Only 351 examples of the iconic Toyota 2000GT were produced in its short, three-year production run from May 1967 to August 1970. Of these, just 233 cars were made in right-hand drive and only three were allocated to the market in South Africa.
Toyota’s historical documentation reveals that chassis numbers MF10-10131 and MF10-10206 were both painted in the popular shade of Pegasus White, while chassis number MF10-10207 was said to be finished in the less common Thunder Silver. The three vehicles arrived in South Africa between 1967 and 1968.
Toyota 2000GT restoration
Toyota South Africa has possessed car #10207 for a number of years as part of the company’s heritage collection and it always puzzled the team why the car was only ever known to be painted in Solar Red. The potential of discovering the answer to this mystery was not enough in itself to prompt a full restoration. However, the tipping point came when Toyota Gazoo Racing announced that it had begun to reproduce selected original equipment components for the 2000GT as part of its GR Heritage Parts programme.
Now that some of the trickier mechanical components could be more easily sourced through official channels, the decision was made to embark on a complete nut and bolt restoration and return car #10207 to its original glory.
This grand-scale project was entrusted to the father and son team behind Generation Old School, a classic car restoration specialist in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Wynand Styrdom Senior and Wynand Styrdom Junior are renowned for their work on motoring icons from the Sixties, with a methodical project plan, hands-on approach and attention to detail being hallmarks of their restorations.
Although neither of the Styrdoms had even seen a Toyota 2000GT in the metal, both are experts at disassembling vehicles and making a careful inventory of each individual component. Their preference is always to try and revive parts in order to preserve the value and originality of the vehicle in question; plus, it is…
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