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MG MG Y Type - Is degrees Fahrenheit GB or USA?

I'm going to fit a temperature gauge to the Y and can choose between two Lucas gauges I have laying around; one in degrees Celcius and one in Fahrenheit.
I'd like to fit the Fahrenheit one, which with all the other Whitworthes and inches in the car would add to further confuse my metric mind and to puzzle even more unknowing onlookers.

BUT now I'm in doubt if Fahrenheit was used on temperature gauges by the British at all? Because with all respect to our American friends I do want want the Y to maintain it's stiff upper lip!
Willem van der Veer

Willem,

On the MGA, the gauge was in Fahrenheit for UK and USA cars. I would expect that a UK Y would also have a Fahrenheit temp scale.

dan
Dan Smithers

Willem: my impression is that, as always, the British designers tried to have it both ways! I was recently in a friend's 1959 Sunbeam, which has its speedometer in miles per hour (with km/hr on a smaller scale), but its temperature gauge in Centigrade. I think the early Midget and B had Fahrenheit scales on the combined oil pressure/water temperature gauge (and oil pressure in pounds per square inch). Many temperature gauges had simple Cold/Hot scales.

As far as I recall, very few MGs pre-MGA had temperature gauges anyway - they would have been added by owners just as you are doing. So you could probably use either type and claim justification: if it was me doing it, I think I'd go for the Fahrenheit scale. It has a certain period charm.

Tim Griggs

Willem - Our 53 TD with an original dual temp/oil pressure gauge has the temp gauge calibrated in degrees Celcius. Fahrenheit would have been US temperature measurement and was used on the gauges for the early MGBs. Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

Even when fitted to BMC cars, the temperature guage only said 'cold-warm-hot'. I have a calorimetre fitted to my '52 Y in its radiator filler cap, that also only has cold-warm-hot!!! As the gauages fitted to BMC ( MG) cars were simple hot-wire instruments, I would seriously doubt any accuracy.

Neil.
Neil Cairns

Neil - In playing with a means of converting the backward responding gauge in the Magnette so that a common MGB sensor can be used with it to get the proper readings, I have found the gauge to be surprisingly accurate as long as it is taken in one direction. By that, I mean that the gauge can be calibrated to give a relatively accurate reading as the temperature is rising, but due to the hysteresis of the hot wire movement, the readings presented when the temperature is dropping are not all that accurate until it settles out at the new reading. Regardless of how accurate the readings may be, the small size of the face and the amount of parallax introduced by the gauges positioning, make for a general indication at best. Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

Your site is very nice, compliment! from http://www.visasupport.org
Ronny

Caution - do not click on the above link from Rodney - I am contacting Mike Plumstead to have this entry purged. It is a SCAM LINK.

Paul
Paul Barrow

This thread was discussed between 09/02/2005 and 02/03/2005

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