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It gets worse. I see there are photos around of a car carrying GRX55D with post spring 1966 Gp2 arches, door number of the 1966 Monte Gp 1 car and auxiliary light arrangement of a 1965 Gp 2 car.

Oh Dear......perhaps the registered owner can explain ? I'm sure that he has contacts reading this post.....and would like to confirm the situation. Looking forward to an explanation
I do feel ( again ) like I'm one of the (few ? ) bad guys, asking questions about ex works cars...………...

Not a case of being the bad guy Dave. It’s about getting the correct and honest information regarding the cars That actually represent the honest truth. Those of us who are interested in the history of Abingdon and the works Minis would like to see the actual cars that took part in those rallies and not be lied to with cars that merely have the registrations of cars that are recreations or replicas. If the cars don’t exist any more just say so! It really is that simple. .......I’ll get me coat!
My car is being created as a tribute to a Cooper S that sadly I didn’t get to finish. I know full well that it’s not a Morris Cooper S 1071 but that’s what it will look like albeit with a proper Downton engine but it’s a collection of parts and will never be described as a car that was worked on at Downton. It’s my car and my vision and will never be for sale so although I’ll never be able to afford an original Downton Cooper, I’ve got one which is almost as good and that’s good enough for me.

Tim

It should be possible to come to a view on whether any of the Gp1 cars are the original shell. The holes drilled for the pipe protection channels may well even be slightly differently placed between the cars. I defy anyone to disguise that, whether welding up or filling with fibreglass (or having a new floor pan). An immaculate original floor would also be an indication in the case of GRX55D, since it went on after the comparatively undamaging Monte to spend a day at Strata Florida destruction testing the suspension.
Original GRX555D seems to have had a hard recce life (including rough 66 Acropolis) up to Flowers 67 at least.
Original GRX5D, after Monte, Flowers and Tulip, has a gap (suggesting recce use) before the number being put on a new GP2 car for the RAC... but remember that during that gap EBL56C appears for a couple of events as a Gp1 car, having not been a Gp 1 car previously and then not being one later....

Separately (above post):
I never understood the star billing/attraction of a car "worked on" at Downton. The vast majority of cars so described merely had a replacement modified cylinder head and carbs and manifolds fitted there.
I think you should be just as pleased to own a car with a Downton head fitted elsewhere.
The head for my S was "done" by Downton and bought across their sales counter. I'm sure I was equally competent to merely fit it as anyone there. (My exchange head was a new casting, which caused some spluttering on their part - because it had no valves. I never got a straight answer to my question "but surely you don't re-use valves, so what does it matter?). All the best Mini engineers worked there at one time or another but the pure commercial side was little different from any other organisation in period?

I always think of Only Fools and Horses when Trigger states that he has owned his broom for 20 years and it has only had 14 shafts and 17 heads. Here is a joke told in our local pub which suits the ex-works Mini thing very well:-

Murphy went to Charles Hurst Ltd in Belfast to trade in his Honda Jeep for a newer model. The young salesman says Mr Murphy I’m afraid we would not be interested in your vehicle with 215,000 miles on it. Try and sell it privately and we could reduce the asking price of this new vehicle to reflect no trade in allowance. Murphy and the young salesman exchange telephone details and the meeting ends.

Heading home, Murphy’s son said dad I have a mate who can clock vehicles and he could knock 200,000 miles of no problem.

Two weeks later the young salesman telephones Murphy and asks is he still thinking of buying a newer model. Murphy replies, absolutely not, who in their right mind would sell a vehicle that had only done 15,000 miles

Alan