It seems that most Mk1 Australian minis were of the Morris variety.

During my time in New Zealand, I picked up what looks to be a stock '66 Austin Mini Deluxe, red rubber floor mats, roll down windows, external hinges, 998, and what looks like deep red leather upholstery, with Austin badges front and back, and standard period steering wheel with the Austin center.

All paperwork seemed in order when I bought it, and it now lives with me in Oregon.

Assuming the badging is correct, is this an odd ball car? Anyone know the history of Austin badged minis built in Australia?

Thanks!

Some minis were made in Australia and exported new to NZ with Austin badges. There’s a few examples in the Mk1 S register
viewtopic.php?f=44&t=90843

And some more details from Brad about some CKD kits assembled in NZ

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Does your car have NZ-A-A-2S-2 on the ID plate? They were built in NZ and used some UK and some Aussie parts to build the shell. It will have slotted roof drains as opposed to the 2 holes each corner.

If your car is YMA2S2 then it is an Aussie built car that probably had Austin badges fitted by the Austin dealer.

I will add a few of the NZ-A-A-2S-2 cars to the deluxe register with a small explanation about them on the next update. Lately there has been a few pop up and the owners weren't sure what they had and thought they were Aussie built cars.

The car's in storage so will to get back on answers to your questions, but from what I recall, the drains are two holes, and the ID plate does NOT include the NZ, but the YMA2S2 looks very familiar.

So, perhaps it's some wonky Australian built car that someone imported into NZ?

Any other things I can look for when I check the car, and/or information about Austin's that were actually built in Australia?

Thanks!

If it's YMA2S2 then it was an Aussie built Morris Mini Deluxe. Some NZ Austin dealers would rebadge them as an Austin. Nothing dodgy - they just didn't want to sell Morris cars in their Austin dealership.

The radiator support shroud will have a body code M2/05. The M2 is Morris 2 door and 05 is the drawing office code for the Aussie Deluxe

Ok, was able to get to the car in storage to take a look under the bonnet.

On the radiator shroud, the stamped characters there are a little faded, but I can make out "05", like gtogreen mentions, but I can't see any "M2" there - could just be worn off. The 05 is followed by 14169.

Up on the firewall, the plate looks like the one Timmy posted earlier in this thread (BMC, Australia PTY Ltd) and includes the following lines:
Type: YMA2S2
Car No: 14655
Engine No: 9YA/Ta/H followed by 15155
Colour: 1/SAND BEIGE/3

So, seems likely the car was built in Australia, then sold by an Austin dealer after changing out the Morris badges. if I could see the "M2" on the shroud that would clinch it.

Any other thoughts?

Scott

New Zealand was a unique market for the auto trade, which is well described in detail in the book "Assembly: New Zealand car production 1921-98" by Mark Webster. Due to the nature of the industry during the 1960s, Minis were imported CKD and CBU from both UK and Australia, in both Morris and Austin versions. As a result, some Austin and Morris Australian Minis were assembled CKD in NZ, while some Australian-built Minis, in both Morris and Austin, were imported to NZ as Completely Built Up (CBU). So, it would not be at all surprising if you have an Austin Mini Deluxe, made in Australia and sold new in New Zealand.

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Watto .
Photojournalist
Mini historian and enthusiast
http://www.theminiexperience.com.au

Thanks for the background, looks like mine might not be the mongrel that I expected. In fact, it may be a fine purebred steed of notable origin.