I'm having a discussion with a fellow Mini owner about vin's. He says the vin is stamped in 3 different places on the body for a MK I and II, I say no, it's only on the vin plate. It started as to weather a body was a true Cooper S or not. I said look at the grill opening. If the vertical support is angled and the lower lip is factory bent to take the oil cooler, than it's a good chance it's an S as any attempt to change this would be obvious. A RH gas tank is to easy to put in as would the doors being drilled for the chrome trim. Any ideas???

 

Buy Original Mini Cooper and Cooper S, The Restorers' Guide by John Parnell
IBSN 0-7603-1228-1

And have all your questions answered.

BTW, some Cooper S' did have the VIN stamped on the passenger floor (but that's rare) There is a Body # plate attached to the slam panel on the left side with a number like A0XXXX which can also help identify it.

Early Cooper S' had a vertical support (not angled) with the oil cooler mounted on the motor under the dynamo.

As the RH tank goes, not so much the tank, but look for the original style mounting points on the seat back as a give away.

There's a myriad of fine points you can use to discern a Cooper from a "Cooperized" Mini in Parnell's book.

 

The Mk 2 had a VIN # located on the body portion of the radiator shroud. There was also an enging # plate just onder the thermostat housing. Also, (beginning in 1967?)_ there was a Commission # (red and silver in color) on the inner wing of the engine compartment near where the brake booster is mounted in the engine compartment. There are also numbers stamped in the floorboards and on the slame panel, but they apparently are not tracked therefore have no reference. Most times, when an engine is rebuilt and hot tanked, the engine number goes missing, however, a Cooper S engine is easily distinguishable from an Austin America, A plus, or small bore block.

Cooper S authenticity is can quickly be determined by subtle things like the right hand tank mounts, boot board mounts, S Motor, Hardy/Spicer U joints, big CV joint nuts, and hydrolastic suspension.

With so may fakes out there, unless you are looking for a potential 100 pt car for concours, your best bet is to find something that has little rust, good brakes, and a healthy motor. Good cars usually cost $8,000-12,000.

dr dave

 

Is this applied to non-british models like the Innocenti? I know it's not a MK whatever but as far as the VIN numbers?

 

Cooper S authenticity is can quickly be determined by subtle things like the right hand tank mounts, boot board mounts, S Motor, Hardy/Spicer U joints, big CV joint nuts, and hydrolastic suspension.

Not all Cooper S' had rh tanks (my 64 1071S didn't, it was an option)
Early Cooper S' had rubber cones not hydrolastic suspension(which came in Sept 64)
Early S' had yoke couplings, not hardy spicer.....
Anyone can rivet in boot board mounts.....

See the need for the Parnell book? There's many nuances and changes between Mk1, 2 & 3 Cooper & S' Go slowly and double check info.

For an Innocenti, go the the Mini specialist forums in the UK

http://www.specialistminiforums.com/

 

yes, but if the car does have twin tanks, it should have the correct mountings and hardwear. Though anyone can rivet or wield boot board brackets, the slats for the boot board on the rear bulkhead are pretty hard to get right.

But I degress MiniMad. Congrats, you are a bigger mini geek than me.

dr dave

 

uhm.....thanks?

Actually, in buying my 64 I came across so much conflicting info it was confusing. It seems to be something you want to be careful about if you're paying a premium for something advertised as an "S", (even a rusty POS like mine). The books are invaluable.

 

BTW, my 64 does not have the rear bulkhead bootboard slats, only the floor. But iy has all other identifying items, ID plates, body plate on slam panel, FE plate on passenger floor and a Heritage Certificate...??

 

MiniMad, how would you compare the John parnell book (Original Mini Cooper and Cooper S, The Restorers' Guide) to the Chris Rees book (Complete Classic Mini '59 - 2000, ISBN 1-899870-60-1)? I have the latter and wondered whether its worthwhile to get the parnell book too.

 

thx minimad!!

 

Don't worry MiniMad, we are all geeks when it comes to these silly cars.

You are correct about the Parnell book as being invalluable. It has great detail about Mk1 cooper and s models. His analysis of the Mk2 S (like mine) is not quite as detailed. Though I haven't checked, I'm not sure when they put the bootboard slats in. From what I recall all Mk2 and Mk3 Cooper S cars were originally Hydro, and all Mk2 cooper s cars had the Hardy spicers., not sure about Mk3 cars.

Regardless, they are all fun, especially when they run right!!

dr dave

 

I don't have the Rees book. I do have Essential Mini Cooper by Anders Ditlev Clausager ISBN 1-870979-86-9, though which covers (lightly) Innocentis and later model Coopers.