Hi, Adrian
I think there's probably something in this suggestion.
A remark made by the daughter to me when she handed me the keys was
along the lines of "my brother did it because they didn't make estate
cars."
I wasn't going to risk a smack in the gob by challenging her statement
and what she said was quite true - at the time. They didn't make
estate cars in the early eighties, but they didn't make saloons
either.
I haven't as yet been able to check the body number or the number
stamped in the gunge under the rear seat - but it still doesn't
explain the fact the chassis number is way ahead of the last one made,
according to Alan Crussell's researches. Gaydon has said categorically
that no 2500S ever had a number this far up thhe scale - even a CKD
one but I have reservations on this last point. AFAIK, STI didn't keep
comprehensive records of CKD shipments - or if they did, they haven't
survived.
My current thinking is that its either a re-import (and the chassis
numbers really did go further than many appreciate because it was CKD)
OR its seen some form of rebuild in which a spare bodyshell was still
kicking around in the Fletch parts warehouse. It's fitted with an
oddball leather covered driver's seat and while the instruments are
'S' type, the voltmeter is the same as found on the pre-facelift PI -
like yours and mine.
As I may get the later opportunity to further examine the car, some of
these questions may get answered.
Cheers, John
>I think that you need to have a look at the registration document. It
may
>say Rebuilt from new and/or new parts or imported from outside UK.
>Back in those days (ie 1981) you could build a car up from
secondhand/new
>parts and receive a "new" registration number of the year it was
built.
>Also if you imported a car from say Ireland it also had a "new"
>registration. It was a practice among used car dealers that they
brought
>five year old cars from Ireland reregistered them in UK with the
current
>year registration numbers and increased their value by an
astronomical
>amount. (Sorry US readers will fail to understand this, email me for
an
>explanation).
>
>However on the evidence you present it looks as though it is a
rebuilt from
>spare parts car.
>It could have been as follows:
>Take a crash damaged Triumph 2500 add a factory new bodyshell that
has been
>in stock a few years and as a new bodyshell it would qualify for a
new
>registration number. So as no fraud could take place DVLC licensing
stamped
>the Reg. Doc accordingly (Rebuilt from new or used parts).
>QED
>
>Adrian
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