14 replies to this topic

[Jase]

There does seem to be a lack of new GT restoration projects on this forum. Has anyone purchased a GT recently that requires work?

[beardylondon]

They have always seemed to be rarer than other models, perhaps not looked upon as valuable back in the day.

If you type in 1275GT below, all the different name combos come up and there aren’t a lot left, so presumably less projects

https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/

[Jase]

Agree, never many about even back in the day and not valued. There did seem to be a rush on restorations on the forum but very quiet. Not sure how reliable that website is though.

 

Thanks

[cooperd70]

I had a black 1275 GT with gold decals back in the day, around 1998 when I was 18. It had had a squillion previous owners before me and was full of the tin worm....I sold it on when I could afford a better car and I did then hear it was sent to the knackers yard after the engine and disk brakes were removed when it was sold on again.

Like many others wished I'd been able to afford to keep it on ice until such time I had the funds to get it back in A1 condition...seeing as they now go for 30k these days.

Think this happened to many cars that should have been saved, but we're not regarded as such back when.

Edited by cooperd70, 21 January 2021 - 12:52 PM.

[Jase]

Agree :) same here GT in 87 (pic to the left) with a view to jumping in a SPitfire as quickly as possible. GT sold to a friend after 2 years, which was then vandalised and scrapped there weren't many about back in 87/88 and they all needed work.

[GT Jimmy]

20 years ago you couldn't give away a GT or a Clubman, now even rot boxes go for strong money.

[MiniMadRacer]

I got a GT because I couldnt afford a Cooper which i only ever dreamed of, and an 'S' was just a fanatasy.. obviously with hindsight I wish I saved harder for the Cooper and the 'S' I never got... my GT wasnt worth much, and pretty useless space wise once the kids came along, so I kept it as it just wasnt worth sod all to sell it...(someone was smiling on me)... I went through a few clubman estates as I could get nappies / prams etc in the back.. GT still awaiting its resto

[Spider]

It's a bit of a similar story here (in Aust). We had a model - Clubman GT - which was in fact a Cooper S in a Clubman Body, the early ones having a proper Cooper S Engine Block, Cooper S Gearbox, Cooper S Hydro Suspension, Cooper S Disk Brakes etc. The main reason they produced them was with the cessation of the Cooper S from production, they were good sellers in to the Police Force and through that was seen as good advertising for the product. It also allowed them to compete in Tour Car Class for a further 5 years (from when these ceased production). There was only around 1200 made, making them among one of the rarest Mini ever made. They were made from 1971 and finished in 1972, though some had 1973 plates (as here the plate date relates to when the car left the factory, not when they were made). Production of them finished at that time because the cars weren't selling too well (go figure) and the final nail in that coffin was our Holden Factory offered the Police a better car (for the time !) in the way of a Holden Torana XU-1. Cooper S's here were the very first Highway Patrol Cars we had, with only 6 starting off in Easter period of 1966 and then finishing with the Clubman GT in 1972.

They were not well known of though and only seen as a Mini Clubman in the day, though the Cooper S brigade generally knew of them and bought many as a cheap source of mechanical spares for their cars, so lots went by the way side for that reason. It was I feel only in more recent years that the marque came to prominence when there was a long running magazine article on one being restored from a rusty neglected wreck back to a 'as factory' restored car. Today, of the 1200-ish made, there's less than 300 left.

 

Sorry for going off track and the brief history of them, however, the reasons I bring this up is I feel it's been a very similar situation here as in the UK with the 1275GT. A model that was shunned at the time and even despised by some as being the car that killed off the Cooper S (which of course it wasn't) and also many people didn't take well to the Clubman front end, so not as popular a car as perhaps it should have been, though at least you guys had around a 10 - 11 year run with them. I'm sure many rusted away with the 'goodies' being raided off them for other Minis. I'm sure too in very recent times, with Cooper S's climbing to dissy heights in prices paid, it's pulled other models along with them and the 1275GT was seen as something that was more affordable and with the passage of time, many have grown to like the Clubman shape. So, I think a lot of them have fallen by the wayside (Cooperd70's story likely being a familiar one) and suddenly there's been a realisation that there's few left and so well pushed these along to where they should be and the value of them. I'm sure there's many people who have them and are 'sitting' on them as they know, once they are moved on, their likelihood of getting another is against the odds.

 

While I have had 2 Cooper S's in my time of Mini ownership (one being ex-highway patrol), I have had many Clubman GTs as they had all the great things of the Cooper S but much better finished on the inside with better trim and dashboard. Personally, I like the Clubman shape (always have) and I find the extra few inches under the bonnet not only make them easier to work on, but offer a bit more space for adding extra goodies in

[GT Jimmy]

Being a teenager in the 80s I wanted a fast mini, most coopers were rotten by then, but the 1275GT were still reasonably new so an option. I never did get one, well not for another 25 years any way

 

I saw mine in a garage i was delivering to and was cheeky enough to ask to buy it, was told no, but got it a few years later for £300, bargain

[JXC Mini GT]

I've had a 4 GT's over many years, my first one was a 74 Mk 1 GT in Blaze orange which I kept for about 9 months, my next Mini was a Yellow GT which was I had for about 2 years (it was my wedding car), it became too small to fit a 5 year old, a German Shephard a wife and myself so it had to go, I then had a few boring cars, until I purchased a car just to get me to work so a Green GT was bought its paint was in poor condition but was reliable, other than when I took it for an MOT which it failed on rear brake efficiency, I asked the MOT station to get it through the MOT which they did, it was only when the rear brakes started smoking that I realised they had just adjusted the brakes so they were permanently on, I sold the GT when I got a company car.

My current GT is my early retirement present to myself and I now have time to enjoy it.

[GT Jimmy]

I've had a 4 GT's over many years, my first one was a 74 Mk 1 GT in Blaze orange which I kept for about 9 months, my next Mini was a Yellow GT which was I had for about 2 years (it was my wedding car), it became too small to fit a 5 year old, a German Shephard a wife and myself so it had to go, I then had a few boring cars, until I purchased a car just to get me to work so a Green GT was bought its paint was in poor condition but was reliable, other than when I took it for an MOT which it failed on rear brake efficiency, I asked the MOT station to get it through the MOT which they did, it was only when the rear brakes started smoking that I realised they had just adjusted the brakes so they were permanently on, I sold the GT when I got a company car.
My current GT is my early retirement present to myself and I now have time to enjoy it.

When I retire, still a long way off, I'll be getting a Harley, that should put a dent into the kids inheritance lol

[cooperd70]

I've always loved the clubman shape as well Spider...I loved that 1275GT. Yes the body was shot, but it handled so well when driven fast through the local B and C road S's and was the reason why I came back to minis later in life.

[MrBounce]

My 1275 GT remains the only car I wish I had never sold. Sold to a club member back in early 1997, it was taken off the road to be restored and the company doing it went bust. It's not known what happened to it after that (probably scrapped as it's never been on the road since). It was bad tempered, the engine needed work, the suspension was awful and the tyres were rubbish, plus the bucket seats were ripped and knackered. Yet I still miss it.

 

[imack]

Always wanted a cooper s but they were always out of reach even in the 80's.
Ended up buying a dog of a 69 1275GT.
Brush painted with a pink buttoned draylon interior with the worlds most flexible mustard coloured bucket seats. Tidied it up and changed the interior, drove it for a few months and sold it.
Kind of wish I'd still got it but it wasn't a good example even in the 80's.

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[theclassicminishop]

Hi Guys

 

Not quite a GT, but I have owned my 1978/79 GTS since 2004.  Did a full bolt and nut restore in 2017.  Here is the build thread http://samini.co.za/...ead.php?tid=209

 

It always need work and I am always -improving it and it is now running a 1275 GT engine with a GTS close ratio box.