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MG MGA - Water pump: replace or go electric?

Apologies for the cross posting, as I've posted this in the mgb technical section, as I've got an A with a 2099cc 18v B engine...

Hi guys,

My car has been sat for over a year due to lack of time to sort it out and sort the ignition problems. It's a 2099cc bore with a bit more grunt than normal.

Fired it up today with new ignition system, gave it some right foot and got banshee-like screams from the front. Guessing the water pump is on its way out due to standing for so long, so the options are to take it out and replace it with another, or put an electric pump on.

Replacement with another is relatively simple, but I fancy going electric for a few more broken horses. Something like a thermostatically controlled Davies Craig.

Has anyone got experience of an electric water pump conversion? If so, any hints and tips would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks,

Grant
G Hudson

Why - when almost every manufacturer fits mechanical water pumps, would you want to spend more money on an electric version which is guaranteed to fail sooner or later.

Anyway are you sure the noise was not the belt ?
Roger Walker

Yes, it does sound like belt squeal.

I am interested to hear if anyone has done this though, just out of curiosity.

I don't believe there will be any noticeable effect on power, but I wonder if there might be any other advantages at all? Obviously adds weight and complication, more things to go wrong, but maybe there are positive effects to compensate?
Neil MG

Grant,
I just want to see the 2100 engine. Can you send me a sentence or two about the boring, cylinders, pistons, etc.?

How would you plumb-in the hoses for an electric water pump? Between the rad and lower intake? How big is it?

thanks,
Tyler
Tyler Irwin

Hi Tyler,
A company here make a stroked billet crankshaft for B series engines ($A4,000) that pushes out the common 1950 cc engine to around 2,100 cc
Mike
Mike Ellsmore

By coincidence yesterday a friend dropped by in his midget and he had an electric pump fitted!

The car is fairly new to him and he didn't know anything about it other than what you can see and the fact that it seemed to work well.

It was fitted between the mechanical pump and the radiator and wired via thermostat to permanent live. In fact I would not have known about it being fitted if it wasn't for the (small amount of) noise it made once he had switched off.

The car still had its mechanical fan and I would have thought an electric fan using the same thermostat controlled power source might have been useful.

In that case I could identify a definite advantage - post run cooling of the engine, to reduce the effect of fuel vaporisation on a short stop!

If there are no existing overheating or vaporisation problems, then obviously it adds nothing I can see.
Neil MG

The early Volvo 4 series had an electric pump to circulate coolant. It ensured the engine cooled evenly. A mechanical pump circulated coolant during normal running.
Roger Walker

This thread was discussed between 08/05/2016 and 11/05/2016

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