The plate did keep the kickstand from damaging the stays so there's that. While working on the frame I saw a "Carrera Sport" logo on the top tube. The chief difference between the plain jane and the special is the lack of extension levers and the nifty cranks. You are correct. I'm going for a respray. The paints flaky and the decals are barely legible anyway. I touched up the seat lug with a file and sandpaper as it was awfully rough and unfinished and I have some red paint left over from the Super Course Mk II.
While the primer is drying I'm cleaning up the components. Everything is remarkably smoth. Even the adjustment screws in the rear dropout are finger tight. One of the screws snapped on the front derailleur clamp but I overcame that. It's about 28 lbs so it's no lightweight but it's not bad. I'll only fill my water bottle half way! 😜