MGC & MGC GT Service Schedule

Note: The periodical maintenance table shows the maintenance schedule advised by the MG Car Company in their technical publications at the time of MGC production. It therefore relates to cars in regular use, as they would have been at the time, and does not account for occasional use or cars which are stored for some time. Some interpretation may therefore be necessary to account for typical MGC use today. It is suggested that for cars covering low annual mileage, the 3000 mile (3K) service should be carried out at 3 month intervals while the car is in use, the 6000 mile (6K) service at 6 month intervals, and so on.*

In addition to the periodical maintenance described in the table, the following checks should be made weekly:

• Check oil level in engine and top up if necessary.
• Check water level in radiator and top up if necessary.
• Check brake pressure warning light (if fitted).
• Check brake fluid level and top up reservoir if necessary.
• Check battery electrolyte level and top up if necessary.
• Check windscreen washer reservoir and top up if necessary.
• Check function of original equipment: exterior lamps, wipers and indicators.
• Check tyres for tread depth and any damage, including cuts in fabric, exposure of carcass, lumps or bulges.
• Check tyre pressures, including spare, and tightness of wheel fastenings.

* Low-mileage cars: the intervals in this schedule are the factory's, written for cars in regular everyday use. With many classic MGs now covering fewer than 3,000 miles a year, Roger Parker suggests a pragmatic alternative based on long hands-on experience: on very low-mileage cars the lubrication service can be carried out once every 12 months, pumping each grease nipple until fresh grease emerges rather than giving the usual three or four strokes, with an intermediate greasing every six months as a belt-and-braces option. Both approaches are sound. Read Roger's full reasoning in Classic MG Lubrication Part One and Part Two coming soon.

Castrol LM, the grease specified on this page, is no longer available. Roger Parker suggests Castrol High Temperature Grease (1503AD) as a replacement wherever LM was used.

MGC & MGC GT Lubrication Chart

Note: Ensure that the car is standing on a level surface when checking the oil levels.

Every Week
(1) ENGINE. Check the oil level with the dipstick and replenish if necessary with Castrol Classic XL20w/50 oil.

Every 3000 Miles (5000Km)*
(2) SWIVEL AXLES (four nipples). Give three or four strokes of a gun filled with Castrol LM grease.
(3) CARBURETTERS. Remove the cap from the top of each suction chamber and top up to the correct level with a few drops of SU Carburetter Damper Oil.
(4) AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. Check the fluid level and top up if necessary with Castrol TQF.
(5) ENGINE (if using monograde or single viscosity oil). Drain and refill with Castrol SAE 30.

Every 6000 Miles (10000Km)
(5) ENGINE. Drain and refill with Castrol SAE 30 (if using monograde or single viscosity oil) or Castrol Classic XL20w/50 (if using multigrade oil).
(6) ENGINE OIL FILTER. Drain, wash the bowl in fuel and fit a new element.
(7) GEARBOX. Check the oil level and top up if necessary with Castrol Classic XL20w/50 oil.
(8) REAR AXLE. Remove the filler plug and replenish to the filler plug level with Castrol EP90 oil.
(9) DISTRIBUTOR. Withdraw the rotor arm and add a few drops of light oil to the cam bearing and advance mechanism, through the gap around the cam spindle. Add a spot of oil to the contact breaker pivot and smear the cam lightly with Castrol LM grease.

Every 12000 Miles (20000Km)
(10) WATER PUMP. Remove the oiling plug (if fitted) from the water pump and lubricate sparingly with Castrol LM grease.

Every 24000 Miles (40000Km)
(11) GEARBOX WITH OVERDRIVE FITTED. Drain, clean the overdrive sump and relief valve filters and refill with Castrol Classic XL20w/50 oil.

MGC & MGC GT 12,000 Mile Service Kits

The 12K column above calls for a string of separate consumables, and ordering them line by line leaves room for one wrong part to hold up the whole service. The MGC service kit collects them into a single boxed pack matched to the car, covering the routine consumables for a full 12,000 mile service, including the oil filter, spark plugs, contact points and condenser. The kit covers the MGC GT alongside the Roadster, as both use the same engine and the same service items.

The kit is available with or without air filters:

• MGC & MGC GT – with air filters (CSK1C) or without air filters (CSK1CA)

MGC & MGC GT Cooling Hose Kit

Cooling hoses harden and crack with age, and a hose that looks sound on the outside can be soft or collapsing inside. Our cooling hose kits renew every flexible hose in the circuit in one go: the top and bottom radiator hoses, heater hoses, bypass hose and, where fitted, the overflow and expansion tank hoses, with clips. The hoses are polyester-reinforced and rated to 135°C.

• MGC & MGC GT – cooling hose kit (CHK9)

Browse the full range of cooling hose kits.

Workshop Tools for MGC Servicing

A grease gun is the one tool this schedule cannot do without, as the swivel axles alone take four nipples every 3,000 miles. Feeler gauges cover the valve rocker clearances and the distributor points gap, and a hydrometer is the only way to read battery cell specific gravity as the schedule intends, rather than guessing from a voltmeter. Two items in the tables need equipment most home garages will not have: the exhaust emission check and the oscilloscope tune up are both worth handing to a specialist, as is wheel alignment. Our workshop tools range covers servicing equipment for classic MGs.