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MG MGA - Flywheel Lightening

Ok, my engine rebuild is starting to suffer from self induced "scope creep".

Anyway I'm contemplating having the flywheel lightened. I realize that I could switch flywheels and clutches to the MGB, but in the interest of time and budget I wanted to explore this route.

Is there a specification for this? Or a recommended shop for this particular bit of work? Given the dynamics of a spinning body I imagine getting the exact weight removal and distance from the center right is very important.

In as much as I live in metro Detroit I gotta believe there is somebody who is experienced with this sort of work.

Thanks,
T McCarthy

Tyson,
I think that most machine shops can do this sort of thing. I have a book I will check after work, and see whether there are any specs.
mike parker

Once it has been machined you may want to have it balanced.
J Heisenfeldt

Tyson, Barney has the specs for machining an MGA flywheel here http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/clutch/ft_202.htm.
Andy Bounsall

There is a very similar thread running on the mgexperience forum just now.
Neil McGurk

Tyson, my understanding is that lightening of the flywheel is a "good thing" for a car that is racing, but may not be for a street driven car. Moving away from a standing start may require more finesse.

G Goeppner

I would highly recommend it - even without any other engine mods, it makes the engine much more responsive, albeit at the expense of a much sharper clutch. Don't go too far, and it will just take a little getting used to, but after that be perfectly driveable. It actually transforms even a standard 1500 engine into something much more enjoyable.

As an example, my flywheel has been lightened, (sorry I can't remember by how much, but I believe by about 3 or 4 lbs) and every other MGA owner stalls my car when they first drive it, but gets the hang of it after a couple of attempts, then it's fine. They usually descrbe it as "poisonous" (Giftig).

If you are going to do any other engine mods, like a flowed head, a lighter flywheel also should come very high on the list - for bang-for-buck, it's just about unbeatable.

Otherwise just fit a standard B flywheel, which is much lighter than a standard A one, and either switch to the B clutch (which is a spanner job, no machining required, and the gearbox can be done in situ) or machine the flywheel for a A clutch pressure plate.
dominic clancy

Got it.

CD's in New Hudson Michigan. He does this for University Motors.

Total cost including balancing is $100
T McCarthy

This thread was discussed on 18/08/2008

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This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGA BBS is active now.