GB_BB4C wrote:2 cut up upon arrival for development/maiking of the GC/D
That doesn't sound logical to me .... Why would they import & cut up two A53
hardtops in 1971/72, when :
- there were no GC/GD hardtops built in Oz - weren't they fully imported ?
- the GC wasn't "developed" here (just assembled, and in sedan form only .... and they had plenty of GA/GB sedans to play with !)
- the GC wasn't released here until mid 1974 (late 1973 in Japan, according to pics of brochures I have seen)
I think a more likely scenario is that they brought in a handful of A53 Hardtops to evaluate for possible local release - which would explain the lack of ADR plate as they would have come in on an import carnet and were meant to be either re-exported or crushed afterwards.
(Cars like this do have a tendency to "unofficially survive" ... I know of a couple of unusual Datsuns floating around that fall into this category. One is a model never released here, has no badges on it whatsoever, and has no Australian compliance plate.
Officially it doesn't exist, but has been continously registered since the early 80s
)
Is there a way to check if a vehicle has been repaired from write off status, or registered interstate?? I am pretty sure my rego papers say first reged in 1972 but not sure if that is SA or just OZ?
Not easy for a car that old, I suspect (no computerised / nationally linked records system back then !) That said, a guy in our car club does VIN-tracking type work as part of his business. I can ask him if it's possible to do, if you like ?
i was thinking more likely maybe mine was used as a model - hence strange engine combo etc and may jus have never made it to the crusher?
Highly unlikely, I reckon. Even in Japan the Galant was never available with the DOHC motor. More likely it was transplanted sometime after in arrived in Australia. (There were a number of those motors floating around in the late 70s / early 80s as 2nd hand imports ... not as hard to find then as they are now.)
Some things that might help determine it's origin :
- is the speedo in km/h or mph ? (I think JDM cars would have had km/h speedos, but ones destined for eg. NZ would be mph ?)
- does the driver side mirror on the door look original ? (JDM cars would have had them on the front guards ?)
- if yours & GB_BB4Cs car are both from this same 5 cars that were allegedly brought in by Chrysler, one would think that their chassis numbers would be pretty close together ? It would make sense if they were a "batch" that came off the line together in Japan, especially if they had some minor mods done before being exported here as a special order.
I removed and sold all the turbo stuff, unfortunately that means i now have to hunt down a great deal of bits and pieces to complete the resto! Anyway i will get some pics asap, and some of the areas that will require my attention! I will also post a couple of wanted ads for the bits I need... Cheers Ben 
Dirty Rats!
) and replaced them with some dodgy PWS Recaros... Not happy Jan! Maybe i will be lucky like A112H and find some on Import Monster 
