I'm in the process of restoring the wheels on my 1970 MK II Cooper S. Since they are still factory original (apart from the usual dirt, rust and gutter rash) I thought it might be useful to capture the colours and various markings before the repairs take place.

First some manufacturing data.

The wheels are 4 1/2" width by 10" diameter and were manufactured by Dunlop in the UK with BMC part number 21A1286 and Dunlop part number LP883. One of the hub cap securing lugs has LP883 stamped into it.

The centre is welded to the rim in four places around the circumference. Each of the four welds comprises what looks like a round spot weld with a flat resistance weld either side. You'll see what I'm talking about in the photos.

Wheels were primed in a dark red paint and then painted with Silver Birch on the outside surface only. Inside the wheel and rim remains in red primer. I have a spray can of Silver Birch from Mini Kingdom Online which I'll test to see how closely it matches the original colour.

It looks like the wheels were hung vertically when painted because all five of mine have a couple of pools of primer in two spots which you can see in the photos. Interestingly those pools of primer are exactly adjacent to the valve hole on all the wheels, so there was clearly some method in the way they were suspended for painting.

Stamped on the inside of the rim is the following coded data:

RSM 62 4 1/2 J x 10 CT, followed by the Dunlop logo and Made in England.

The following photos hopefully capture all the above information.

Feel free to comment, especially if you know the meaning of RSM, 62 or CT in the stamped codes.

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ex-NSW Police 1970 MK II Cooper S
VMCI #43

MADE IN AND?

Ha ha. Insert your own prefix - Ireland, Scotland, ... Iceland

The England is much clearer on the other wheels.

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ex-NSW Police 1970 MK II Cooper S
VMCI #43

Could 62 relate to year of manufacture?
Must have a look at my stock of rims in the Spareparts Warehouse -Wheels Division ( i.e. back shed! )

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1967 Cooper S - new front bearings to do.
1965 Cooper S shell - all painted up, ready for fit out.
1969 Cooper S Mk2 - claimed by 2nd. born
1966 Deluxe- next rustoration!
Mk 2 & XJ6 Jags. Less said the better.

Unlikely, although maybe they made the first S wheels 3 months before the release of the S... and noting early wheels were the 3.5 inch versions...

A nasty crack in that stud hole...

Cheers, Ian

That red primer/undercoat is nearly a dark pum/aubergine colour on mine.

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1970 Mk2 Cooper S under restoration

I seem to remember that the wheel silver used on Aussie standard rims (De Luxe and K) was also called "Silver Birch" but was not the same shade as the cooper S "Silver Birch" wheels. Yes/No/comment?

Some Googling has revealed a for sale post on The Mini Forum UK for two Cooper S wheels with the marking RSM 62A 4 1/2 J x 10.

Also an eBay listing for an LP918 wheel with marking RSM 2A 4 1/2 J x 10.

I wonder if RSM is a company that made the rims for Dunlop?

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ex-NSW Police 1970 MK II Cooper S
VMCI #43

I've wondered that. Maybe is was a company called R(something) Metal Spinning or Stamping.

I have tried asking Google who it was the Dunlop got to make their steel wheels but it wasn't at all co-operative.

Google may be Christian, so today is his or her day of rest.

Try again tomorrow.

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ex-NSW Police 1970 MK II Cooper S
VMCI #43

RSM - Rolled Sheet Metal, perhaps?

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1967 Cooper S - new front bearings to do.
1965 Cooper S shell - all painted up, ready for fit out.
1969 Cooper S Mk2 - claimed by 2nd. born
1966 Deluxe- next rustoration!
Mk 2 & XJ6 Jags. Less said the better.

Looks like Dunlop had their own subsidiary which mfd. their own wheels & rims.

Remember they also made steel rims for Jaguar & MGA (twin cam model?)

Interestingly, this is the mob that also made BMC hydrolastic units (see link).

I assume they also were the mfrs. of those lovely Dunlop mags for the mini. Apparently they also made special optional alloy wheels for the BMW 2002 series.

Therefore it seems unlikely Dunlop outsourced the production of Cooper S LP883's.

http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Dunlop_Rim_and_Wheel_Co

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1967 Cooper S - new front bearings to do.
1965 Cooper S shell - all painted up, ready for fit out.
1969 Cooper S Mk2 - claimed by 2nd. born
1966 Deluxe- next rustoration!
Mk 2 & XJ6 Jags. Less said the better.

More useless information:

Dunlop R & W also made the wheels for Donald Campbell's 1964 Lake Eyre World Speed Record event.

https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/405277

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1967 Cooper S - new front bearings to do.
1965 Cooper S shell - all painted up, ready for fit out.
1969 Cooper S Mk2 - claimed by 2nd. born
1966 Deluxe- next rustoration!
Mk 2 & XJ6 Jags. Less said the better.

And now for some possibly USEFUL information:

62A appears to relate to the material used in manufacture. CT refers to "corrosion resistant".
But the reference says its cast iron, which the wheels definitely are not. So maybe this is where the RSM fits in.

https://books.google.com.au/books?id=Rz ... el&f=false

Maybe there are some steel experts amongst us.

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1967 Cooper S - new front bearings to do.
1965 Cooper S shell - all painted up, ready for fit out.
1969 Cooper S Mk2 - claimed by 2nd. born
1966 Deluxe- next rustoration!
Mk 2 & XJ6 Jags. Less said the better.

Another reference of interest is this eBay listing for non-Mini steel wheels with RSM 42 prefix.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/13-inch-4-STU ... 7675.l2557

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ex-NSW Police 1970 MK II Cooper S
VMCI #43