No it ain't - there's one rider to the whole conversation. I agree entirely with the tone, and am glad people are so easy going. In the UK perhaps there'd be some flat cap tossers moaining about originality, but from the sale of the first mini, they've been modified. A standard Cooper wouldn't have won many races or rallies without some mods, so many mods are more in keeping with the mini spirit than factory-fresh cars.

Anyway, the only caveat would be people who replicate a valuable Cooper S without making it clear in some way that it isn't original. Subsequent owners may fail to pass on the fact it's a recreation, so another buyer may end up buying something that's not as it seems. That's the only worry I would have. I suppose they could have the numbers checked but most people wouldn't know how to do that.

Amen

Ill do what i like to my mini thankyou very much......

If you dont like it, Get stuffed

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[Maverick] 1971 Mini K

what? how rude!!

Just jokes, thats the attituted im
talking about

The issue of originality or not is a matter of individual choice. If you own the car you should be able to do whatever you like with it. It's your choice.
Whether it's advisable or not is an entirely different issue and thats a matter of personal taste.
I'm a hard liner on the matter of originality not because I don't think you should change your car but because it helps prevent fraud and misrepresentation where big dollars are involved. Over time what was wrong info originally becomes gospel later on because there is no longer any way to disprove it.
The problem arises when there is no yard stick to measure a car as a "genuine as it came from the factory original" if all the original examples have been modified to a greater or lesser extent.
This again is not a problem unless people knowingly or mistakenly claim the car to be original when it isn't. If a buyer isn't aware that what he/she is buying isn't what it purports to be then they are being defrauded either knowingly or not. This applies particularly to Cooper 'S' cars as there seem to be more "genuine original cars" about than were ever built by BMC.
There needs to be at least some genuine original cars about as well as people who can pick an imposter car. This requires not only people but a knowledge base of info. For Cooper cars Parnell's book is a start but it doesn't have a lot of info on Australian built cars and not all of it is correct. Unfortunately BMC Australia production info was dumped when the factory closed (or so folk lore says) so there is no factory info available for Australian produced cars. You have to comb through parts books etc to get info and even then it can be confusing, missing or simply wrong when compared to known genuine cars.
The list of model ID codes on this board is a start but it doesn't have all the necessary info such as internal production codes, engine and body numbers, car numbers and their likely ranges.
But does it really matter if you know what you have is or is not what it purports to be as long as you enjoy your Mini.
I'll get down from my soapbox now.

Regards
RonR

ron you do have an extremely strong point there
i am afraid for us all in twenty, thirty years time when we lose all of our existing people who were there when things came out, who can provide first hand knowledge of what actually happened.

Greg (Low 'n' Blown) said he had a publication that he sent around to all the mini clubs, he has lost his own copy
can people ask around as whether they have one
He said its got alot of work on australian built minis.

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Inconspicuously Conspicuous
Appreciation without Depreciation
forever chasing clearer skies...

Yeah Ron,

some good points there that should not detract from the Mini modifiers out there at all. Genuine is genuine and that is a worthwhile Mini activity.

The problem now is that the RTA and other similar bodies have their Bibles and if they say that your car was fitted with something, then it is L. A. W (Law!). Some good arguments have been had by some of the ACT Mini Car Club members in this regard eg imported cars can be different to what is stated in the Australian Bibles!!

I started a thread on the BMC Heritage Group on Ausmini and they are probably worth contacting in this regard - the corporate knowledge is still around ....but at lot of ex-factory types ain't getting any younger!

Keep on Mini-ing

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"Show me the Mini!"