Hello everyone,

I am in need of assistance as I am trying to find out my Cooper S's year of birth.
To cut the story short, the following is the situation:

The car was stolen and had ID plate and any other details removed. Upon recovery, it was given a new Chasis ID by the RTA/RMS and was deemed to be a 1969 model - subject closed.
The previous owner whom I bought it from stated that he had done some investigating with the assistance of members from the NSW Mini car club and to the best of their knowledge, it is most likely the car is a 1967 model.

I have done lots of research and it would appear that it is a 1967 Mk1 Cooper S but cannot prove it 100%, but I am still trying

I recently replaced the horn as it wasn't working and upon inspection it's manufacture date is 12/66, so I am wondering what would the chances be of a '66 horn being fitted to a '69 car from manufacture?
*Does anyone Know??*

Other than the obvious (paint colour, seats etc, etc..) would there be any other telltales signs that may assist me here?

Thanks for your input.

Cheers,
Max

Your wipers park to the left. A 1967 car would have them parking in front of the driver. That change took place about March/April 1968.

The intro to the Cooper S Registers tells you where the body stamps are. It is this marking rather than an ID plate or ADR Compliance plate that's used for identification and hence registration purposes.

viewtopic.php?f=44&t=90843

viewtopic.php?f=46&t=90887

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ex-NSW Police 1970 MK II Cooper S
VMCI #43

Thanks for the reply - much appreciated.

My search began with reading these two links you have provided however as stated in my post 'all' forms of ID i.e. Plate/Body Stamps have been removed so there is no way of using this particular method. See attached pic of the firewall.

Keep well and regards.

Nothing distinguishable on the top of the radiator shroud?

To answer your other question, most ancillary parts from Lucas, Smiths, etc. would have a date code within the previous year. Some are only a month or two prior to build date.

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ex-NSW Police 1970 MK II Cooper S
VMCI #43

Unfortunately nothing on the radiator shroud either.

So if I understand correctly, as the horn is a build date of 12/66 (Dec 1966) one 'could' assume the chasis is possibly a 1967 build.

Shall keep on looking...

Thanks again

I think we need more pics , engine bay , interior, scuttle panel , etc .

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That's why it's good to be.............ME

That's a reasonable possibility if original horn. Any other ancillaries original?

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ex-NSW Police 1970 MK II Cooper S
VMCI #43

I think DavidE's comment about the windscreen wiper park position is a solid indication.

This may be of some help: if the car has not been assembled from random parts with mixed date stamps, the window glass pieces are often unchanged except for accidents, etc. These are all year dated. By 1969, side and quarter windows were mostly "ARMOURGLAS" branded, with a dot above one of the letters spelling "ARMOURGLAS". The first letter "A" is 1961; "G" is 1967; second "A" is 1969.

I believe it was a late 1968 MK1 S.

Firewall is a late MK1 pre Mar 1969. A MK2 firewall looks like this -




Wiper panel is post April 1968.

Because the radiator shroud was replaced and the chassis number drilled out there is not much chance of correctly identifyng it now.

Engine number is made up as well because they didn't go to the 58000s.

The correct tabs under the parcel shelf point to it being a Cooper S but with the chassis and body stamps missing its just a replica now sorry.

The car was re issued a chassis number back in 1990 so you may have throuble tracking down the history. Try Mini and Moke World as they sold it at one point.

Thanks DavidE for your feedback. Sorry I missed your input at the bottom of my 'quoted' post. Makes sense but....

Bill B, thanks for your feedback as well. On inspecting the stamps on all the windows I have been unable to see any dots above any of the letters as they are long gone as most of the writing has been weathered away. Will take a closer look tomorrow during daylight and shall respond once again with any or no new info.

Cheers.

why would someone drill those two holes?

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The bitterness of poor quality (or Crappy Workmanship) remains LONG AFTER the Sweet Taste of Low Price is forgotten.

So they dont get caught with a stolen car.

[quote="gtogreen1969"]I believe it was a late 1968 MK1 S.


Awesome information - thanks so much gtogreen1969. I guess this solves the puzzle.

Shall make contact as per your suggestion.

Thumbs up !!

If you measure the firewall 4 inches from the speedo hole on the passenger side there should be a binnacle nut if its a MK2. Yours hasn't got this. And the 2 top nuts were moved up leaving 2 holes. Your firewall is not a MK2.



I am guessing it was easier for the car to be rebirthed as a 1969 as they didn't come with an ID plate or ADR plate. The NP chassis number starts with N90 which means it was reissued a chassis number in 1990 by the NSW police. They were responsible for re-issuing car chassis numbers for the transport dept.

The hole in the firewall is exactly where the chassis number would have been.

The same car was briefly spoken about here - viewtopic.php?f=27&t=99527