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MG MG Y Type - Another Monte Done

Completed another Monte Carlo Classique Rally last week. Glasgow to Monaco this year. Weather was thankfully kind with not too much ice in the Alps. Again UMG 662 did not miss a beat on the rally. Sadly broke the speedo cable on the way to the start so lost that and the trip meter. Could not change as jammed in gearbox so soldiered on without. Tricky on the navigation but not too bad. So in last 12 months c 4K miles of rallying and only speedo cable and one blown fuse. Our Ys are remarkable! Photos to follow.
M Hanson

Well done. No one could ever accuse you of not using your classic cars. Must be the most travelled Y in last few years, surely.
Look forwards to seeing report and photos of the amazing adventure.
Richard
R E Knight

Very well done Marc It is with regret I have cancelled my MG CC membership because the Club appear to be indifferent to our cars as they have been so often in the past, yes I know about 'Little gem' which seems to have been thrust upon them. Strange it is that all the modern high performance MG's are tin tops. Bryan
B Mellem

Bryan, I was accused of "Sniping" for saying less.

Looking forward to the MGCC Y Chairman's reply, as past experience from what I see is dissenting comments don't go down well.

You are entitled to your view, and certainly you are not the first I've heard say similar. I do currently pay my MGCC subs, but coming to similar conclusion, I pay for monthly mag, and receive little else for my yearly subscription.
Richard


R E Knight

Brian,
I am very sorry to hear that you have not renewed your MGCC membership. I do hope that this does not mean that you will no longer be joining us on Y Register events, your presence on Spring Runs and our adventures in France was always very welcome. Mark is our Guest of Honour at this year’s Spring Run weekend, we look forward to you joining us again where you will be able to talk to him about his Monty experiences.
Tim Pennicott’s YA and MGB were bequeathed to the Club and they immediately sold the MGB but decided without any prompting from the Y register to keep the YA to use for promotional purposes. Little Gem as she became known was regularly on show in Kimber House, appeared at the NEC, Stoneleigh and Silverstone on many occasions and was also driven on Spring Runs by one of the Directors of the club. She also appeared on the front page of Safety Fast and had several articles written about her. After 8 Years of regular use they decided to move her on and I can tell you that an excellent oil painting (I have seen it) of her depicting the occasion when she was named Little Gem has been commissioned by the club and is near completion. It will be hung in the new Archive Wing at KH to commemorate her.
Peter
Peter Vielvoye

Please do not consider my criticism is directed towards the Y register but I'm afraid I come with some baggage from the past over this issue, and after 57 years as owner of MNU 299 I have a particular regard for the designers of this car. If you all consent to my continued support the badge on my car will now be an 'Octagon' Bryan
B Mellem

Thanks Bryan I do appreciate where you are coming from but can assure you Ian Quarrington the Chairman of the MGCC is 100% behind the Y Type.
Jerry has written an excellent 5 page promotion of our 70th Y anniversary in this months Octagon Bulletin. Enjoy reading it.
Peter
Peter Vielvoye

Interesting thoughts Bryan which I do share and understand. In the Y Register we have had some battles with the heirarchy at MGCC especially some older Board Members over their lack of knowledge and awareness of the Y Type.

However, in fairness Ian Quarrington the Chairman is cut from a different cloth and is doing a difficult and trying job well. He listened and acted upon our concerns over the disposal of Little Gem with diplomacy and has changed some outmoded practices with determination and fairness.

I do agree that for the subs members get very little compared with the Owners Club and the Octagon which of course provide spares and other items.And for Y owners membership of the Octagon is a given
Jerry Birkbeck

Hadnt finished my revisions before the editing time finished!
All magazines depend upon contributions and the only way is to send articles into the press.

I know that Andy has a major spread on Marc's exploits in next months SF and that Maggie Grafham is writing an article on Little Gem.

Because MGCC tries to cover all MG models in SF it means that space is at a premium.

They are certainly improving but members are leaving MGCC for a number of reasons from disenchantment to death!

So whilst I will no doubt have run ins with MGCC in the future I am still fortunate enough to be able to afford membership of all 3 clubs.

The answer is to write in your experiences with your Y!

Have fun the sun is shining a good day to take the YT out!
Cheers
Jerry
Jerry Birkbeck

"Little Gem/Wider audience/MG Car Club"

We note the various comments on the above threads and it would appear that these are exactly the same criticisms that used to be brought up in the past. When Maggie and I formed the original Y Register in the 1970s there were so many objections from the Club hierachy that it was a wonder it ever got off the ground. The then Chairman and the T Register (in which Ys were included) fought very hard to stop it happening. It was only because of our lobbying and with support from the likes of the late David Washbourne, Jonathon Oglesby,Tim Pennicott, and Ron Humphries ( Hi Ron -Whats life like down under?)that the Register ever got off the ground in the first place.

We are sorry to see Brian Mellam leaving MGCC. We remember him at Hausach in 1979 leaning out of the Y window trying to paddle a ball in the gymkhana and still have the pictures to prove it.

As with any club or organisation, it cannot be changed from outside. It has to come from the members within. If we collectively stand up and make our voice heard change will come. It has moved on considerably over the past 40 years.As a famous president once said( not quite!)"Ask not what your Club can do for you but what can you do for your Club"

What perhaps is of more concern is that the majority of Y owners in the UK appear to be of a similar age to us. As the cars appreciate in value it is more difficult to attract younger members to the fold unless they have been left their car as an inheritance.More younger members need to be attracted to Ys and perhaps the best place to work on this is with the younger register saloon car members. - Aspire to a Y? Also having more active events rather than static displays and gentle road runs. Yes we know the cars are much older now but the majority are in far better condition than they were in the 1960's and 70's.

With regard to Little Gem we put an offer in at Silverstone to Ian Quarrington which was accepted. Tim Pennicott who donated this vehicle was a close personal friend and we have known this car for many years even borrowing it for our honeymoon when ours was off the road( again!).Since acquiring it has had a facelift and much work done.

Comments from some " new" faces would be welcome.

Paul & Maggie Grafham



P M Grafham

Well, well Paul & Maggie so you were at Hausach in 79, I remember how few Y types were there, a chap from Switzerland turned up in a Y and helped me obtain a master cylinder seal set locally, just as well for the adventure we were to have on our way home. It is a sad fact that our cars are now becoming so expensive that investors are moving in - I suppose value gives the car some respectability, personally I just like driving it. My other car is a Ford 105e Anglia which I purchased in 1966 has a much younger ownership club, majority of whom are of working age and me being more of a venerated elder, they sit me down and see to it Jill and I are comfortable and not in a draught.
Were you both in a Y at Hausach or in one those other MG's, I would be most obliged if you could scan the pictures you have - I'm pretty thick skinned when it comes to making a fool of myself. Bryan
B Mellem

Hi Bryan,

Yes we were in our Y together with longstanding friends in their TA Tickford plus trailer. We broke down on the way home and a Belgian member Patrick Hagenears (spelt wrong)came to our rescue by taking the dynamo off his Y and lending it to us. He then came over to the UK with several friends and purchased many spares from us.

We will look up the pictures and scan them ( no digital cameras then!).

We are at Hereford which is not that far from you

Paul & Maggie
P M Grafham

I did read recently in 'Practical Classics' that they consider the MG Maestro turbo as the best car of the era yet I wager the management of the MGCC have never heard of it. Perhaps we tin top owners should get together, as I say modern high performance MG's are 4/5 seat saloons. Don't forget the Y was seriously detuned so that the TC could overtake, and then only just! Bryan
B Mellem

This thread was discussed between 04/02/2017 and 15/02/2017

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