Hi, I'm new here. I didn't see an introduction thread, so I'll make mine here. My name is Bernie, the last name's not important. I'm an American in my 60s who collected a few Corgis when he was younger and which were recently discovered while cleaning out my mother's things. Probably nothing rare, and I wasn't the type to save boxes. I'm not eager to restore anything, most cars are intact. But I have an original James Bond Toyota 2000GT that was my favorite and it needs a few things to bring it back to reasonable condition. I saw places online where I could get a windshield but it needs a boot lid and I wasn't able to find one. I looked on ebay and it looks like they re-released this car, or maybe they never stopped making it.
The newer ones sell for the same price or less than the original car. It just wouldn't feel the same to have a brand new one but I wondered if the parts from the new one would fit the old one. All of the originals on ebay have have a problem with the boot so I thought that Corgi may have redesigned the mechanism when they made the modern version. I don't even know if the new one is the same size. I remember that I stopped buying Corgis because some of them were much bigger than the ones I already owned. Does anyone know if I can swap parts?
replacement parts for James Bond Toyota ?
Re: replacement parts for James Bond Toyota ?
Hi Bernie, welcome to the forum! 
The James Bond Toyota was made from 1967-69. The first re-release came in 1997, and there have been a few slightly differing versions since then (e.g. some have retained the jewelled taillights while others have just coloured plastic blobs there). These re-releases are the same size as the original but are not made from the original moulds - the have been cast off an original model and the resulting casting is not as crisp.
I know that the mechanisms of the Aston Martin DB5 have been redesigned for the re-releases, so I wouldn't be surprised if the Toyota also has a redesigned, better working boot release. Therefore I would rather look for a damaged original as a boot lid donor in case the new parts don't fit. An original Toyota can also provide some spare jewelled lights and tyres which are different on the later issues.
Currently there are a few on ebay UK that could be of interest to you (didn't show up on ebay.com even though they are available worldwide), and they don't cost more than a re-release. One is a BIN/best offer for £9.99 (although postage to the U.S. is £13.75):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/262000085265
And here is an auction that's ending tomorrow and is currently at £0.99 (+ £4.50 to U.S.). This also has both figures and the pennant in addition to a near mint boot lid:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/191655031397
The James Bond Toyota was made from 1967-69. The first re-release came in 1997, and there have been a few slightly differing versions since then (e.g. some have retained the jewelled taillights while others have just coloured plastic blobs there). These re-releases are the same size as the original but are not made from the original moulds - the have been cast off an original model and the resulting casting is not as crisp.
I know that the mechanisms of the Aston Martin DB5 have been redesigned for the re-releases, so I wouldn't be surprised if the Toyota also has a redesigned, better working boot release. Therefore I would rather look for a damaged original as a boot lid donor in case the new parts don't fit. An original Toyota can also provide some spare jewelled lights and tyres which are different on the later issues.
Currently there are a few on ebay UK that could be of interest to you (didn't show up on ebay.com even though they are available worldwide), and they don't cost more than a re-release. One is a BIN/best offer for £9.99 (although postage to the U.S. is £13.75):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/262000085265
And here is an auction that's ending tomorrow and is currently at £0.99 (+ £4.50 to U.S.). This also has both figures and the pennant in addition to a near mint boot lid:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/191655031397
Re: replacement parts for James Bond Toyota ?
Thanks, cOO7rgi. My ebay skills must not be very refined, as I did not think to look on the UK pages. My searches returned a few entries from overseas and I assumed that was all that was or sale there. The prices appear to be more reasonable in the UK but for the shipping charges. I will try that second auction you highlighted and think about doing a buy-it-now from the first if I lose. The condition of my Toyota falls closer to the one shown in the second auction although both appear to be suitable donors. I thought my car had the driver but since it's not with the car now I'll assume I was wrong. I do still have the Bond figure.
Another question. Do you know which tires the Mangusta takes? Non-whizz wheels. I dropped mine and one tire shattered because it was so old. I looked on the model-supplies.co.uk site but none of the descriptions seem to match up with what I have. They're much wider than the tires on the Toyota, and the wheel seems to be a millimeter larger in diameter. The back tires are wider still.
Thank you again for your help,
Bernie
Another question. Do you know which tires the Mangusta takes? Non-whizz wheels. I dropped mine and one tire shattered because it was so old. I looked on the model-supplies.co.uk site but none of the descriptions seem to match up with what I have. They're much wider than the tires on the Toyota, and the wheel seems to be a millimeter larger in diameter. The back tires are wider still.
Thank you again for your help,
Bernie