For interest, John Smidt shows an early Mini BODY PLATE on page 293 of his parts catalogue. Presumably it's a repro.

yes... plenty of those about - they're the ones with the border too narrow, and the full stop missing

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

buy one .
$45 from memory.
when i was selling to the usa i was using about 6 a month.
nearly everyone who sells to the states puts in a blank vin plate .
that is not against the law.
if the yanks elect to restamp them , then it is their responsibility.
but this thread is getting off the topic.
a mini (of any type) without a tag is worth $45 less than one that has one.
so yes, it is not worth as much.

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the mokeman cometh...........

are you in the business of faking Cooper S's and flogging them to USA?



not really.... so you say that if he rings Jack Read, the new owner of the car we're discussing can get a new plate identical to this, but with no numbers stamped??

well i have bought ones the same so i am sure he could buy one.

why is this so hard to believe?

it seems like the attitude is ' if i dont already know something, i will automatically say its not true".

there are too many "experts" here that think they no everything and cant admit that they dont.

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the mokeman cometh...........

you have to laugh at all the anaraks on here when they start arguing with each other, the man that was in charge of the introduction of ADRS for leyland and represented the company at all the meetings, his name is Alec and he still lives here in Canberra and have had several talks with him over the years and in his words the introduction of the ADRS had nothing to do with safety or clean emissions but was the large car makers and the government making rules to stop small makers being able to make cars and sell them in the Australian market place without beig forced to pay large ammounts of manoy to comply there cars

I hope who ever bought the car on ebay is happy with his purchase and all the crap going on here does not turn him off maybe joining a club or the site

Now i was talking to one of our club menbers at the terribly british day a few weeks back and he has his Cooper S which he bought brand new in 69 and it doesn't have all the bits as per the list of teh anaraks so is it not a rwal one, Watto has been out to see it to try and stop some opf the aguing about what the do have

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Roundies and Clubbies(except vans) are both ugly that is why I have Midas and a van
1293 Mini Midas Bronze,1275 Clubman van

That is interesting,
Just for the record the one shown in my catalogue is a direct scan from a parts Book
I May Add this image has been used With Written Permission

but the "experts" will probably say the parts book is wrong, John.
roflmao

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the mokeman cometh...........

sometimes having a good old barney gets a lot of good details out - and it is hard to have a conversation where you can't see the expression on the other peoples faces

I want another one of those ADR compliance plates, so I'll be giving Jack a call - thank you



me too...... and if he/she sees this thread, he/she will know who to call to get hold of the correct plate for it - I'd be stoked



it's been wrong before!

(tee hee hee - I'll duck for cover shall I? - I have seen some that are odd, I guess they weren't yours John)

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

I remember a spotted thread a long while back where a beaut photo of a Sports 850 was put up. The thread subscribers then spent their time pulling it apart to prove it was a fake...

It looked good (superb actually), it probably made the owner very happy, but the thread only served to sling mud all over a very nice car.

I hope people can slow down a little, it only drags the site down...

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

well said Mick.

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"Investing my Super in a Cooper" &
"Re-living my Surfing Past in a Woody"

its back on ebay again, wonder why it didnt sell the 1st time?

theres a few minis back on ebay, wonder what the deal is

Well, the car has just been relisted so the sale didn't go through.
I can't see a final verdict on originality here. I was thinking of bidding last time but the price ran away a little, IMHO, given the uncertainty

Terry

Ok,,, "NO-ONE" will be able to absolutely, possitively & confidently & without a doubt claim that any "S" is genuine or fake--> especially just from viewing pics & descriptions on forums like this

unless some "VERY VERY VERY experienced EYE-BALLS have physically been layed upon said mini (even if full history is shown)

simple as that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There are very few people in the world who will be genuinely up to the task to verify a Cooper "S"s originality --->"Without Doubt" unless it`s right in front of them, looking over & under & in & out & basically ripping hings off & apart to confirm---> "Without a Doubt"

IF Anyone even brings up a discussion about this piss-fighting type of crud about a cooper S`s (or GTs) originallity (or non originallity) ever again, then expect the Wrath of Matt

OK???????????

If Any one is trying to find out if a car is genuine then you`ll need to contract one of those "VERY VERY" Few who have got experienced eye-balls/brains on this topic,,, Not many people can actually tell a genuine "S" & many many of the so called "experts" just aren`t & are easilly fooled also.

It`s quite well known that there are now more "Cooper"S"`s out there than were originally made,,, some are genuine, some aren`t,,, if you think one isn`t then that`s your opinion,,, keep it to yourself & don`t even try to pretend you know.

I don`t comment on any "S" unless it`s sitting in front of me,,, Many others who "KNOW" what they`re talking about actually do the same... But my point here is that there are few few people who do actually Know & even some of them already have been fooled in the past,,, & don`t even think about arguing with me about this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please trust me on this,,, I`m not proffessing to be able to pick a genuine "S" from a fake "S" myself,,, as much as i believe i`m pretty dam good at it, i won`t ever say that i`m 100 percent certain,,, you just can`t be,,, (Unless you have total & absolute history of that particular car & even then it still could have been "played with")---> it`s as simple as that ... it really isn`t just a matter of a few bits, badges, tank, bars, heater, speedo blah blah blah & a few funny holes, captive nuts & stamping numbers etc

Please don`t take this the wrong way,,, i`m no expert,,, but i have been doing this stuff a very long time... long enough to know that i don`t know.... Now many of you can say the same???

If you`re looking at buying an "S" & are suss about an it`s genuine-inity then do your best to find the most experienced person you can find in the area to physically check her over,,, If you`re rich enough to fly him/her in to check it out then cool -->Do that if you`re that serious,,, but don`t just blabber about one on forums like this simply because you "Think" it is or it isn`t,,,

I could have made PLENTY of fake "S"`s in my time,,, But i havn`t even tried too , EVER & i won`t EVER... It actually sickens me,,, but i know soooooooo many who have & it`s a very painfull knowledge,,, please don`t,,, even if you think you can... it`s not fair & is basically slealing & fraud, all in the one hit.

Talk all you like when trying to find info to help you find a genuine one by all means,,, please do,,, & by all means please do post pics of details to find help & to help others,,, i`m not asking that you stop all info sharing & helpful hints,,, in fact i`m encouraging it,,, but just don`t say that you can tell if one is or isn`t simply by looking at some pics on a message forum,,, That`s just a joke

& Gaz,,, i think you`re mistaken about dad having & selling "MK2" "S" body plates,,, i don`t believe my dad ever had new ones in stock,,, maybe 2nd hand ones at one stage but i doubt he has sold them to anyone... unless it was for that correct matching car...

He did have MK1 type body plates, both new & 2nd hand, but just about every mini spares dealers did/do,,, They`re also very easy to pick as repos tho

Can we just let this thread die a misserable death, fading into the sunset pages & let who-ever does eventually buy this car to be happy with what he/she has bought & be done with it please????

& if anyone starts bagging me out about this topic, or trys to tell me i`m wrong in any way then i will be forced to bite their head/s off & spit them into a bucket of burning petrol



edit-->,,, sorry for the rant but i just had to get all that out,,, i`ve been meaning to post this type of """No body KNOWS FOR SURE""" type thing for ages,,, now it`s done
thanks for your time & patients... & thank you for flying MiniMan airlines

Happy New year

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.