6 replies to this topic

[plumbo1]

Hi all, can anyone tell me how to trace history, i'v brought a 1975 mk3 rust bucket that i'm trying to bring back to live and i'm trying to find out some history on it, when i stripped out what was left of the boot the original colour was army non reflective green (did the army use mini's?) any help please   

[RedRuby]

Yes the army did have minis, as far as tracing history it is difficult as from last year the DVLA will no longer provide information on previous owners due to data protection issues. You could try the national heritage centre but that, if you are lucky will only provide info on its initial specifications when built.

[plumbo1]

Thank's RedRuby. That's what i thought, no matter what i'v tried haven't been able to get any info, such a shame would have been great to find out if it was a ex army car and to find out where it was used, might try army transport see if they can give me any info

[mab01uk]

Back in the late 1970's I looked at an ex-Army Mini still with its original army green paint for a potential buyer but it was too rusty to bother with at that time for a basic spec 850cc. Properly restored to original Army spec it would now be a very rare and desirable Mini. The Army vehicles have special registrations during service years so you might be able to trace that through their records with the Chassis Number?

 

Shame the DVLA recently stopped providing a cars ownership history for a £5 fee, it helped my brother find he had bought an ex-Police Minivan which he has since restored to original Police spec.

 

Also try:-

https://www.whatdoth...ilitary_vehicle

Edited by mab01uk, 05 June 2018 - 06:05 PM.

[Swift_General]

Request a heritage certificate. Will tell you where the mini was delivered, colour, factory fitted options etc. Might give you a bit of a clue.

[mini-mad-mark]

Hi - are you sure about the army thing?

 

I had a 1975 mini that was Tundra (a sort of dark green colour but gloss not flat like Khaki/Army Paint)

[Itsaminithing]

Hi - are you sure about the army thing?

 

I had a 1975 mini that was Tundra (a sort of dark green colour but gloss not flat like Khaki/Army Paint)

Anything is possible, but like you i think it's more likely to be a standard Tundra Green mini with Mink (beige) interior http://mk1-performan...k/pdf/74-75.pdf

 

43 years tends to affect the finish on the original paint, my '75 Tundra Greens paint is as dull as dishwater now & no amount of polishing will ever make it gloss again.

 

IF it is ex-military i should think it's more likely to be ex-RAF, they had lots of them -ideal for nipping round the bases. The base doctors usually drove green Minis & the RAF Police used green ones with yellow stripes. https://www.rafmc.co.uk/history

Has this got a MOD ID plate riveted to the bulkhead or the holes where one used to be?

http://www.coys.co.u...971-austin-mini

Edited by Itsaminithing, 06 June 2018 - 05:22 PM.