Hello,
I just got a mini from a friend. I am waiting for the title and associated paperwork, but relize this is often wrong. I can't find the vin on the vehicle. It appears to be a model from the 60s, has a ton of indications to be a cooper s. I would love to verify this to be true. It even has cooper gt seats. And a weird logo in the steering wheel.
In the engine compartment there is a tag welded to the body above the radiator shroud. This does not match any vin pattern. No other tags can be found.
Any help is appreciated.
Ed

 

Horn button

 

Car coming home

 

I did some date checking on some parts and it appears to be a 63. So i believe its a 63 cooper s.
Ed

 

this is the common location ... this is a 77

just to the left of the bonnet pin . . one plate is the VIN, the other the commission number (red)



p.s. I suspect this is a 90's re-vin but the location matches other's I've seen; mine is relocated as my front end is glass fiber

looks like yours are gone for souvenirs or to support a re-vin

steering wheel is aftermarket

 

Thanks,
I looked and even felt along the bottom of that lip. No holes that I can see or covered holes. There's also a plate located right where your two meet with three letters on it. M is the middle.
Ed

 

This might help you... (sweet car, yea... I'm jealous)

https://www.minis.com.au/page5/page5.html

Motor on!

 

Hi..all mk1 shells are all the same from 1960 to 1967 the very early shells 1959 for the first 5 months were different due too the sills being welded the wrong way round.....so to know if its a cooper or cooper S will be very difficult the only help I can give is......on cooper and S shells the boot board brackets see pic

are rivited in up to 1965 and then spot welded in after and the old magic wand gear shift hole has a plate self tapped over it and a hole cut in floor for remote shift......on ciooper S shells the front panel see pic

has a Diagnol stiffner welded in and there are NO brackets under shell for hydro pipes all cooper S s were dry subframes only.....to help you get this book......

 

Just back from an all British car show where there was a smattering of Minis and I paid special attention to the VIN plate location

did not find it in the same place on any two cars!

I'd mention that in every case the plate was held down with pop rivets and it was clear that most of the cars had been totally restored/repainted and many of the VIN plates not original (paint too good)

So bottom line? Idunno . . .

 

Might want to try and find the May issue of MiniWorld

an article on identifying Cooper S engines has many pictures . . . . engine ID is a big deal IMO btw ... cuz many Coopers and S were raced (that was the reason they were developed in the first place ... they were not intended for the regular market, but racing teams .. but I digress) The article mentions that many S engines were modified up the wazzo for racing and blown up! And then something else was put in. Finding a good 1275 S block with original innards is a sweet find . . . an S body is one thing ... an S engine another.

Now let's run with this thought for a minute. Your body is a sliding window type ... MK1. You think your car is a 63. Miniworld says, "The first Cooper S engine to be launched was the 1071S, which arrived March 1963. The 1071 only remained in production until August 1964 but, in the meantime it was joined by the 1275S in February 1964 and the 970S in June 1964. Qwik start is to find the part number cast into the block. The 1275S part number is AEG312 ... and the "vast majority" of S blocks have "tappet chest inspection covers".

If you can pull the dizzy to find the model number, a true S had a 23D - "basically" the 25D without vacuum advance.

In the MiniWorld article, curiously the first picture of what they describe as "a near standard MK3 Cooper S engine" shows the VIN plate exactly where the picture I posted has it . . . but that IS a MK3

 

Interestingly, I had a '62 Cooper S (German export version) with a 1071, twin carbs and 7" disc brakes......in 1968, so well before the revin stuff. All the numbers matched the info on the title.....

 

The more I look I relize this is not a cooper or a cooper s. Someone did fit a bunch of cooper s parts on it though. I beleive the engine is a 1070 and has th remote shifter. The second gas tank is obviously a after market. The stock tank mounts are not present in that side. It appears to have some sort of a brake booster but not certain yet. I am fairly certain it's a 63 due to a few dates I have found.
I'm not too sad because I didn't pay much for the car. I can make it solid and make it my own. Still thinking of restoring it to a race car but I will want to put the 63 das / guage setup in. I think...

 

I installed the grill to see what it looks like. No mustache on this car.
Ed

 

I had a '62 Cooper S (German export version) with a 1071, twin carbs and 7" disc brakes.

well not to burst you bubble ... but Walton says "no"

according to his book the 1071 Austin and Morris S wasn't introduced until 63 and had 7 1/2 disks ...(didn't all S have 7 1/2 a BIG dif' tween the Cooper and the S)

1071 S only produced 63 - 64

The 997 Cooper (not S) had 7" disks and twin SU HS2 produced 61 - 64

+++++
a BIG teller for an early original /////

does the speedo register tenths of a mile?

according to Walton . . . of course if your's is German . . .

 

Well, it was a loooonnnnnnggggg time ago, but it titled a '62, it was a German export model (left drive and the ign switch said "Farht"), it did have 7" discs, it did have a 1071 (cause I overhauled it and it said so right on the block) with twin SU's and the remote shifter, but I cannot remember what the speedo said and I doubt of the 3 or 4 pics I have left of it we could tell that kind of detail. It had sliders, exterior hinges, and pop out rear windows. It was super deluxe in the interior with the red/grey upholstery with the sparkly threads in it - that's all I can remember. Oh and it had the Austin Cooper S badge on the back. Since it was well before people started swapping stuff out, I believe it was just the way the factory built it.


Not saying Walton is right or wrong, but given that they had 4 different gearboxes in the first year of production, who knows what could have rolled out of there? :-)

 

I just was looking at the red British layland emblem on both fenders. Is this any indication of the age? Is it possibly a late mk1?
Thanks.

 

I can't recall ever seeing those badges on a MK1 .... or any other Mini for that matter!

Do you have a MOSS part catalog .... these have an opinion on where to find the VIN plate on classic Minis ....broken down by year . . .

what tail lites does it have? Oval or rectangular?


IMO your basic problem is this car appears to have been used for racing and therefore the originality of ANYTHING is suspect. The body shell appears to be MK1 due to the rounded grill, external hinges and sliding windows. The round grill points to MK1 but I have a MK1 front clip on my 79; and MK1 tail lites and MK1 boot lid with the MK1 style EU lic plate . . . all modifications to my MK4 (or is it a 3?)

BTW ... Classic Motorsports magazine found a Cooper S "barn find" and is restoring it, trying to stay original ..... interesting reading
http://classicmotorsports.com/projec...mini-cooper-s/

Where I was last Saturday . . .

 

First place, good job. I'm a few hours away so I doubt I'll make that show.
I agree it's a hard oneness to date. And frankly I don't care what it originally was as much anymore. I like the right hand drive. And want to be able to title it.
The previous owner came back with a bill of sale. It was imported and used for just racing, they sold it, then he moved it and then I bought it after 28 years of sitting.
Apparently I can get it titled with a bill of sale, and a vin by going through a bonded process. But I'm still stuck on the vin issue. I will look tonight for the mk2 and 3 vin locations, I know it was in england in 76. So most likely a mk1 or 2.
Otherwise I need to find a title or just a vin for a rhd mk1 or 2 mini. Then I can search for used parts.
Ed

 

Good news, bad results.
Now that the engine compartment is needle and walnut free I did another good look over. I found on the rear of the top of the radiator shroud two screws. Looked like the width of a vin plate.
Therefore the vin plate is long gone. With a bill of sale but no number to take to the bonded people. I am sol.
So... I packed up all the parts into the car, and will have to leave it until I can figure out a solution the title problem.
I was looking forward to digging in but I will just have to hope the old owner runs across the plate.
Ed

 

I dunno how much research you've done ... and what state you are in can be an issue

but I just Googled: how to title a car with no VIN

and I got a bunch of references and a quick read of just a few would say there IS hope .....

OR start looking for another basket case that happens to HAVE a VIN

 

Thanks, I contacted wisconsin dot. I will find out my options.
Ed

 

problem solved

http://www.7ent.com/products/vin-pla...5-smi0079.html

what would you like the VIN to be?

 

If the bill of sale from the previous owner might have a vin written on it. If that's the case this will work. If I just invent a vin then I run the risk of matching another registered car. So if I can't **** er what vin I'm supposed to have my other option is to get a vin off a junked car.
Ed

 

the 'make one up' comment was tongue in cheek . . .

at a car show yesterday I discussed this topic with a couple of Model T & A guys whose cars were partial barn finds (partial cars to begin with) and a guy who built a dune buggy from the ground up.

Each said it was not hard ... but they went to DMV to get a path and we ARE talking Florida which IME will give an automobile title to and register a dead goat as road worthy if you are willing to pay the money.

is there a number plate on the motor? normally on a plate on the block behind the alternator .... both groups mentioned this as being acceptable to DMV here. The model A guys said there is a serial number on the frame of an A, under the body tho ...

 

I'm glad you were just kidding. Over a forum it's hard to tell the tone sometimes . Too funny. Apparently Michigan is similar. I'm Wisconsin they are more strict. The engine is missing the plate by cylinder 1. It has a plate on the other side of the block that read 1070. I contacted British herritage with the front end number and they told me that's not enough to go off of.

There is a car swap meet this weekend. There's a chance I can find a rhd mk1 title there. I would just buy it. I really want to take the engine drive train out and see if the block is good for rebuilding. But keep telling myself to just wait.
Ed