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OK, I'll bite. In mid 70's, bought a Mini for $50. Car was a shell, the engine and transmission was in the guys closet of all places. Hauled the shell and engine to my Dads back yard and put it up on blocks. I don't remember what year it was but would be early/mid 60's. It had the external door hinges and sliding glass on the doors, gear shifter came up from the bottom of the firewall. Engine was 850cc with a 4 speed transmission that didn't have syncro's in first gear. I stripped the engine, had the cylinders bored and put new MG pistons in. Trashed the two SU carbs and put a single Weber on it along with a roll bar. At the time, I had a friend that lived in England, and she shipped me a new trans that had syncro's in all gears. Kind of hard to tell from the pic, the rear wheels came off of a fork lift. I raced it in several road rallies.
Was a lot of fun, was surprisingly fast.
Last edited by AZdsrt; Oct 25, 2018 at 06:36 PM.
Reason: addl info
I sold it many decades ago. Interestingly, a few years after selling it I spotted it parked in a parking lot. The new owner had completely restored it. Was pretty rough when I sold it.
Yep, fork lift wheels. I actually found them at a place that sold wheels for industrial equipment. The bolt pattern was correct, 10" diameter and 6" wide. Obviously very strong wheels (tho a bit on the heavy side). In that pic, I only had them on the rear. By the time I got around to racing it, I had them on all four corners.
Hi..during the last 43 years since I learnt to drive I have had around 50 mini pass through my hands many have gone to the mini grave yard but I have saved a few as well My first mini was a 1966 morris 850 minor I bought for a whopping £60 way back in 1977 which was 6months wages back then, in 1980 I bought a 1973 clubman, 1988 I bought my first restoration project was an old beach racer which turned out to be a 1071 cooper S this cost me £200 and took me 4 years to restore trying to gather all the correct parts, this had to be sold when I needed to purchase our first home. in2004 after many mini free years I managed to buy a rover cooper 1990 which again took me several years to restore but I wanted to build a special mini not a run of the mill one so I set about turning it into a 60s retro look cooper S I put mk1 rear panel on mk1 boot bonnet full red/grey/gold brocade interior, 1380cc 7port engine, which I still own and in November 2017 I bought my dream mini an ERA mini turbo which stood unused since it was parked up in a garage since 2004 at present I'm doing a full nut and bolt strip down and rebuild and I hope to have this ready for the IMM60 in England next August.....
my first ever resto a 1977 clubman back in 1987
My beach racer Austin cooper S 1964 1071cc
My 1990 cooper bought in 2004
when it was finished july 2009
at IMM50 Longbridge 2009
This is how I found the ERA
the first time in 13 years it turned a wheel
getting it to my home
current situation of ERA
still a long way to go
I'm now the third owner of this wonderful 1968 Mini Cooper S. The original purchaser owned it from 1968 until 2005 when it was sold at the 2005 RM Auction at Amelia Island. Based on the period correct French license plates which are still on the car and a sticker on the valve cover from a well known French race mechanic I'm assuming it was originally purchased in France. I have no idea when it was imported to the USA. The original owner registered it as a 1967 which would was likely necessary to bring it into the US under the old import rules. The second owner purchased it at the RM auction and recently liquidated his car collection at the Mecum Chicago auction earlier this month which is where I stumbled across it online. It was listed as 1967 Morris Mini Cooper with a 1275 engine so I figured, at the right price, it would be a fun car.
Well, to my pleasant surprise I found out about the above long term ownership history and the fact that it was a very original 1968 (I knew it was a MKII) Morris Mini Cooper S with about 85,000 kilometers, is still running its original engine and overall is in fantastic shape. It no longer has its hydrolastic suspension but I'm okay with that. What I would love to find are the maintenance and other historical documents that apparently went with the car in 2005 but are no longer present. Unfortunately the Feds raided the office and home of the second owner and confiscated his records. That's an interesting story in itself. I've been in touch with the federal prosecutor who told me that he would look and see if they logged in any records related to the car. Maybe I'll get lucky.
I'm hoping, given its long term ownership history that someone with recognize the car and be able to shed some more light on its history. I noted two "club" stickers on the car and tried to do a Google search but came up empty. So far my best info has come by finding it in the 2005 RM Catalog and a Google search of the seller's name from the Mecum auction. In any case I'm thrilled to own the car and look forward to many years of fun.
I'm now the third owner of this wonderful 1968 Mini Cooper S. The original purchaser owned it from 1968 until 2005 when it was sold at the 2005 RM Auction at Amelia Island. Based on the period correct French license plates which are still on the car and a sticker on the valve cover from a well known French race mechanic I'm assuming it was originally purchased in France. I have no idea when it was imported to the USA. The original owner registered it as a 1967 which would was likely necessary to bring it into the US under the old import rules. The second owner purchased it at the RM auction and recently liquidated his car collection at the Mecum Chicago auction earlier this month which is where I stumbled across it online. It was listed as 1967 Morris Mini Cooper with a 1275 engine so I figured, at the right price, it would be a fun car.
Well, to my pleasant surprise I found out about the above long term ownership history and the fact that it was a very original 1968 (I knew it was a MKII) Morris Mini Cooper S with about 85,000 kilometers, is still running its original engine and overall is in fantastic shape. It no longer has its hydrolastic suspension but I'm okay with that. What I would love to find are the maintenance and other historical documents that apparently went with the car in 2005 but are no longer present. Unfortunately the Feds raided the office and home of the second owner and confiscated his records. That's an interesting story in itself. I've been in touch with the federal prosecutor who told me that he would look and see if they logged in any records related to the car. Maybe I'll get lucky.
I'm hoping, given its long term ownership history that someone with recognize the car and be able to shed some more light on its history. I noted two "club" stickers on the car and tried to do a Google search but came up empty. So far my best info has come by finding it in the 2005 RM Catalog and a Google search of the seller's name from the Mecum auction. In any case I'm thrilled to own the car and look forward to many years of fun.
Wow very interesting. Beautiful car though! Enjoy it!
I have a 1989 Japanese Rover Mini. I got it from a guy who imports Kei trucks and other Japanese goodies, I have all the importation paperwork. It's rougher, but the price was right. I've always wanted one, finally got one. My collection of Mini related paraphernalia is silly, now I'm starting to collect car parts. I actually like that it is a little rough, gives me something to do and I don't feel bad about doing dumb **** like putting a motorcycle muffler on it. The HS4 is getting a complete rebuild and tune in the near future, and then I'm going to address some of the body work that needs to be done. It has a 998 A+ block, can't confirm it is original but it more than likely is the factory engine.
I have a 1989 Japanese Rover Mini. I got it from a guy who imports Kei trucks and other Japanese goodies, I have all the importation paperwork. It's rougher, but the price was right. I've always wanted one, finally got one. My collection of Mini related paraphernalia is silly, now I'm starting to collect car parts. I actually like that it is a little rough, gives me something to do and I don't feel bad about doing dumb **** like putting a motorcycle muffler on it. The HS4 is getting a complete rebuild and tune in the near future, and then I'm going to address some of the body work that needs to be done. It has a 998 A+ block, can't confirm it is original but it more than likely is the factory engine.
Just admiring my paint work after a little detail work.
This is my 91 Mayfair. I've had it for awhile now. It was changed from a 998 automatic, to a 1310 4-speed with a fairly tall 4th gear for highway cruising. Color change, rust repair, interior upgrades, tires, wheels, and of course essential bits and pieces. Most parts were Mini Mania purchases. I want to upgrade the suspension and replace the rear crossmember sometime soon. This car is the last one of a long list of cars I've played around with. I never thought that this is where I would end up, after owning Cadillacs, Impala's, GTO, Mustangs and so many more cars that were so different from a Mini. But here I am. I love this little guy, I call Bertie. I'll probably be buried with him. Go figure
Just admiring my paint work after a little detail work.
This is my 91 Mayfair. I've had it for awhile now. It was changed from a 998 automatic, to a 1310 4-speed with a fairly tall 4th gear for highway cruising. Color change, rust repair, interior upgrades, tires, wheels, and of course essential bits and pieces. Most parts were Mini Mania purchases. I want to upgrade the suspension and replace the rear crossmember sometime soon. This car is the last one of a long list of cars I've played around with. I never thought that this is where I would end up, after owning Cadillacs, Impala's, GTO, Mustangs and so many more cars that were so different from a Mini. But here I am. I love this little guy, I call Bertie. I'll probably be buried with him. Go figure
Paint job looks beautiful. Great color choice!
Thank you for shopping with us! We hope you haven't had any issues!
What made you want to add a Mini to your projects?
Thank you for shopping with us! We hope you haven't had any issues!
What made you want to add a Mini to your projects?
Shopping with MM is a snap. I have a post on the forum "Mini Mania Community Forum" that expresses my opinions of MM and its members as well as my local Mini wrench expert.
As for adding a Mini to my project list, I saw a new MINI at a local Harley shop, it may have been an 03 yellow Cooper. I liked it, showed one to my wife and she agreed. However, I had to have an "S", and she had to have an auto stick. That didn't happen till 05.
When we ordered are MINI at Checkered Flag of Virginia Beach, they had a 68 Cooper displayed out front as a sales gimmick. I wanted to buy that one too. It wasn't for sale.
A few years later, after letting go of a 260Z I had for 20 years, I had my Mini project, and the rest is history.
Shopping with MM is a snap. I have a post on the forum "Mini Mania Community Forum" that expresses my opinions of MM and its members as well as my local Mini wrench expert.
As for adding a Mini to my project list, I saw a new MINI at a local Harley shop, it may have been an 03 yellow Cooper. I liked it, showed one to my wife and she agreed. However, I had to have an "S", and she had to have an auto stick. That didn't happen till 05.
When we ordered are MINI at Checkered Flag of Virginia Beach, they had a 68 Cooper displayed out front as a sales gimmick. I wanted to buy that one too. It wasn't for sale.
A few years later, after letting go of a 260Z I had for 20 years, I had my Mini project, and the rest is history.
If it's not for sale you build your own, that's what it's all about! That's awesome. Just imagine if the car in front of the store was for sale.. Hmm..
