meh

meh

Thank's Watto , I had wondered what the total was , the last one on my list so far is around the 59,000 mark so close to the end .

As for the production numbers , from what I have so far the Australian production numbers of the years were as follows ,

1960 2,000
1961 6,000
1962 21,000
1963 17,000
1964 13,000

The split could well be slightly out due to gaps in the numbers I have which could mean 1000 may have been built after the last one I have for the year but before the acual end of the year . The list I have is what people have given me from their cars , not production records . I don't have anything up to 1966 or even into 1965 though Watto ???

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I can't help with individual years Ian.

I recently got sent a list of total production figures but it is from soemtime late in 1969, so quite a few are listed as, 1969 - continues.

Still, it is a good reference (I hope it is accurate). It has come out of a book, but I have no idea where from - it is a photo copy.

Anyway, I have the answer for the number with PA stamped under it.

Bare shells that were sent to Parts and Accessories (first located in the Zetland plant and later moving out to Morebank, in 1968) had PA stamped on the body shell, under or next to where the chassis number would usually be stamped. These were usually sold to repairers, sometimes privately, to rebody badly damaged vehicles. The bodies were then usually stamped with the number from the original car, and I would assume the ID plate attached. In theory - 40 years down the track, if a crashed shell had not been disposed of, and somebody got hold of it and restored it, then it is possible (though hopefully not likely) that there could be two cars with the same chassis numbers.

If a car has a Cooper S chassis number and PA stamped, it could still be a genuine Cooper S shell, but it would just have been a replacement shell. I would assume they had replacement shells available for all models, but the Cooper S would be most likely due to the cost.

I'll put this info in a seperate thread as well, for anyone interested.

Cheers,
Watto.

It seems that all the Minis I know of which have PA stamped on them are very early ones - within the first 10 to 15 shells.

I was speaking to our club historian about this last weekend and he seems to think it may stand for 'Production Automobile'.

Apparently these cars were sent down the line to test the manufacture process along the assebly line when a new model was introduced.

Holden used the same PA stamped on there early test models. The cars were purely to test the assembly line and never meant for sale to the public. Holden destroyed their vehicles but it seems as though BMC/Leyland's cars hung around and managed to find their way in to the public.

This information may not be true fact but it does sound feasible.

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Julie.............

Well, yes that does sound feasible.

As does the Parts & Accessories story.

Hmmmm........

I got the Parts & Accessories explanation from the former Production Engineering Manager at Zetland, but then he was going off memory from some 40 plus years ago.

It is possible that theory from Jules could be right, too - given that the Product Engineering Manager at the time, arriving in 1957, Bill Abbott, came from Holden. He also brought across four other engineers from Holden. I am hoping to interview one of those in the next few weeks. He is about 92 years of age, but I'm told his mind is as sharp as a tack.

So, for now, maybe we'll just leave it as "Myth Plausible" - not proven, and not busted!

Cheers,
Watto.