Many owners have fitted "mascots" to their radiator caps. Here are some of the ones that have been fitted. Before fitting one though an owner is encouraged to check their local applicable laws.
If you would like add your car's mascot please contact the Webmaster using our Contact Form here and I will get back in touch with you for a picture or two!
Nick Rowell's Hercules C-130 on Y 0734
Brian Keene's hood ornament Y 1153
Y 5492
J F Perrie's Y 5835
Peter Cornelius' YB 1434
Shuji Umekawa's YT 4721
Andrew Gilham Silverstone Tea Type Y 5924
Tony Slattery's YT 3861.
This is “MG Milly”, she is a bit of a tart, dressed only in a carefully placed Black scarf, she rides on “MeG” our YT and sometimes on “Dunkin” our YA
Ed Winter's MG Midge mascot (YB 1041) which was made possibly for the P type circa 1935 .The mascot is stamped with M.G.CAR Co. It is quite rare since sales were poor.
Two pictures here of Neil Cairn's car (YB 0322) sporting the MG Car Club's Nuffield Gold Cup (left) as a "rather expensive if temporary radiator cap ornament" Neil does not have a mascot, but a 'temperature calorimeter' (right), (it is not a 'mascot' under the UK regulation as it is a functional piece of equipment and therefore a permitted appendage.
A rabbit on a YB 0480 belonging to Marc Hanson.
Another calorimeter, but on an unknonw Y
An Owl on an unknown Y
Anton Piller’s YT 4220. The mascot comes from a pre-war Rover. Anton drove Rover SD1s from 1983 to 2016 and for lived two years in Sweden which is known as Viking Country!
The Spitfire mascot is ours. I bought it in Beaulieu Jumble/New Forest in 1982, combined with a visit with our good friend, late David Pelham.
Victor and Evelyne Rodrigues
Andrew Felthouse's calorimeter on Y 5087
I call it a Swallow. It was much appreciated retirement present. Onlookers think it is a secret lock as I have to twist it before lifting the bonnet to avoid chipping the paintwork.
Peter Vielvoye and YT 2731
Attached is the mascot that was on YT4320 when I bought it back in 1985. It now alternates between my YT 4320 and my MG SA.
Bob Simpson
Tony Slattery also sometimes uses this "patriotic" mascot on YT 3861 too!
Chris Callaghan's mascot on YB 1060
Y 3117's rocket man mascot from Rob Snell
Dr Franz Tenbrook's mascot on Y 1675.
"Here a picture of 'paulchen'. The previous owner was Paul Albert, so we call him Paul!"
Laurie and Jay's Flying Pig, fabricated from a truck ornament!
Greg Arnold's earlier mascot on YT 3254
Geoff Lloyd's mascot on YT 4167
Paul Gancczakowski's mascot on Y 5232. Its a vintage Desmo art deco Eagle on Ball. (circa 1930).
A flying Pegasus tops the radiator cap on YB 1299
Percy Murray's Y/T in Thailand. Car number not known at this time. Archive picture from a magazine.
This is a radiator cap from the truck in the movie Convoy (1977?). We made 4 of these ducks in cast iron to install on the front fender on our motorbikes: 3 for my frends and 1 for myself. we destroyed the mould after making 4 copies so these are unique ducks. I was 16 at that time now I am 61 years old so i installed the duck on my MG-YA 1950!
Greg Arnold's Current mascot on YT 3254
Note to UK Residents
Although in the UK it is "illegal" (see The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 - section 53) to fit mascots many owners do ornament our cars with them. On cars made after 1937 no radiator 'mascot' is allowed, due to the damage they did to pedestrians. But Princess Anne was taken to court in the 1980s with a horse mascot 15 inches back on her Range Rover bonnet. She won her case as it was not a 'radiator' mounted item.
Mascots
53.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), no mascot, emblem or other ornamental object shall be carried by a motor vehicle first used on or after 1st October 1937 in any position where it is likely to strike any person with whom the vehicle may collide unless the mascot is not liable to cause injury to such person by reason of any projection thereon. (2) Instead of complying with the requirements of paragraph (1) a vehicle may comply with Community Directive 74/483 or 79/488 or ECE Regulation 26.01.
A foot note further defines Mascot as The reference to a mascot is extended to “mascot, emblem or other ornamental object” in order to remove any suggestion that the provision is limited to objects intended or considered to be lucky.