14 replies to this topic

[Qw3r7y]

Hi all,
Sorry if this is the wrong forum for this thread. (1st post so not totally up to speed yet!)

I'm looking at buying a 1971 mini that's billed as a cooper. However I was under the impression that the 1971 cooper came with front discs? (I thought all coopers from '61 onwards had these?!?) The car I am looking at has drums all round, and while the bonnet stripes and decals seem o.k. this particular aspect of the car is puzzling me. I can't figure out how large the engine cc is to get a better idea of whether it's a cooper or not either.

Would someone be able to set my admittedly meagre knowledge of mini cooper history straight so I can know if this is a cooper or not?

Many thanks.

Q

[fikus01]

if it has drums its probably only a lookalike!! there is a cooper register you can look up but make sure you check the chassis plate and registration plate!! how much is it up for out of interest!!

google search the cooper register maybe!!

[Qw3r7y]

Thanks for the reply...

That's what I thought... I contacted the mini club where a previous owner was a member to ask if they had any more info on the car. (Awaiting a reply from them)

They're asking £2000 for it with MOT due and from what I could see on inspection: sill problems, scuttle rust on both sides, rust hole under one headlight and bad repair job on the other. Subframe looked o.k. ish (from the angle I was at) and the roof and door skins were good. The paint job is fading though and there are gp 2/3 arches fitted with 10" Wellers I think, so despite the age certainly not original and unmolested. I thought the price a bit steep though so will see if I can bargain if I decide to go for it.

The interior is nice enough however... Need to get a look inside and in the footwells however...

[minislapper]

They want £2k and it still needs all that work doing? You'd be looking at quite a hefty repair bill if you can't do the work yourself.

Not got time to plough through pages of info as I'm on my way out.....but you could try reading through some of the stuff on here....

http://www.minicoope...s/registers.htm

Were there actually any Coopers produced in 1971?

Edited by minislapper, 06 December 2006 - 07:11 PM.

[Jammy]

I had wondered whether there were any Coopers made in 1971! I know the old Coopers did have bonnet stripes as a factory option! If its a Cooper it should have 7" discs (rubbish), if its a Cooper S it should have 7.5" discs (very good).

Does it have side repeaters? What Mk lights does it have to the rear? Is there a big hole in the inner wing on the drivers side? Is there reinforcement for rear seat belts?

[vasi]

I'm quite sure cooper production ended in 1969 with the MkII. The last cars were not badged Coopers, but Cooper S Mk III's.

Unless it's an innocenti, which were produced until the mid seventies IIRC.

Drum brakes to me sound very wrong.

I think it's a more likely a stickered up run of the mill car.

[Qw3r7y]

Does it have side repeaters? What Mk lights does it have to the rear? Is there a big hole in the inner wing on the drivers side? Is there reinforcement for rear seat belts?

It doesn't have side repeaters, it has mk3 lights though, couldn't check under the bonnet yet, ditto for inside the car. It has many aftermarket parts so the mk3 lights could have been a repair/replacemet?!?

...Will see if I can save/upload some pics of it... Give me a min

Here go pics:



Did some research myself and vasi is right in so far as if the year is correct then the car if a cooper at all, should be a cooper 'S'.

It clearly isn't though.

Me want new mini! :Pete proceeds to throw his toys out of the pram!!!:

Edited by Qw3r7y, 06 December 2006 - 08:47 PM.

[Jammy]

Odd, it has Rover Cooper badgers and side stickers, and what suspiciously looks like the paintjob of a 1980s Racing Green (Rover BRG and Old English White roof).

If you can get to the car, have a look on the boot lock mechanism, the date that boot came out the factory is stamped on it.

[sqweaka]

is it my eyes are the wheels on the front 12" and the ones onthe back 10"

[dklawson]

Repeating what was posted above....

With drum brakes up front it's not a Cooper or -S regardless of what else is on the car.

[taffy1967]

Yes and I can't see the tell-tale drip rail along the roof gutter either so it's probably a post 1976 MKIV shell? If that's the case then look at the rear bulkhead and check if it has one large or two smaller subframe tower bolts. If it has one large tower bolt then it's a MKIV shell alright.

And it would have had hydrolastic suspension if it was a Cooper (ended production in late 1969 in MKII form) or Cooper S (ended production in July 1971 in MKIII form).

But it can't be a Cooper S otherwise it'd have twin petrol tanks!

Edited by taffy1967, 06 December 2006 - 10:27 PM.

[Silicon Skum]

from what I can see in the pics, it has rear opening quater lights, centre speedo, wood dash, top rail ashtray (rail *looks* uncovered), *possibly* later type heated rear screen (cant quite see if there is heater elements or not), semi "original" interior, some Rover exterior trim and decals.

I suspect that the car has been reprayed / restored fairly recently (maybe in the last 6 years or so), and a few styling mods added. The badges, and decals are wrong for the car, colour seems like it is a later one (roof looks like "diamond white" to me), silver gutter trim is quite recent, as is the silver door sill strip. Something about the door lock mechanism looks later to me, but can't put my finger on it. correct cooper S type calipers and disks are expensive, drums are not, so the car may have had faulty / worn front brakes replaced with a cheaper alternative.

Without higher res / more pics, and pic of the engine, I could'nt say if this car was genuine or not (it may or may not be a late original cooper S that has had a load of styling mods / lost original details over the years).

Nothing wrong with styling a mini, but it does make it harder to verify the age from photos.

with the evidence I can see, I would not be able to say one way or the other, but I would guess that it is prolly NOT a cooper, just a look-alike.

SS

Edited by Silicon Skum, 06 December 2006 - 10:36 PM.

[davexdavexdave]

"Me want new mini! :Pete proceeds to throw his toys out of the pram!!!:" quote

buy mine pete doesn't need anywhere near that much work done.

[minislapper]

If you've got £2k to buy a mini with, I'd seriously look elsewhere. You could get something decent for that price. This one sounds like a bit of an odd ball ! I certainly wouldn't consider spending £2k on it !!!

[mk=john]

Drum Brakes at front....No way is it a Cooper. Cooper had 7" front, Cooper S 7.5" Discs. The seller is a bullshitter and a if he says its a cooper. People who sell cars like these, excuse me for saying this, look for people who dont know what to look for.

But as time goes on you will learn, and I would personally steer well clear of that car.

It would be a great idea to attend the large mini shows, and go to the Mini Cooper Register stand. The members there are knowledgable in this field, and canb advise on what makes a genuine cooper, and the best route to obtaining one.

A great booke is called "Original Mini Cooper and Cooper S" by John Parnell. It has great colour pictures and descriptions of what makes true spec Mk1, Mk2 and Mk3 coopers.

Seller sounds like a real t*w*a*t

Edited by mk=john, 15 December 2006 - 06:24 PM.