Morning all,
Did Oz mk1 cooper s's have fender flares? I had a note from a helpful guy in Adelaide stating that law required them so the tires wouldn't extend beyond the fenders, but I was thinking that mk1s didn't have the flares, only mk2s.

My mk2 has the metal flare supports spot welded to the car; my mk1 doesn't.

Thoughts here?

tx,
bmc

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Ben McCafferty
Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA
1970 ex-police mk2 Cooper S

Back in the days of the Mk1 S, they came with NO flares.
SA fuzz objected apparently, and so flares were fitted (by the dealer or factory, I don't know) for that state only.
Flares came standard on the so-called Mk2 S from `69 on.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

The SA Police changed the rules in mid to late 1967, and all new Mk1 S's sold from then on had dealer fitted flares. All owners of S's sold in early to mid 1967 were posted flares for fitting from Leyland. Some were fitted and others were not. My car is early to mid 67, and the flares were retro fitted by the owner at the time.

This account is based on conversations I have had with other mini people that owned S's at the time in South Australia. If any of the gurus out there have a different story, I would be interested to hear it.

I have a very late Mk1 (Mid 1969) that has no evidence of 'factory' flares being fitted at any stage. It's not an SA example though.

Daniel

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Videos - Turbocharged A-Series on Dyno & at Wakefield
Mafs waz not my strong subgeckt at skkol

OK--does anyone have photos of their flares on a mk1? Are they the same as what was used on the mk2, i.e. with underlying metal flare supports? My '66 had flares when I bought it, but I seriously doubt they were original. They have screws that go in horizontally into the fender, like in this photo. Anyone know for sure?



For the flares that were added by dealers, did they use a metal support like on the mk2, or just screw them onto the car? Are these available still, or a good replica?

tx,
bmc

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Ben McCafferty
Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA
1970 ex-police mk2 Cooper S

The Mk1 flares are the same as Mk2. They use the sheet metal supports that were attached to the guards (riveted for retro fitting, spot welded from factory for Mk2). The flares are a light plastic moulding, and sit on the sheet metal support. From factory they use plastic clips that hold them flush with the guard (clips press into small holes in the guard, and attach to the inside of the flare that butts up to the guard), along with metal clips that hold the outer lip of the flare to the sheet metal support. These metal clips also hold the plastic 'chrome' strip in place that covers the outer lip of the flare and holds it on the sheet metal supports. The chrome strip runs the length of the car.

The flares in your photo are not the cooper S factory type.

All of the S stuff is still available, including clips. I have just fitted a set to my round nose van, and I didn't bother with the plastic clips holding flare to guard.

Fitting them is a major pain in the a$$. I have done it twice now, hopefully never again!

Hope this makes sense!

I think I understood what you said. The way I found my mk2 was the flares were riveted to the supports on the outer edge, and the rivets were hidden by the chrome. But the clips make a lot more sense.

Not sure whether I'd add the flares to the mk1 or not, but they can be kind of cool. The Oz mk2 flares are really nice in line--the just seem to fit the car pretty well. The ones in my previous picture are too angular or something, not sure.

Anyway, thanks again. Happen to have any photos of yours going on, i.e. showing the clips in stages, etc.?

tx,
bmc

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Ben McCafferty
Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA
1970 ex-police mk2 Cooper S

Sorry, did not take progressive photos when I was putting them on...

John at Mini King has all of the clips, if he sees this post he may be able to put some pictures up...

nah, its just that they're cheap plastic rubbish

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

BTW, why is there a law that prevents tyres sticking out past the body?

My guess is because it lets rocks get thrown up to windscreens of following cars.



AMEN to that!

bmc

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Ben McCafferty
Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA
1970 ex-police mk2 Cooper S

I was once told it was because spinning rubber sticking out of the guard is quite dangerous. If it was to come in contact with another vehicle it would grip to it and do a lot of damage.

Don't know how true or realistic this is, but that is my guess.

Ryan

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Ryan Filippi
Minis In The Gong
[email protected]
www.minisinthegong.com.au

The ones in your picture are known here as `Innocenti' flares, they were first used on the Italian built Minis.
They were also made standard in UK from 1984? onwards.

I happen to like them, my wife's car has Mk2 Cooper S flares and the crap chrome plastic strips are now shrinking... they don't like sunlight or heat... but mine has these plastics.
They are easy to fit or replace, and I think they look nice with red.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Mk1s were fitted with flares. They were fitted to SA cars as others have mentioned. They were also fitted to series production race cars. Once they fitted them in SA it made them legal for racing! Series Production rules were for absolutely standard cars with some safety mods but otherwise the car was stock. Options were not allowed.

The Mk1 flares have a different part number to the Mk2 flares.

My 68 Cooper S was fitted with a flare kit (BMC sold them in kits) so it could race in 69.
Take a look at 69 Bathurst photos and you will see Mk1s with flares.

Flares fitted to my MK1 S.





I fitted them when I fitted the ROH alloys. Metal strips have been spot welded to the body to look like MK2.

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1969 Cooper "S"
1967 Mini Deluxe
1973 Clubman Van (the fleet spare)
1978 ex 1275 LS ("Wizard" Eaton Supercharged)
2015 HSV GenF GTS(occasional drive & tow car)
2019 MINI F55 Cooper S