In an earlier article (MG mystery: the missing three years) I mentioned the mystery of the missing three years. Why was JNK registered with an “N” plate (May 1975), but the chassis number and specification indicating a much earlier construction?
The answer came from British Motor Industry Heritage Trust. The Trust provided me with a certified copy of the original factory records. This showed that the vehicle was built between 12 Jun and 28 Aug 1972 and it was despatched from the works on 4 Sep 1972. JNK was a right hand drive car, built for the home market. But the twist, and the reason for the changed registration plate, was that she was destined for Thompson Reid Ltd, a motor dealer in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Originally she would have been issued with a Northern Ireland registration and, as was custom at the time, on return to the mainland several years later was reissued with a number plate corresponding to the date of that change. Similar often happened to cars register in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. Today, the practice has changed, with DVLC issuing plates that correspond to the year of manufacture of the car when a vehicle is returned back to Great Britain.
Not quite a romantic as being used as a factory test car for a number of years, or even an origin in one of the far flung parts of the Commonwealth, but the mystery is solved.
As a final twist, causing some hiccups with receiving the car, DVLC have now issued JNK with a new “L” plate registration. From henceforth she is now ABW! This is much more fitting; ABW indicates an Abingdon registration.
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