MGA Forum

Hi all... can anybody identify these vents please?
They were on my '59 MGA when I got it. Thinking to get originals.
cheers, Michael

They fit perfectly, quality made with a polish they would look fantastic......"should I change or keep" ?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-04-12 07:01 PM by san miguel.

If they fit perfectly they were custom made , if not they look like boat vents

Very interesting

Very cool.
Stan Heath

Possibly Chriscraft. Any identification on the reverse egge?

I’ve got a similar unit from West Marine on my port side to invite air in to my supercharged SU.

Would love one like your’s

Cheers

Ted



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-04-11 08:56 PM by Tedsmga.

Now the real question is do they go opening forward, opening backwards or one in each direction?

Those are cool
Let’s see a picture in situ and of the underside.
Cheers Tom

If we can identify the original application or the source, I would post those on my web site as possible "upgrade" mods for the MGA.

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Barney Gaylord - 1958 MGA with an attitude - http://MGAguru.com - barneymg@mgaguru.com - Ph: 630-946-3841
(Please email me direct, do not leave a PM on the public server).

Gotta be a boat vent… like a Chris craft or something.

They are pointed in the best direction as air goes into those oval vents, it doesn't come ou, because they are close enough to the high pressure zone created by the windshield. Having them pointed forward will encourage even more air to go in. Then, of course, it needs to get out again, which normally means down the transmission tunnel and out under the car.

If those were created for another use, perhaps as boat as suggested, whoever fitted and or modified them to fit did an excellent job. They have a sort of old time J.C. Whitney look to them Interesting!

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Bill Spohn www.rhodo.citymax.com/carstuff.html
Current: 1958 MGA Twincam (race car (170 bhp)),1962 MGA Deluxe Coupe (98 bhp)
1957 Jamaican MGA (200 bhp)1965 1971 Jensen Interceptor (350 bhp)
2009 Pontiac Solstice GXP Coupe (375 bhp)
2007 BMW Z4M coupe (340 bhp)
Recent: 1969 MGC roadster (175 bhp),Jensen CV8 (375 bhp),
1969 Lamborghini Islero S (350 bhp), 1988 Fiero GT turbo (300 bhp)
North Vancouver BC

Michael - sent you a PM

Rob

I saw this MGA for sale,think you got a good buy. Pretty sure the vents were originally from a boat. But for your application you need to remove the hot engine air, so in this case the opening should face rearward.

Bill, they are vents, not scoops. I don't think they're near enough to a high pressure zone in front of the windshield to use like a backward facing Cowl induction device. They are vents to allow underhood heat to escape. I would turn them around and let the venturi effect help extract the hot gasses away from under the hood. And if they're big enough, that venturi might infinitesimally reduce under-car turbulence :-) I've never tried anything like that but maybe you have??? Basil 707.762.0974 basiladams@yahoo.com

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Basil C. Adams
1956 MGA Coupe (Show Car)
1957 MGA Roadster (Driver)
1958 MGA Coupe (Racecar)
1959 MGA Coupe (unrestored)
1960 MGA Coupe (unrestored)
1960 MGA Roadster (Driver)
MKIII Elva Courier (E1056)
1967 427 Cobra
1972 Alfa Romeo Montreal
A coupla late MGBs
1960 Austin Healy BN7
More Cars than Brains

Basil,

According to a MGA airflow study by University of Mississippi Aerophysics Department in 1963, due to high pressure over the bonnett and low pressure under the car, air flows into the vents, down over the engine and out under the car.

https://www.mgexp.com/article/mgb/pdf/mga-roadster-airflow-analysis-msu-1963.pdf

But yes, if you are going to use them, the opening should face forward.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-04-14 08:31 AM by szpcn0.

Lots of strum and drang on this subject over the decades, but has anyone ever covered the vents to make them inoperative and driven the car around for a while and reported any difference in the way the car functions? My guess is there would be quicker under bonnet heat build up when the car is stationary.

Silas