Bill:-
Sounds like there is something missing in your headlight bracket.
Disassemble the other side and and see what that might be. In the
bracket in my MGA MkII there are some screws that are designed to hold
part of the assembly out away from the car about 1/2". They are
difficult to describe, but they could be missing in your case and causing
your problem. Something else that sounds missing is that there should be
a spring that holds the headlight tight in place. One end loops through
a loop on the inside of the headlight mounting in the car and the other
on back of the headlight bracket.
The headlights themselves should be no different, regardless of the
number of adjustments. If you are considering replacing them anyway, I
STRONGLY recommend the new halogen lights. Standard 7" sealed beams will
fit. I installed these after reading about them on this list and the
difference is AMAZING! I really can see at night now. The increased
safety factor is well worth the $20 a pair costs.
My MkII has a lower rear-end ratio than yours and I typically cruise at
70 and a RPM of about 3500. I don't mind the wind at that speed, 'cause
that's the point!
David Littlefield
Houston, TX
On Fri, 18 Apr 1997 11:33:57 -0500 Bill Eastman
<william.eastman@medtronic.com> writes:
>As the weather is still improving slowly I continue to fix little
>problems
>on the MGA. One of my headlights could be rotated by hand in it's
>mount
>plus the trim ring was crooked so I took it apart. The sealed beam
>unit
>has a lot of room in the bracket and the PO had shimmed the bulb by
>putting
>foam weatherstrip behind it. My car has the "3 adjuster" headlight
>units.
>Do these take a different headlight? I noticed that VB (the catolog
>closest to me when I discovered the problem) that they also sell "2
>adjuster" assemblies and parts although they are expensive. Any input
>/
>suggestions / experiences / warnings on what I should do would be
>appreciated. For now I am going to put it back together with the
>rubber
>shims.
>
>I pulled the spark plugs yesterday. They are now a beautiful golden
>brown
>compared to sooty black before I fixed the rear carb's jet problem.
>It
>still acts rich at idle but in mid range I think it is about right
>since it
>won't accelerate cleanly when dead cold without the mixture enrichment
>partly out. There is not hint of oil fouling and after 100+ miles the
>oil
>is still full and clean as a whistle.
>
>I ran the car on the freeway a bit. There was a discussion a while
>back
>about cruising speeds. My speedometer is slightly optimistic but I
>would
>estimate that the car cruises well at around 60 mph. Above this speed
>the
>cockpit buffeting increases because (I am guessing) either the flow
>over
>the windscreen changes from laminar to turbulent or the "shock wave"
>from
>the front of the car has finally gotten long enough to reach the
>driver.
>>From an engine standpoint, the car sounds OK up to about 4500 rpm
>(70-75
>mph I would guess since I was keeping up with traffic). Above this it
>starts to feel a little frantic but not terrible.
>
>After the freeway run my oil was warm and the idle oil pressure fell
>to
>about 10 psi at idle. The car runs so well that I don't want to tear
>it
>down but I don't want to fry the crank either. I am seriously
>thinking
>about just throwing in a set of bearings. I know that it is the wrong
>thing to do but I can't afford a rebuild right now.
>
>My driveway is fairly steep and, upon backing out in the morning, my
>car
>deposits a fair amount of oil on the driveway. It seems that the oil
>is
>pooling in the bell housing and drains when the car is tilted. It
>doesn't
>leak a lot of oil when sitting but the drips on the driveway are
>driving me
>crazy. Anyone got a suggestion to fix this? Also, the car is still
>full
>at the crank case so I am thinking that the leak is from the tranny
>front
>seal. Can this be? The tranny shouldn't be running any pressure.
>
>Finally, I mentioned that my speedometer is optomistic. I seem to
>remember
>that my MGB and Sp**ire speedo's read high also. I read / heard /
>dreampt
>of somewhere that there is now a federal standard for speedometer
>accuracy
>and that Mazda, when building the Miata, puposely calibrates the
>speedometer on the high side to enhance the car's "sporty feel." More
>proof that the Miata is just an LBC wannabe copying things that the
>British
>had done 30 years before!
>
>Regards
>Bill Eastman
>61 MGA one headlight short of a full load.
>
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