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MGB MGB Brake M/Cyl...Made in China

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AlanT

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Yesterday I was in one of the local MG repair shops and the owner of a 72 BGT had purchased a new brake master from one of the usual suspects. It came in a white box marked 'made in China'. After it was installed and bled the pedal would ease to the floor under light pressure. It took about twenty minutes to rebuild the old one (longer to re-install) and it worked fine. This is about the third time I have heard the same scenario. But when you call the supplier they act as if this is the first one that they have ever heard of doing that. I am just about to the point of not installing anything that is not OE quality but that is getting hard to do . Remember when we thought the original replacement parts were of questionable quality? Never challenge worse.....because worse will hear you...Cosby.

Alan T
 
All too true. The possibility of having to substitute a pre-FUBAR'd "new" part has had me collecting OEM spares for years. Got a T.Signal switch "new" from one of them for a bud's CB MGB... fitted it last Friday. It WILL NOT detent into the right side position. Seems the li'l fingers that made it ~forgot~ to put both detent springs in the unit before it went into the (ubiquitous white) box. GRRRRR.... 'phone call elicits a: "Oh, sorry. We'll replace it. Don't remember that being a problem before." $100 part (!), NO Q/C, no way to make up for the time spent fussin' it out/in THREE times to get it right. Nevermind the shipping time, etc. Maddening. If it were ten bucks (and I suspect that's more in line with the wholesale cost of this piece of junk) I'd be inclined to MacGyver it into compliance. As it is I think it worthwhile to inconvenience THEM into dealing with all the paperwork, time, etc... tho I think they've had this built in as part of "doing buisness". Wonder what the REAL return rates are. Pro'lly why a $20 retail bit is a $100 expense for US. We're paying up front for all the back-and-forth. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif
 
Let's see...This weeks reported parts problems...Spitfire MKIII O/D switch. Worked once then broke off and most of it landed on the floor. Repro pull starter switch MGA...doa in the box. Disected the old one and repaired....that was a first. XK150 headlamp switch ($125.00)stalk clocked wrong. I'm slowly getting my revenge for all the dumpster diving I did when working at the dealer.

Alan T
 
Oh yeah, I've had some fine replacement parts. Replacement radiator hose wouldn't fit on the fitting. Replacement windshield washer pump turned out to be a universal replacement which had different mounting holes. New courtesy light door switch didn't look anything like the old one (old one came back to life eventually). I'll never buy a Victoria British "ready-made" fuel feed kit again. That was basically an exorbitant price for $10 worth of copper tubing (which still had to be cut to length and could be purchased at Home Depot), a few inches of fuel hose, a handful of hose clamps, and no flared end or fitting on the tubing to actually connect it to the gas tank.
 
mmmmm... last week was 5 out of 7 (possibly more?) MGB throttle cables bad out of the box.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
mmmmm... last week was 5 out of 7 (possibly more?) MGB throttle cables bad out of the box.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Unreal. What goes wrong with a cable? Stuck in the sheath? Frayed?
 
[ QUOTE ]
Yesterday I was in one of the local MG repair shops and the owner of a 72 BGT had purchased a new brake master from one of the usual suspects. It came in a white box marked 'made in China'.

[/ QUOTE ]

I just bought one from these folks:

https://www.bpnorthwest.com/.sc/ms/bdd/ee/7844/Brake%20Master%20MGB%2068%20to%2074

I have no financial interest, just a happy customer. You cannot beat their prices on genuine Lucas bulbs.

Anyway, the MC box was festooned with red and green Lucas (and maybe Girling or Delphi?) logos all over it. Sort of expected the typical black/yellow AP Lockheed, not nope. There is a big ol' Lucas logo cast into the side of the cylinder too. Looks to be decent quality and machined well; plugs in the flare fittings. Would really suck to install it only to have to yank it back out.
 
Learned my lesson, again and again, no more white boxes, pay the extra, wait up front...
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
mmmmm... last week was 5 out of 7 (possibly more?) MGB throttle cables bad out of the box.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Unreal. What goes wrong with a cable? Stuck in the sheath? Frayed?

[/ QUOTE ]

The lug on the end of the cable that anchors the cable onto the throttle wheel on the carb was crimped on. Which, normally wouldn't be a problem. However, in this case the lugs were only half crimped to the cable. So, I had one fall off the cable in a parking lot, and the other four failed when checking the cables with bare hands. Really disappointing really. Fortunately, I didn't have to deal with the bad parts, but while I appreciate the time he took to come fix my car on location, I feel for Darrin cause he has to deal with it.
 
Teflon liner'd bike brake cables, man. They DON'T fail.
 
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