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March 2005 - Ben's Coupe |
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1974
Austin GT 2 Door Coupe – OKX 236P
Sold by Webster MG in New York in 1974, this car was then used for a number of months by its American owners before being sold to Mr John Boocock who was an Englishman working in the States.
John bought the GT instead of an American barge because of cost; the Marina served him and his family so well whilst over in the States, when his company moved John back to England the GT came too!
Shipped in a container, the car was then registered in the UK as OKX 236P on the 31st December 1974.
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As you can see the car has still got a US sale sticker on the bootlid. This picture is as it was found in a garage. John kept all the original emission control system on the car, but converted the transmission to a manual 4 speed unit and fitted a RHD dashboard so that spares would be easier to get. |
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Hayley and Ben Clayton bought the car in October 2004. The car had been off the road in a garage for about 10 years, so there is a fair bit of work to do before it sees the MOT man! |
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The
intention is to get the car back to a standard spec with an automatic
transmission and left hand drive dashboard. Hayley & Ben have all the parts to do this, but
as usual it is finding the time to do it.
Take a look at the engine bay - no it's not a power steering pump on the left, but an air pump, which pumps extra air into the system to create a more complete combustion of the gases; all part of the anti-smog kit. |
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The car was featured on the Club stand at the Stoneleigh Restoration show in March 2005 in its dusty original state. The days work was to concentrate on:
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What we achieved were the fitting of the new disks, calliper seals and pads; there was an almost continual stream of members and non members coming up to have a look and a chat, but that's why we have a stand at these shows isn't it, to make people aware of the club? Here are two shots, halfway through - the back plate has just been repainted and the final version, all lovely and shiny!
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