I am trying to once and for all put together a comprehensive list of Cooper S production facts and figures.

I know a lot of people have tried doing this before, and there are probably numerous small lists around the place, so I am trying to consolidate and cross-reference these, to form one authoritative list, which can then be used reliably to research almost any Cooper S.

I have started with a few lists from various sources, and am trying to flesh it out with as much info as I can get from as many people as possible. So far I can fairly reliably report on about 4% of production, which doesn't sound a lot but is the result of a fair bit of research and accounts for nearly 300 cars.

So, what I am wondering, is if you can let me know any info that you have regarding the Cooper Ss - only info about the cars. I'm not interested in names, addresses, etc.

The info I'm trying to get includes chassis number, body number, original engine number, original colour, original interior colour, delivery date (where known). Also, if the car was originally owned by any public service department (eg NSW Police) or famous driver (Peter Manton, etc), then those details would be good. If an owner's manual is in hand, then I would also like to know which dealership the car was sold from, and the original purchase date and original registration number.

One point about all of this is that you don't need to own the car to provide the information. Many people collect memorabillia, and I'm sure there are people with original handbooks that belong to cars that are owned by other people or no longer exist. I don't want to know anything about who owns what car, just the details as listed in the owner's handbook.

But, I do not want unfounded speculation. Please don't email me saying, "I think Joe Bloggs owns a Cooper S that was once a police car" or anything of that nature. I also don't want to hear from people that someone else has a car that is not genuine, etc. Please leave those sorts of quarrels out of this. Please only supply information that you know to be correct and that can be verified in one way or another (ie you own the car or the book, or you know who does).

However, if you decide that to help out would include getting details from other people's cars - say at a show - then please ensure that the owner is happy for you to record the information and let them know what it is being used for. If they don't want their car's information made public, then respect that decission.

To contact me with any information, or questions, an email would be best ([email protected]) or a PM.

Now, a few possible questions:

How will the info be used? The idea is to form a complete (or as near to as humanly possible) picture of Cooper S production in Australia. The information will eventually be made public, so that anyone can research the "correctness" of any Cooper S built in Oz. For this reason, only information about the cars is required.

Can the info be used by crooks? Technically, any information that helps people identify vehicles correctly can be beneficial to people of poor morals - ie in helping to fake cars or make replicas. However, the information would be of far greater benefit to people wanting to correctly identify a Cooper S - for example if they are looking at buying one, or already have one and want to check its authenticity.

Will my car/details be safe? As I am not interested in names and addresses of the owners of the cars, only the relevant info from the cars themselves, there will be no way of knowing from the information collected or published, where any particular car is kept. The only names that are likely to even be recorded are those which are already in the public domain - eg cars I have already done articles on for various magazines. However, even these names will not be made public unless there is specific relevance - eg original owner Peter Manton, etc.

An important point is that I have built up much of the credibility of my business and The Mini Experience, by maintaining any private information about people in the strictest confidence. Rest assured that any personal details that I already have will not be included in this list.

When will the information be made public? Basically, when I am satisfied that I have exhausted every avenue of enquiry and the list is confidently as accurate as I can make it, then it will be published either in the magazine, on this forum, or in any possible future book on the matter.

How can I check inforation that you might already have? In the meantime, any person is welcome to contact me to check if I have any details about a Cooper S that interests them - they may be looking to buy or have some other special interest in the car. I will be happy to provide any relevant information, where I have it. However, don't even think about asking the name of any owner, or any other private information, as even if I have it I won't be giving it out - even if you plead and assure that it will remain confidential.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Cheers,
Watto

Craig Watson
Editor
The Mini Experience magazine
www.miniexperience.com.au

Sounds good to me. How about broadening it a bit and also collecting any cooper S engine numbers that may be in peoples possession or even passed through there possession, who knows it may be possible to re-unite a body with its long lost engine

As I mentioned in my preamble, I am not looking for personal information.

Therefore, under this particular search, it would not be possible to re-unite any engines with cars. I also said that even if private information is received it will not be recorded with the production information and it would be unethical for me to hold this information or use it for the suggested purpose.

This is an information gathering and disseminating excercise only, and is not intended to alter anything about the Mini scene today, rather than to identify and record original production information.

Cheers,
Watto.

Morris Cooper S
Chassis 3906
Engine 9F/FA/Y47201
LAKE GREEN BOD/3
SNOW WHITE ROOF/1
ON THE WIPER MOTOR THERE IS A DATE STAMP 5/67.
BELEIVE TO BE A FEB MARCH 1968 BUILD

_________________

Thanks Brett.

A couple of people have got the ball rolling already.

If you are at all concerned about this sort of information being associated with your personal details in any way, then it would be better to contact me via email or PM (as a couple of people have already) rather than putting it in the public forum. The information will be listed without any reference to the owner or locality of any vehicle, except as already stated, where their is significant relevance - such as an ex-police Mini or famous original owner.

One thing has already cropped up. There are some people who have started collecting this sort of information and have promised the people concerned that their information will be protected and not given to anyone else.

I understand that completely, and respect the decision of those people.

However, the other question of course, is what is the point of having the information, if not being able to share it with other like-minded enthusiasts?

Please rest assured that I am not after personal information, only production information of the cars to build up a complete picture of just one part of Mini production in Australia.

Unfortunately, as Australian Mini enthusiasts, there is currently nowhere we can go to access this information. For Ford and Holden enthusiasts, and indeed Mini enthusiasts in the UK, this information is readily available. What I am hoping to achieve is some remedy of this situation.

Cheers,
Watto.

[quote="watto"]As I mentioned in my preamble, I am not looking for personal information.

Therefore, under this particular search, it would not be possible to re-unite any engines with cars. I also said that even if private information is received it will not be recorded with the production information and it would be unethical for me to hold this information or use it for the suggested purpose.

This is an information gathering and disseminating excercise only, and is not intended to alter anything about the Mini scene today, rather than to identify and record original production information.

Cheers,
Watto.

I understand we will not be able to find out where a car lives but just nowing what still exists body and engine wise would be great. I have a MKII s with a MKI motor, I would love to know if its original motor still existed. If I find out it does exist I could advertise etc to ask the owner to come forward and maybe a deal could be struck.

I've given my car's details to Watto - it's a great idea and much needed. If everybody cooperates and enters into the spirit in which it is intended it should work reasonably well. No doubt there will be gaps, as not every Cooper S owner reads the mag or plays on this forum, but it will still be a fairly comprehensive list.
Looking forward to the results, it will take a while though - thanks Watto and good luck!
Peter.

_________________
1969 Mini Cooper S MKII (1330)
1972 Honda 750/4 (his),1976 Honda 400/4 (hers)
1982 Honda CB1100RC (ours)

An absolutely fantastic initiative that has been well thought through by Watto, particularly the privacy issue. Of course something like this should've been done years ago but it's never too late. With every day that passes more cars disappear, documentation is lost and memories fade. I, for one, have several registration documents for genuine cars that I'll be forwarding on. Do you want to store other information about a car, such as a photo, if the owner consents?

Watto - what other help can we in the Mini community provide so this doesn't become a millstone round your neck?

Obviously the wider this initiative is publicised the better so maybe this is where we can all assist. What other avenues do you have in mind to get this request out? I suggest inclusion in all Australian and NZ Mini Club magazines, adverts in other classic car publications, requests to car auction houses, an internet presence so 'Googlers' can find it and respond, communication with administrators of other Mini inventories such as the UK, etc. Anyone have any other suggestions?

Doug

Those are all great ideas for getting the message out there Doug.

I think the greatest asset we have, that poeple trying to do this in the past didn't have, is the Internet.

I would appreciate anybody letting other people know and pointing them toward this thread, or my email address.

I don't see it really being a millstone, but I also won't be spending hours on it every day, so any promotion that other people can offer would be great.

I will not be including photos for a number of reasons, most importantly because of the extra work involved. But also because there will always be people complaining that colours aren't correct, or spotting details that may not be original, as well as the whole privacy issue again.

I would rather say that a certain car was a certain colour from the factory, and let the owner, etc, worry about making the colour as accurate as they can, if that's what they want to do, without me getting too involved in it.

However, on the point of colours, I have a full list of available colours and most of the colour codes and mixing formulae, so it is likely that sort of information would all be included with the final lists.

Cheers,
Watto.

Sending PM with mine.

_________________
Flute - 68 MK I Cooper S
Member: VMCI #2474
Member: International Mini Model Collectors Club

Check Shannons auction site for details of Mk1 "S" which recently sold for $23000. Was my old car - won the 1990 Australian Mini Concours with it. Ignore the blurb on the site, NSW Police car - Qld delivery etc etc. - all hogwash!!!!

Been modified somewhat since I owned it - wheels , flares steering wheel etc. Was stock standard in my day as per showroom. Only option was the Smiths tacho (should have kept that).
All info supplied to public so I guess its OK to record.
By the way it's Lake Green/Snow White not BRG.

Watto,

I take it this register you are compiling is just for Cooper S's, not Coopers??

_________________
"Not Speeding Officer..........Qualifying"

Worth mentioning here that Graham in aus is compiling a cooper register so they are being looked after as well .

All the BMC mini's can be a bit vague in their details so anything like this is a good thing and will help solve a lot of problems in the future .

_________________

Yes, correct, it is for Cooper S only.

Graham is looking for Cooper cars, so any info to him would be very helpful too.

As for non-Cooper Minis - far too much work to even consider. However, there are a few people trying to get registers of other models happening. Chris Zerial is trying to record 1275LS and Sunshine Minis. Anton Kraus is looking for all Clubman GTs.

Between all these efforts, we should be able to have good info available in the future on at least most of the special Minis in Australia.

Wild willy, I had already picked up on the car in the Shannons auction, but thanks for pointing it out. I also figured it must be Lake Green, but wasn't sure on which white - Snow White makes sense.

If anybody else sees any Cooper S for sale, with appropriate details, please let me know as well - it all helps build up the picture.

Cheers,
Watto.

Don't forget about me doing lift up door handled mini K's.

cheers
Steve