Lot Ended
Description
Recently restored to show-winning condition at a cost of over £14k and
only 200 miles since; fully rebuilt Stage 3 Ford 3.0 V6; four owners; large
history file; looks fantastic; find a better one!
Introduced to
replace the Genie in 1969, the Gilbern Invader was a squat and purposeful GT
which looked like a cross between Bertone’s Alfa Romeo 105 Series Coupe and
Vignale’s Maserati Sebring – not bad for a car entirely designed and built in
Wales.
This Invader MkII is one of only around
200 made between 1971 and 1972. It comes with a large and interesting history
file, the original purchase invoice showing that it was supplied new in
component form to a Mr T Wilcox of Truro in September 1971 and cost the princely
sum of £1,869.98. A letter from Gilbern reminded Mr Wilcox that in order to
dodge purchase tax, “Delivery must be made to the customer’s private address”
and “Assembly must be carried out without paid professional assistance”!
Invoices show that he did indeed carry out most of the build
himself.
Mr Wilcox kept the car until 2008 and it
then briefly had an owner in Sheffield before being acquired by an Ammanford
gent in 2009 who was to treat it to a ground-up restoration which took almost 10
years to complete, with bills on file for well over £14,000.
The full extent of the work carried out is far too detailed to list
in full here but is amply covered in dozens of invoices on file. Highlights
include: original Ford Essex 3.0 V6 fully rebuilt to Stage 3 spec by Specialised
Engines of Essex; new Weber carb; bespoke aluminium radiator; overdrive gearbox
rebuilt; new clutch kit; twin stainless steel fuel tanks with separate
switchable fuel pumps; bespoke stainless steel sports exhaust; stainless steel
bumpers; full interior retrim including leather seats and door cards and burr
walnut woodwork; all new instruments; powder coated wheels with Michelin tyres
- you get the picture, it was a
very thorough job!
Finally finished in March
2018, it flew through an MOT with no advisories recorded and has only covered
some 200 miles since. Our vendor acquired the car in 2021 and has continued to
look after it well, winning ‘Best on Parade’ at the Gilbern Owner’s Club
gathering in March this year.
As you
can see in the photos, this rare and handsome GT looks fantastic and
has been starting promptly and running beautifully as we have moved it around on
site, with good 60psi oil pressure. Supplied with a large and interesting
history file, it looks great value at the guide price suggested and you would be
hard pressed to find a better example anywhere…
For more information contact James on 07970 309907 or email
james.dennison@brightwells.com