Heat-shield

With the engine-bay all coming together nicely, it seemed a shame to put the old heat-shield back on, so I decided to splash out a little and go for a new one.

The original heat-shields are made from a compound-type material (see Fig 3), which means they can't be cleaned up. Unfortunately they are no longer available to buy in their original form, but luckily there are alternatives! Paul Copeland at Stainless for Classics does a great range of stainless steel parts for MGs, including carburettor heat-shields.

Paul's shield fits slightly differently to the original one, the most noticeable thing being that the black spacers which used to fit between the shield and the carbs, now fit on the other side of the shield, putting the carbs right next the the shield. This is no bad thing as it puts extra space between the shield and the exhaust, allowing for more air circulation in that area. One thing you do have to bear in mind though is that this will make your exhausts more visible, so it's worth giving them a coat of heat-proof paint to pretty them up a bit.

Fig 2 shows the new shield in place before the carbs are put back on and you can see just how shiny it is. The first photo shows it with the carbs on top and whilst the carbs do obscure some of the shield, what you do see definitely makes an impression and nicely reflects the yellow on the inner wing.