British-Cars.org

Welcome to the DMR Site for British Car Information.

Recommendations

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG Midget and Sprite General - YRX 727, 737 & 747 Works Midgets

Inspired by some recent Facebook activity with some friends, I would like to find any pictures of the above 'Works' MG Midgets: YRX 727, YRX 737 & YRX 747.

Preferably personal pictures that you may have in your collection...

It'll be interesting to see what or if any come to light.....

Cheers,
Mark.

M T Boldry

Mark, give me a couple of weeks and I will get what I can from our archives.

You have already seen my stock of 62-68 Midget photos from the CoI.

Ill keep you informed anyway
PeterJMoore

here ya go mark

727

Prop

supposedly a ... 737

Prop

and the super safe flyby wire 747...Oppps


Was I really the only one thinking about posting pics like this.. come on!!!.....HAhahaha


Prop

Prop

:(




that made me cry a little inside
PeterJMoore

Here's YRX 747 on the '62 Monte in the hands of Peter Riley...

J Whitehouse-Bird

John Williamson and David Hiam in YRX 737 (following its conversion to a MkII Sebring Sprite) on the '62 Alpine.

J Whitehouse-Bird

YRX 737: RAC Rally 1962 - Blackpool start line (not sure who's driving/navigating). Sebring Sprite spec'.

J Whitehouse-Bird

YRX 737 during the 1970s, in private ownership and being used as daily transport! The car was later traded-in for a Lotus Elan S3.

J Whitehouse-Bird

YRX 737: Another shot from the '70s.

J Whitehouse-Bird

Peter Riley in YRX 747: Monte Carlo Rally 1962...

J Whitehouse-Bird

YRX 747 with a works prepared Big Healey and MGA coupe following the '62 Monte...

J Whitehouse-Bird

JWB,

As soon as I read the title of this thread, I figured you would have posted these. ;^) Fabulous.

Bryan
Bryan Durham

Thank You.... J. Whitehouse


Those are some great photos... you just cant capture a moment in time like that with new modern day tech....I can look at old photos like that for hours on end...something just magical about history captured in black and white or early color.

Vary cool.

Prop
Prop

YRX 737 on the '62 RAC Rally...

J Whitehouse-Bird

YRX 737 climbing "Rest and Be Thankful" - RAC Rally 1961.

J Whitehouse-Bird

I do have a couple of photos of the least photographed car of the three - YRX 727, on my Mac at work. Will hopefully dig them out tomorrow and post...

I'm sure I have some of the cars taking part in a driving test in December 1961 running open (without hardtops) with Tommy Gold in '727' and Paddy Hopkirk in '747'.

Will try and find these too!

Jonathan
J Whitehouse-Bird

As promised here's a couple of shots of YRX 727; both were taken at a 'Sand Race' in the mid-60s. By this time the car had been fitted with an MGB engine and gearbox (note: the huge clearance bulge beaten into the original alloy bonnet).

J Whitehouse-Bird

...and another of YRX 727, taken at the same event.

Sadly, all three works MkI Midgets are known not to have survived.

If I find any more photos I'll post them.

Jonathan

J Whitehouse-Bird

Thanks Jonathan for those, they are superb... Lost cars like these should at least be remembered... Works Midgets and Sprites (square bodied versions) were few and far between even in their day....

Mark.
M T Boldry

Here are a couple more. 727

Bryan Durham

737

Bryan Durham

727 and 737 as Midgets

Bryan Durham

747 - I don't know the details about individual conversion from Midget to Sprite ect, but I'm sure JWB could fill that in.

Bryan Durham

<<least photographed car of the three>>

But of course there were four, as far as we know, prepared to the same spec - the Stuart Sutcliffe of the YRXes being 473 TEH, Tommy Gold's all-over Clipper Blue car. Nominally 'works-assisted' and Stoke-registered to maintain the illusion.

Here seen in the Comps Dept workshop opposite 410 EAO:


Tom Coulthard

Hello Tom.
Here's another picture of Tommy Gold's Midget.

Bryan Durham

It was only 737 that was converted into a "Sprite Sebring MkII" for Tommy Gold to take on the Tulip Rally' which ran between the 6th and 11th May 1962 (as shown in the pic Bryan has posted above of it going through the Clue d'Aiglun as car No.59). The homologation papers are dated '3 MAI 1962'.

It has been suggested in print that this transgendering was done for PR purposes, because Tommy Gold was particularly associated with the Sprite. I think it is much more likely it was to take advantage of the Girling discs and twin H4 SUs/Weber 45DCOE that could be fitted under this homologation (No. 62)

Tom
Tom Coulthard

Hi Bryan -

We should perhaps acknowledge Bill Price's superb 'bible': The BMC/BL Competitions Department, which is once again in print. Essential reading for anyone interested in these cars!
Tom Coulthard

Peter Riley pedalling pretty hard - and to great effect - entering 'Tabac' on the Monaco circuit test at the end of the 62 Monte:

Tom Coulthard

Thanks Tom,

For filling in the missing information, and for the info on the reprint of the book.

What a time it must have been. Both sides of the Atlantic. Nothing like today's big star, big money, big sponsors competition...
Bryan Durham

Wow guys, some fantastic pictures that I've never seen (I don't think).

Thanks for posting...

Mark.
M T Boldry

Here's a picture from the book: Works rally mechanic by Brian Moylan.
The text with the photo says : "Two MG Midgets, with the Tommy Gold car, took the team award on the 1961 RAC Rally. ( Courtesy Den Green)

The text in the book says: "This was the first outing for the recently MG-badged Midget and MG achieved second place in the manufacturers' team award. Derek Astle and Mike Sutcliffe were respectively first and second in class, whilst Tommy Gold, driving his own car, made up the team, finishing well down the list after a lenghty repair to his front suspension following an accident."

pjw Seezink

And here's a drawing of YRX 747 that I bought a few years ago.

Pascal

pjw Seezink

This thread was discussed between 26/03/2011 and 30/03/2011

MG Midget and Sprite General index

This thread is from the archives. Join this live forum now