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be called modern". Always keen to highlight positive aspects of any car, the
Autocar testers appreciated several features on the 1¼ litre MG saloon which had been dropped in newer car designs, such as "front seats individually adjustable", a (small) sliding roof panel and a rear window blind. However, the car's "fairly high" 7.2:1 compression ratio was problematic in view of the 72 octane "
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evidence pointed to the split of MG YA to MG YT was 6,158 to 877. This is most often found quoted in books and magazines. Following over 10 years of extensive and world wide research by the
International MG Y Type Register, it is currently proven that these numbers are incorrect and the correct split is now put more correctly at 6,131 MG YA and 904 MG YTs.
423:" which UK fuel buyers were still obliged to use. Pinking was experienced "when accelerating from the lower speeds" as well as "some running on after ". The testers had the opportunity to drive their car in mainland Europe and reported that the power unit was "a revelation ... better quality fuel".
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The original production records of the MG Y Type were lost or destroyed when the MG Works at
Abingdon closed in 1981. What is known for definite is that there were a total of 8,336 Y chassis produced of which 7,035 were MG YA or MG YT (the exact mix was not known) and 1,301 were MG YB. The original
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The "YT" Tourer did not benefit from ‘displayed’ woodwork but had the same standard of seat trim. It did have more instrumentation, in that there was a tachometer (or rev counter) in front of the driver, the speedometer was positioned in front of the passenger with a central bank of subsidiary dials
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series. The MG Y Type saloon developed 46 bhp at 4,800 rpm, with 58.5 lb ft of torque at 2,400 rpm, the YT Tourer (with the higher lift camshaft and twin carburettors) develop 54 bhp (40 kW). With the exception of only the Rover Ten, which managed 2 additional bhp, the
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Magazine recorded similar results in a 1949 report, at which time it was already possible to see as outdated a car which "virtually alone ... still offering the form of external appearance to which many keener motorists still cling, in spite of the wider acceptance of shapes that have come to
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layout designed by Gerald Palmer and Jack
Daniels (an MG draughtsman). Independent front suspension was very much the latest technology at the time and the "Y" Type became the first Nuffield product and one of the first British production cars with this feature. The separate chassis facilitated the
319:
When the car was launched the MG Sales
Literature stated "A brilliant new Member of the famous MG breed. This new One and a Quarter Litre car perpetuates the outstanding characteristics of its successful predecessors – virile acceleration, remarkable ‘road manner,’ instant response to controls, and
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The prototype "Y" Type was constructed in 1939 with an intended launch at the Earls Court Motor show, the following year. However, as a result of the hostilities the public had to wait a further eight years before production commenced. All prototypes originating from the MG Factory at
Abingdon were
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was responsible for body styling and, in essence he took a Morris Eight Series E four-door bodyshell in pressed steel, added a swept tail and rear wings, and also a front-end MG identity in the shape of their well-known upright grille. The MG 1 1/4 Litre Saloon would retain the traditional
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allocated numbers prefixed by the letters EX; this practice continued until the mid-fifties. Although the prototype of the MG "Y" Type was primarily a Morris concept from Cowley, much of the ‘fleshing out’ was completed at
Abingdon. As a result it was allocated the prototype number EX.166.
300:). The "WA" had an engine displacement of 2,561 cc, the "SA" 2,288 cc and the smallest of the group, the "VA", had an engine of 1,548 cc. The next development to the range was to include one more saloon, of smaller engine capacity than the "VA", and for a component base the
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A production tourer, the MG "YT", was launched at the Motor Show in 1948. It was available for export only in both right- and left-hand-drive models. Only 904 of these cars were produced when production ceased in 1950—it was not the success that MG had hoped for, and indeed other
British
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Road holding was also improved by the introduction of smaller 15-inch (380 mm) wheels (the "Y" and the "Y/T" both had 16-inch (410 mm) wheels). The "YB" also had an anti-roll bar fitted to the front of the car and stronger shock absorbers, or dampers, were fitted.
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In 1952 MG Car
Company updated the "Y" Type and an improved model was launched, known as the "YB". The "YB" had a completely new Lockheed twin leading shoe braking system, 15 inch wheels and a much more modern hypoid type of back axle. Production numbers - 1,301.
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feature of separately mounted headlights at a time when Morris was integrating headlamps into the front wing and it was also to have a separate chassis under this pressed-steel bodywork, even though the trend in the industry was towards ‘unitary construction’.
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In 1948 several (currently believed to be 9) "YA" Types (consisting of chassis, engines and some body parts) were imported into
Switzerland and given cabriolet bodywork by various coachbuilders, such as Reinbolt & Christé. The idea of the open four-seat
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The MG "Y" Type had an extremely high standard of interior furnishing and finish, in accordance with the best British traditions. The facing surfaces of all seats were leather, as were the door pockets. The rear of the front seats were made from
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Considerable use of wood was made in the internal trim of the "Y" Type. Door windows, front and rear screens were framed in burr walnut, the instrument panel set in bookmatched veneer offsetting the passenger side glove box.
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that were bolted to the chassis, two at the front and two at the rear. The jacks were connected to a Jackall Pump on the bulkhead that enabled the front, the back, or the entire car to be raised to facilitate a wheel change.
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had been popular before the war, and in theory there was still a market. As a result a "TC" specification of the XPAG engine was married to a pressed-steel open body with fully folding hood and coach-built doors.
406:
in 1951 had a top speed of 69.6 mph (112.0 km/h) and could accelerate from 0–60 mph (97 km/h) in 29.9 seconds. A fuel consumption of 29.5 miles per imperial gallon (9.6 L/100 km;
387:, a form of leathercloth, which matched the leather fronts, as were the door panels themselves. A roller blind was fitted to the rear window as an anti-glare mechanism (not a privacy screen as many think).
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Greater detail is provided in the specialist books on the subject: 'Let There Be Y’s' by David Lawrence, 'Y Type Saloons and Tourers' by John Lawson (both currently out of print but available on DVD from
268:
In the years immediately before the Second World War, MG had sought to supplement its popular range of ‘Midget’ sports cars with three saloons of various sizes and engine capacities. These were the
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The speedometer, clock, and three-gauge cluster of oil pressure, fuel and ammeter, were set behind octagonal chrome frames, a subtle iteration of the MG badge theme later replicated in the MG TF.
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superb braking. A ‘lively’ car, the new One and a Quarter Litre provides higher standards of performance." The UK price of the car was £525.0.0 ex works plus
182:
When production ceased, 8,336 "Y" Types had been produced, 6,131 of which were "YA" saloons, 904 were "YT" Tourers and 1,301 were "YB" saloons.
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Little else was changed about the car, which was by now looking extremely dated. The YB was produced until the end of 1953 and the
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370:"Y" Type had more power than other British saloons of similar size. Indeed at the time many manufacturers were still producing
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The power unit was a single carburettor version of the 1,250 cc engine used in the latest
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in the centre, giving a similar sporting appearance to the TC with a "double scuttle" dash.
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based products and they were always to be closely associated with what was to become the
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manufacturers were also having problems selling open-tourer versions of their saloons.
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which was launched at the Earls Court Motor show the same year.
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411:) was recorded. The test car cost £880 including taxes.
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722:) )and 'MG Saloon Cars' by Andres Ditlev Clausager.
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402:A car tested by the British magazine
732:The International MG Y-Type Register
703:"1¼ litre M.G. Saloon (road test)".
664:"Second Hand car guide supplement".
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679:"The M.G.Y-type 1¼ litre Saloon".
641:Complete Catalogue of British Cars
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590:4-cylinder, single SU carburettor
306:Morris’s Ten-Four Series M saloon
257:4-cylinder, single SU carburettor
668:. 6 Nbr 68: 768–769. April 1960.
498:4-cylinder, twin SU carburettors
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100:99-inch (2,500 mm)
264:Development and launch
290:Nuffield Organization
685:. 12 September 1951.
339:The car featured an
737:MG Octagon Car Club
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666:Practical Motorist
612:Production numbers
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752:MG vehicles
421:Pool petrol
134:Predecessor
746:Categories
621:References
574:Powertrain
551:Production
482:Powertrain
456:Production
414:The rival
372:side valve
296:and later
241:Powertrain
218:Production
179:versions.
161:automobile
129:Chronology
90:Dimensions
61:Production
682:The Motor
554:1951–1953
459:1948–1950
409:‑US
404:The Motor
374:engines.
292:(Morris,
221:1947–1951
157:MG Y-Type
144:Successor
96:Wheelbase
64:1947–1953
24:MG Y-Type
546:Overview
451:Overview
378:Interior
294:Wolseley
213:Overview
41:Overview
706:Autocar
416:Autocar
169:England
647:
580:Engine
522:The YB
507:tourer
488:Engine
476:tourer
385:Rexine
353:Engine
302:Cowley
286:Morris
247:Engine
186:The YA
177:tourer
173:saloon
159:is an
121:Height
105:Length
84:tourer
54:Morris
532:MG YB
437:MG YT
367:MG-TD
363:MG-TC
359:MG-TB
298:Riley
207:MG YA
196:MG YA
138:MG VA
113:Width
75:Class
35:MG YA
645:ISBN
587:XPAG
495:XPAG
365:and
276:and
254:XPAG
155:The
278:"W"
274:"V"
270:"S"
167:in
748::
691:^
629:^
272:,
165:MG
50:MG
653:.
56:)
52:(
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