As title says did all mk1 cooper s come with flares or did some not, or was it an optional extra? I found out that the mk2 did come as standard with them.

Matt

South Australia did

The Mk1 wasn't made with flares but South Australia made them fit them from around 1967.

there is a 68 in W.A for sale without them that is all so just checking all the little bits out. the numbers all match I was just curious of the flares

So I assume these would be dealer fitted then? so riveted rather than spot welded?

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Yes, dealer or distributor fitted. Screwed not riveted.

Thanks Morris 1100. Just curious

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so correct me if i'm wrong but from what you say, if the cooper wasn't sold in S.A then they didn't have flares as standard fitted by manufacture

As most do in other states I assume they were put on at a later date by the owners of them?

Yep.
South Australia was the only state that legally required them.
They were sold as an accessory in all other states but the cars wouldn't have been sold new with them except as a dealer fitted option.

My 1968 Cooper S was fitted with the accessory flare kit quite early in its life.

I remember seeing a new mkI with flairs in the Larke Hoskins showroom in Parramatta when I bought my K. MkIIs were already released (with factory-fitted flairs) but some MkIs had not been sold. Presumably dealer-fitted flairs to look the same as MkII.
The accessory flair kit came with a pack of self-tapping screws and a pack of trim clips similar to those under the external seam mould covers - presumably to hold the plastic flair to the metal support strip, but were not really needed as the chrome edge mould held the flair in place.
Bill

For what it is worth, I live in Victoria and I bought a brand new Mk1 Cooper S in early 1969, the MkII had not been released. The dealer said we will get it registered on Friday and you can come and pick it up on Saturday morning.
I rolled up and the salesman said we have a problem the Victorian Motor Registration Branch has refused to register the car unless it is fitted with the flair kit so we are waiting on it to arrive and it won't be ready to collect until next week. I popped in early the next week and watched them fitting the flairs. They were exactly the same flairs as fitted to the MkII. From memory it was around early March 1969.

This is the part I have a real problem with...

they let 1000s of cars run around happily without flares, and then demand flares (probably, because someone noticed the new MKIIs were fitted with them. Oh look the factory obviously thinks they are illegal without flares so here's our chance to be little Hitler's!)...

...petty bureaucrat's at their worse.

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"Show me the Mini!"

The cars were illegal and needed flares to be legal. There is nothing more than that. The problem was really the shape of tyres was changing. Tyre treads were getting wider even with the 145 tyre width.

The demands from the bureaucrats happened well before the Mk2 came out.

So Mike, do you know of a MKI owner who fitted later 145 by 10 radials and was told to fit flares

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"Show me the Mini!"

I had a 1968 Mk1S, in the early 80s.
Even with 165/70-10s on S wheels and no flares, I never got pinged in NSW for them sticking out.
I think the registration problem was interpretation, as at the front, the tread was just covered at the 12 o'clock point, but the sidewall wasn't.
SA took the view that the sidewall needed to be covered too. NSW was more lenient, as were other states.

[edit] isn't it funny that you can register a tractor for road use with NO flares over the tyres!!

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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.