1966 Morris Mini Cooper

“ A comprehensively restored and award-winning car, what's not to like? ”
A Mk1 Mini Cooper is an iconic, seminal vehicle and one of the very few cars that can genuinely be said to have played a part in shaping the fashions, tastes and culture of an entire generation.

Background
The Austin/Morris Mini was in production for 40 years, and today remains the most enduring icon of the British motor industry. To many though - its designer Alec Issigonis included - the notion that the Mini might have a future as anything other than basic transport was anathema, and the idea of a high-performance version was laughable.

One man, however, saw things rather differently.

John Cooper already knew quite a bit about tuning BMC's A-Series engine - he was running the company's Formula Junior effort at the time - and a test drive in a prototype Mini convinced him of the car's competition potential.

The result, launched in September 1961, was the Mini Cooper, a car that offered a size/price/performance package that was nothing short of miraculous.

With its uncanny ability to go around most corners flat-out without touching the brake pedal, the Mini Cooper soon established its credentials as a rally and race winner, and the stage was set for even faster versions.

Overview
This magnificent Mini Cooper comes to us courtesy of the wife of the owner, who unfortunately is now unable to drive the car.

A retired mechanical engineer, he had a passion for classic cars and machinery, together with the expertise and know-how to maintain them.

It seems he also had a very good eye for spotting and buying a car where most of the heavy lifting had been carried out by a previous owner.

The car was the subject of a ground-up restoration carried out, according to numerous invoices and receipts, between 2004 and 2005, with the odometer being reset in 2006 after the engine rebuild.

We know from a note hand-written by the then owner (and plenty of accompanying bills and receipts) that among the huge amount of work carried out were the following highlights.

· New subframes, floors, inner and outer sills, front and rear valances, inner and outer wings, BMH driver’s door, and boot floor

· All welding repairs made invisible

· All body panels fully Waxoyled

· Engine and gearbox fully rebuilt

· Engine converted to unleaded fuel

· Suspension converted to a dry system

· Driveshafts stripped, cleaned and rebuilt

· Maniflow exhaust system fitted

· New clutch, timing chain, coil, electronic ignition, and heater element

· New Dunlop Aquajet tyres

· New carpets, door cards, side pockets and dashboard trim

· All new stainless steel brightwork

· Mk1 toolkit, handbook, and ‘passport to service’

Although the car starts, runs, drives, handles, performs and stops with all the cheeky enthusiasm and dynamic competence you would hope and expect to find in a properly sorted Cooper, it is currently awaiting a replacement fuel pump, as the extant item was proving a little temperamental.

This will be sorted by the time the car is sold.

Estimate: £25,000 - £30,000

View Current Bid Price HERE