Hi all

Newbie greetings from Canada

I m excited to be the new owner of this Aussie clubman , is there any info I can decode the vin ? Or like a heritage certificate I can purchase like the ones offer from British heritage museum?

Thanks in advance !

All the letters/numbers in the car number (technically not a “VIN”) can be decoded. They relate to the model, engine, gearbox and trim level. Eg for a car with 022D2S3M09 prefix
022 - Mini S (not the basic model)
D - 1974 to 77
2S - sedan
3 - special trim eg SS
M - manual
09 - 998 engine

Sadly no heritage certs from Aussie cars

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Welcome slowmini...is that your Traveller behind the "Clubman"?

[EDIT: Clubman or Clubby used here colloquially to describe any square fronted Aussie Mini...Cheers to Morris1100]

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"Show me the Mini!"

I see , the vin is 022 X2S2 M10/ #### , does this sound right for a Aussie Clubman ? Which number would indicate what year it was built in ?

Good eyes ! It’s my 65 traveller parked behind the clubman

As you probably know, you can get a Heritage Cert for that little gem

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"Show me the Mini!"

As BL took their marbles and went home in the late 70s they trashed the joint on the way out. So no heritage certificates from UK.

What production records exist here are piecemeal.
The best collection of them is the Australian Mini and Moke book by John Sneddon.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Yes, this sounds right for a Leyland Mini S

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The traveller is a MK1 Doc...so worth a try if slowmini hasn't already got one...

https://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/ar ... rtificates

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"Show me the Mini!"

Yes , I will get a cert for the traveller when it’s time to begin the restoration.

Thank you all ! Much appreciated:)

Bit unfair there Kev.

Heritage Certificates are constructed using the UK factory records so BMIHT logically don't have any stuff related to Oz production. Heritage certificates relating to later Minis become very sparse with detail... probably as records moved from paper to electronics..... Some very early cars (i.e. ID numbers) are recorded as allocated to exported CKD packages... noting that (AIUI) CKD packages did not consist of individual cars but sets of components boxed together (i.e. box of boot lids, box of bonnets etc). Presumably these allocated UK identities are the basis of the "UK Car numbers" in the Oz registers.

When I worked with Rover in the 90's several of the Old Hands has stories of what happened to the BMC/Leyland Aus records. "Opinions" included the loss of records through a fire at a storage facility in the old Grace Bros department store on Broadway, the "liberation" of records by interested employees and the outright destruction/disposal of material no longer thought to be of value by the company as it moved on.

Don't suppose we have any of the contemporary production/engineering staff still around with first hand stories????

Cheers, Ian

I believe most, if not all UK Car Numbers in the Register are taken from the ID plate or Drivers Handbook entry.

I think Kev's comments are based on the clear management directive at the time of the wind-up of the Australian company, confirmed to me by several who were employees, that all records were to be destroyed. Fortunately some retained paperwork already in their possession while others retrieved items from the skip when no-one was looking. One ex-employee now regrets abiding by the directive as the data he disposed of would be of immense value in helping to build the history of BMC and Leyland in Australia.

I have heard snippets of information about what happened to the vehicle production records but the concensus seems to be that they no longer exist.

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

It is a Leyland Mini S, it is not a Mini Clubman. I know it looks and feels like a Clubman but Leyland changed the name in 73.

From those numbers we can tell it was made between March 73 and July 75.

Does the car have a "compliance plate" riveted to the inner fender on the RHS?

I can tell you the build date with all the numbers.

I too worked on a Defence Project with the guys from JRA/Rover Australia. When Land Rover production moved from Enfield to Milperra (Engineering Services), all the engineering drawings and production data went there. When that closed in the 1990s, staff were given two days to "toss everything in the skip"...sad, sad, sad...

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"Show me the Mini!"

Mick,
I'm talking about the Oz clubby not the UK traveller.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.