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MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG TD TF 1500 - 2 BA Grub Screws

Hoping to locate a supplier of slot head brass 2 BA grub screws about 8 mm in length. These were used at the rear of the LUCAS TC & TD ignition switch. Had no luck on the internet so I may have to resort to making a quantity of them from 5/8" CS brass screws. These I have plenty of. Not looking forward to that though. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Peter
Have you checked with Classic Fasteners in Adelaide.

They have 2BA brass cheese head bolts in from 5/16 to 1" long.

cheers Stuart
Stuart Duncan

Will do Stuart. I've purchased difficult to find machine screws for my TD from them in the past. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

I am sure you are aware Peter, but the UNC 10-32 is so close to being a 2BA that its almost a twin.

The 2BA has an OD 0.185" and a thread of 31.4 TPI
The 10-32 has an OD of 0.190 and a thread of 32 TPI. The major difference is the thread form. The BA series has an angle of 47.5 degrees and the UNF uses 60 degrees.
I have seldom found a case where the 10-32 will not interchange.

A UNF screw going into a 2 BA hole will have clearance.
A 2BA nut going onto a 10-32 screw Might just have an issue.



Jim B.
JA Benjamin

Thanks Jim. I'll check it out. No luck on the Classic Fasteners web site Stu. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

I think that a better solution would be to run a 10-32 screw through a 2BA die. A 10-32 screw run into a 2BA internal thread will be ruined by forcing the 10-32 into it (don't ask how I know). Cheers - Dave
DW DuBois

Had no luck finding 10-32 brass grub screws either. Looks like I make have to cut down the 2 BA machine screws & cut a slot head by hand. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Peter
You could try Craig Seabrook at the Whitworth Shop to see if he has any spare.
Tim
Tim Wilkinson

Peter, Ebay has 2BA grub screws in steel or brass. PJ
Paul Jennings

Hi PJ. Just did a worldwide search & only found Whitworth, BSF & Metric. No brass 2 BA except for 1" which I'd have to cut down. As I have shorter CS brass 2 BA's I might as well cut them down & create the slot head. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

You can buy BA screws by the box full (or less) in a range of materials from Spalding Fasteners. Sometimes they have brass BA grub screws and sometimes not, but easy to make from a machine screw.
Dave H
Dave Hill


"Looks like I make have to cut down the 2 BA machine screws & cut a slot head by hand."

That's exactly what I did Peter.
And as Dave noted it was a tight fit.

Jim B.

JA Benjamin

The threads at the rear of the switch are 2 BA Jim so no problem. About a year or so ago there were slot head brass 2 BA grub screws for sale on EBay that were perfect for the LUCAS switch. Anyhow I made a couple last evening. Thanks all for your help. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Same grubs as on voltage regular, yes?

Jim B- Curious what gets hooked up onto that connection (you made the screw for in the pic) on a TD? Nothing goes there on a TC with the same switch.

D mckellar

2BA grub screws are available in stainless steel or mild steel from British T and Fasteners at: http://www.britishfasteners.com/?gclid=CNHFr4qXiqUCFRhzgwodlwx5Mg
Cheers - Dave
DW DuBois

It's easy to cut the screwdriver slots - Just put two blades, side to side, in your hacksaw and you get a nice even slot.

Jan T
J Targosz

I knocked up a jig to hold the CS screws that I cut down to make the grub screws. The flat bar was drilled & tapped in four places to take both the original 2 BA grub screws on one side & the 5/8" 2 BA CS screws on the other. I took a bit of care to ensure the grub screws stopped halfway through the thickness of the bar. Tightening the oversize screws against the grub screws held them firm & prevented them from rotating during the cutting. I was able to cut the screws a little oversize by holding the jig in a vise using a thin stainless cutting blade in an angle grinder. I then offered them up to the linisher while still in the jig to reduce them to the correct length & finally returned the jig to the vise to cut the slot with a hacksaw. I found using just one blade gave the best result. Only difficulty was centering the hacksaw blade. Using a thumbnail helped guide the blade & centre the cut. Pretty happy with the result. See pic. Cheers
Peter TD 5801

P Hehir

Peter

In future if you have the need to secure a threaded screw securely just cut thru one side of the same thread pattern nut and clamp in a vice with the cut section parallel to the vice jaws, works a treat.

Graeme
G Evans

Thanks Graeme. That's a technique I've used in the past. Problem was I didn't have any 2 BA nuts. I managed to pick up some today from Mick Moyles here in Sydney as I intend to use the nuts in concert with my jig to centre the slot in the cut end of the screw. 40 brass 2 BA nuts cost just $2. I've cut partially through a few nuts & I use them as a guide to centre the hacksaw so that I can accurately cut the slot. Works a treat. I'm able to make 5 grub screws at time. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

This thread was discussed between 31/12/2016 and 05/01/2017

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