In this section, there is a recent photograph
   of some of the cars, conveniently divided into 3 groups:-

1.   Cars built up to Chassis No. 36 including the prototype
       and Jim Keeble’s development car (Reg. No. 9 KOR)  

2. Cars built at Eastleigh (37 to 91)
       up to the company going into receivership.

3. The Sholing cars (92-98)
       and the last 2 cars completed(99 & 100)

We have now got photographs of 58 of the 100 cars built.
If you know of a Gordon Keeble that is not shown here,
please could you send me a photo for the photo gallery
ojfollows@hotmail.com

Points to look for in distinguishing cars of the 3 groups.
This is only a guide as in any small production run, the ability to source parts can influence what is fitted in any individual car.  The variations were minimal and essentially limited to the first 12 cars.

In the first group:-
This is the first production run and includes the prototype car - the Gordon GT - which was built with a steel body by Bertone in Italy and also the test-bed car - 9 KOR - which was used by Jim Keeble to develop the car.  Any improvements were almost immediately adopted into the production run. The first production car was chassis No.3 and was registered on 29th May 1964.  Production settled down and over 50 cars left the factory by the end of 1964 selling for  £2798.

 The cars used the rear light assembly from the FIAT sports car of that vintage which had a separate reversing light mounted beneath the rear bumper. Some cars have been fitted with either the later light set (which includes the reversing lights) or,if unobtainable, the rear lights from the Rover 2000 series. 
The original Cox seats with limited rake adjustment for the back-rest were replaced by the Restall seats which could be laid down flat by one lever or infinitely adjusted by another one but no head restraint was available.
The first 12 cars had Armstrong Selectaride damper units but these proved unsatisfactory amd variable in use which  badly affected the road holding when hot. These were replaced by non-adjustable telescopic units which were retrofited on earlier cars.
Some of the earlier cars had fibreglass reinforced plastic bumpers which were chrome-plated. The replacement steel ones were too thin and easily rusted away. Several cars have Triumph 2000 bumpers fitted as an alternative.

In the second group:-  This phase represents a period when there were only minor changes in the car specification,  but it was apparent that the original selling price was too low and in February 1965 the selling price of the car was increased to £3626 - a rise of about 30%..  Also at this time, the supply of steering boxes from Adwest dried up due to strike action there.  At worst, 16 cars were complete except for their steering boxes and this finally precipitated a terminal financial crisis and although drastic redundancy measures were instigated, the lack of sales precipitated the end, with production finally ceasing with Chassis No.91. The company went into liquidation under the control of George Wandsborough.

In the final group:- Following the descent into official receivership,  Harold Smith, (the main London retailer for Gordon-Keeble cars)  and Geoffrey West initiated a rescue operation and eventually purchased the uncompleted cars and the remaining parts for £10,000.   They now had the parts but needed some factory space which they found 2 miles away.

Production restarted at the Sholing factory, and had the advantage of having all the production under one roof of 13,000 square feet. Chassis no. 92 was the first car produced there with only 40 employees.  The cars were essentially the same but were now to be known as “the Gordon-Keeble I.T.” (for International Touring as the term GT was somewhat debased by overuse in the mass market cars.

The minor changes introduced were with the ducting for the heater system on the both sides of the engine compartment in order to provide face level ventilation in the cabin. Also the three hydraulic cylinders (brake-[2] and clutch) were now re-aligned straight.  There was no change in the specification of the running gear.

If you would like your car included, please forward a suitable photograph
(marked for inclusion) to The Club Secretary
     David Yeomans,
     26 Burford Park Road, Kings Norton,  BIRMINGHAM     B38 8PB
     or send it by e-mail:-  gkoc@yeomans26.freeserve.co.uk
     or directly to website:-   ojfollows@hotmail.com  
  

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