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JCW GarageInterested in John Cooper Works (JCW) parts for your 1st Generation MINI? This is where JCW upgrades and accessories for the Cooper (R50), Cabrio (R52), and Cooper S (R53) MINIs are discussed.
Well you might can fix that. Mine had the certificate according to the pictures from the dealer but unfortunately the 1st owner lost it... so I contacted MINI in all kind of different ways. In the end they told me they could supply a new certificate matching my car and kit number. BUT... You have to apply for one trough the dealer that fitted the kit or (in case of factory cars) trough the dealer that delivered the car. Next you have to write (by hand) a letter in which you states that de dealer can apply for the certificate at the MINI Classic department in Germany you also have to supply pictures and the chassis number. This will ONLY work if the car was fitted with the kit by a dealership or from factory and if the kit number matches your car. I'm going trough this proces at the moment.
I will post an update if I have any more information about it.
Very very cool!
Thanks Maik!
I wouldn't have thought such a thing would be possible but now I'm going to look into it and I'll get one for my car if the asking price isn't overly insane.
Is there a part # for the certificate?
My car was sold by Mini of Sterling up in Virginia so I guess I'd have to go through them.
Also didn't know that MINI had a Classic Department --- that's very cool, wish they'd reproduce some NLA parts like aero grills for example!
Very very cool!
Is there a part # for the certificate?
My car was sold by Mini of Sterling up in Virginia so I guess I'd have to go through them.
Also didn't know that MINI had a Classic Department --- that's very cool, wish they'd reproduce some NLA parts like aero grills for example!
The certificate did have a part number but it's NLA. Also the MINI Classic department is just a part of BMW Classic. The guy at the dealership where my MINI was bought and still goes to from time to time happens to have good connections with them and told me that they are restoring some early R50 and R53's and we all know what happend when BMW restored other models....... suddenly some parts were available again! Lets hope they will do the same with parts for our MINI's but probably JCW parts won't be remade.
Whilst browsing UK ebay lately I noticed a good few old Works Conversion certificates from the 90's back when Cooper Garages was doing Rover-approved conversions.
High demand = quite pricey for a simple piece of paper:
Sold for about $370 USD.
Such auction results also tend to bring more examples out of the woodwork, like this current listing where the seller notes he saw how much these were fetching and decided to list his...
My 04 had the JCW tuning kit No.S 3902 dealer installed at Jackie Cooper BMW/Mini in Edmond Oklahoma on 3/15/2004 at 1,051 miles and it has the aero kit, but I have no record of whether the car came from the factory with the aero kit or if it was a later addition. I did discover that it does not have JCW brakes. The previous owner said he bought it from a Subaru dealer's used car lot because it was an original JCW and that it registered 112 Hp on a dyno with the JCW goodies and after some further tweaks and pulley changes it made 252 Hp at the wheels. Aside from the tuning kit, badges, and areo kit bodywork there are no other JCW accessories, but it does have "white out" rear lights that have red LEDs when on.
Correction edit of the above concerning the rocker cover badges...
...JCW/C was merely an internal coding system and did not indicate Challenge after all:
From the John Cooper Garages sales brochure it is important to pickup on the distinction in the wording used for these 2 types of MINI Cooper Works. If a car was converted by John Cooper Garages pre sale it was given a CAR No. JCW/C plate on the engine, but if a was taken to them post sale it was given a Conversion No. JCW/K plate on the engine.
Quick update about the John Cooper Works Certificate, I got a call yesterday MINI will supply a replacement and it is on it's way to my dealership.
Once I have it I'll post another update and let you know the cost of the replacement certificate.
So finally an update on the Certificate, on 18 december the Certificate finally arrived at the dealer. So the next day I went over there and got my replacement certificate.
It took almost 4 months but it was worth waiting for!
And the cost of it...... nothing!
Little did they know what those seats would be worth...world wide.
True that!
I don't post on reddit r/mini but I do casually browse there,
last week someone posted this pic:
Neat to see both options side-by-side installed --- he was in the process of swapping the Recaros for the Sparcos and paused to take a photo midway through.
From speaking to one of my contacts in the UK, is appears that some of the UK JCW kits (like this one) were actually installed by John Cooper Works garages themselves, in the UK. These are some of the very earliest cars with JCW kits, and were not installed at the dealer. So, in the UK, there are JCW installed kits, dealer installed kits, and factory installed kits.
From speaking to one of my contacts in the UK, is appears that some of the UK JCW kits (like this one) were actually installed by John Cooper Works garages themselves, in the UK. These are some of the very earliest cars with JCW kits, and were not installed at the dealer. So, in the UK, there are JCW installed kits, dealer installed kits, and factory installed kits.
Would be cool as *hit to have that sticker in the engine bay. Can’t imagine there’s any of these cars here in the states.
From speaking to one of my contacts in the UK, is appears that some of the UK JCW kits (like this one) were actually installed by John Cooper Works garages themselves, in the UK. These are some of the very earliest cars with JCW kits, and were not installed at the dealer. So, in the UK, there are JCW installed kits, dealer installed kits, and factory installed kits.
Originally Posted by Jonny
Would be cool as *hit to have that sticker in the engine bay. Can’t imagine there’s any of these cars here in the states.
There was one on CL about 2 years ago, engine only. I was surprised to see it and tried to get info to see how it ended up in the country, but never found out. Don’t know if it even sold or not. Would be a shame if the plate and head ended up in a scrap heap.
Bonus points for rear windscreen sticker reference to the original Italian Job!
Mega rare side scuttles are definitely bonus point worthy too.
Excerpt from auction description:
Mini Cooper S JCW 210 No 22 built by John Cooper Works Garage High spec car
A rare opportunity to buy a original Mini Cooper S JCW built by the John Cooper Works garage in West Sussex the car was ordered on the 21st May 2002 which was before the Cooper S was even launched (letter included)
The car was delivered in February 2003 and is numbered 22, there was a delay in delivery due to the high level spec ordered by the owner, car was invoiced at £21,131.99 it was supplied from new with the plate S55 WKS which it still retains, which is worth £600
I have the purchase invoices here, in October 2004 it was returned to the cooper garage for its 210 BHP upgrade from the original 190BHP spec at a cost of £402,
JCW certificate in folder
During its life it has been upgraded with
JCW aero body kit with rare US running lights ( front and rear bumpers and sills ) and a colour coded carbon coated roof spoiler, this may of been fitted from new but no proof off this.
JCW big brake kit with 284mm discs
R95 JCW wheels which have been newly refurbished
JCW gear ****
JCW side vents
Original JCW logo number plates still fitted
It has a full service history supported many invoices and bills, one invoice of note is for £3044 from Mini Speed for a engine rebuild at 63244 miles, there are many other bills running into £1000's
The car has recorded 126000 miles, but with engine being rebuilt at 68K the engine is in fine fettle and feels to have all its 210bhp available.
The car has its original owners pack with stamped service book and still retains Mike Ravens business card within it (sales manager at the John Cooper Works garage)
This car has only had 4 owners, last owner for 7.5 years
To summarize a rare chance to buy one of the first customer supplied JCW Mini's with great provenience and checkable history
In February 2018 I asked my dealer if there were any of the JCW kits still available. At that time there were 3 remaining in the MINI system worldwide, none in the US.
I had them order it and install it on my 2008 R52S.
Being one of the last kits in the system, I assumed that it would be one of the highest numbers. That assumption was incorrect, as the number is S17011 and I see that some of the LotSCs had numbers over 18000.
From speaking to one of my contacts in the UK, is appears that some of the UK JCW kits (like this one) were actually installed by John Cooper Works garages themselves, in the UK. These are some of the very earliest cars with JCW kits, and were not installed at the dealer. So, in the UK, there are JCW installed kits, dealer installed kits, and factory installed kits.
From speaking to one of my contacts in the UK, is appears that some of the UK JCW kits (like this one) were actually installed by John Cooper Works garages themselves, in the UK. These are some of the very earliest cars with JCW kits, and were not installed at the dealer. So, in the UK, there are JCW installed kits, dealer installed kits, and factory installed kits.
Bonus points for rear windscreen sticker reference to the original Italian Job!
