Anbody know what happened to this litle gem.....

http://www.shannons.com.au/shannons/sha ... ent&Report

THE SHANNONS REPORT

RE-BORN RALLY MINI FOR AUCTION

A rare lightweight BMC Works Cooper S Rally car with a fascinating competition history is going under the hammer at Shannons first Sydney Auction for 2005 on Monday February 7.

‘RJB 327F’ was one of two factory-built cars sent to Australia to compete in the 1970 Southern Cross Rally and arrived with all the latest hot Mini bits – a potent 1275cc engine with a special cylinder head, a close ratio straight cut gearset, alloy bonnet, door and boot panels and numerous works rally ‘tweaks’.

However BMC team driver Brian Culcheth rolled the car six days before the Southern Cross and then crashed the extensively repaired Mini during the event while leading on the third night, subsequently ‘cooking’ the engine. He ran the car again in the NSW Rally of the Hills two weeks later with better luck, scoring a class win and a minor outright placing.

Leading Scottish driver Andrew Cowan then took the Cooper S to Noumea in January 1971, but managed to roll it eight times. On its return to Australia, British Leyland rebuilt it with a new local body shell in time for the 1971 Heatway Rally of New Zealand. This time Cowan showed its true potential, posting fastest time in 13 individual special stages before engine problems forced his retirement.

Following the Heatway, Leyland sold the Mini to a Sydney enthusiast who wanted its body as the basis of a rallycross car, but had no use for all its specialised rally gear.

So he sold the rare alloy panels, driving lights, sump guard, rally seats, trim, engine, original chassis plate and many other rally parts, to the current owner, who then rebuilt ‘RJB 327F’ to its original Heatway factory specification, using another Australian bodyshell - just as Leyland Australia had done in 1971.

The project took over two years to complete and the twice-reborn Mini has been displayed at motor shows and more recently has competed successfully in a few ‘soft’ rallies.

Now this Mini slice of rally history is for sale, with Shannons expecting bidding in the $15,000 to $20,000 range.

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"Show me the Mini!"

No idea, but he had it for sale on the MCCNSW website for a while and had no takers.

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the world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page
66 Mini Minor sponsored by http://www.lifeonthehedge.com.au/ The Dog Harness Specialists
It was a pleasure ausmini. I'll miss all you misfits and reprobates

Sad.....probably gone overseas....love that Leyland Works colour scheme...probably even had the special Magnesium Sump Guard.....

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"Show me the Mini!"

That mini was sold at Auction for 19500.

That is correct, $19,500. We also have a small amount of info about this car in Issue 2 of The Mini Experience, in our special feature on the Works Minis in Australia. However, this is not a genuine car, and the previous owner has never claimed that it was, but it does a number of genuine parts. We have recently heard from a person in the UK who claims to have the original car, although it has been rebodied a couple of times - grandad's axe. This car also has a number of genuine parts, so we are trying to piece the history and lineage together. When we do, we will have a full feature on the car in a later issue of The Mini Experience
Cheers, Watto.

i just watched a piece of old film from the 60's of some mini exec (cant recall who) saying that in years to come someone will probablty claim to own an original works mini, but they will be tweakers (no he didnt use that term but thats what he implied ) and he gives a good reason foor the comment and its all to do with vehicle tax..

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No longer Ms Westwoods mini outside her original kings road shop

"some exec"?
Any details on who, when and where, as well as the quote would be of interest. History shows, though, that there are many privately-owned ex-Works cars of various brands, not just Minis. There are also plenty of replicas out there. Sometimes differentiating between the real McCoy and the fake can be difficult.
We know the car featured in Issue 2 of The Mini Experience (LRX 828E) is authentic.
We also know that the body of another Mini being rebuilt in Australia at the moment is authentic, and that there is also claimed in the UK that the same genuine car is over there, now restored.
A problem arises in that, if a car was damaged and rebuilt by the factory team, as often happened, and the identity of the car changed over (as with LRX 828E), or that sometimes the car was simply "re-configured" to suit different events, by simply swapping the ID to another complete car, that sometimes people have been known to build up "genuine" cars from the discarded parts. If the identity has been put onto another car, and that car sold by the factory wearing that ID, then the other car made up from parts, no matter how genuine the parts may be, is not the genuine car.
Usual rule of thumb is that the last car sold by the factory bearing the identitiy is the genuine car.
But, another question arises in that, if a car competes famously and wins events, then the ID is swapped over to another car, which is not successful, and the second car is sold, then someone who has the original car, complete, and puts the old ID back on that car, could claim to have the genuine car. Confusing, innit?
Now, that exec quoted in the previous posting, may have been stating what he believed to be the case at the time, but as I said earlier, history shows him to be incorrect.
Watto.

yes the comment i made deserves a much better explaination... i just dont feel like sitting through it again just to be more accurate when im waiting on someone else who wants to watch it.. i just hopped in as i saw the subject .. when i watch it again i will coppy the quote and the dudes name /position and pm you ... its an interesting video.. what he was inplying was that the cars were recycled and rebirthed at will , cut hacked and grafted whatever it took , as by keeping it the same vehicle by numbers avoided tax. i would agree that any chance of finding a genuine works car would be greatly increased once it left the factories clutches for good ie sent to Australia... and the issue of how much of something has to remain b4 its something else is interesting.. the only piece left of my old,often repaired lawnmower was the handlebar.. i dont believe it is the same mower, but still had fond feelings towards it for its years of service. Im not implying thats how bad some of these claims to authenticity are, but where is the line between a vehicle being the the original montecarlo rally winner, or that just being a claim due to a few parts to bump the price up.

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No longer Ms Westwoods mini outside her original kings road shop

I look forward to seeing the details Danidad.
Cheers, Watto

it was Stewart Turner, Competition Manager BMC works team..
ii watched this till about 3.am..
after explaining about how often they rebirthed the cars to avoid tax , the wording is something like" in 20 years time some people will be drewling over their classic works rally car, but it will be Bloody nonsense"

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No longer Ms Westwoods mini outside her original kings road shop

Watto a PM was sent however it hasnt left (and wont leave) my outbox... in other words i was a man of my word, but technology conspired against me...in fact i have 5 PM's stuck in my outbox and 2 were to you.. will send them if someone can help i have enquired in the general chat area...
sorry dude

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No longer Ms Westwoods mini outside her original kings road shop

Hi Danidad, I got all your PMs and I have a couple for you sitting in my outbox. Perhaps they just take a little time to clear (?). Below is a copy of part of my PM to you regarding the above. Cheers, WAtto.

I guess what Stewart Turner was referring to was the fact that the cars were so often bodged up, changed, rebodied, etc, by the factory that the car that won one event, may have been a completely different car that won another event, even though it had the same ID. That's fair enough. I'd love to see a copy of the video if that is possible.
I think most people accept that the last car to bear the ID is considered the genuine ex-Works car, and the ID contains the lineage. There has also been a fair bit of research into it over the years and some of the cars are known to have had three or more bodies and even different IDs on the same car. One thing we do know is that Graeme Urch's ex-Works car, LRX 828E, was rebodied after the crash in the 1967 Acropolis Rally, and the car then did the Danube Rally (disqualified). It was then sold to BMC Australia. Prior to being shipped out to Australia it (and LRX 829E) was "refurbished' at Abingdon. Whether that was just a tidy up and any worn parts replaced, or a new car with an old ID we will never know. However, as the car had not suffered any damage in the Danube, and in fact didn't even finish the event as it was barred from Hungary, we can assume it was not rebodied. We also know that since coming to Australia it was not severley damaged. It did have at least one gearbox replacement and some parts, like the carbs and the suspension, changed for local conditions, and it was repainted on the outside, but that it was otherwise as sent out here when sold by BMC. It is now restored to as it was in the UK and it is realistically one of the most original Works Minis anywhere. The three Monte winners were all kept by BMC in an unadulterated form and are now all on display at Gaydon.
I hope all that makes sense.