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Rally Ready: 1965 Mini Cooper S

The Mini have always been entertaining, especially the Cooper S model which won the Monte Carlo Rally three times during the mid-1960s. Their lightweight front-wheel-drive platform proved to be unstoppable on the icy mountain roads. This Mini Cooper S is a tribute to those original rally winners and it can be found here on Kijiji in Ontario, Canada for $26,000.

This Mini is claimed to have all original body panels and to be in mint condition. It runs on contemporary racing wheels, uses Cooper S brakes, and has black fender flares similar to those worn by some of the Mini Cooper rally cars back in the ’60s. There’s a full complement of rally lights, including one mounted as a backup light on the trunk lid.

There is a long list of modifications done on the 1275 cc S engine, such as a Weber carb, big valves, track cam, header and special exhaust, competition gearbox, and the list goes on. There is no claim that this car has actually competed in any rallies, so we assume it was just built for fun. The next owner is sure to have plenty of fun checking out the giant-killer nature of these cars.

The car is RHD and has been given a full roll cage along with racing seats and harnesses. The sanitary look of the engine bay and painted interior suggests that the body was fully gutted and redone. Although the asking price is not cheap, it’s a fraction of the sale prices for genuine Mini Cooper S rally cars at auction, and it’s unlikely that you could duplicate this car yourself for less. Throw some proper Minilite rims on there and you will be ready for some vintage rallying.

Comments

  1. Avatar Donald C

    Sweet little Mini….

    Like 0
  2. Avatar Derek Habbeshaw

    I grew up in Ontario Canada and now live in Az and I sent this Cooper S post to my big brother who lives in Fl saying I remember his…so his email back to me was: Looks kinda like my Black one with the “spats”

    True “Cooper’s” have the 2 gas tanks (5 gal) to feed each of the std SU or
    optional Weber carbs…..mine had Webers….open stack with no air cleaner…

    Had to stretch a pair of Mom’s panty hose over the “stacks” and secure em
    with rubber bands

    Mine was bored out to 1304 from the std 1275…balanced and blueprinted

    Est HP was about 125……….RHD is weird….Canadian cars all were LHD like mine

    I had 1 of only 6 1970 “S’s” imported into Canada before the Canadian EPA stopped the
    importation of Minis on 1/1/70 as the car had no pollution controls.

    I had a “PECO” single trumpet exhaust on mine and a 10K Smiths Tach on the steering column

    Red line was 9100 rpm

    Ran on “J” reverse rims and 10″ Firestone Indy Wide Oval Racing tires on the street that I bought
    from Mo Carter’s in Hamilton
    I remember all I ever put in it was leaded Sunoco 260 or 280

    Like 0

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