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MG MGA - The DPO got me again!!!

I had a little time late this afternoon so I got the horn to my MGA out of its zip lock bag to give it a good bead blasting and general clean up. I noticed it was mounted to the bracket a little strangely -- a total of four washers to take up some slace....

I clean it up to discover it is something other than the Wind Tone Lucas horn it should be. And the bracket has been drilled out to get a bigger bolt through it....Sigh....

So now I am in the market for a Wind Tone horn WT618L (69046F) or better yet that one and a WT618H (69047F). Not much on e-bay right now.

Anybody got one?

BTW, my horn is marked 'CLEAR HOOTERS ENGLAND' with a few random numbers thereon. What does IT go to? Why do you suppose the dip s**t changed the horn?

Safety fast! (and even faster when you are warned to get out of my way with a deafening blast of my wind tone horn)

JMG
JM Greenlee

It is not unheard of for a horn to fail. That may be why yours in not original. But, some people are not as fanatic about originality as others may be, and go with what works. I personally feel that the smaller the car, the louder the horn should be. That is why I have a pair of very loud air horns mounted where my original horn was, and the original horn is on the shelf in the garage. This would not be a good choice for a show car, but as I drive mine a lot, it works for me.
Ed Bell

Hi John,
I just tried to send you an email at your above address and it got returned. Is it correct and if not let me know the correct one so that we can catch up.

thanks,
Ken Bowen
Ken

Ditto, Ed Bell. The air horns are the way to go if you drive your MGA on the street. Easy to install and can be purchased new on Ebay for quite a savings over the retail stores. They can mount using the original mounting location. As with Ed my original horn is on the shelf collecting dust. Go with the aluminum trumpets as they sound better and give a more original look ( yes I know that some models of Maserati air horns that were sold circa the 60's had red plastic trumpets.) The loud air horns cuts through the oblivion of the cell phone user that doesn't see your small car. -M.S.
Martin Straka

Since horns do fail, its not weird to have a non factory horn on a 30+ year old car. Keep the horn though since it is a period correct horn. Clear Hooters was the alternative to Lucas switches back in the 60's and 70's. They mainly supplied to Triumph though. In fact, they originally made a lot of the switches for the TR6 dash but were phased out do to some problems, not totally major, just switches melting and stuff like that (haha). If it works, keep it. If it doesnt, make it work as youre probably one of a small amount of people who have one.
Jhills

If you want originality, there is a guy in Massachusetts named E. Lawrie Rhodes who, I think, specializes in restoring and selling Lucas horns and fuel pumps. He advertizes in the "British Marque" newspaper that comes out monthly to many east coast (USA) car clubs. I don't have an issue of British Marque handy, but, if someone else has an issue, they can probably find his contact info for you. Good luck.

Regards,
M.D.
'57 Coupe
M. D.

The MGA and the Magnette horns are the same, so if a Magnette set turns up they would be correct for your car.

George Goeppner

I think it is a little harsh calling a previous owner horrible names because he repaired a non working horn with one that actually works. In fact thinking about it, it could easily have been repaired under warranty many years ago by a dealer. I hope when I am gone the next owner of my car has a little more respect for me when he finds all the hundreds of modifications I have made to MY CAR.
Bob (robert)

And to add a bit more--in the sixties and seventies, finding parts for an MGA was a real trial. It was considered obsolete--dealers didn't stock much unless it was interchangeable with another current car and there were no after market suppliers. If you lived outside a major metropolitan area, your chances of finding a part was limited to a few mail order houses like JC Whitney. Therefore be not surprised by anything you may find bolted to the car--for we scavenged and adapted whatever we could.
R. L Carleen

We should all remember that if it were not for the previous owner we may not even have an MG. So thanks to him or her for keeping this keepsake in whatevere condition.
Sandy Sanders
conrad sanders

I have my British Marque handy; Lawrie Rhoads is www.british-car-part-restoration.com
w.g cook

I saw last night that Lawrie Rhodes also advertises in MGA! His ad says that he sells Lucas hi and low note horns for $60 each - probably nicely restored too.

M.D.
'57 Coupe
M. D.

This thread was discussed between 23/04/2005 and 26/04/2005

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