18 replies to this topic

[corpsfam]

Phew! Glad I finally found this site. I have a question with regards to a 1991 "Austin Cooper S". A co worker brought his Mini to work the other day. He brought it from Japan when he moved here a few years ago. I looked it over real close and I noticed it only had 1 fuel tank. I thought Coopers had 2????? Also I thought it odd that it had "Austin" badges on it. I thought they were all badged "Mini". It does have the minilite wheels/spats etc... Can anyone clear this up for me.....
Cheers,
Mike

[The Matt]

If it is a 1991 car, then over here we only had Rover Coopers, the Austin Cooper S was the name given to some of the earlier ones. They only had one tank as standard, they weren't that dissimilar to normal Minis of the time, unlike the true Cooper S of the 60's.

That being said, if it is a Japanese model, their badging could be different.

EDIT: Read what ANORAK has put, he really knows his onions (and minis) a lot more than me!

Edited by mini mad me, 04 March 2007 - 11:57 AM.

[Timtom]

Under his name, where his avatar would be.. his post count is this Posts: 0 How can he have no posts? Hes just posted..

[Dom]

Your post count does not increase in the General Chat section.

[THE ANORAK]

the 1991 coopers were available as an "S". you could get them converted to S spec at a price and if done when new i believe it would be added to the V5.

i'm not sure why it's called an austin though. could be a simple mistake by the person who registered it.

what we need are photos, if you can get pics of the car, engine and interior i can tell you how much of it is "1991".

take a look at my site (under my Sig) for the 1991 non "S" spec, the "S" cars were very similer.

[Jammy]

Moved.

[Guess-Works.com]

I didn't think the "S" was every used after the MK3.... unless you class the JCW conversion as putting an "S" badge on the car...

[Marky Tizz]

or the Bini.

[THE ANORAK]

yes john, your right. the "S" was an official Rover backed john cooper conversion, but if you had it fitted from new the car could be registered as a cooper "S" i believe

[ricekikr]

Gona bump up this old thread.

I'm about to buy a 1991 Japan Cooper S. But there a few things that are worrying.

1. The speedo is only 140kph (shouldn't it be 200kph? - or was this only for UK market?)
2. Single HIF44 carb (shouldn't it be double carb? - or was this for older CooperS?)
3. Corbeau seat at driver side only - seller said that Japan Cooper S had this standard for drivers side only. Crayons every other seat
4. Didn't see a plaque for JCG conversion - but Wiki/google said there were Cooper S that came out during March 1991 - Sept 1991.

It does come with:
1. Motolita steering
2. Orange spax shocks? (didn't check brand)
3. RPM gauge on steering column. Didn't check if it was OEM, thought it was aftermarket, but a reliable source said the 1991 Cooper S came with a RPM gauge on steering column.

Edit: It also has center gauges.

Edited by ricekikr, 11 June 2012 - 11:29 AM.

[Mini_Magic]

I very much doubt the drivers seat would be different to the others as standard. Sounds like it's been modified.

[MrBounce]

This one's got aftermarket modification written all over it.

[ricekikr]

Yeah that was what I was thinking. The only thing that's luring me to it is, there are several mentions of a 1991 Factory S all over the internet. But no real details. Nothing on the interwebs about the interior type, engine#, vin. badges or even pictures - The only thing that was mentioned about the 91 S was it has adjustable shocks and low profile tires.

Anyways, decided to buy it and hopefully get it restored in 2-3months. Just a little rust on fender corner and rotten doors that'l be replaced.

It atleast has a Cooper Vin. Which I guess is more desirable than a V/W/Y vin... A Cooper S would be a plus.

[ace01]

I had a 91 S pack converted from new at Coopers in Ferring. It came with twin 1 1/4 sus with old style Cooper air box, standard crayon seats, although you could spec rather more expensive John Cooper Garage seats, (never Corbeau). The rev counter was a part of the three dial set up, standard on all Coopers of the time. Wider tyres were Dunlop, a handling pack with uprated shocks could be specced. The steering wheel was a Motolita one with JCs signature engraved on it. There was also a small plaque screwed to the cross member by the drivers seat close to the door. The cylinder head was notable because it was painted blue, whereas the rest of the engine was red. There was also an oil cooler (poss an option) on the front panel. The diff had been changed to a 3.44.

Mine was a July '91 car, but the conversion had been available from the RSP onwards, only changing when the injection cars came in September '91.

[headsock]

Does your come with the Superfin brake drums? Mine doesn't. Isn't that a standard "S" thing?

I'm more interested in the engine. Do all S' have oil coolers? Don't think mine has one, where would it normally be?

12a/2a g01 engine code - so Mainstream Cooper or does the S-Pack use the standard engine and simply install an uprated head?