But they didn't make the mini S in the silver did they?

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Why Drink And Drive When You Can Smoke Dope And Fly!?

Perhaps this is being a little pedantic but I've recently had a conversation with a knowledgeable Leyland person about this and he prefers to call it the date the vehicle is complete and available for sale to a Dealer. The plate was installed right at the end of production. Popular vehicles would've been despatched or collected by Dealers shortly after so it would also be "the delivery date to the selling dealer", as you say, but others may have been retained in storage for some time.

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

Well you could probably have ordered it in silver because Hi Ho Silver is listed as a colour for 1978 . Does it have LEYLAND MINI LS on the plate

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1965 Morris 850
1966 Morris Mini Minor
1967 Morris Cooper 'S'
1977 Leyland LS

Man that sucks, just says LEYLAND MINI. Guess there is nothing special about it after all.

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Why Drink And Drive When You Can Smoke Dope And Fly!?

Hi Ho Silver and Nugget Gold were available for all Minis. It was not exclusive for the 1275LS like most people think.

Well I guess you really are LS less then

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1965 Morris 850
1966 Morris Mini Minor
1967 Morris Cooper 'S'
1977 Leyland LS

It appears so, thanks for all the help guys.

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Why Drink And Drive When You Can Smoke Dope And Fly!?

Thats Interesting. Although there are apparently (so I've been told) instances where say for a Mini the date is well into 1979. We've also all seen photos of rows and rows of unsold cars at the factory in the early 70's when they began to have problems. So would the plates have been fitted to these cars yet? Or did the factory take the cars from the parked up stock, prepare them for delivery when they were ordered (I assume they would need to check them over and prepare them for delivery to a dealer/buyer) and then date and fit the plate.

I'm thinking also they may not have fitted plates to cars parked in stock at the factory so if there was ever a break in the theives would find it difficult to register the car without a plate. (pure speculation on my part)

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68 Morris Cooper S Mk1 (*ex 78 1275 LS 4th last built, 70 Morris 1500 OHC & 70 MiniMatic)

Phill - my understanding is they were fitted at the end of the production line regardless of whether they might be stockpiled or not. I don't believe any further "checking over" was done at the factory. There is a well documented pre-delivery check list that Dealers worked from prior to delivery to the customer. Any issues were addressed at this point (e.g. recharging the battery, checking fluid levels, etc.). Another reason for not putting a forward date on a compliance plate is the progressive appearance of ADR's during the 1970's. They wouldn't want to be retro-fitting components to vehicles that were originally compliant when built but non-compliant due to the appearance of a new ADR subsequently.

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

I thought of the same problem with some lapsing into non compliance. What then is the explanation for these cars supposedly with Plate dates months after production of the model ended?

Or is that a myth?

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68 Morris Cooper S Mk1 (*ex 78 1275 LS 4th last built, 70 Morris 1500 OHC & 70 MiniMatic)

John Sneddon will know.

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

Some Mokes built around 81/82 have numbers and dates that are all over the place. They also have dates stamped from the front.

Apart from that I haven't seen anything really out of sequence. As the numbers go up the dates go up.

I wish I did know the answer to the question of when build plates were dated and affixed. Thinking through the process of identifying a vehicle correctly and ensuring that accurate records are maintained it would be logical that the plate is attached at the end of the production line. At some point along the production line the "addressograph machine" which was used to stamp the body number into the radiator shroud would need to be accessed. The logical point for this operation would be prior to the fitment of the engine assembly as the machine would need to clamp the shroud in order to apply the number. If this statement is correct then the vehicle acquired its identity some ways back along the production line. Is this the point at which the build plate was also attached??? Comments welcome.

Any vehicles "unsold" would sit in the yard with their full identity awaiting despatch. This arrangement would cover the situation where enforced changes such as ADR implementation would be addressed as it could be argued that the vehicle was "built" prior to the required date but remained unsold. This situation may not have applied to the Mini range as much as some of the other models depicted in photos where lines of cars are awaiting despatch.

Getting back to the original thread topic of Leyland Mini 1275 LS, I have watched with interest the discussion unfolding. I did some research into my data base and came up with the following highest number I have for each model, these are:

Leyland Mini XNPAB18Y 104616
Leyland Mini S XNHAB18Y 104987
Leyland Mini 1275 LS XNFAD18Y 105287 being the 2nd last Mini made
Leyland Mini 1275 LS XNFAD18Y 105303 being the last Mini made
Leyland Mini Van XNPFB18Y 104697
Leyland Moke AKFPB18Y 104975 then it jumps to 105424
Leyland Moke Californian 998 AKFPB18Y 104983 then it jumps to 105505
Leyland Moke Californian 1275 AKFPD18Y 101615 then it jumps to 103641

By analysing the above numbers you ca see that between XNFAD18Y 105287 & 105303 there was the potential for another sixteen vehicles to be built which could have been any of the models available at that time ie Leyland Mini, Mini S, Mini Van or one of the Moke models, my data at this point in time can not provide the answer. My guess, and it is only a guess, is that these numbers were allocated to Moke models. if anyone has information to the contrary I would like to hear from you.

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John Sneddon
0408 431 807
1963 Morris Cooper
1965 Morris 850
1968 Morris Cooper S

Well I guess it's nice knowing I have the last recorded mini S built...

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Why Drink And Drive When You Can Smoke Dope And Fly!?

Can't be too many in Hi Ho Silver either. I wonder was there an extra charge for metallic for an 'S' model?

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68 Morris Cooper S Mk1 (*ex 78 1275 LS 4th last built, 70 Morris 1500 OHC & 70 MiniMatic)