thank you!!  dklawson.   i already marked it and put it back in a drawer, i don't throw anything related to mini's

Whatever you do, do NOT throw out your original gas gauge.  If it works at all, it is probably just out of calibration.  The methods shown on the MGA Guru web site will allow you to recalibrate the gauge for use when you need it.

thanks for all the info, i checked the wiring and the original gauge, the gauge was the problem

i put my new one in and it works great, again, thank you for the info

Sean, this is a '61 so it won't have the voltage stabilizer and the gauge works the other way.  If you unplug the sender green/black wire the gauge should go to full, short it to ground and the gauge should go to empty.  This is exactly the oposite of what a later gauge using the voltage stabilizer will do.

Vespa, I would start by removing the screws securing the fuel gauge to the speedometer.  Clean them and the back of the fuel gauge, then refit the screws and make sure they are tight.  Unlike later gauges, the early fuel gauge must have a good ground connection.  Likewise, make sure the speedometer housing has a good ground.  If the illumination lamps work... the ground should be good enough.

There is a lot of excellent information on the early fuel gauge at Barney Gaylord's MGA Guru web site.  Start at the link below and use the forward and back arrows at the bottom of the page to read up on how the gauge works and how to calibrate it.

//mgaguru.com/mgtech/electric/fg_01.htm

Take the wire that goes from the sender to the guage and ground it right to the body, if the guage goes all the way to full, then you know the sender is no good.

my gas gauge just went south, i started the car and the gas gauge reads past full, i turned the car off and started it again, now the gauge is below empty, the gas tank is half full. now the gauge is stuck on empty,  i checked to make sure the gas tank has a good ground, and i checked with the key on and i have power at the sender and i have power on the empty side of the gauge, the gas gauge has worked great for the last 18 years, 

does anyone have any ideas, i have a new gauge, but i want to see if anyone has any ideas before i install it, or what else i can check. i went to the gas station and filled the tank, still reads empty.

thank you