Okay guys now that we know Unicorns really exist, what is next?
In case you missed it, read the story here: https://classiccougarcommunity.com/unicorn-found-the-cougar-that-couldnt-exist-does/#more-285
It kind of redefines the meaning of 1 of 1…
Next up:
The Streep Eliminator is real? LOL!
It’s a neat story, for sure.
I’m curious about it as well. Stories like this always prove to be very entertaining once you do the legwork it takes to get to the bottom of it.
I’ve been involved in the research of a number of American cars that weren’t supposed to exist, but they’re easily proven if one just follows the evidence.
What a difference a week makes.
There is more to come. The Marti Report has been ordered.
One very interesting question is whether this was ordered as a GT-E, minus just about everything, or and XR-7 with a 427? I can make a good case either way. The DSO number provides a clue as those were unique to GT-E. More from Jim Pinkerton on this soon…
Not as big a deal, But I had a Plymouth GTX that had Trak Pac with AC. Both were on the data plate but were not suposed to be available together. Also I talked to a AMC dealer in 1971 about ordering a Hornet SC360 with a 401 in it and after a 5 minute phone call to the factory said they said they would build it. To bad I didn’t go ahead and order it.
I have to wonder who came up with the prices for the engine and partial AC?
Just thinking about this one a bit…
When this car went down the line, how did they decide which parts to put on it?
The buck tag for a GT-E does not carry a code for the GT-E package. So the engine code W in the VIN must have triggered a number of items on the build sheet.
But many of the items called out individually on the invoice are INCLUDED in the GT-E package.
Exhaust system. The exhaust that was spec’d for the W code is the GT-E exhaust. So this car probably had GT-E tips. This
Brakes. All GT-E’s came with power front disc brakes, included in the GT-E package price . Note that the invoice calls out the front disc brakes separately.
Tires. All GT-E’s came with radial tires, also included in the GT-E package price. Again, these are charged out separately in the invoice.
Power Steering. All GT-E’s came with power steering, also included in the GT-E package price. And there it is, a separate charge on the invoice.
All of this leads me to believe that this one was not ordered as a GT-E minus trim, but rather as an XR-7 with a W code 427.
Posting this for reference here:
This is the window sticker from my GT-E for reference
Another great story Bill, keep up the great work. Thanks goes out to Royce for passing on the information for this article. Will the information be posted from the Marti report?
Steven
This story is just beginning to unfold. As soon as we have the Marti Report, I will get that posted, and it is believed that we may be able to locate the car and get pictures. Stay tuned…
I am leaning towards this car being an XR7 with a special ordered W code engine. Not a GT-E with deleted trim.
My reasons.
The exhaust is a head scratcher, it may have gotten the standard S code 390-4V exhaust complete.
Light bulb just went on.
DSO number:
The interior air conditioning components
427-4V engine
6 digit DSO’s are special order cars, those two items are were the special order.
All good points. In talking with Jim Pinkerton, following his discussion with Kevin Marti, he did not that there was an indication on the Marti report that there were additional items not reflected on the primary IBM punch card or vehicle order image. IT might be too much to ask, but if the car still has the original build sheets, it would allow complete understanding of how this came to pass.
It will be crucial to get the build sheets, no matter what.
Now what follows is my opinion… Feel free to disagree:
Because it was believed that it was IMPOSSIBLE to get a 427 any other way, all W code cars were thought to be GT-E’s and therefore included in the list provided to Jim by Kevin Marti. Now we know that W just means 427.
Conversely, the VIN was also known previously to the registry. Again the presumption of finding any car with a W in the VIN was that it started out as a GT-E, so it would have gone on the list, and a quick check with Kevin Marti would have verified that the VIN was legit.
Until the factory invoice was located, the presumption would have been that the car was built and equipped as a GT-E and then stripped of the trim and so on. Except for one glaring error: the color.
The GT-E was available in 11 factory colors. White was not one of those colors. This is critical to the discussion. Here is why:
The color code on the data tag is blank when a special order color is specified. So a GT-E with a special order color, (like the two in Calypso Coral), would have a blank on the door data tag. This car does not have a blank in the body color location. It lists the color code M for Polar White. M is an available color code for an XR-7.
Thanks to Scott B for putting me on this trail… I verified the original color availability for the GT-E and verified that the original 11 did not include Polar White.
So if the car was ordered as a GT-E minus trim, it would also be a GT-E with special order color “blank”.
Great story Bill…
I hope someone is still chasing the trail on this and we learn more about the people involved in the history of the car.
Rob
All I can say right now is that there are plans to get as deeply into the mystery as possible. For example, there should be documents called travelers that should be with the car, in the glove box.
Door edge guards could not be ordered with the GT-E package either, if I remember right.
-Ray (with a new user name)
Welcome aboard Ray!
You sir are correct! Door edge guards, like rear bumper guards, speed control, and Whisper Aire, were NA on the GT-E. Good call.
Wow Bill! Great story! It’s always cool to see unique cars pop-up. Thanks for posting the story and thanks to Royce for gathering the info, very cool.