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My weekend barn finds.

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I didn't think they were VIN-specific?
 
I spoke with Ken Smith in Ca. He's the keeper of the Specials registry. IIRC it was vin specific but I could be mistaken. He's the one that actually told me to get my first one. I also kept him in the loop on this one too.
 
I thought the 'Specal' stuff was assembled & sent to dealers who randomly put them on GT's to bolster sales.

From NAMBGR:

This equipment came to the MG dealers in a kit form and could be added to any GT in stock, thus the cars are not in a series in any particular group of serial numbers, nor are they an 'official' factory model. The kits included the special plaques, a wood rimmed Moto-Lita style steering wheel, a wooden shift knob and a racing type 'bullet' mirror for the left front fender. Additionally the cars had wire wheels and apparently white wall tires.
 
That's how I've always understood it. The "special" kits were sold during a certain time period. The dealers probably continued to sell them until stock on the kits ran out. Maybe the VIN number mentioned was the last known car to receive such a kit? I wonder if anyone actually kept records of which cars were sold such kits.
 
I got the Personal wheel I have from a dealer, sold it to me after the "campaign" was over. It was taking up space in the parts room display case.
 
When I spoke with Ken, he said there were only 1000 promotional kits made and it's believed only about 500 were installed. When people heard about the "Specials" they flocked to get a 1967 GT. The kits did not have a chance to get installed as people wanted them so badly. How he was able to determine below which number they were installed is unknown to me.
 
I spoke with Ken again and here is what he had to say.

"Well theoretically there’s nothing to stop anyone adding bits to a 67 GT to make it a Special “Replica”!! However, the steering wheel is unavailable as is the Australian wooden shift knob. The proper sports mirrors would also be hard to find. The dash & fender plaques are no longer available and repros differ slightly from the originals. The numbers range from GHD3/L 91880 to 137550. Top colors were mainly British Racing Green followed by Primrose Yellow and Old English White So anything could be possible, but looked at closely any fake would be easy to spot. The only real way to find out whether a GT is genuine or not is to apply for a Heritage Build Trace from England where sometimes they stated that this was one of one thousand specials offered for sale."

I erred in posting that it was vin# 118,000 or below as that was what I remember from a magazine article he wrote on the subject.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]"Well theoretically there’s nothing to stop anyone adding bits to a 67 GT to make it a Special “Replica”!! However, the steering wheel is unavailable as is the Australian wooden shift knob. The proper sports mirrors would also be hard to find. The dash & fender plaques are no longer available and repros differ slightly from the originals. The numbers range from GHD3/L 91880 to 137550. Top colors were mainly British Racing Green followed by Primrose Yellow and Old English White So anything could be possible, but looked at closely any fake would be easy to spot. The only real way to find out whether a GT is genuine or not is to apply for a Heritage Build Trace from England where sometimes they stated that this was one of one thousand specials offered for sale."[/QUOTE]
Sorry, the man knoweth not of which he speaks! Don't care what position he holds on the "Special Register".

Not a word of truth in that statement....'67 GT Special kits would never show up on a certificate because no car was ever built with it installed - the kits were sent to dealers by the distributor for installation on any '67 GT on his lot that he saw fit during the time period of the offering!

The one thing he said that is true is that there were about 1,000 kits sent out to dealers! And since that is true,

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]he said there were only 1000 promotional kits made and it's believed only about 500 were installed. When people heard about the "Specials" they flocked to get a 1967 GT. The kits did not have a chance to get installed as people wanted them so badly. How he was able to determine below which number they were installed is unknown to me. [/QUOTE]
how in the h*** could a British Motor Heritage Certificate tell you anything about the Specials? And since they were installed by dealers randomly, how does anybody know anything about the VIN's unless they have the VIN of a car that was a Special?

& I could take a rusty old Special & use its items to make another Special that was a real as the old one. Or luck into a kit that was never installed and make a Special....& they'd both be legal Specials!

That's why Specials were never anything special!
 
I thought the same thing about the Heritage part and from what I know (heard), none were ever documented by the dealers and unless you purchased it from an original owner, you might never know. I guess being in charge of the register and knowing which cars were original owner cars, one could summise which actually might have been. I can only go by what you or anyone else tells me as I was not there in the beginning.
 
vping said:
I thought the same thing about the Heritage part and from what I know (heard), none were ever documented by the dealers and unless you purchased it from an original owner, you might never know. I guess being in charge of the register and knowing which cars were original owner cars, one could summise which actually might have been. I can only go by what you or anyone else tells me as I was not there in the beginning.
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Well, don't believe me unless I can quantifingly (is that a word) prove it to you beyond a shadow of doubt in your mind.
 
"The world may never know"... sides sitting in 'em are all the same 'cept the steering wheel you are staring at and I'll have one on each car when I am done. I like 'em.
 
vping said:
"The world may never know"... sides sitting in 'em are all the same 'cept the steering wheel you are staring at and I'll have one on each car when I am done. I like 'em.
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On that we both agree (& are probably closer to the truth than that put out by the "Special Registry"!)...I also like those wheels & if I ever came across every item of a kit, I'd probasbly turn my Red '67 into a Special.
 
They are out there but pricy. I scored on one about a year ago. It was local and on Craigslit. NOS $75 and never ever installed on a car. Not sure why but what a nice peice. I sold a "junker" wheel a short time later, restorable but in really bad shape for $106...ebay!
 
vping said:
They are out there but pricy. I scored on one about a year ago. It was local and on Craigslit. NOS $75 and never ever installed on a car. Not sure why but what a nice peice. I sold a "junker" wheel a short time later, restorable but in really bad shape for $106...ebay!
Click to expand...
As you find them, lemme know! I'd think the dash plaque would be the hardest thing to find.
___________________________
Oh, & remember throughout the entire MG production run there were always US & Canadian "Specials" - cars that dealers dolled up with special offerings through the distributor to push lagging sales...remember the '75/'76 Midget Specials with their gawdy stripes? The '77 MGB Special (bottom stripes, luggage rack, trim rings, AM/FM/tape deck radio)?

And there were others....ergo, nothing 'Special'!!
 
DrEntropy said:
Vinnie, is the light switch a toggle or a pull switch?
Click to expand...

Just looking back at this I guess I missed what you were driving at. I thought you were reffereing to an OD. The light switch is a Pull.

What's so special about a light switch that toggles?
 
My '65 B has a Personal Wheel with Nardi center. I've always loved it but recently I decided I like Moto Litas better. The Nardi will become wall art when the car is finished.

Toggle light switch would suggest 1966 or earlier model year. I say suggest because anyone could have swapped one for the other in the past 40 years.
 
If I got a '67 with the "pull" headlight switch, it was one of the first things I'd change. There may be three '67's out there with toggles, for sure. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif
 
Both green '67's are pull. I did not have a chance to look at the red one but will keep you posted.
 
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