neil reid wrote:I didn't think there were any LSD fitted 1st gen cars anywhere??? And gearboxes other than being 4 or 5 speed were the same(T or W) no matter what the trim level in my 40 year owner experience with these cars. But I'm still learning, and would like to know more. I'm really only familiar with the North American specs first hand. Neil
The spec of Uk cars was that the UK gt had a twin cam 18r-g engine with close ratio gearbox and standard LSD. The other LSD fitted to UK cars was the ta22gt and TA23gt , but only 200 of the first and 100 of the second imported.
The Ra28 gt had vinyl trim seats , not cloth, silver dash and centre console and leather wheel and gear knob, standard spec was on the st.
The crutch of the matter is in values of UK cars. a good RA28Gt is £15k an immaculate genuine one £20k.However the st is only likely to be at £5k less both on good and immaculate and for cars requiring work the price differential increase between each model.
If you are going to buy one and hold it for quite a while the GT will appreciate at a higher rate than the ST,and there is only one purchase as the st is underpowered and wont run on unleaded, so you are immediately into an engine upgrade.
I prefer the coupes to drive but recognise the Ra28 looks the business and my gt has the finished desirability look and the sound from the sidedraft carbs on the twin cam engine. The difficulty is finding a good example at an acceptable price.
Hope this all helps , the gt was only available in blue, red, white and a dark green( never seen one this colour) , mine is metallic blue with white trim and looks excellent.More food for thought, malcolm.
The spec of Uk cars was that the UK gt had a twin cam 18r-g engine with close ratio gearbox and standard LSD. The other LSD fitted to UK cars was the ta22gt and TA23gt , but only 200 of the first and 100 of the second imported.
The Ra28 gt had vinyl trim seats , not cloth, silver dash and centre console and leather wheel and gear knob, standard spec was on the st.
The crutch of the matter is in values of UK cars. a good RA28Gt is £15k an immaculate genuine one £20k.However the st is only likely to be at £5k less both on good and immaculate and for cars requiring work the price differential increase between each model.
If you are going to buy one and hold it for quite a while the GT will appreciate at a higher rate than the ST,and there is only one purchase as the st is underpowered and wont run on unleaded, so you are immediately into an engine upgrade.
I prefer the coupes to drive but recognise the Ra28 looks the business and my gt has the finished desirability look and the sound from the sidedraft carbs on the twin cam engine. The difficulty is finding a good example at an acceptable price.
Hope this all helps , the gt was only available in blue, red, white and a dark green( never seen one this colour) , mine is metallic blue with white trim and looks excellent.More food for thought, malcolm.
Perfect Malcom, that blue car sounds lovely, I'll take it . Seriously though the UK GT sounds like the car I am looking for and £15k is an achievable budget so just keep me in the back of your mind should something crop up for sale.
The spec of Uk cars was that the UK gt had a twin cam 18r-g engine with close ratio gearbox and standard LSD. The other LSD fitted to UK cars was the ta22gt and TA23gt , but only 200 of the first and 100 of the second imported.
The Ra28 gt had vinyl trim seats , not cloth, silver dash and centre console and leather wheel and gear knob, standard spec was on the st.
The crutch of the matter is in values of UK cars. a good RA28Gt is £15k an immaculate genuine one £20k.However the st is only likely to be at £5k less both on good and immaculate and for cars requiring work the price differential increase between each model.
If you are going to buy one and hold it for quite a while the GT will appreciate at a higher rate than the ST,and there is only one purchase as the st is underpowered and wont run on unleaded, so you are immediately into an engine upgrade.
I prefer the coupes to drive but recognise the Ra28 looks the business and my gt has the finished desirability look and the sound from the sidedraft carbs on the twin cam engine. The difficulty is finding a good example at an acceptable price.
Hope this all helps , the gt was only available in blue, red, white and a dark green( never seen one this colour) , mine is metallic blue with white trim and looks excellent.More food for thought, malcolm.
Appreciate the heads up sir. The offering was much "thinner" in North America!
Neil
HI trev,
Will keep my eyes peeled and let me know, maybe a contact number for you would help, you can pm me that.
A number of the UK 28gts had optional extras, and I have seen a number of cars with these fitted namely air con and a factory standard cassette radio , mine didn't have either , but the car is in good condition and only 88k from new.It will go on the road next year after being stored for a number of years although it was registered in nov 77on a s plate , it was actually built in nov 76 , so eligible to be taxed for free from next april. I have had it 10 years and bought it of a previous owner who had owned it 17 years but was seriously ill and wanted someone to have it and look after it , he passed away 6 months later. He kept it in the back part of arctic truck on a piece of ground in his back garden and drove it up scaffold planks to get it in and out.
I have a list of build dates to check whether any cars is tax exempt , just need a chassis number.
I not a fan of the white but the blue and red ones look fine, the green would be also great but never seen one in the flesh, now beggars can't be choosers , its just a case of finding a UK -28gt.
Malcolm.
A Gt is the right vehicle to Buy , however caution over the 18r-g twin cam engine is necessary. Life span of the original engine is likely to be 100000, before major rebuild. However when the engine is likely to need replacement , in the past many people swapped it for a replacement API engine. These were engines imported from japan when vehicles were scrapped due to their strict mot laws.
However these engines had fuel injection in japan so they have a low compression head and normally a ribbed additional bottom pulley on the crank pulley. Also they may have 200t on the rocker box, but the 18r-g in a ra40gt had this marking, front pulley is the normal give away unless it was a uk air con car engine.
It is a permutation of all of the above marking to confirm API.
there were LB's with quite a variety of engines, boxes and diffs, including a few LSD's.
at the LSD though!!
. Seriously though the UK GT sounds like the car I am looking for and £15k is an achievable budget so just keep me in the back of your mind should something crop up for sale.