1964 Gordon Keeble GT
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Serial Number: 047 Engine Number: tbd Logbooks: English registered Condition: fair Price: $19,500 USD Location: Midwestern U.S. |
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DescriptionAlthough now appearing very tatty due to badly crazed paintwork, this car was the object of a complete restoration in the mid 80s by the Gordon Keeble Car Centre in the U.K. which included a chassis replacement and conversion to rack and pinion with revised front geometry. The car was purchased by a U.S. Naval Officer who commissioned the restoration. The suspension was completely rebushed and hubs resealed and repacked. All brake lines were replaced and servoes rebuilt, calipers rebuilt, and the pedal box rebuilt. The engine and gearbox were rebuilt. The receipts for all the work accompany the car.After the restoration the car was shipped to Texas where it resided for many years. The current owner purchased the car in Florida last year. The engine has since been serviced by a noted Corvette specialist and made to run, being deemed in working order. Additional work on the fuel tanks and brakes is required to make the car roadworthy. Curiously, the car retains it's English registration which has been renewed by the present owner. It is a right hand drive model. |
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The story of the company which produced the cars is less rosy. In 1960 a steel bodied prototype was produced by John Gordon and Jim Keeble, automotive engineers out of work after the collapse of Peerless Motors in Slough, Buckinghamshire. In 1963 a patron was founded and production began at the airport in Southampton, in a hanger no less. The aircraft connection is apparent throughout the car. The brochure boasted "built to aircraft standards". The interior resembles the flight deck of a 60's luxury aircraft, complete with swivelling ventilation nozzles and quilted aircraft PVC.
The car's beauty failed, however, to prop up the balance sheets and in 18 months the firm went into liquidation after a production of some 80 cars. The firm was resuscitated twice more, eking out meager additional production to push the total to 104 until being finally liquidated in 1968. Due to the robust construction and glassfibre body over 90 survivors are known, with over 60 being in regular use. In the 80s the effects of English weather and an ungalvanized chassis began to be known and nearly 30 have been rechassied, including this example.
