Welcome to our latest Newsletter
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What's been happening recently ...
Time for another Newsletter and with few changes to the Vintage MG Parts website over the last year or so, it is a sure sign that we are keeping very busy on customer work and new parts development for the MMM enthusiast.
The purpose of this Newsletter is to provide you with an insight into the new parts we are introducing along with some articles which we hope will be of interest to our customers and MMM friends.
So, what have we been up to lately? Well, we always have new projects up our sleeve but the ones we can now tell you about are outlined below.
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 Spring Trunnion Dust Covers for all models are now available.
 Noting a shortfall, we set to work on the drawing board to reintroduce spring trunnion dust covers for K, KN and N Type models for the first time possibly for 60 odd years. We were also aware that over the past few years, the price of the more common overseas source for the smaller C/D/J/F/J/P/L front and rear covers had substantially increased. The rear covers were also known for not gripping the rear tubes as tightly as they should for retaining grease and were also not designed to stretch for the larger K and N models without tearing problems developing over time. The photo above left, shows tearing and stretching to a standard trunnion cover on an ND.
We have invested in injection mould tooling to have both sizes remanufactured. Only a limited one-off batch of the larger models have been made as demand will not be sufficient to produce a second commercially viable batch. We are now able to offer trunnion dust covers at highly competitive prices for all models; front and rear large (K/N) are £22 each and smaller (J/P) are £17 each.
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  J4 Crank Skew Gear: We now supply C/J4 skew gears. This is a new source supply for this particular gear, made to our drawings, precision ground and of course, these are heat treated.
This gear is to be used in conjunction with the C/J4 water pump and C/J4 bevel housing arrangement. The gear can also be used on a standard M/D/J front engine housing set-up.
Price £140 each
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 Front Axle Bump Stops: We have periodically received feedback on being unable to offer bump stops which do have the traditional more conical bump stop rubber. We were offered an opportunity to have these made, so we created a wooden copy of an excellent original example before we then produced in resin for 3D scanning. We also undertook Elastomer Analysis on the sample to identify the rubber hardness and we are now able to offer traditional bump stop rubbers. We can supply these on their own although we are just completing our own press tooling to offer complete bump stop units to the original design.
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 Silentbloc Bushes: Over recent years we have commissioned our own Silentbloc bushes, these being made by the same company who supply the German car manufacturing market and are moulded and vulcanised with UV protection additives. We have had another batch made and these will press straight into original and most reproduction Andre Hartford 503/6S and 503/6M (Duplex) shock absorbers. They will also fit other sizes and with the principle outer measurements being 1 1/8 inch OD, a length of 1 15/16 inch and with a bore to take a 9/16 inch diameter anchoring pin.
These bushes are custom made for us and are bonded as opposed to simply relying on friction to hold the bush together. They are designed for ultimate product safety and all our bushes have 'VMGP' moulded into the rubber for identification purposes. We are by far the cheapest priced vintage parts supplier for this particular bush.
We have recently taken stock of another batch of rolled edge shock absorbers.
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 J/P/L Type (early) Door Latch Silentbloc Bushes: Another long overdue part for remanufacture. We have had a one-off batch of these bushes made that will press straight into the existing door latch keep. These have been made with a stainless steel outer and inner sleeve.
These are in stock, price £10 each.
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The New Vintage MG Parts 'Brooklands' Camshaft Project:
 
A year or so ago we decided to set the challenge for a leading European camshaft design and manufacturing company to create a new camshaft for improved performance when used in conjunction with un-supercharged J type engines.
There are limited availability options on camshafts. Sports / competition cams only seem to deliver reasonable margins of torque towards the high rev range limits of this small engine. We wanted to develop a cam which delivered consistently higher levels of torque and which came in lower down the rev range. Our target market is for a fast road / race use for un-blown J types.
We supplied standard valve timing components, including camshaft, support castings, rocker fingers, bushes and shafts. The valve opening and closing geometry cycle is complex bearing in mind the rocker fingers being radiused top and bottom. With the benefit of meticulous clocking and state of the art software technology which also takes into account other wider engine characteristics, a new prototype camshaft was produced for rolling road testing purposes. During this stage, we also had other camshaft options carefully studied. The new cam was to incorporate increased valve overlap in conjunction with new cam lobe profiles
A little about out test engine; we had fitted our single rocker cover securing bracket which would enable a swift changing over of camshafts during rolling road testing. Each cam was already fitted with its own cam gear. Rocker fingers were already adjusted to their optimum position for a standard cam.
Some characteristics of our engine:
Engine Capacity ---------850cc
Carburettors -------------Two standard 1 inch SU with mid range D8 needles
Ignition -------------------Bosch 009 Distributor,15 degrees static advance
Spark Plugs --------------NGK BH6
Compression Ratio ----i-7.2:1
Cylinder Head Mods -iii-Gas flowed and balanced
Exhaust --------------i----J4 style i.e. 4 into 1 external
The engine has a C/J4 water pump arrangement which we appreciate will sap some power.
  The car was rigorously tested non-stop for a five hour period by TM Sport in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire whereby everything was being monitored through modern hardware and software analysis. Some rolling road technicians take readings in 3rd gear although such practice exaggerates the final true reading. TM Sport monitor final drive 1:1 results.
The following dynamometer graph shows our test results using three MMM camshaft options, plus the prototype Vintage MG Parts ‘Brooklands’ Camshaft with its torque curve on the graph highlighted in green.
The Vintage MG Parts ‘Brooklands’ Camshaft was shown to be producing a consistent 10% additional torque throughout the rev range up to around 5,000 rpm which is where we wanted this camshaft to be, i.e. to maximize levels of torque without the need for over-revving.
For our test car, the comparative difference in performance on the road is considerable and we will not be turning back, until of course we decide to re-connect the blower! We decided we must go in to production and share this cam with fellow J Type enthusiasts.
We have simply named our cam the Vintage MG Parts ‘Brooklands’ camshaft to clearly distinguish its presence from other J Type camshafts. The 'Brooklands' Camshaft is only available from us and is most competitively priced at £340 with no VAT.
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  Halogen Headlamp Bulbs: Having recently changed from a Scintilla NV4 Magneto to a Bosch 009 ignition system for the purposes of undertaking rolling road testing on the camshaft project, we found that the distributor drained power from the brightness of the headlamps. We fitted Halogen 12v 35/35 watt headlamp bulbs which made a significant difference. The photo on the left shows standard bulbs fitted. The photo on the right is with halogen bulbs fitted. We sell these bulbs in pairs only and they fit straight into the standard Lucas bayonet.
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 Vintage MG Enamel Radiator, Front Apron and Spare Wheel Badges: During last year we commissioned another batch of enamel badges to be made for us. These are crafted within the famous Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham and made to our colour specification. One aspect which the MMM enthusiast will never see is the skill and time involved in the manufacture of each badge, using traditional specialist skills. We thought therefore that Vintage MG Parts customers may be interested in having an insight on how this product is made.
Firstly, the badge design is stamped out using the original 1930's hardened tooling and by a heavy timber framed mallet stamp which we are informed was made during the early 1900s and is still in use today. Not even we were able to see this process. The badge design is punched into a piece of brass sheet. The surplus to the octagonal edges are then trimmed off.
At this stage, all the blanks are sent to Vintage MG Parts whereby we carefully work on each, making the badge sit flat so it does not just rest on its points like an umbrella which is a shortfall with many similar reproduction MG badges. We also re-profile and polish all the edges.
 The badge blank is then copper plated as chromium plate has a superior finish with a copper base. The badge to the rear of the photo is unplated. The boss or stud is attached to the blank prior to plating.
 Then the blank is carefully hand painted. The colours of the enamel glass paint are nothing like the fired glaze colours and the paint itself is thick in its viscosity so as not to run off the dome shape of the badge, being kept in place by the raised profiling detail.
 The badge is then fired in a kiln.
 The photo to the right shows the badge glowing after being taken out to cool. At this high temperature stage, the colours are different to the cool state colours.
 The badge has rough enamel at this stage which is then carefully polished with fine polishing paste to a smooth glazed dome finish before chroming. The photo shown on the left is not out of focus, it's the misty finish of the glazing before final polishing.
The badge is finished and ready for the car. The product is in stock.
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Getting the younger generation involved ...
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This year we have seen the younger members of the Vintage MG Parts business getting involved in parts manufacture. Our 16 year old daughter Eleanor, is currently studying double engineering as one of her A Level options and has turned into a highly proficient lathe operator! With the aid of a capstan attachment (for multi tool holding / changing used in production work), she has been machining batches of our small Bishop Cam Steering Play Reduction Units which are fitted to P and T Types as well as Morris 8s.
 Eleanor has also become an expert in resin moulding of the Vintage MG Parts 4 and 6 cylinder Spark Plug Holders. Up until now we have always made our 4 cylinder spark plug holders which advertise for use with Lodge spark plugs. We are just finishing the mould tooling to now offer the L.K.I KLG plug factory variant.
 Our son James is at university studying graphic design and recently has met the request of the SVW Register to produce solid copper cylinder head gaskets for them. Set up with the drawing board, he produced the drawings having copied our techniques for production of all other MMM solid copper head gaskets.
Vintage MG Parts can now offer solid copper cylinder head gaskets for the VA in two bore sizes and also the six cylinder SA model in standard bore. By the time this Newsletter is issued, the WA gasket should also be in production. These gaskets are available through Keith Bush for the SVW Register.
It is great to see the younger generation showing an interest, doing a good job whilst making some pocket money and it also helps us to concentrate on other aspects of the parts service.
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Another Bishop Cam Steering Play Reduction Unit - The Big Brother ...
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Over recent years when offering the smaller Bishop Cam bolt on Steering Play Reduction Adaptor, we have regularly been asked if we will design and pattern up to make a larger Bishop Cam version for the VA and which also fits certain models of Morris and Wolseley cars.
  
Thank you to John Munford for kindly providing useful information in support of designing this new part and a special thank you to his MG VA friend 'Mr Cadbury' in volunteering his services in testing the prototype.
John's feedback:
"All works very well without any feeling of the step between the central worn area and the area on either side. Now the car is much easier to turn at low speeds. This is nothing like as scary as it was without your magic piece of kit where the car would leap across the road in a ricochet effect of wrestling with the lumps in the worm"
Thanks again John and 'friend'! These units are now in stock.
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More on oil pumps and gears ...
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  Having established an excellent commercial contact for producing MMM gears of a part ground quality worthy of any aircraft application, we decided to expand our oil pump range. We patterned up to produce the P/N Type oil pump concentrating only on making these with the deeper N Type gears for higher output prior to regulation setting.
Again, similar to the J2 and C/J4 pump bodies, we have set out to create a perfect copy in terms of all profiles, pattern joint lines and lettering fonts etc. These are now available in stock either as complete units or we will offer just the gears. We will not offer pump bodies simply on their own but will supply all other parts as separate components.
We have also run off some additional pump lid castings which are available fully machined and ready to fit to your original pump.
Further information is highlighted within the Latest New Parts section of the website.
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A single plate rocker cover securing bracket for the F Type ...
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Noting the benefits of having a single bracket for simplicity of being able to remove the camshaft plus acting as an oil splash back, we decided to design a plate for our own F Type engine.
Unlike the J Type and later models where the rocker shafts are supported at the rear of the cylinder head, the F shafts at the rear of the engine for rocker fingers 11 and 12 are left floating. We therefore thought it would be a neat modification to extend our plate with a 90 degree drop at the rear to provide more strength to the shafts by supporting them.
We will make these to order only as they are a little time consuming and tedious to make! Several are now on customer's engines, including one on a Wolseley engine although for the latter application, a steel spacer ring and 3 separate rocker knob spacing washers are required which we can also supply.
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Dogbone filler cap internals ...
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 We now stock VMGP dogbone internals for sale as separate components or we can press these into your original cap for you. This now includes the correct conical spring which have been hand made and heat treated.
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Winding cord around road springs can be a bind, but not any more ...
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Click here to read another interesting article written by Chris Leydon.
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 Here is a rare photo of a local VMGP Elf at work making MMM bonnet straps for us. Ian is a family friend who lives locally and is a master craftsman in fine leatherwork. He works from his kitchen table and prides himself on his standard of workmanship with all straps being double stitched by hand as opposed to machine single stitch bonnet straps, i.e. where each stitch is independent to the next and will not unravel.
In addition to the bonnet straps now on  our website,we have been sent an original Mille Miglia K3 bonnet strap to produce for a customer and so this strap will be added to the range we offer.
Ian makes straps to our design, single or double buckle, custom straps and in black or brown fine English leather.
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Where our parts can end up ...
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We are finding that our parts are ending up on all sorts of interesting historic cars whether it be blowers, manifolds, dashlamps, aeroscreens etc.
 
Here is another one, our Ki-gass jets are running on several Bugattis and a Bentley...
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This dragster bike in Australia is about to be fitted with a new, old stock cabin blower we recently prepared for this machine. Our blowers can end up on a variety of non MMM applications.
Talking of superchargers... we have recently come across a Maintenance Manual for the Godfrey Marshall K200 Supercharger. This has been added to the Links page on our website where we also show other maintenance manuals for superchargers sourced to date. If any enthusiasts have additional manuals which we do not currently show on our website then we would be most grateful if they can make contact with us.
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Engine gaskets for pre-war MGs ...
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Several months ago we decided it was about time Vintage MG Parts became self sufficient in making MMM engine gasket sets. We therefore went back to basics addressing profiling issues and using upgrade gasket materials where appropriate, to include double sided graphite products for certain manifolds.
 We commissioned our own tooling here in Yorkshire using three companies, selecting the best that each could offer and we can now supply complete or part gaskets sets through to individual gasket components. More details with full component listings and individual gasket set pricing are highlighted on our website gasket page.
We also offer an annealing service for the solid copper head gaskets we supply.
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As usual, please keep your photographs coming in and also, if you wish to write an article for our next Newsletter whether it be technical or a personal experience in owning a MMM car then please feel free to get in touch.
We sincerely apologise for not having uploaded photos recently and we have another 20 or so to add to our gallery shortly.
Our website will be updated very soon but please bear with us as it will be a big job and with current parts activity, it may take a little time!
We have more exciting parts development projects in the pipeline which we look forward to announcing soon. We are always interested to receive your new parts requests and where there is enough demand to be commercially feasible, we do explore these to the full, some of which have appeared in this latest newsletter.
We hope you have found this Newsletter interesting and we look forward to helping keep your cars on the road during 2016.
With best wishes
Richard, Jill, James and Eleanor at Vintage MG Parts
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