spots to the inside of the overriders and never had a heating problem, even through an Australian summer. I have a standard radiator (I believe),7 lb recovery cap and an overflow bottle. Never need to fill it between annual flushes. I now have the spots on the outside of the overriders and they are in line with the side of the main light. I prefer the look previously-more sporty- but appreciate the originalality of my A so will leave them as they are now.
regards, Dave, Gold Coast, Australia
D Godwin

I now have both brackets and lights installed. Bearing in mind these were optional extras, can anyone tell me if there was a standard location for the relay.

Many thanks

Steve
Steve Gyles

<<can anyone tell me if there was a standard location for the relay.>>

Didn't have a relay! Note the headlights don't have a relay either, or a fuse for that matter. Men was men in them days!
Bob (robert)

Bob

Clausager states on pages 82 and 83 that when 2 spot/fog lamps were fitted, an additional relay type SB40-1 was required. However, it is not totally clear to me from the text whether this was a USA regulatory requirement or a factory edict.

I also had a browse in the archives and noted the occasional comment that our switches don't like too heavy a load. However, 2 x 48 watt bulbs is 8 amps and that does not seem excessively heavy to me, especially as the headlamp switch loads about 8.5 amps on full beam and mine is still the original from 1958 (minus 22 years in a barn!).

Overall, I am inclined to agree with you. Does anyone else have a counter view?

Steve
Steve Gyles

My factory install instructions specify a relay, but not a location for it. I put mine in the far front corner of the passenger side, under the air intake. Not at all a practical location, but it's unobtrusive, which is what I was after. Using a relay is a good idea -- the voltage drop over that long, skinny switch wire will make the lights dimmer and the wire hotter, and the wire isn't fused.

I wrote up a set of more detailed installation instructions for Barney Gaylord's site here: http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/electric/et205.htm , but in summary: use the red/yellow switch wire to switch the relay. Use heavy-gauge wire from the starter terminal, through an in-line fuse, to the relay power terminal. From the relay load terminal, run red/yellow wire to the lamps. The site article has more detailed wire routing instructions, wire colors, gauges, etc.
Mark Lambert

Going back to Bill Mitchell's comment - is it necessary to grind out a recess in the overriders, or do I have the wrong brackets (from Moss)?

I was inspired by this posting to finally get my lights mounted (they were a 2003 Christmas present). However, a sizable piece of the overriders will have to be removed in order for them to fit. Is this normal?

Also, any suggestions on how to adjust the bumper fit? The driver side hugs the body as it should, but the passenger side juts away from the body by about an inch. I have a new bracket that I compared to the existing (original) one, and the original does not appear to be bent, but otherwise I'm stumped. Is there some play in the center mounting (where the two brackets meet) that I need to adjust?

thanks in advance.

Joe
Joe Cook

To adjust the bumper fit to the body, you have to bend the bumper iron that is behind it. It's a case of using brute force and leaving the ignorance out!
dominic clancy

I agree with Dominic on that one. I spent ages bending the irons over the winter to get a good fit. In my case the left side of the bumper (under the headlight) was about15mm lower than the other side. Looks okay now.

On the subject of the brackets, Mine fouled the back of the overrider but once I got the overrider bolt to engage I found there was just enough tolerance on all the parts (with a bit of help from my wheel spinner hammer)to tighten up satisfactory. In my humble opinion the bracket arms need to be a few degrees rotated back towards the body work, away from the back of the overrider - manufacturer please note.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Thanks Dominic and Steve. Sounds like another fine tuning job with a BFH! My bumper is straight from a horizontal perspective, it just doesn't snug up to the body.

Steve, I'm estimating that I'd need to cut a notch at least 3/4" in the overriders - I'm not sure I can tighten the assembly up as you did without this surgery.

Were your brackest from Moss?

Regards,

Joe
Joe Cook

It sounds like your fog lamp brackets are not the right shape. You should not need to make any modifications to the overrider to get your brackets to fit. It's a close fit, but the bracket shouldn't do more than barely touch the overrider.

The BFH approach on your bumper brackets works for minor fit problems. If your brackets appear to be unbent, be sure to check the frame extensions. If they are at all bent, it's very difficult to get a decent fit.
Mark Lambert

Thanks, Mark. Anyone out there have a close up picture of the bracket mounted properly so I can compare mine?

My frame extensions SEEM to be straight, but I'll take some measurements to be sure. I think that my problem may lie in the center of the bumper - I'm thinking that a multitude of soft taps over the years may have put a subtle bend in the bumper, which is exaggerated at the end. I'll have another go at it this weekend.

thanks.

Joe
Joe Cook

Joe

I will take a picture of mine tonight (just fitted them - see earlier entry) and email it to you. I will also see if I can get the angle measurement of the arm relative to the bracket front face.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Excellent! Thanks much, Steve.
Joe Cook

Success!!

After a bit of fiddling, I was able to mount the brackets without fouling the overriders.

Steve and Mark, your advice was spot on -thanks. And a special thanks to Steve for the pictures. They were a big help in helping me ensure that I had the correct brackets.

Cheers!
Joe Cook

Joe

Well done, glad to have been of help. My lights now fully fitted and working fine (without a relay). I have connected the foglight switch cable to the brown/blue cable connection on the light switch rather than the red cable connection. This enables me to operate the fog lights independently of the head lights (probably illegal here in the UK!) and use them as a sort of flasher.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Hi Steve,

Can you mail me your pictures as well, please ?

I'm planning on installing spot lights on my A and wanted to wire them the way you described for the same reason : use them as a flasher.

Thanks in advance.

Koen
Koen Ackermans

This thread was discussed between 18/05/2005 and 31/05/2005

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