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MGB MGB LE Vin #'s
- Thread starter vping
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Rob_Edwards
Jedi Hopeful
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According to Clausager, "The cars were produced from March 1979 (car number 492071), the last Californian car was 500344 (December 1979) and the last Federal car of all was 523000 (August 1980)...."
You can spot the real LEs because they're black and say 'LE' on them! ;-) I'd imagine that without a Heritage certificate, it would be hard to tell a genuine from a good fake. Although with 6682 LEs built (Clausager), odds are if it claims to be an LE, it probably is.....
The distinguishing features are (again, from Clausager):
Black
Black or Beige trim
Silver stripe tape scheme
5-spoke cast-alloy wheels, painted dark metallic gray
Under-bumper air dam
3-spoke light allow steering wheel with leather trim
Plaque on glovebox with the MG badge and the words "Limited Edition" in gothic script
HTH!
You can spot the real LEs because they're black and say 'LE' on them! ;-) I'd imagine that without a Heritage certificate, it would be hard to tell a genuine from a good fake. Although with 6682 LEs built (Clausager), odds are if it claims to be an LE, it probably is.....
The distinguishing features are (again, from Clausager):
Black
Black or Beige trim
Silver stripe tape scheme
5-spoke cast-alloy wheels, painted dark metallic gray
Under-bumper air dam
3-spoke light allow steering wheel with leather trim
Plaque on glovebox with the MG badge and the words "Limited Edition" in gothic script
HTH!
rick_ingram
Yoda
Offline
Much of the LE trim was dealer installed, such as luggage rack, side stripes (I believe), etc.
Periodically there emerges a non-black LE..because the dealer put the LE trim on a pig that wouldn't sell. This does NOT take into account all of the LE trim now found on a lot of MGB as installed by owners way down the list from new.
Periodically there emerges a non-black LE..because the dealer put the LE trim on a pig that wouldn't sell. This does NOT take into account all of the LE trim now found on a lot of MGB as installed by owners way down the list from new.
tony barnhill
Great Pumpkin - R.I.P
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Remember: its the VIN, not the items that make a car an LE.
kennypinkerton
Yoda
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Also, nobody yet has been able to reproduce the "real" LE black paint scheme... A "real" black LE has just a pinch or so of some medium grain metalflake in the paint... not too much, and just enough to show "some" flash if you look close in the sunlight. You can tell it because it won't look like anything you've ever seen before, now, or after. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif
Rob_Edwards
Jedi Hopeful
Offline
I would assume so. Clausager seems to imply that LEs were interspersed with regular production right up to the end, so if that's correct an LE would have a VIN between 492071 and 523000.
OP
vping
Yoda
Offline
[ QUOTE ]
I read somewhere that LE's had a GVVD vin as opposed to the GHN of regular cars, but I've seen many non-LE's with GVVD and many LE's without?
So what do you look for in the vin to determine if it's a true LE?....BTW: Mine is a true LE(with heritage certificate and a GVVD vin).
[/ QUOTE ]
It's all just idle curiosity and trivia for me but some of these on eBay are listed as LE's and some are not. All fall between the numbers mentioned. What give's then?
492071 (first car)
500344 (December 1979 - Last California car)
GVVDJ2AG503590 Black car in Rio Rancho NM. on eBay
GVVDJ2AG508280 Black car in Westchester PA. on eBay
GVVDJ2AG509114 Black car in Interlachen FL. on eBay
GVVDJ2AG509737 Black car in Copiague NY. on eBay
GVVDJ2AG510287 Yellow car in Painesville OH. on eBay
GVVDJ2AG515707 Brwon car in Gambrills MD. on eBay
GVVDJ2AG515838 Green in Jamestown NY. on eBay
Last Federal car 523000
What does the prefix GVVDJ2AG stand for?
I read somewhere that LE's had a GVVD vin as opposed to the GHN of regular cars, but I've seen many non-LE's with GVVD and many LE's without?
So what do you look for in the vin to determine if it's a true LE?....BTW: Mine is a true LE(with heritage certificate and a GVVD vin).
[/ QUOTE ]
It's all just idle curiosity and trivia for me but some of these on eBay are listed as LE's and some are not. All fall between the numbers mentioned. What give's then?
492071 (first car)
500344 (December 1979 - Last California car)
GVVDJ2AG503590 Black car in Rio Rancho NM. on eBay
GVVDJ2AG508280 Black car in Westchester PA. on eBay
GVVDJ2AG509114 Black car in Interlachen FL. on eBay
GVVDJ2AG509737 Black car in Copiague NY. on eBay
GVVDJ2AG510287 Yellow car in Painesville OH. on eBay
GVVDJ2AG515707 Brwon car in Gambrills MD. on eBay
GVVDJ2AG515838 Green in Jamestown NY. on eBay
Last Federal car 523000
What does the prefix GVVDJ2AG stand for?
tony barnhill
Great Pumpkin - R.I.P
Offline
[ QUOTE ]
What does the prefix GVVDJ2AG stand for?
[/ QUOTE ]
G = MG
V = B
V = North American specs
D = Roadster
J = 1800cc, B-Series engine
A = 1980
G = Built in Abingdon
Then, the numbering sequence per Clausinger.
What does the prefix GVVDJ2AG stand for?
[/ QUOTE ]
G = MG
V = B
V = North American specs
D = Roadster
J = 1800cc, B-Series engine
A = 1980
G = Built in Abingdon
Then, the numbering sequence per Clausinger.
Jake
Jedi Hopeful
Offline
The statement that not all LE's had GVVD VIN's is a true one. My LE was a September '79 car with VIN GHN5UL 498643 G. Black on black, silver side stripes, dash plaque, the whole works. Also another way to spot a true LE is the inside glovebox sticker, the one that specified the tire pressures. The LE was the only MGB that came stock with 185/70/14 tires and it states that size on the glovebox sticker.
OP
vping
Yoda
Offline
So the GVV MG's I have listed above, are they LE's even thought they are not black with stripes..... I'm still confused.
Are there 1980 MG's that are "common" with a GVV and fit between 492071 & 523000.
I think I answered my own question as there were only 6000 or so produced. How could they be if the numbers go up that high. How to spot a fake then if someone had it painted and striped. It seems according to Kenny that the color is a tough one to match but anyone could add interior badges & stripes.
Are there 1980 MG's that are "common" with a GVV and fit between 492071 & 523000.
I think I answered my own question as there were only 6000 or so produced. How could they be if the numbers go up that high. How to spot a fake then if someone had it painted and striped. It seems according to Kenny that the color is a tough one to match but anyone could add interior badges & stripes.
rick_ingram
Yoda
Offline
In my opinion, the LE is not that desirable of a model of the MGB. The "Limited Edition" moniker does not by any means make this car a "limited" production car.
Don't get me wrong, the LE is a great looking MGB. I just do not feel that the LE equipment necessarily makes it worth more than any other 1979 or 1980 MGB tourer.
Don't get me wrong, the LE is a great looking MGB. I just do not feel that the LE equipment necessarily makes it worth more than any other 1979 or 1980 MGB tourer.
R6MGS
Yoda
Offline
Good thinking Jake, I'd have never thought about the glove box sticker.
Although maybe not all that rare(they are up here, only 250 in Canada) the LE's do kinda hold a special place...Would I pay a considerable amount more for one? No, but if I had to choose between two otherwise equal cars I'd definatly take the LE. I think the actual value of the car can depend on who you talk too....I chatted with a B owner last night at a show, when I mentioned I had an LE he went nuts...But other MG guys would turn their noses up at the LE just because it's a rubber bumper car.
I love my LE any way you look at it, and when I take it to a show and of a crowd of rubber bumpers mines the only black LE it does draw a little more attention.
Although maybe not all that rare(they are up here, only 250 in Canada) the LE's do kinda hold a special place...Would I pay a considerable amount more for one? No, but if I had to choose between two otherwise equal cars I'd definatly take the LE. I think the actual value of the car can depend on who you talk too....I chatted with a B owner last night at a show, when I mentioned I had an LE he went nuts...But other MG guys would turn their noses up at the LE just because it's a rubber bumper car.
I love my LE any way you look at it, and when I take it to a show and of a crowd of rubber bumpers mines the only black LE it does draw a little more attention.
tony barnhill
Great Pumpkin - R.I.P
Offline
[ QUOTE ]
My LE was a September '79 car with VIN GHN5UL 498643 G
[/ QUOTE ]
G = MG
H = 1400cc - 2000cc Engine
N = two-seat tourer
5 = 1969-1979
U = North American Spec
L = 1979
The 'GVVDJ2AG' VIN was used for cars 501001 upwards (between June 1979 & October 1980)....so, 498643 is one of the last cars using the old VIN sequencing & one of the early LE's with the old VIN sequencing.
However, the first factory LE was 492071, built in March 1979.........your VIN is for an MGB built in April '79, not September
MG's built in September '79 were all GVVDJ2AG.....This might be worth the cost of a Heritage certificate.
My LE was a September '79 car with VIN GHN5UL 498643 G
[/ QUOTE ]
G = MG
H = 1400cc - 2000cc Engine
N = two-seat tourer
5 = 1969-1979
U = North American Spec
L = 1979
The 'GVVDJ2AG' VIN was used for cars 501001 upwards (between June 1979 & October 1980)....so, 498643 is one of the last cars using the old VIN sequencing & one of the early LE's with the old VIN sequencing.
However, the first factory LE was 492071, built in March 1979.........your VIN is for an MGB built in April '79, not September
MG's built in September '79 were all GVVDJ2AG.....This might be worth the cost of a Heritage certificate.
Offline
Mine is a "normal" roadster, VIN is GVVDJ2AG516270, and the Heritage Certificate states that it was built 22/23rd May 1980, which confirms Tony's information.
The LE VIN #'s are not consecutive. They were interspersed in normal production, hence the range of numbers that they fall into.
The LE VIN #'s are not consecutive. They were interspersed in normal production, hence the range of numbers that they fall into.
CK_1500
Member
Offline
[ QUOTE ]
So why did all cars change to GVVD vin's?(just curious)
[/ QUOTE ]
I think vehicel VINs were standardized to their 17 digit format in 1981 (which is one reason why you cannot Carfax a car built 1980 or older). Maybe the GVVD 14 digit number was an "intermediate step" toward this?
So why did all cars change to GVVD vin's?(just curious)
[/ QUOTE ]
I think vehicel VINs were standardized to their 17 digit format in 1981 (which is one reason why you cannot Carfax a car built 1980 or older). Maybe the GVVD 14 digit number was an "intermediate step" toward this?
Jake
Jedi Hopeful
Offline
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
My LE was a September '79 car with VIN GHN5UL 498643 G
[/ QUOTE ]
G = MG
H = 1400cc - 2000cc Engine
N = two-seat tourer
5 = 1969-1979
U = North American Spec
L = 1979
The 'GVVDJ2AG' VIN was used for cars 501001 upwards (between June 1979 & October 1980)....so, 498643 is one of the last cars using the old VIN sequencing & one of the early LE's with the old VIN sequencing.
However, the first factory LE was 492071, built in March 1979.........your VIN is for an MGB built in April '79, not September
MG's built in September '79 were all GVVDJ2AG.....This might be worth the cost of a Heritage certificate.
[/ QUOTE ]
Huh, thats funny because I have a picture of the VIN tag that says 9/79 and proceeds with the number I listed.
See attached picture.
[ QUOTE ]
My LE was a September '79 car with VIN GHN5UL 498643 G
[/ QUOTE ]
G = MG
H = 1400cc - 2000cc Engine
N = two-seat tourer
5 = 1969-1979
U = North American Spec
L = 1979
The 'GVVDJ2AG' VIN was used for cars 501001 upwards (between June 1979 & October 1980)....so, 498643 is one of the last cars using the old VIN sequencing & one of the early LE's with the old VIN sequencing.
However, the first factory LE was 492071, built in March 1979.........your VIN is for an MGB built in April '79, not September
MG's built in September '79 were all GVVDJ2AG.....This might be worth the cost of a Heritage certificate.
[/ QUOTE ]
Huh, thats funny because I have a picture of the VIN tag that says 9/79 and proceeds with the number I listed.
See attached picture.