At 10:37 AM 6/13/06, Del Britschgi wrote:
"Do you know the proper locations for the tach vs. the speedometer for a left side drive"?

This is a delightful question, because what is "correct" is not necessarily best. The problem is that the MGA was apparently originally designed to be right hand drive, even though most of them were ultimately built as left hand drive.

In RHD configuration the tach is always on the left and the speedometer on the right. Also the fuel gauge is on the left and the safety gauge (oil pressure and water temperature) is on the right. This puts the safety gauge next to the tach where they are conveniently visible with a single glance, which is important for competitive driving.

When the cars were built for left hand drive configuration the instrument positions remained the same. That is, tach on the left speedo on the right, and fuel gauge left with safety gauge right. If you are going for a concours restoration and wish to be "correct" that's what you're stuck with.

For real world driving in a LHD car it is quite convenient to swap all of the instruments around to put the tach next to the safety gauge. Even though this is not technically "correct" as original for concours show, it is a very popular modification. This change may even be considered a correct period modification as may have been done for preparing a competition car when they were new. When I restored my car I put the tach next to the safety gauge, and it will stay that way as long as I drive it. But of course I have no concern at all for concours show, so I would rather be practical.

It's your car, and your choice. It is also very easily reversible if you change your mind later.