Rhett

Do you mean 307 (5litre) auto? Or a HT 350 auto?

327 auto? Did the dealer fit the auto? GMH certainly had the capability and the parts, the colour may be the hint as to what it was.

I am sure you will understand the skeptics here. We have heard it all before, and not one single time has anyone ever produced a single scrap of evidence to prove that a HK 327 Auto existed.

Hence the lack of chatter on your thread.

Produce the evidence and watch the thread come alive.

Memories have a habit of fading over the years... cars exist in the mind that never existed in real life.

I must admit what Warren has typed I initially thought!

BUT, i've learned and sometimes the hard way not to dismiss every tiny last bit of what might seem to be an otherwise fantastical story as often there is sometimes something there.

Whilst I doubt anyone could have ordered a HK in Verdoro it is possible there were some internal cars made in the upcoming HT colours. Verdoro Green and Monaco Maroon had a special paint process on GTS where the Persian Gold stripes were added in the actual body plant (and in some locations where the guards and bonnet were painted separately in the assembly plant) as the stripes were metallic and had to be on before the clear lacquer went on. Black stripes were added after completion. So it is very unlikely (or lets say impossible) to special order this colour combination unless it was done for Styling or a similar department.

And whilst as stated above no-one has ever produced proof of an auto GTS327, it is possible one was made as the gearbox was either used exactly how it'd be used bar the twin exhaust in a HK GTS or as used in an Impala/Parisienne. The only engine differences being the carby, sump and flex plate. But like those above i'm still 99% certain it would have been either a HT 350A or a HK 307A.

So what this leaves is more questions!

Incidently HT GTS350 number 4 or 5 I think it was from Pagewood (adjacent number to Ben's Platinum car whichever it was) was Verdoro from memory and it was an auto.

Warren, I think the #3 Elizabeth car was built after the initial run of Pagewood 350 cars so they had 350 engines by then. The only one built prior to the Pagewood cars was the #1 Elizabeth car with a 327, so the first completed 350 powered cars were all Pagewood.

People's memory often fades with time, what are the chances of this car being an HK GTS 307 Powerglide & painted something like Woodsman's Green as a fleet order & the dealer adding the left-hand stripe.

As Warren has said what month is your Dad's birthday ?

Dr Terry

I was not aware that the number 3 car from Elizabeth had turned up, that is amazing how many early HT 350s survive. 1, 2 and 3 from Elizabeth, 1, 2, 4, 5 and 7 from Pagewood (Ben's is number 4 and if you are saying 5 is auto then Ben's will be the 4th and last without an M on the engine number, 7 is know to have an M)

Number 2 from Elizabeth is a really interesting car, as it was assembled and painted in early 1969 and was fitted with an engine in early 1970, and therefore has a compliance plate.

Warren

I don't know if Elizabeth #3 has turned up Warren, but Ben has the cars details and it was a manual.

I inspected the first Pagewood auto 350 in Dural a year or so ago, it was #3 (I had to ask Ben as I sent him the details and I didn't keep them, I knew it was the adjacent car to his though). It was Platinum though not Verdoro so it isn't this car that is the subject of this thread.

Ben has log books off a HK GTS 5litre auto where the dealer has put a 327 in it, but it isn't green, so stuff like this was done.

There will have been a HK in Verdoro for a styling clinic but who knows whether it was GTS327 or a Premier wagon, probably actually a Verdoro car and 2 x others in different shades of the same green. These cars would have got sold off or used and then sold off by dealer tender so it is possible a 327 painted in Verdoro was sold later in HK.

All long shots though, i'd be putting money on it being a HT 350A or a HK 307A

All interesting stuff. The Elizabeth pilot run happened in about April 69 so a styling colour HK would have been done before that.

Interesting to know if the No 3 Pagewood car has an A in the engine number, as 4 does not but 7 does. This tells me that engine 4 was stamped before engine 3, which would not be unussual as they are stamped before they go into a car.

Do the deails of the Elizabeth No3 car come up as early pilot or regular production?

More questions, less answers

Warren

quote:

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Originally posted by Warren Turnbull
All interesting stuff. The Elizabeth pilot run happened in about April 69 so a styling colour HK would have been done before that.

Interesting to know if the No 3 Pagewood car has an A in the engine number, as 4 does not but 7 does. This tells me that engine 4 was stamped before engine 3, which would not be unussual as they are stamped before they go into a car.

Do the deails of the Elizabeth No3 car come up as early pilot or regular production?

More questions, less answers

Warren

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It was just a shell Warren, and not the original one. Had the right chassis number and ID plates but nothing else. I imagine it'll have been a car built for similar purposes to Ben's.