I know it is a trivial issue, but is the guide plate on the top of the close panel for the bonnet pin finished painted or plated?
Restored cars have a mix of both finishes so that's not conclusive.
Factory sales brochures tend to show the guide left plated, but some of those cars were not final production.

In my opinion they are not painted.

I might be going out on a limb here but I had a look at the unrestored cars in my database and it appears the change was in mid to late 1969.

MK1 and early MK2 were painted body colour and late MK2 were not painted

Its not something I have researched - yet

My unrestored 1970 Mk2 I bought in 1980

Thanks for those replies. Didn't realise that both were right, depending on model.

Does this mean that the release handle under the close panel was also painted or plated depending on the guide plate's finish?

Sorry I cant help with that one.

Do you want me to get a list going to work out the top plate change point?

No. No. You've done very well so far with change points.
Just have a nervous twitch about that little plate. In the '70s corresponded with a bloke in UK with a Aust Mk2 S. I sent him some photos of my Mk2. When he wrote back, all he could say was to point out I had that plate on back-to-front! Oh. The shame!

Go on, you know you want to

_________________
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Yes I probably will. I have to do some work on the registers first as some of the data in not accurate.

Had any luck with your research gtogreen1969?

Looking at unrestored cars the change was somewhere between car 636 and 1002 (May 1969 - Oct 1969)

Still chasing for more unrestored cars between these to narrow down the change.

858 and 866 are painted but I cant confirm if they were changed during a resto

940 looks like it was unpainted before its resto.

If I had to guess I would say the change was in the 700s to 900s

It may not have been an exact change point and just a slow change over a few months. I haven't seen any factory documents saying anything about it yet.