MG YT, A Very Special Sports Car

Back in 1949 we were living in a suburb of Chicago, however I frequently went to New York city on business. Our family car was a Crosley sedan-yes that’s right- tin and cardboard with a brazed steel engine! We were however looking for a better car and eyed Singers, Morris’s, Morgans, Hillmans, Sunbeams, and of course MG’s.

The fall of 1949 saw me in NYC and I visited Inskip Motors, where among others they had a 1949 MG series “YT” tourer with less than 5,000 miles on the clock. The “YT” was a four sealer tourer (full back scat), a trunk with spare wheel, self canceling turn indicators (very new for the time) and at  hydraulic built-in jacks on all four corners of the car. The upholstery was all leather and the MG boasted a 12 volt battery cars back then had 6 volt batteries.

The top was canvas with removable side curtains, the windshield wiper was mounted on top of the windscreen and the dash seemed to have every instrument known to modern science. So I bought it, wired Mary (my wife) who hopped a plane to La Guardia and after meeting her at the airport we took off on a tour of New England which included Cape Cod then west across Canada and back down to sweet home Chicago.

Our two children kept the back seat very busy but they did enjoy the trip!

I bought a heater, drilled holes in the proper places, substituted a 12 volt electric motor for the OEM six volt and we kept warm, even in Chicago. In 1954 I was transferred to NYC and we drove from our Chicago suburb (now with 3 children!) across country to Westport, CT where we made our new home. In the course of our ownership, I rebuilt the engine, rebored, new pistons and rings, and had the head planed and ported to stage 2. I also rebuilt the backend, replaced the plywood floorboards and had the MG repainted. I had to rebuild the fuel pump (new points) but I never had to touch the starter and the generator.

The “YT” was our family car for years and it never failed to get us where we wanted to go. Wc had no electrical problems, other than the fuel pump points, and no mechanical problems, mainly due to regular reasonable maintenance.

In 1958 we needed a bigger car and I sold the YT to a dentist from Kansas City, who flew in to Newark Airport, drove the MG around the parking area, and then drove it home-to Kansas City!

We still think very fondly of the old series “YT” tourer particularly when we later realized that it was one of only a few hundred manufactured by the MG Car Company at Abingdon.

(Joe a former member of the P.C.A. Connecticut Sports Car Club was also a track flag man for the SCCA. He also was instrumental in starting the Mid-Missouri Sports Car Club in 1986. Currently he is rebuilding a 4 speed MG gearbox with overdrive -Ed.)

(Joe’s story set me (a former Y-Type owner) thinking how many know the real story of the MC “YT” Tourer? Here’s a little more background on this rather unique car.-Ed.)

The MG YT-An Appreciation

Some fifteen months after the end of World War II in the Spring of 1947 MG introduced the Y type saloon, a pre-war design but now with a much more up to date specification. The One and a quarter liter MG “YA” was extremely well received.

In the fall of 1948, MG launched another Y-Type, the “YT” Tourer – destined for export only, and with several major differences from its saloon sister. With twin S.U. carburetors, a TC camshaft, and developing 54 BHP@ 5200 RPM, the YT was also some 170 lbs lighter than the saloon version and thus was expected to top out at over 80 miles per hour.

With two doors instead of the saloon’s four doors, the “YT” also sported several features unique a: this time. Built in left hand drive form only, the standard trafficator arm semaphores were replaced with proper flashing turn signals controlled from the steering wheel and were no doubt aimed at the American market. The steering wheel itself retained the YA’s telescopic capability, enabling drivers of above average height to motor in comfort, although the gear lever and handbrake retained their right hand drive central position. The windscreen folded fiat for a mote sporty effect when needed, and the top was well fitting with good visibility through the side curtains, for both driver and passengers.

Sadly however, sales met with little success, and the car was with drawn in the spring of 1950, unloved and unmourned after a total production run of only 377 cars-one of the smallest production runs ever at Abingdon, home of the MG Car Company. Today however ownership of a “YT” is highly prized, and the car commands a premium price. Maybe the “YT” was just forty years ahead of its time!

By Joe Randolph, Fulton, MO