HEy everyone, stupid question... What is involved when they say "numbers match" on a car for sale particularily the classics?

 

Not a stupid question at all. On a Mini it means the car VIN and engine numbers match those as originally built. This is most important when you are buying a car that is rare, say a 60's Cooper or Cooper S model which can sell for a big premium. Then you need to be careful and knowledgeable about what exactly you are buying. For run-of-the-mill Minis it doesn't matter much. Many have had engine transplants and/or upgrades. But, if you are buyiing a rare 64 Cooper S 1071cc for mega-bucks you better make sure....

As both the engine plate and VIN plate are available aftermarket (blank) you can make any car "matchng". All you need is a title an original vin plate and the Heritage Certificate (for the engine number) from

http://www.heritage-motor-centre.co....itionaldetails

It takes an expert to tell the difference between a "real" Mini and a ringer/clone sometimes. A good source of knowledgeable folks can be found at the Mini Cooper Register...http://mcr.mywowbb.com/

Many classic Mini Coopers and S's have been "re-shelled" in the UK. You can find MkI registered Minis running about in later Mk shells, for example. Such practice is legal following UK regs. (DVLA)

On other cars it means the body numbers match too. But I'm not sure Mini's records on such were very good, if existent at all. Most shells have a plate welded to the floor or in the engine compartment with an FEXXXXXX number, but I think that was just used for production purposes.

Is that enough info to confuse you?

 

THANKYOU so much Minimad, this is very useful information.
I know that the engines all are numbered, but where would it be documented that a particular engine goes with this particular auto/chassis?
I guess what Im saying is....auto VIN plus stamped engine number how do we put these two togeather to findout?,,,is it documented on the Title? Ill use this info all across the board searching the barns here in Europe for those classics.

 

The only way to get the official engine number for the car as produced is via the Heritage Certificate.

 

Thanks!!!!

 

remember one thing when shopping for a classic car. you only need to worry about matching numbers if the car is a rare factory optioned car. other then that, it dosent really make much difference in todays market.

actually the trend towards classic cars now, and has been for the past few years, has been to take off the original items and replace with modern to give the vehicle a "new car" ride.