Description

1952 MG YB

Loads of history; very smart; on offer from a deceased estate

UML 237 was completed on 5th November 1952 and first registered 27th November by University Motors on behalf of Lt Col HW Styles. It was his second YB and he transfered the registration number from the first, being friendly with George Bradstock, the MD of University Motors Ltd (UML).

The original bill of sale is on file, the total coming to a shade over £999.

It was returned to the factory in 1961 for a rebuild, which included a new engine and gearbox, the estimate and bill (£497!!) included on file. The original bill shows the car was completely stripped, the body removed and the chassis overhauled front to back. Many parts were rechromed and large parts of the trim and wiring replaced.

A letter on file from Lt Col Styles' daughter confirms he passed away in 1965, after which the car was given to the family gardener/chauffeur. He had no use for it and sold it to a friend of his who kept the car for many years, selling it to the proprietor of Matfield Garage - sometime in the late '70s. He never really used it, but looked after it, respraying it in the late 1980s.

The vendor and her late husband found it by chance in 1995 when visiting Matfield and bought it for £4,400 to include new piston rings. The odometer showed 37,061 miles (unsubstantiated) and a detailed list of every gallon of petrol and pint of oil that has been added since has been documented. It appears to have averaged about 30mpg.

Its new owners used it extensively, a full maintenance history covering the next 23 years, with literally hundreds of entries backed up by invoices on file. The mileage now reads some 122,000 miles, showing the bulk of its use has taken place this Millennium.

Noteworthy works include unleaded valve inserts, new guides, seals and new (larger) valves in 2006, along with a Flexolite remote filter adapter. The bumpers were rechromed in 2008 and in 2015 the car got some remedial bodywork repairs. In between, the car was fastidiously serviced, brakes attended to and much loved.

The vendor's husband sadly passed away, at which point the car was put away for a few years, to be bought out and recommissioned in July this year by D&G Car Repairs. They fitted a new battery and gave it a brake overhaul which included new flexi hoses at the front, a new pipe and new front brake cylinders. New plugs and a thorough check over resulted in a bill for £1,375. Bidders are advised that the radiator has been filled with ForLife coolant and it even comes with two sets of keys.

This gently patinated and very appealing YB has been much loved since first delivered and comes with a massive history file which is lovely to see.

For more information - contact matthew.parkin@brightwells.com