Original-ish Cooper 'S' - Value and repairability?

I sold an original 1966 Cooper s.... with a mint shell ..it required rebuilding but all was mostly there..... sold it in 2002 for £4500

JK

Assuming it's complete I'd say well into 4 figures - although the actual amount will depend on model and condition.

Don't British Motor Heritage make new shells that could be adapted?

Easily into 4 figures as you say. And if it's one of the rarer ones (970 for example) then a fair bit more I imagine.

They certainly did do new mk3 type shells, not sure about mk1, but I think so. Worth picking up a copy of one of the Mini mags and taking a look through, shells were in the region of 3.5k last time I looked, IIRC, but if the car's an original S, then it's one of those times a new shell would be worth it, I reckon.

Oooh, really !!!

It is a 970, as it happens, although it did need a re-bore a few years before it was garaged.

I've had a look at BMH and they certainly to bodyshells. A new one, including doors, bonnet and boot, is about 2,500 inc VAT.

Thanks,

Iain

IIRC, there were something like 1000 970S made, for homologation for circuit racing. So as most of those would've found their way onto the track (I can't see the 970 ever being a docile road engine!) there can't be that many left, although no doubt there's a few 970 logbooks attached to 1275 engines in Mayfair or City shells :(

Take a look online, there's loads of Mini sites, the history of the Cooper S cars is quite interesting if you're into that sort of thing :)

And very very worth it so long as your time is free and your skills are up to the job, IMO. Certainly worth selling on the bits you've got if not, so someone else can save an S :)

The 970 revs like a sewing machine........ did a lot of navigation events in one..... nearly got killed in a 1340 cooper.

JK

That's what I've heard (the revving bit). 10,000 is what my dad's seen the tacho pointing to...and comes out with amazing top-speed-per-gear numbers.

A bit more info after speaking to my dad again...

It was originally a Mk1 (I think - dammit, I've forgotten already!) 970S. When it was re-built in '73, a Mk3 bodyshell was used - and this is the way it is today.

There were indeed slightly over 1000 produced to comply with homologation.

So, it sounds like it would be well worth doing up then. I'd have loved to have done it myself, but I've not got the time, space or money. There's a guy I know interested in doing it though, so at least it stands a chance of being re-born (again) instead of crumbling to dust!

Thanks,

Iain

A crying shame, but at least it was reshelled into a mk3 for better reasons than most, IMO. I knew of a mk1 normal Mini that was on the mag covers etc, that was just a mid 80s Mayfair with a logbook. The engine, shell, box, interior, etc were about as genuinde mk1 Mini as my bloody Triumph 1500! Too many cars around like that.

Still, as teh shell's knackered, then it's worth reshelling it into a proper mk1 shell anyway :)

Well worth saving, but better to go to someone who has the time space and cash to do it - You should still see a fair few quid in your pocket selling it on, and it won't become another "I'm not selling because I'm restoring it" cars, that never gets restored, and 5 years later gets trailered away and crushed.

If you could afford (and have somewhere to do it) a new shell, then it's not all that hard to do the job yourself, but of course the shells come bare, and a good paint job isn't cheap :(

Does it have it's original registration or a 73 plate? I imagine it will worth somewhat less if it is a 1973 Mk3 on the = logbook.

Paul

It's on a '73 (M) plate at the moment, so that's what will be on the log book. Don't know what happened to the original (C) one, or whether it could be reclaimed.

I once heard that if you re-shelled a car it had to have a Q-reg, like kit cars do - I wasn't convinced at the time though.

It's all part of its history though, I suppose.

Does it have it's original registration or a 73 plate? I imagine it will worth somewhat less if it is a 1973 Mk3 on the logbook.

Paul

I thought you only had to have a Q plate if the chassis/shell you were using couldn't be dated.

If it's an official 1973 shell, it should have a proper chasiss number & everything, so it's just an M reg car with an old engine in!

Pete.

If it's a proper reshell, then couldn't it get another "proper" reshell into a mk1 Heritage body, and then get an age related plate though and maybe a

I don't know how these things work, but there must be a way of registering it as what it is, at least when/ if it becomes a mk1 again

Confused, of Dorset ;)

Did they issue Q plates then?

It was somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "Iain McLaren" saying something like:

No. Re-shelling cars is a normal bodyshop job - the car carries its original registration when it leaves the workshop.

Grimly Curmudgeon ( snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Indeed - assuming you use a new shell and enough of the original components according to Swansea's points scheme.

If you reshell into a second-hand one, then officially, it should be Q- plated.

That's useful. Thanks!

I have a rally car that was originally a 970S but was re-shelled into a clubman shell in 1972 and registered as a 1275GT, because that was the latest thing, just like in the 90s people re-shelled Sierra Cosworth rally cars as Escorts.

The mini log book said "built from parts, not all of which were new", and it had an L suffix reg. This was before Q plates had been thought of. I wonder if the documents for this M reg car say that?

As I understand the rules now, if you reshell a car into a NEW shell, with documentary evidence, and keep the old engine, and most other parts, it keeps its old reg. If you reshell it with a USED shell, it gets a Q. See

So I think that to stand any chance of getting this M reg 970 re-registered with the original id, you would need the original 1965ish documents and a convincing set of period parts - maybe frames, suspension, box, etc - as well as a brand new shell.

Lock.

I'm 'visiting' in the next few days, so I'll see what I can find document-wise. Apparently the original, written, '73(M) log book said it was 'rebuilt by hand' or something similar. However, when it became the computerised V5 document for some reason it reverted to a British Leyland or something...

I'll hopefully know more soon though!

Thanks,

Iain

re-registered