Paul,
Hmm, interesting.... I can't promise to solve your dilemma, but I have
a few facts that might help:
Chassis number FH75339 would indicate one of the very first 1500's - the
last Mk IV was FH64995, and 1500's started at FH75001. Your car may
have been so early that they hadn't printed the new owners manuals yet,
so they simply handed out the old ones until the new ones were ready?
Same for the commission plate - they may have been using up old Mk IV
stock, or not got the new ones ready yet. Just speculation
Chassis number prefix FH was used for all markets other than USA and
Sweden, so that does not necessarily indicate that the car was intended
for the British market.
US Spitfires used the 1500 engine from 1973, so they do have Mk IV 1500
cars, although I am not aware that this was done for any other market
(then again I don't really know that much)
The only visible difference between the Mk IV and the 1500 is the wheel
trims - Mk IV should be black, 1500 should be silver. However, these
could have been replaced by a PO - or indeed the car may have been
fitted with Mk IV black trims as they used up old stock - if they can do
that for the comm. plate and manual they can probably do that with the
wheel trims too. Oh, and of course the badging - you did not mention
what (if any) badging your car has. If the car has been re-sprayed the
badging may have been removed - however, Mk IV's had a metal badge on
the front left corner of the bonnet, and back right corner of the boot,
while the 1500 used transfers in those areas. I assume the metal badges
would be riveted on (can a Mk IV owner out there confirm/deny that?), so
if the badges were removed there would be a couple of holes where they
should be, unless a PO replaced the bonnet and boot-lid (hood and
trunk-lid - what do you call them in NZ?)
I hope this helps to muddy the waters!
Richard Gosling and Daffy (decorated with pink furry dice and a
home-made pink furry steering wheel cover right now - Valentines Day
gifts thanks to my darling wife - it's a good thing she knows I've got a
sense of humour!)
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