I've Found Her..... 1959 Mk1 Mini 434Nwl

While I respect the above opinions greatly it must be remembered that no single nut or bolt remains of Morris chassis 140. You are buying a V5c and vin plate issued in 1962 when it was renumbered 98. With that are an assortment of random mini parts and a MK2 body shell.

It cannot be restored only recreated from an early body shell.

I couldn't agree more but there are plenty of 'original' Mini's out there with replacement wings, floor pans, sills.... are they then to be discounted as being original. Regardless of the reshell, the number plate survives and hopefully someone will restore a 'true to original' Mk1 and have a beautiful number plate and VIN plate to stick on it.
To my mind this is no different to a DAX or Pilgrim Cobra.... True to original and beautiful in its own right. Long live the registration!!!

Edited by PetrolNut, 15 March 2014 - 07:35 PM.

While true, there is a difference between starting with the original body shell, running gear and interior then restoring it and starting with an envelope and gathering parts to recreate a car that resembles the original but will never be the original in anyway shape or form.

It would cost £25,000+ to recreate 434 NWL. You would need a pre October 1959 body shel and then to modify it to May specification. You will then have to find all the very hard to find correct early running gear and interior. Then you will still only have a car built from a log book. The real 140 disappeared in 1987. It's been reshelled twice.

It would be a great project but a big & expensive one.

And if you did go to all the trouble of finding all these parts that didn't belong to it originally it would legally be a reconstructed classic, not the original car.

Well yes and if you are building it from a long book in public it would technically need a Q plate.

I think this car could be considered important enough to qualify for registration as a reconstructed classic rather than having undetermined history, so it could avoid a Q and keep its own plate. It's not a straightforward application for that reg class though and you need to prove all sorts of stuff. And it would still be non-transferable and could never be historic just like a Q. It's a legal recognition that it isn't the original vehicle though.

Sounds like a possible solution then.

As bill says from its (well documented) history there is nothing left from the original car, if it's rebuilt into a period correct car unless you can find one with no clue as to its original identity you will destroy another 59 Mini which may be far more original than this one, (which let's face it won't be hard to find), in this case I think I'd be waiting (though it may be a long wait) until the Hertitage MK1 shells are available, use one of those and don't hide the cars history, then it will have a 'value' as a car to be used, it will have to be a labour of love though as I doubt if anyone would ever see the amount of money that would be needed to do this back if it was sold on

Pictures on the add now.. But for some reason you still can't see the car.....

Gav, the photos of the car are ones I sent him last week. They are from the ebay listing 12 months ago when he bought it but they are only thumb nail size for some reason, they were proper photos when I saved them. odd  He can't get down to Norfolk to take photos and it's away in storage.

 

It is a poorly restored rolling MK2 shell, the front wings are not straight, one side has a side repeater the other does not. His description of the shell is quite accurate to be honest. It's not a great shell though. Really the shell is irrelevant as it's not connected in anyway to the V5 or vin number.  

 

Bill