100 replies to this topic

[dennismini93]

I understand that they never made the bits themselves but they worked with reputable brands. Minisport has a long history on here and other forums of overpricing and inferior quality. I must say though I do own 2 sets of their 4 pot brake kits and they are outstanding, however the paddy hopkirk kit is the same so there is no justification in the extra price imo without them being different or better. The cooper stuff is just re-badges minisport so why pay the extra?? If it was further developed then I'd understand

[Dusky]

^it is further developped.. ithas the shiny cooper logo on it. Minimum bhp gain = 15% / badge.

[ljs4]

I think it's good for people who want to build a John Cooper style mini using branded parts from a legitimate source.

If it helps to keep the brand alive amongst classic mini's compared to the 'original classic' of today made by BMW then it has to be a good thing.

[dennismini93]

Whatever MiniSport's reputation for some of its items you are unlikely to go wrong with names like SU, Maniflow and Moto-lita in the Cooper range.

This is very true but you can buy them from su and Maniflow direct and cheaper so why not. the cooper branded moto-lita however I admit you cant. If your brake the kit down into its individual items you can make it yourself from the suppliers cheaper and that's still with getting the cooper stuff through minisport lol
Again though if cooper has put his name to it I guess minisport must have given him assurances in the quality so there is possibly no issue from that point

[petehuws]

Well I started on the band wagon of 'This is just a money spinner & fake claims' however have been in email discussion over the last few days with Cooper Cars & wherever these parts come from (ahem minisport) they 100% have the backing and certification of Mike Cooper, we're never going to get John Cooper certified products for obvious reasons & assuming the kit comes with the MiniSport Road 2 36/30 flowed head then this is a fine piece of engineering, the rest of the kit is trustworthy quality, SU, Maniflow.  The kits are being released with a phase 2 commission numbered alloy plate & signed 'S' conversion certificate by Mike Cooper.  Upon purchase they request your VIN, REG#, & Engine# to be added to their database and your certified Genuine cooper conversion certificate is based on this.

With all of this I purchased the 1275 carb 80BHP this afternoon for my RSP, had an email from a chap in sales congratulating me on purchasing conversion kit & comission plate#1...  I'll post pictures when it arrives, harking back to 1990 I really hope it arrives in a wooden crate.

Edited by petehuws, 11 June 2014 - 03:13 PM.

[CityEPete]

#1 is very cool, good call   At the end of the day we dont need any of these things but if they make you happy that is the main thing for me, I like guitars (bass and double basses actually) and the same can be said of those, you can buy all the parts and build your own kit up to make a great guitar but sometimes it is nice just to have that name on the headstock and the certificate etc that says Fender or Gibson etc I see these as the same, Leo Fender is up there with John Cooper so it is all meaningless really, but it makes us happy

Edited by CityEPete, 10 June 2014 - 08:10 PM.

[Shep76S]

Well I started on the band wagon of 'This is just a money spinner & fake claims' however have been in email discussion over the last few days with Cooper Cars & wherever these parts come from (ahem minispares) they 100% have the backing and certification of Mike Cooper, we're never going to get John Cooper certified products for obvious reasons & assuming the kit comes with the MiniSport Road 2 36/30 flowed head then this is a fine piece of engineering, the rest of the kit is trustworthy quality, SU, Maniflow.  The kits are being released with a phase 2 commission numbered alloy plate & signed 'S' conversion certificate by Mike Cooper.  Upon purchase they request your VIN, REG#, & Engine# to be added to their database and your certified Genuine cooper conversion certificate is based on this.
With all of this I purchased the 1275 carb 80BHP this afternoon for my RSP, had an email from a chap in sales then early evening got one from Mike Cooper congratulating me on purchasing conversion kit & comission plate#1...  I'll post pictures when it arrives, harking back to 1990 I really hope it arrives in a wooden crate.

I wonder if it will be signed Mike Cooper or John Cooper.
The first time I saw him sign his name John I thought he was committing fraud!

[petehuws]

 

Well I started on the band wagon of 'This is just a money spinner & fake claims' however have been in email discussion over the last few days with Cooper Cars & wherever these parts come from (ahem minispares) they 100% have the backing and certification of Mike Cooper, we're never going to get John Cooper certified products for obvious reasons & assuming the kit comes with the MiniSport Road 2 36/30 flowed head then this is a fine piece of engineering, the rest of the kit is trustworthy quality, SU, Maniflow.  The kits are being released with a phase 2 commission numbered alloy plate & signed 'S' conversion certificate by Mike Cooper.  Upon purchase they request your VIN, REG#, & Engine# to be added to their database and your certified Genuine cooper conversion certificate is based on this.
With all of this I purchased the 1275 carb 80BHP this afternoon for my RSP, had an email from a chap in sales then early evening got one from Mike Cooper congratulating me on purchasing conversion kit & comission plate#1...  I'll post pictures when it arrives, harking back to 1990 I really hope it arrives in a wooden crate.

I wonder if it will be signed Mike Cooper or John Cooper.
The first time I saw him sign his name John I thought he was committing fraud!

 

  In the inventory list on their website it states 'Signed by Mike Cooper' but sold as a John Cooper conversion.

[Shep76S]

Difficult one as he is known as Mike but is actually John. (John Michael Newton Cooper)

I went to a BMW Mini launch jolly in Oxford in 2000 for heads of mini clubs and a few top posters on Rovers own mini forum and Mike was signing John in a way that was suspiciously like his dads signature. Paddy Hopkirk was there smashing through the red wine, legend!

Edited by Shep76S, 10 June 2014 - 08:33 PM.

[Fast Ivan]

My understanding is that Mike Cooper got very fed up with fake Cooper parts being sold on eBay and decided to reintroduce a range of products with a genuine provenance.

 

I don't buy this I'm afraid, not for one minute.

The fake parts aren't exactly at epidemic levels and seem to come from one source in wales.

He's doing this for money and last time I checked that isn't illegal

[bloke]

I've got a photograph of me about 20 years ago which is signed by both John Cooper and Mike Cooper, and Mike signed it as John as well, the signatures are quite similar but there are definite differences.

 

I have to say, after John Cooper died and the John Cooper garages Business was sold to BMW I thought that Mike Cooper had sold out. I was very disappointed, as after meeting both of them they were both very dedicated to the Mini. John Cooper even make me a cup of tea, that's how nice the man was to his customers. Mike Cooper even showed me his new car, with all the shiny bits that that they sold at the time, I was very polite even though I wasn't sure it was quite my thing. 

 

However, if this is Mike Cooper's idea to introduce genuinely decent upgrade parts under the John Cooper banner to celebrate his dad, then I have to say that I apologise wholeheartedly to the man. 

 

I was at Beaulieu, and I actually bought a dipstick, as I thought it looked fairly close to the original, although not perfect, the other stuff was a mishmash of reasonable replicas of the original products, and stuff that just looked slightly off. I actually said to the bloke behind the counter, "so you remanufacturing stuff eh", to which he replied "yep". It wasn't until I got home and looked at the postcard with genuine Cooper classic Mini parts written on it, that I looked up the website, and realised it was under the helm of Mike Cooper. 

 

I don't think you'll ever get back to the days of going up to Worthing, and popping into their showroom for a chat, that was all part and parcel of the cooper brand, you wern't just buying parts, it felt like you were part of the family. 

 

It's a shame I didn't get to see Mike's car again, it would bring back a few memories of Mike showing me all the knob's and buttons, as we sat in the car together.

Edited by bloke, 10 June 2014 - 10:55 PM.

[mab01uk]

The sportsmen of John Cooper and Paddy Hopkirk's era would have a long way to go to catch up with the earnings of todays 'Celebrity branding'.........good luck to Mike and to Paddy who is also BMW's "Brand Ambassador' for MINI which must help boost his pension and gets him a nice new MINI as his 'company car' every year!

 

It will also be good if the proposed Cooper Museum /Shop in Surbiton happens:-

"Mike Cooper was being interviewed about the original Cooper Garage building at the L2B Mini Run. Apparently it's still owned by the family, and now the police have ended their lease there are plans to turn it into a combined museum of Cooper memorabilia and a shop selling Cooper goodies."

The Cooper Works Later The Traffic Police Garage In Surbiton, Surrey:

http://www.theminifo...urbiton-surrey/

 

I thought Mike Cooper had moved into bicycles because he signed a lucrative deal which become effective in January 2007, where BMW officially acquired the rights to the John Cooper Works name and for it to become MINI's equivalent of the BMW "M' brand?
BMW and MINI have aquired the rights to the John Cooper Works brand in a deal signed yesterday (Dec 2006):
http://www.motoringf...er-works-brand/

Edited by mab01uk, 11 June 2014 - 12:04 AM.

[Wise Old Elf]

The postman has been. :)

 

 

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