All the works teams used to change identities around to suit the events they were doing. If, for example, they had a car prepared for an event which was set for tarmac and it was a forest event, they might well use a forest prepared car with the reg. no. of the tarmac car because it was taxed or for a number of other reasons. It really didn't matter to the entrants or the organisers.
In fact even some private owners switched plates. I knew a guy who had two fully prepared Mk.1 Escort Twin-Cams. But he only had one log book and one number. One was a tarmac spec and the other for forest use and the number plate was put on whichever he wanted to enter. Then he bought a written-off Mk.1 Twin Cam, used that identity on one of the rally cars and sold the parts off of the written of one which got him back the cash he had paid out to buy the written off one.
That sort of thing went on in rallying back in the '60's & '70's and may still go on today.
I know stuff like that went on with our 'works' Datsun 240Z's. One was RHD for one event, then LHD for the next after a crash, but it still had the same numbers!
The problem now is that these so-called 'ex-works' cars are fetching huge sums based on their supposed 'history in competition', but the true history will never be known. They have had changed identities, been re-shelled, been totally re-built and only the number is still the original.
But back then we were all just interested in winning rallies and never considered that 50 years later such a car might fetch over £100,000. They were just a means to an end back then. If only we had realised, I would have bought a few and stored them. Think what one of our old 'works' Datsun 240Z's would be worth now. I was once offered an ex-works Healey 3000 for £800 after the 1965 RAC when it had a small amount of 'Timo'-caused damage. That was the car which came second to Rauno's Cooper 'S'. I decided to buy a new Mk.1 Cortina GT instead for the same sort of money as I needed a car to use every day.
Edited by Cooperman, 04 February 2017 - 12:13 PM.