INFO GUIDE: 1971 - 1973 Leyland Mini Clubman GT

• New interior trim designs accompanied the changes to the Australian Mini body described in section 1. Trim design and colour options for the Clubman GT have been outlined in greater detail in section 3 of this guide.
• The main aspects of the re-designed interior for the Clubman model included new door cards and handles, a new upper and lower dash-pad design, a new instrument cluster and a new demisting unit / heater.
• The upper dash-pad included a small swivel storage tray, and the lower pad included a revised central switch panel. The lower dash-pad switch panel design was unique to Australian minis and included 3 plastic rocker switches for the headlights, windscreen wipers and washers. There were also sliding heater and demisting controls below the rocker switches. The centre switch panel on the 1971 GT differs slightly in layout from later cars. The 1971 GTs have the 3 rocker switches aligned to the right, with a 'dummy' 4th left rocker switch position having a black 'Leyland' badge printed on the metal in the shape of a switch. This early switch panel also had a centrally positioned ignition. From January 1972 onward, the panel was revised with the 3 rocker switches spaced evenly apart, and the ignition was moved to the steering column. The position change for the ignition came as a response to a new Australian Design Rule ("ADR") requirement for a steering lock (see Section 8).
• The British-spec (1275GT) triple-instrument cluster was applied to the Clubman GT, and uniquely included a 120mph speedometer, with the redline revised to 6,500rpm (up from 6,000rpm on the 1275GT). The instrument panel also included a combined fuel level and temperature gauge.
• The new heater / demister design was introduced to all Australian Minis in 1971. These are a large plastic-bodied unit and are the same as applied to the later Australian Leyland Minis.
• The front seats in all GTs and standard Clubmans had a new locking mechanism to prevent them from moving forward in a collision. GTs built and complied during 1971 had low backed front seats, and from January 1972 adjustable headrests were fitted to meet ADRs. Two styles of headrest were applied to the GT; larger headrests were fitted to most 1972 vehicles, with late 1972 / January 1973 cars fitted with a smaller headrest design (see images for a comparison).
• Three-point seatbelts were standard on both the front and rear seats. These were non-inertia belts, and the B-pillars had small hooks for hanging the front buckles. The front seatbelt buckle anchor between the two front seats is a solid single unit (see images), which differs from the separate units used for the later Leyland Mini inertia front seatbelts.
• A hardcover masonite / leatherboard material lined the inner boot lid, held in place with small chrome screws and upholstery washers. A vinyl covered boot board was also applied, fitted between the two tanks above the spare wheel, and lining up with the brackets and boot board retaining clip in the trunk (see images for more detail). These features were only applied to the Morris Cooper S and Clubman GT Minis in Australia.
• A two-spoke steering wheel was originally fitted to the GT, similar in style to the MK2 Australian Morris Cooper S. Up to April 1972, the centre badge should read "British Leyland" and from around April 1972 onward, it should read "Leyland Australia". There are some exceptions that have been noted around the changeover time. A sports steering wheel was also listed as an option for the GT (see Section 8), however, we have not been able to confirm the exact type offered, whilst several enthusiasts have suggested a Moto-Lita style wheel was available.
• GTs received a unique imitation timber brown gear shift knob with 'GT' badge on top. There has been some debate over whether these were fitted to all cars, with the conclusion being that the vast majority had these fitted.
• A single-speaker push-button Leyland AM radio was optional equipment (see Section 8).
• Larger 'square' brake and clutch pedals (as per Morris Cooper S design) were applied.
• Inside of the windscreen, the A-pillars were painted a matt black (rather than body colour).
• The GT was fitted with loop pile carpets, as opposed to the standard Clubman which received a vinyl floor covering as standard. Front floor mats were optional (see Section 8).
• 1971 GTs were fitted with a small rear-vision mirror (approx. 6 inch x 2 inch), and had rectangular sun-visors (approx. 15 inch x 5 inch). New ADRs in January 1972 required a larger rear-view mirror, so these later cars had a revised larger mirror design with the sun-visor ends having an angled shape in the centre of the car to avoid hitting the wider mirror.
• A number of early cars (those sighted all being 1971 built) were not fitted with an instrument lighting dimmer switch. These early cars are believed to have had the choke handle mounted on the RHS of the steering column, under the lower dash pad. Later cars (those sighted from 1972 onward) were fitted with the dimmer switch on the RHS of the steering column, with the choke handle mounted on the LHS of the steering column.
• Soundproofing / insulation (hessian underlay material) was glued to the underside of the rear parcel shelf (as was applied to the Morris Cooper S). The same hessian material was also applied behind the dashboard on the bulkhead.
• Very early cars received the Black GT knob before changing to the Brown GT knob.

Seat and door trim patterns:

The GT received a unique vinyl trim design, which actually differs slightly to its standard Clubman counterpart of the same era. We note that early GTs have a basket-weave trim pattern on the seat and door card inserts, whilst later cars replaced the basket-weave inserts with flat panels. Unfortunately, we have not been able to confirm precisely when this changeover occurred, but have provided examples in the images to show the difference in pattern between the earlier and later designs.

Regardless of whether the cars had the basket-weave or flat-panel design, these insert panels on the seats were rolled and stitched to the seat vinyl (as opposed to the standard Clubman - which had these insert panels simply embossed into the vinyl trim). Similarly, when it comes to the door cards and rear quarter cards on the GT, the insert panels are heat-welded onto the card trim material, whilst the standard Clubman cards were embossed. This difference means that genuine Clubman GT trim is extremely difficult to find, or accurately replicate.

Carpets and seatbelts:

Carpets in the GT were a loop pile design, having the same square grid foot-pad as the MK2 Morris Cooper S, also with toe pad on the inner-guard carpeted section. According to several owners of original cars, in the majority of cases the trim colour applied to the seats was also reflected in the carpet colour as well as in the seatbelt colour. There are, however, believed to be some exceptions to this.

Clubman GT trim colour availability:

The below table outlines the interior trim colours available on the Clubman GT cars from 1971 - 1973. These colours are based on a number of examples sighted, and Leyland specification sheets (attached in the images). Despite the options shown in the specification sheets, we have only been able to sight and obtain several examples of trim colours.  If any owners or enthusiasts out there have better images and examples, please contact us so we can improve this section.

Based on our research to date, the paint codes listed in the table below were available on the Australian Clubman GT. Should you have any information regarding additional colours not listed here, or have better examples of images we could use in this section, please contact us. The paint code was listed on a small decal next to the vehicle compliance plate, an example of which is provided in the images.

The Leyland and Dulux paint charts in the images have been displayed for historical purposes, and we note that these reflect the colours available across all cars in the BMC range during the relevant year, not necessarily the Clubman GT.

Clubman GT paint colours and codes:

Clubman GT stripe / decal colours:

Chassis number and prefix:

The Clubman GT has a chassis number prefix YG2S8, followed by a 3- or 4-digit unique car number. Car numbers commenced at 501.

The chassis number is stamped in two locations:

1. Embossed on the vehicle's compliance plate, located on the driver's side inner fender within the engine bay;
2. Stamped into the radiator shroud top panel, on the passenger's side inner mudguard. Two different stamping styles were applied. Style 1 had the chassis prefix stamped in smaller characters above the chassis number at the cabin end of the shroud. Style 2 was in the centre of the shroud on the same line, with the prefix separated from the chassis number by the gap in the radiator shroud. We have sighted a number of cars containing either of these styles, with an example of each provided in the images.

We note that stamped compliance plates can be purchased new and stamped to a customer's liking, and therefore the identity of a car should not be determined based on a compliance plate alone. The chassis number stamping in the body of the car is the most important of these two number locations, and should be assessed in conjunction with the body number outlined below.

Body number and prefix:

The body number of the GT is stamped into the bulkhead (behind the brake / clutch master cylinder). You will see a prefix of "M2" over "23" stamped (which identifies the shell as a Clubman GT). Below this, the body number of the car will be stamped. Body numbers commenced at 001, and therefore the body number will be approximately 500 units less than the car's chassis number (explained above).