Chris and I are still in a dilemma. We were surprised by the photos, if truth be told, thinking it would be full of holes by now after 4 years or so.
Me'thinks an urgent rescue may be on the cards... We can't break it for bits (or store it for later restoration) without collecting it and bringing it back to Surrey. If Chris doesn't arrange collection, by the end of the weekend probably, the guy who's farm it's sitting at will arrange for it to be taken to a scrapyard where it will no doubt be crushed IN TOTO.
The thing is, it's 150 quid just to get it back here. I wonder if anyone on here, local-ish to Cheltenham, with some free time and a trailer/recovery truck, might be able to offer some help? - should Chris and I decide we're not letting it go...
It's a toughie, it really is. As I understand it, there are only around FIVE 1971-73 UK model year GS's left on the CCC GS/A register.
Thus the sad scenario is that even if it was broken for spares.... all the other early GS's in the UK have all the bits they need anyway, and we won't be able to shift any of it.
I wish the GS section would show the same enthusiasm for cars like this, that members of this forum show for Mk1 BXs! In fact there's been more interest shown in this car on this website from BX owners! There's been absolutely no interest on the GS/A yahoo forum, and I'm about to post a last-ditch plea on the CCC website itself. The market for GS/As is sadly still in "survival of the fittest" mode. The best cars now command a >£1000 price tag, whereas cars that need work often can't even be given away. People want cars that need minimum effort - understandably... as it's very expensive to restore a GS to a good standard, unless you have the time and expertise to carry the work out yourself. The "GS restorers" are few and far between in the UK - in comparison with some of the "crazy" ground up restorations (even of GSAs) that I have seen and read about in the Netherlands GS club.
Here's a bit more of the story behind this car.
It used to be owned by an elderly chap called Michael Jorro, who had a farm and a barn, containing 4 GS's, a GSA, a mk1 CX estate, and a myriad of spare parts, engines, wheels, you name it. He was forced to have a clear out, thus all the cars had to go, and he invited all and sundry to come and help themselves to anything they wanted. I paid £50 to save this white GS... another club member saved a similar green one, which has subsequently been restored, and yet another took on his red GSX2 which is "work-in-progress". A rare GS Basalte shell had to be scrapped sadly, along with a GSA Special and the CX, after it had been stripped (T reg, rotten as hell).
We agreed with his friend, who owned a farm not far away, and had carried out lots of repair work on these cars over the years, that we would drive the white GS over to his, and he would carry out some under-floor repairs. To which end, Chris later sent him
£350........ Time passed, we didn't hear anything from him.... The car was by now registered on SORN in my name - so I had the V5 and kept getting DVLA renewal reminders.... More time passed..... We couldn't get in contact because at some point we mislaid the guy's address and tel no....... But we got no contact from him either! Neither of us had the time to enquire among local members, or go and try and find the place once more.
Then recently, his wife contacted us out of the blue! Told us he'd been ill for a long time with back trouble and hadn't been able to work on the car. That it needed moving shortly if at all possible, or it would be taken away and scrapped.
All in all, a very sorry affair. I wish the car had never gone to him and that I'd been in a position to trailer it back to Surrey there and then. At that time I was still living at home - so another "old banger" on the family drive, when I had the "rolling-resto" GSA there already equalled "Not A Chance In Hell!"
Anyway, there we go. Having saved it once from the scrapyard, that same fate is now looming once more.
Regards,
Mark.