16 replies to this topic

[nzminiman]

Hi there. I'm going to look at a 1971 morris cooper 's' tonight that a lady is selling.

it has the square rear lights not like the early cars.

At 1st I thought they didnt make coopers in this year/shape but looking on google I found they made about 1500 odd cooper 's' this year.

My question is, what do I look for to tell if its legit cooper 's' ?

any help would be great!

[THE ANORAK]

Mk3 coopers look very ordinary compared to Mk1 and mk2 coopers.

they all had a single body colour with no contrasting roof and the interiors were all plain black vinyl. they do use the basic Mk3 shell with square rear lights and internal door hinges

the VIN code for the MK3 cooper is XAD1 ##### A. ##### represents the build number starting at 34127 and ending at 458987 (other models are included within this range of numbers) the A, standing for longbridge, may or may not be used.

the commission number prefix is N20D #### A. The number range for the com numbers is 101 to 1668

engine numbers should start 12H-397-F or 12H-398-F

all minis at this time are just badged as MINI, the Austin and Morris names were not used on the Mk3 cars although they may be on the log books by mistake.

all cars are made by BL at this time and should have a small BL badge on the A-panels but this may be Long gone

if you go and see it and take photos (front, rear, sides, engine, interior) i should be able to get a good idea from them

EDIT: all Mk3 coopers are "S" type

Edited by THE ANORAK, 29 May 2008 - 08:21 AM.

[nzminiman]

Thanks Anorak.

I'm going to look at it saturday now. I'll let you know. It is badged 'morris' which makes me think its definatly a fake one.. i'll check the numbers out anyway..

Thanks for the help

[miRon]

how much is it if you dont mind??

[nzminiman]

its in new zealand so the price probably wont mean much to you. She wants $4500 which is only about 1800 pounds.. this rings alarm bells for me.

I dont know what they are going for there, but here its very cheap

[nzminiman]

Photos I have atm anorack.. going to see it tommorow.

Attached Files

•  mini1.jpg   60.22K   22 downloads
•  mini2.jpg   57.59K   32 downloads
•  mini3.jpg   58.25K   29 downloads
•  mini4.jpg   60.22K   10 downloads

[minimadjonesy]

well for starters I'd take the bonnet stripes off as she's put them on the wrong sides!! lol

[Guess-Works.com]

may be a silly question, but is it a UK build car ??

Mk3 shell is ok from outward appearances.... wheels and arches are wrong, but does indicate that there's disks behind the front wheels.

[THE ANORAK]

well the fact that its in new zealand may explain the use of the old Morris name as apparently australian built minis didn't use the BL name until April 1972

however, all australian built minis should have been culbman fronted at the time this was made and the Mk2 cooper was replaced by the mini clubman GT. i can find no reference to the Mk3 cooper being made in australia.

this could mean that it was imported from the UK but the indicator lenses would suggest that it came from elsewhere, there were a lot of cars being sold as Part manufactured that would be finished off with local manufactured parts (something to do with import laws i think)

the best thing to do is to find out as much history on the car as you can and see if it rings true, due to the nature of the car it may not be a case of simply going by the UK production records

[THE ANORAK]

engine numbers should start 12H-397-F or 12H-398-F

So at what point did the cooper S engine go away from the 9F* prefix ???

12H* is just a bog ordinary solid walled 1275 block

i dont know !!!! i got then numbers from a book, i thought you were the engine number expert

[Guess-Works.com]

engine numbers should start 12H-397-F or 12H-398-F

So at what point did the cooper S engine go away from the 9F* prefix ???

12H* is just a bog ordinary solid walled 1275 block

i dont know !!!! i got then numbers from a book, i thought you were the engine number expert

Sorry was typing and reading at the same time... and posted before I had all the info... yes I concur the very last of the cooper S block are as you say, never seen one tho' only 9F's

[Rosslin Racing]

12h 397 is the same as the S block with open tappet chest, crank En 40 type crossed drilled. 12h 398 is like the 11 stud gt block. I could go into the workshop and look if its that important.

[nzminiman]

Hi thanks for all the help.

I went to look at the mini this morning and the owner was pretty dodgy

These are the numbers I got from it.

chassis plate:

XAZS1N / 320104N I think this is what it said.

engine was very hard to read. I got this by the thermostat

OH1509 but could be wrong.. was very hard to read.

The speedo read 140 KMH top speed.. it had a cooper exhaust..

I personally dont think its a cooper as its too cheap..

if someone could look up those numbers i'd be gratefull.

Cheers

Steve

[Guess-Works.com]

what did the paperwork say the car was and did the numbers match ??

[THE ANORAK]

XAZS1N / 320104N

I'm guessing that the Z should be a 2 (common mistake) , if so it reads as

X - recorded as non significant but they all have them and on the later VINs SAX is used instead and represents manufacturer's code (MG Rover)
A - A-series engine
2S - Two door saloon (this is the first clue as Mk3 cooper S and 1275 GT should have a D)
1 - Round nose
N - 1000cc (so not a 1275 then)

320104 is build the number

N - this should read A for UK car built at longbridge ??? I cant find any reference to N

well what ever it is, its not a cooper