Apart from giant-killing performance, two characteristics that the original Mini was renowned for was low weight and surprising strength. This 1967 Mini Cooper would seem to have plenty of the former attribute, but very little of the latter. It has caused quite a reaction since it was listed for sale here on eBay. Spirited bidding has pushed the price along to £4,300, and the reserve has been met. The Mini is located in Newquay, Cornwall, in the United Kingdom, and as we will see, it appears to be a car that raises more than a few questions. I have to say thank you to Barn Finder john for spotting this classic for us.
For those of you who would question my claims about the strength of the original Mini, you only need to examine their success on the world rally stage to gain an appreciation of how robust they are. Paddy Hopkirk’s victory in the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally best typifies this, although that win was by no means an isolated incident. This Mini was located languishing under a hedge, a spot that it had occupied for more than 35-years. A cold, dark, and damp environment is always going to be conducive to rust problems. This car certainly delivers on that front, and when you scrutinize the photos, it is apparent that there is very little of the original steel that can be salvaged. The owner has managed to save some items like the rear quarter panels and wheel arch tubs, but the rest of it is basically beyond help. However, this might not be the end of the earth for anyone contemplating a restoration. Until a few years ago, anyone considering the restoration of the Mk1 Mini faced an uphill battle locating all of the correct steel to address significant rust problems. It is now possible to purchase an entirely new Mk1 bodyshell, much like you can buy a Dynacorn Mustang shell in the USA. These sell for around £12,600, but at least the owner will be commencing the process with a rust-free body. Most of the external trim and chrome can also be sourced, meaning that it would theoretically be possible to restore this car to as-new condition.
Now we get to the area of the Mini that poses a few questions. I have done some pretty extensive research on this car because it did raise some doubts in my head. The owner holds the VIN tag and Log Book for this car, and this would seem to confirm its identity positively. He also states that this is a 1967 Cooper with the 997cc engine. That’s where we strike a bit of a snag. I would assume that the owner has done all of the usual checks surrounding engine numbers and prefixes to confirm its identity. The sticking point here is that the 997cc Mini Cooper was only in production from July of 1961 through until April of 1964. The shorter-stroke 998cc engine replaced the 997cc. The first 998-equipped car rolled off the production line in November of 1963. That means that if this car is truly a 1967 model, then it would appear to be an oddity if it was fitted with the 997 when new. I will give the owner the benefit of the doubt on this because it would appear that he does hold all of the relevant information. If it truly is a 1967 Mini Cooper 997, then there is the possibility that it was the only one in existence. If this does prove to be the case, then the fact that it has been allowed to deteriorate to this state is all the more tragic. On a positive note, it does appear that the Mini is mechanically complete, so resurrecting the ingenious engine and transmission unit should be feasible. I know that we have a large group of expert readers, so if what I have just written is wrong in any way, I will be happy to be corrected. What I will say is that I have been able to “verify” my information across several supposedly reliable sources, so I have been pretty thorough on this.
Usually, I would look at a classic car that has deteriorated to this point, and I would almost be prepared to raise the white flag and surrender. Anyone who considers tackling the restoration of this 1997 Mini Cooper is going to be climbing a pretty steep mountain. However, if the information that I have been able to source is correct, then it has the potential to be one of the rarest Mk1 Minis ever built. If this is the case, then it could be a restoration that is worth the effort.
Good luck with the sale.
I cannot believe that this thing is bid up to $5411.81??? I guess Adam may be right in thinking that it is an oddball of some sort to bring that kind of money for the condition that it is in.
I hope the new owner mows the top of the dash before taking it home!
I’d suggest that anyone beginning this “project” would be starting with a “Body-free body”, not a rust-free one.
The car is junk, so is everyone here bidding on the VIN tag? Does VIN swapping happen often and what are the penalties in the UK for such an offense?
Steve, I agree and I’m curious to know if people go to the trouble to re body an Austin??? Wtf?
As af as I am aware, it´s not a problem in UK to swap the VIN as the authorities are not very good on centralised record-keeping. If it is, there are all kinds of ways that people cheat it.
If this is a 997 and the car was first registered in 1967 (E signifies that), no way it came out of the factory with that engine.
Beats me why anyone would pay so much for a Mini Cooper title. There is no intrinsic value in the “car” itself.
What was this, a boat anchor? I don’t know why the staff even wastes their time on something like this.
For the humor of it all.
Or why we read it lol. But we all did!
What motivated you to waste your time?
I don’t see enough left of this Mini to give to the scrap man, let alone restore. Considering bidding is up over $5400., I guess what my dad once told me is true:
“There’s an *ss for every seat”.
Is there that much of a seat left?
Doesn’t appear to be *any* seat left!
There is something that’s been missed in the write up caused a handful of bidders to jump at a pile of irreparable rust. I don’t see it anything special about the car beyond the multiple carbs, but it’s hard to imagine that many bidders pranking the seller.
Steve R
The reserve has been met so that transfers all the negative talk of “the seller is nuts asking that price” to “the buyer is nuts to pay that much $$$”.
Not even in England would they even attempt to rebuild this mess…sorry
Having a clear title is a bonus. The hassle of getting those replaced would be a deal-breaker.
This one has a few rust issues to deal with. :O
Unless some of that growth is marijuana, I fail to see the value in this one.
you gotta be kidding. you are buying the vin and title. someone wants this mess unless there are that many shills out there. Good luck, stay safe and make sure your tetanus shots are up to date.
Cheers
GPC
Aw, come on guys, just put a cap and rotor, and some wires on it – it’ll fire right up!
ran when parked.
It’s all about the VIN and engine tag. You can buy every other part, which are mostly untraceable. I purchased a mini “formerly owned and raced by Paddy Hopkirk” that the owner had already sold the VIN and the corresponding identifying components and provenance to a restorer from the UK. The “restored” mini had a new body, new subframes, refurbished engine (with correct tag of course), and new interior. The “restored” mini, with proper tags, sold for 6 figures, as a Paddy Hopkirk original. All I got was an un-restorable mini and a great story. Anybody want to buy the grill? It’s genuine I promise! Lol!
Maybe it used to belong to Austin Powers.
Man is he going to be pissed when he is unfrozen and finds out that someone forgot to put his car in the garage.
Yeah, BABY!
I don’t think you can buff that out.
Buff it out n drive the wheels off it
That won’t take long; the wheels are close to gone already!
This isn’t a car.
It’s a Rorschach. You can clearly see…whatever you want.
Adam, nice write up.
However, I beg to differ on your use of the word “restoration” when describing these piles of rusted metal pieces.
To restore something is to bring it back to it’s original state. Not possible in this case.
Junk like this should be listed as candidates for “replication”, the process of reproducing or duplicating which is is exactly what it would take to make a car out of what is left. Whether or not it is proper to affix the original VIN to the reproduction is the moral dilemma.
I would call it “resurrection”, but I think it has long ago been removed from life support.
This. Start with a new body, order all new parts and pieces and trim and you aren’t restoring anything. You’re just building a new one.
Logbook reissued by UK DVLA 2 days ago with the 997cc information…..
Take from that what you will
Would you be willing to expand on that for those of us unfamiliar with the way cars are registered in your country.
Thank you.
Steve R
https://vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/VehicleFound?locale=en
Not a Brit but if you go to the above website, you can trace any uk plate
What God has put asunder, let no man join together.
This reminds of that mini they found in Longbridge tunnel, only it is worse condition than that one.
You will need a hedge fund to restore this hedge find.
In the UK if a car has lost its registration document one can apply to the authority, called the DVLA, for a replacement document.
This requires supplying the registration number, make and model, but interestingly not the chassis number.
This document was issued for this car on 7 July 2020.
The 997cc is derived from this document, which would have been entered into the national database in the 1960s on first registration.
Biggest problem here is deciding where to dig the hole to push what little is left into, nothing but junk!
I agree with you Adam on the engine. I bought my first car, a 1965 Mini Cooper which had the 998cc motor. (I paid $25.00) I think by 1967, the Coopers anyway were all 1275ccs.
Only Cooper S was fitted with 1275cc engine. This, apparently, used to be a Cooper. I really couldn´t say, except if it is, the engine and year don´t match for reasons you state.
When did minis become the European Mopar?
Good candidate for parts to build a really fun Mini-Marcos.
“ British Shale Mine” , bring your lamp and canary.😱
Am i missing something?
Fly in, load it in your suitcase, and be back home in time for supper.
Someone somewhere must have
a hot( STOLEN)Mini Cooper and needs a new identity for it !
Come to think of it there must be more than one with a hot Cooper for the price to go so high !.
The Cooper S,s were almost all 1275. The factory made a few 998’s for competition. I entered the 1969 Monte Carlo Rallye in one. These cars were a homologation special with the aim of a class ain.
Now there’s a bit of history!
Thanks for commenting, Clive. Might this be why a heap of hedge scrap has brought out some money?
What do you think Clive? Obviously someone is just after the tags, but part of me thinks it’s worth doing if the price is right.
What is the black, round bit, just forward, and slightly to the right, of the rectangular hole in the floor, used by the 850 Mini, for the “magic wand”? Is it one of the early years’ foot button for the windscreen washers? Is it possible that someone held back a brand new early ’60s 997 Cooper, and did not register it until 1967? Could they get away with it? In the early ’60s, in Canada, British Leyland vehicles were registered as having the model year of the year in which they were sold. This did not happen with American vehicles.
It take imagination to even pick the car out of those pictures! That’s awful expensive dust.
No, I was incorrect: that “windscreen washer foot pump” is actually the headlight dimmer switch. And they left the keys in the ignition switch. Just think, it could have been stolen any time. I wish.
Somebody may have a fairly solid mini bodyshell and figures they can “Cooper” it for a few grand. People are paying big money for authentic Mini Coopers, but as in the art world, things are not always exactly what is claimed.
I should correct my earlier comment about one liter competition Cooper s’s The nominal engine size was 970 cc (same bore as the 1274 but with shorter stroke). 963 of the one liter cars were built by the time production of these was discontinued in 1965.
Would this really be considered a restoration when complete? Isn’t it more like adding a few old bits to an essentially new car?
Being British and having owned a Cooper s, I see a couple of odd things about this car, first, the radiator fan, looks plastic, I’m sure an early car would have metal blades, the second is the br@cket attracted to the head, this is to take a plastic cover to protect the dizzy from water, early cars had none, also has a bracket fitted to the block to take an altenater, early cars had a dynamo.
Yes body shells are available and even cars in this state can and will be rebuilt as parts are a plenty, I have in fact an original logbook for a 997 Cooper, a car I bought years ago, now long gone.
A nice Cooper today here will fetch around £15,000….tops £20,000 but that would need to be mint, we recently had an S sold up north that had been dragged from a garage, it was hanging, but it was complete and sold unrestored for £10,000, but it was an S, 1275, big money is in the 971S and 1071 S, quiet rare, but no Ferrari……cr@zy world we live in, take care you guys..
Actually the S came as 970cc, 1071cc and then 1275cc
The smaller motors are screamers.