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MG MG Y Type - HMV Radio / Heater

Bill Boddy tested a YB in the April 53 edition of Motorsport. It had a HMV radio and a heater. Does anyone have any photos of the radio fitted to YBs at this time? Presumably they were an option? Ditto the heater? Is the heater offered by NTG an accurate replica? My car was fitted with a radio (aerial still in place) and I would like to instal one. May also want to instal a heater as I expect to use the car for winter rallying. Thanks.
Marc Hanson

Good morning Marc - least it is here on the glorious Pacific Northwest coast.

The radios of the day were obviously attenuated mudulation only aka AM or more specifically Medium Wave and Long Wave and not frequency modulated or FM/VHF. They were also valve (US readers valve = tube) operated with a large power amplifier mounted to the firewall inside the engine bay. The prefered type would probably have been HMV and this would have been a "dealer fit" item. The above is simply provided as a guide if you want to obtain a "period unit" and like the restricted range of programming offered. You can, of course get a transistorized radio that "looks" the part and forgo the toaster unit in the engine bay (and the subsequent battery drain) and enjoy FM Stereo but I cannot comment on satelite radios. You may also have to address polarity issues if you fit a contemporary radio. I do know of at least one Y that has a CD player in the glove box!

As to the heater, if you look on the Reprinted Articles page (Motoring, October 1953) there are details there about fitting a heater to the Y. The original contemporary heater unit of preference that would have been fitted would be a Smiths heater.
Paul Barrow

I have a heater, a Smiths one as shown in the article. It came loose with my recently purchased, almost restored YB. I too had wondered about how to fit it, so the reference to the reprint article is helpful. I cannot print off a hard copy, as I can with other reprint documents on the website. Is this intentional, or a glitch in the document or website?
M Long

What version of Adobe Reader are you using? If your Adobe Acrobat is less than version 7.0 you will need to replace it with a later version. Here is a link to the Adobe Acrobat site http://get.adobe.com/uk/reader/?promoid=BUIGO - there is also a link on the Reprinted Articles page.

Another reason is possibly that your version on your PC has become corrupted - it happens - so uninstall it and then go to the above link and download a new copy.

Please note - you do NOT need to install the Google Tool Bar - the more tool bars you have, the slower your internet browsing will become.

Paul
Paul Barrow

Thanks Paul. Was aware it would be a valve radio but there are many different types supplied by HMV in the early 50s. I wonder what was the standard option for YBs? Boddy referred to banging his knees on the radio fitted when in the passenger seat - so I suspect it might well have been of the type with the valve box under or behind the control box.
Marc Hanson

Paul
The printing problem seems exclusive to the one document. I have tried various others and I can print them. The print button and the print command in the file menu are greyed out I have the full version of Acrobat Professional v7. It looks like the document has a security tag set.

Mike
M Long

Marc,

I have a 53 YB with a factory supplied heater. It produces plenty of heat when needed. If you want pictures I could take some and send them to you.
RJ Vigeant

RJ

That would be very helpful. Could you post the pics here or do you need to e mail them?
Marc
Marc Hanson

Marc,

Check out this thread from the BBS archive http://www2.mgcars.org.uk/cgi-bin/gen5?runprog=mgbbs&access=&mode=archiveth&subject=13&subjectar=13&thread=2007120422462313130 and if you scroll down to the 9th thru' 12th entries there are a bunch of pictures there that may help you too.

Paul
Paul Barrow

For a wierd reason the above link did not seem to hyperlink correctly so try copying and pasting it into the address bar in your browser or log into www.mgcars.org.uk, select BB Archive, select MG Y-type Archive, type HEATER into the search bar and press Search, then select COCKPIT HEATER.

Paul
Paul Barrow

I know this won't be of any help now, but I thought you might be interested in this range of aftermarket heaters. It's from Kerry's catalogue of 1954. Ten guineas for the Smiths heater would have been a big chunk out of your pay then.
On the subject of radios, GBX 166 has an aerial fitted centrally on the front of the roof, between the sunroof and the windscreen. Inside there is a bakelite knob that turns the aerial. I've seen a few other Ys with this fitted; was it an option when the car was ordered or an aftermarket product? Mine has a radio lead and jack attached but no eveidence that there was ever a radio in the car.
Peter

P S Sharp

Peter

Can you please post a picture of your "antenna adjuster" for folk to see?

It was most definitely an after market but perhaps you car never got completed!

Paul
Paul Barrow

Paul,
Yes I've often wondered where my radio went.
Here is a picture of my aerial adjuster, I'm not sure if it was meant to help tune the radio or just a way of lowering the aerial when in the garage.

Peter

P S Sharp

Marc, I took some pic's of the heater. Not that great but send your email to rayv95@aol.com.
RJ Vigeant

Anyone fitting a heater should definitely check out "Y" Sheet 4 XPAG Engines by Neil Cairns. It refers to the by-pass and the thermostate. I followed his advice and have a very efficient heater.
P W Vielvoye

Many thanks for all of this. Re the aerial adjuster, I have the same type of aerial and a big hole in the headlining where such an adjuster would have been! looks like it went when the radio went.
Marc Hanson

This thread was discussed between 18/08/2009 and 03/09/2009

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