MG ZA & ZB Magnette Header Wolseley 15/50 Header
MG ZA & ZB Magnette Header The ECS headers (freeflows/extractor/manifold) were designed to clear the steering column on left hand drive cars, and produce a strong power increase thru out the power-band. They fit on right hand drive cars just as well. They will work with 1500, 1600, 1622 or 1800 B series motors in conjunction with the stock transmission, 4 synco MGB, 4 syncro with over drive MGB or Ford Sierra 5 speed conversions. The Wolesley 15/50 uses the same basic body and engine, so will fit without modification. It may also fit the Farina Magnette's, and many other English cars that use the B series motor as well as the Datsun sports car using he B engine design. If you are in Southern CA and have one of these other cars and are interested in a header, please let me know.
A little background on my header. I had been unhappy with the stock cast iron manifold for a long time. It was restrictive, retained a lot of heat and the joint to the rest of the system was problematic. I have been building high performance motorcycle exhausts for many years. Starting when I paid too much for a custom exhaust that was really down on power. Having read some books on exhaust system design I figured I would give it a go. My first attempt at building an exhaust system proved successful as it felt much better then what I had paid for. The dynometer proved the over all power increase, with a much wider power band. Since then, I tried a lot of different things while building many motorcycle exhaust systems.
I looked into what was available for the Magnette and could only find the Darrington header back then. I did not like the fact that it runs under the front cross-member, which has received more then its share of abuse on my car though the years and it did not sound like it would clear the steering on left hand drive cars without modification. I had replaced the rest of the exhaust system with 1 3/4" when I originally restored my ZA years before. So it did not take to much to decide to build a header when the clamp on the original exhaust was a problem again.
I picked up a MGA header with the intent of using it for a cheap source of parts and modifying it to fit. After getting it, I was very disappointed in the quality and obvious lack of effort put into its design. The flange was flimsy, The head pipes were 3 different lengths, clearly the only design work was to make it fit on the MGAs. I then decided to have a flange cut and build one from scratch. After building my original prototype for my Magnette, I found there was some interest from other Magnette owners as well. I then built and tested 4 additional prototypes before choosing the final design.
The design I chose to produce had the biggest power increase through out the RPM range. The outer exhaust pipes are equal length. The center pipe is larger diameter and longer length. The exit pipe is 1 3/4 inch inside diameter. It gives an excellent increase in bottom end and a good increase in mid-range and up top end also. The power increase means fist gear is almost unneeded, even on my taller geared ZA Magnette.
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The ECS Magnette header is available in Satin Black Ceramic, Satin Chrome Ceramic, Titanium (matt gray) Ceramic or Flat black paint. Flat black headers are in stock most of the time. The Satin Black Ceramic take 1-2 weeks to ship, Satin Chrome Ceramic, Titanium (matt gray) Ceramic will take 3-4 weeks to ship typically.
The header comes in three pieces, and include pinch bolts to seal the joints. I included the last horizontal exhaust segment (shown in 1st photo), as this should make it very easy to attach to an existing exhaust system. This is 1 3/4" diameter. If you have the original piece of spaghetti tubing, you may want to up grade it. :-) If you have any questions please call 714-791-8900 or email us at ecsducati@aol.com
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ECS header on TVR Grantura Mk3 with 1800 B series motor &, HRG cross flow cylinder head. The TVR is owned by Arnfried Weissin Hamburg/Germany. The engine had to be shifted slightly to the right to clear the steering column for this application. ECS supplied stepped washers for use with our header, as the intake manifold is on the opposite side on the cross flow head. We have more available should you need a set.
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If your in southern Ca, we are looking for other cars using the B series motor to test fit and possibly build headers for. We are also in the beginning stages of making our first A series header specifically for the Morris Minor. We are open to other cars using the A series motor as well. If your interested in any of the above, please email ECSducati@aol.com with a subject line of header. We will keep you informed of our progress on them.
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European Cycle Specialties |
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