GVC 562D was originally built in 1966 as one of five ‘works’ promotional cars that were loaned to various motoring magazines, also being exhibited at premier exhibitions such as Earls Court, Geneva etc.
These cars were built away from the production line, with specific attention to detail ensuring perfect panel gaps, paint and interior trim, with ‘road test’ examples also benefiting from subtly upgraded engines and handling.
This very car was one of the press fleet road test cars and is documented in many magazines published in 1966, just prior to the GT6 model launch later that year. The current owner discovered ‘GVC 562D’ in the late 1980s, by then in a very poor state, having lay dormant in deepest Coventry at the bottom of a garden.
We are indebted to the car’s current custodian for providing us with the following description.
“It was never my intention to restore the car, however I was talked into it… It was restored to the highest standard using 99.9% of triumph Stanpart spares, including a new old stock genuine triumph factory body shell, whilst the paintwork was done by Butlins of Swadlincote, (family run Jaguar E-type specialists). The bodyshell was blasted before the bare metal repaint and all seams were sealed as per factory manual and spec. All mechanical work was done by myself as well as the final assembly. All screws, clips etc are factory correct and ‘GVC’ is internationally regarded to be one of the best (if not the best) early GT6 to exist and the benchmark for many restorations of similar vehicles being completed subsequently.
‘GVC’ has only been shown at one concours event and was awarded the much coveted ‘Best in Show’ honours. It has also been displayed at the NEC classic car show and I have a fantastic photograph of Sir Stirling Moss and myself chatting away about the restoration and history, whilst leaning on the roof!! ‘GVC’ was also featured at a TSSC international weekend as the main entrance exhibit at Donington Park race circuit, plus the featured car for an interview with Graham Robson, who remembered the car and the project from 1966. He reminded me that the car was specially built for press reports of the time and also solved the mystery of the plates on the chassis, which were added by the works to stiffen the frame up under the envisaged extreme driving from the press road-test drivers and their heavy right feet. The engine was also balanced and head ports cleaned to give max power (I have evidence of this in the form of ‘build special requirements’ by the factory; this information is now held at Gaydon Motor Heritage Centre archives).
The car has swing spring at the rear and 3:63 diff, both these being planned for production but both deleted for line production builds as a cost saving exercise – swing axle spring and 3:89 / 3:27 diffs being cheaper and already in production.
Engine-
Crank reground, vandervelle lead shells
Rebored, AE pistons / rings
New Stanpart camshaft
New Stanpart cam followers
New Stanpart valves and head converted to run unleaded
New valve springs
New rocker shaft and rockers
New Stanpart oil pump
Ancillaries (starter motor, dynamo, emissions valve, starter relay, control box all new original manufacturer (no repro or recon) water pump – alloy rebuildable high flow unit
Gearbox –
Gearset is TR7 heavy duty inside a GT6 HD case – 100% Stanpart components and new
Overdrive HD J-type and 28%, built by Overdrive Spares (Rugby) from mainly new original components
Diff –
New Stanpart unit 3:63 ratio but rebuilt with copper thrusts by the late Ken Tomlinson (ex triumph works competition engineer – who actually built the original diff and gearbox when car was new!!)
Driveshafts – new genuine”
