I just got hold of some Lucas spare part sheets and one sheet covers the introduction of the 2 screw rear lamps. The date on the sheet is January 1967.

How does that match up with peoples memories and surviving cars?

Yes that seems to be about right, my late 1966 Mini Minor has 3 screw tail lights and the 1967 'S' has 2 screw tail lights and is around October build ....

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1965 Morris 850
1966 Morris Mini Minor
1967 Morris Cooper 'S'
1977 Leyland LS

My 67 Matic has two screws.

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http://www.youtube.com/user/Hanras

Your 67 Matic is a 68.
The Matic didn't get released till Jan 68.

All the bits on it have 67 stamped on them so always considered it to be a 67?

Saw this bit of info?

"In September 1967 the Mini Matic was released, basically a De Luxe with the British AP four-speed automatic transmission, bringing the range of local Minis, including the Cooper S, the van and the Moke, up to six"


http://bmcexperience.com.au/issue-2/mini-deluxe.html

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http://www.youtube.com/user/Hanras

The bits were probably made in England in 67 six months before the car was made in Sydney in 68.

Yes my matic has all 67 bits but was made in 1968 ......

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1965 Morris 850
1966 Morris Mini Minor
1967 Morris Cooper 'S'
1977 Leyland LS

From memory only. I think the two screw tail lamp was fitted from around April May 1967. I am not saying they were not fitted before just what I remember. A lot of small changes were made in 1967 - the introduction of the roll over pleats on the squab, the multi horizontal pleats on the door trim, the tunnel in the floor for the hydro lines, and from memory the use of stainless steel for most of the metal adornments, bumper bars, headlamp rims , grilles over-riders, the hockey sticks fitted to the bumpers and over-riders on the Cooper S, also all 1967 Minis had the self park wiper motors fitted, although this wiper motor was first introduced in 1965.

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" A Hundred Years From Now It will not Matter what my Bank Acount Was,
The Sort Of House I Lived in, Or The Kind Of Car I drove ... But The World May Be A Better Place
Because I was Once Important In The Life Of A Child"

You've got me going again on this question, Morris, but I haven't uncovered any new data that would pinpoint the date. Various parts catalogues show the change to the AL136 two-screws but the actual change point is not recorded anywhere that I've found. This is one of the elusive bits of data that I keep on a post-it note near my computer to remind me to keep searching, together with the change point for introducing the Lucas 29D4 distributor on the Cooper S (we have the change point information for the vacuum advance version of the 29D4 on other models).

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

Just wondering if you have managed to answer any of the above questions as several of these points are pertinent to my Mini.

John Sneddon's book quotes June 1967 as the change point for the two screw tail lights.

I'm not aware a precise change point has been identified for the 29D4 dizzy.

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

Hi Doug. I have looked through my photos and the 2 screws start appearing on March/Apr 1967 Cooper S cars. There are quite a few later cars with 3 screw tail lights but they look like new replacement assemblies due to price and availability. I still don't know if we have a correct changeover. The paperwork dated Jan 1967 is a good reference it but was many months after when the Cooper S went to 2 screw. Where did John get the June 1967 date?



If you have 3 screws on your 1969 S they have been replaced. 2 screws were around for 2 years before your car was made. Due to price and availability many later cars are now sporting 3 screw lights.

The MK2 S should have a 29D4 and top entry cap.