GTD chassis # 17789

I have owned this car for nearly 10 years now, when I purchased the car it had travelled 641 miles, it has now travelled 765 miles. Unfortunately for a number of reasons, it has been in storage and I have not been able to drive it much at all, until now. I would love to know more about my car as I have been told it was a factory build car by GT developments, but all I have learnt so far is, according to the chassis number, (17789) it was built in 1989

Hoping some one can help, any info would be very much appreciated

Regards. Ron
 
Thank you for your response, I will take some photos and upload them in due course. The car is Mk1 and is Azure Blue with White stripes.

Regards Ron
 

Malcolm

Supporter
First owner was Stuart Watson Davies and was noted as the first GTD to use rivnuts in roll hope structure to hold body shell on. Not sure who built it be it factory or customer.
 
Thanks for the feedback so far, I managed to dig up some photos as suggested.

Cheers Ron
 

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Hi Ron,

Have just had this blog passed on to me by another Forum member. My name is Stuart Watson-Davies and I built the car you now own. It was an 1989 chassis and was completed in the UK in 1993. I still have a full photographic record of the build. I also have a record of all the receipts for the parts purchased for the build. I am sure you would like to have these records, but I would like to retain them, however I would be happy if somehow they could be copied

The car was painted in Ford Azure Blue, and the wheels which are Image BRM Replicas are painted in Jaguar metallic blue. The white paint was added in Australia.

Would be happy to correspond directly via email if you wish
 
Hi Stuart,

WOW this great information.

Stuart you must be complimented on your workmanship, I have been in the automotive industry in Australia for 35 years, and the build quality of this car is world class, easily as good as any other example I have ever seen. I will email directly for sure.

Thank you so much for taking the time to post this valuable information that I have been seeking for years.

Thank you also to the forum members who have commented on my post, in particular the member who contacted Stuart.
This forum is so powerful providing information for members across the globe.

Kind Regards, Ron
 
Hi Stuart,

WOW this great information.

Stuart you must be complimented on your workmanship, I have been in the automotive industry in Australia for 35 years, and the build quality of this car is world class, easily as good as any other example I have ever seen. I will email directly for sure.

Thank you so much for taking the time to post this valuable information that I have been seeking for years.

Thank you also to the forum members who have commented on my post, in particular the member who contacted Stuart.
This forum is so powerful providing information for members across the globe.

Kind Regards, Ron

Hi Ron,

Thank you for your kind comments, they are very flattering. having learnt so much from the first GT40 I built, I was determined that the car you now have would be a show stopper.

Having looked through my pile of papers I do have a number of documents that prove when the major components - body, chassis, engine, gearbox, and suspension were supplied with dated invoices. Engine and gearbox were both new components, so of course were chassis, body and suspension.

Although the laws in Australia are different from the UK these may help to establish the age of the car and ultimately prove approximately when the car landed in Australia.

Anyway get back to me when you can- see separate emails sent to you during the last few days.

Stu W-D
 
This thread is but one example of the many GREAT things about this forum. Ron reaches out to the world and BAM! ends up with a treasure chest full of documents that must make him over the moon with joy as anyone would be. Fantastic!
 

Bill Hara

Old Hand
GT40s Supporter
Hey Ron, awesome car & well done on connecting the previous owner!
If you would like to connect with local GT40 enthusiasts, send me a PM. It's a great excuse to take that beauty of yours out for a drive with like minded individuals.

Cheers

Bill.
 
Hi Ron,

Hope you don’t mind me contacting you. Stuart did not build that beautiful car my father did.

I will be in touch over the next few days showing the photographic build at my family home.

It was built at “The Willows” Ash Road in Braunton North Devon.

Stuart lived in a near by town Barnstaple so would of been impossible for the car to be built in two different locations. He had a Gulf GTD40 coloured car at the time and a red Ferrari 308 GTB.

My father Nigel Ravenhill, the actual builder of the car was going to go into business with Stuart. Stuart worked full time at Xomox and Dad had recently sold another business, so he was the only one that would of had the time to take on such a project

Reading this really does make me quite upset that Stuart does not mention Dad at all. I was so very proud of the fit and finish Dad had completed the car to. Stuart was that impressed he even had dad make up some bits in aluminium for his Gulf coloured car!!!!!!! No doubt he will claim he made those too. I still remember coming to breakfast and my Corn Flake packets would have odd shaped cut of them where he had used them for templates.

I will see Dad over the next few days and send you all the information he has on the build.

kindest regards
Simon
 
The cars original owner not my Dad or Stuart The chassis and body moules was ordered by a member of pop group The Pretty Things!!!
Dad has his name and a letter from him somewhere!!
 

Malcolm

Supporter
With the hint that the cars original owner may have been a member of the band The Pretty Things I searched the chassis record using Wiki as a source of all current and past band members. Quite a few members over many years! A surname of Povey got a hit. The band member was Jon Povey. The chassis number recorded to the name Povey is not 17789 but it was a 1989 chassis number. There may be another hit for chassis numbers in 1989 with the band member Skip Alan but Skip would not be the first name recorded in the chassis list. So a second hit tenuous at best. I am sure the band The Pretty Things had more hits!
 
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