i posted this photo on another forum and got the comment reproduced below. the forum by the way is american, but has members all over the place - the particular member that posted these comments is located in scotland. i have a basic understanding about the changes that occurred during the production of minis but not in enough detail to respond meaningfully to this. can anyone offer any comments on the points he raised?

We never got concealed hinges here. Everything right up to the end (c.1978) got external hinges.

The clubby was released downunder in c.1972. That's not a sliding window. We had quarter windows. We didn't get the full width window that they got over there.

That clubby looks pretty original for an Oz spec car.

thanks for that - i thought the sliding window bit didn't sound right but wasn't sure about the rest.

No worries Helen

I should add the Poms got concealed hinges around 1972. I'm not sure when the full width opening windows came in over there, but probably around the same time.

This is why our cars look really old school compared to their's.

Hiya!

T'was 1969 when the English Mk3 bodyshell (internal hinges and full windows) was introduced.

The first clubmans had that set up too.

cheers! jon

Helen , no offence to that guy but he has a typical UK opinion that all mini's are the same as they produced there . All Australian produced mini's are essentially what the UK people refer to as a mk 1 bodyshell . We (we loosely meaning Australia's BMC and Leyland designers/builders) never changed the way the UK ones did with each Mk redesign , we just modified the original to suit our own design and needs like windup windows (hence the 1/4 vent windows that confuse them) , then stitched the clubman nose onto the original bodyshell along with burstproof latches . When the UK went to Mk 3 (I think Mk3 was the first) they used internal hinges , slightly longer doors that were also a different shape at the front lower corner , taller side windows and taller and wider rear window amongst other things . The only things that will fit from a Mk3 or later mini onto an Australian one are the front guards/valance/bonnet (still some differences but they physically fit) , roof , bootlid and most of the floorpan even though it's pressed differently (without the hydro pipe indents Australian ones have) .

In a nutshell , our Aussie mini's are unique in the world apart from the early 850's (even then there were still some differences)

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