http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2222510/Classic-Mini-Cooper-locked-away-garage-36-years.html
Now then, where did I put the keys? Classic Mini found after being locked in a garage for 36 years
By Alex Ward
PUBLISHED: 15:56 GMT, 24 October 2012 | UPDATED: 19:10 GMT, 24 October 2012
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A classic Mini Cooper car has been discovered, 36 years after it was locked away.
The family of the late Brian Smith recently found the car he had hidden away in his garage in 1976 - ten years after he bought it.
Now the classic car is up for sale and expected to fetch £12,000.
Green machine: The Mini Cooper has been tucked away in this garage for 36 years
Green machine: The Mini Cooper has been tucked away in this garage for 36 years
Nice little earner: The small car is expected to sell for £12,000
Nice little earner: The small car is expected to sell for £12,000
Plenty of miles left to go: The mileometer shows the car has travelled less than 23,000 miles
Plenty of miles left to go: The mileometer shows the car has travelled less than 23,000 miles
Neil Piper, 44, Mr Smith’s nephew, said: ‘It is a classic car and hopefully it will move to a place where it can be restored to its former glory.
‘There are no real car enthusiasts in the family so we decided to put it up for auction.
‘The car needs renovation and we don’t have the expertise to do it.
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‘My uncle loved driving it but, for health reasons, he just put it away in the garage and there it stayed.’
One careful owner: Brian Smith with the Mini in 1970, six years before leaving it in his garage
One careful owner: Brian Smith with the Mini in 1970, six years before leaving it in his garage
Family car: Mr's Smith mother, Vera, with the vehicle - now a classic - in 1970
Family car: Mr's Smith mother, Vera, with the vehicle - now a classic - in 1970
Park but no ride: The Mini was left in this garage for 36 years and completely forgotten
Park but no ride: The Mini was left in this garage for 36 years and completely forgotten
Mr Smith, who never married and had no children, died in May aged 76.
His family found the car in the garage at his former home in Christchurch, Dorset.
How things have changed: £40 tax disc
How things have changed: £40 tax disc
It was purchased new in 1966 from Stringers Garage in Portsmouth, Hampshire.
And it has only 22,270 miles on the clock, adding to its popularity at auction.
The car does not start up and will need some repair work to restore it to working order.
Matthew Whitney, from Charterhouse Auctioneers of Sherborne, Dorset, said: ‘Mini Coopers are synonymous with the swinging sixties and an icon of British motoring.
‘So often classic Mini’s have covered intergalactic miles or had panels and engines replaced, but this Cooper is a matching numbers car in totally original condition.
‘It is probably the most important Mini Cooper I have been instructed to sell.
‘It was purchased new in 1966 by Mr Smith and he drove it until the hot summer of 1976, when it was driven into the garage where it did not turn another wheel until earlier this year when relatives started to clear his house after he passed away.’
The Mini Cooper will be sold by Charterhouse, in Sherborne, Dorset on November 4.
The first Mini Cooper made its debut in 1959 and was the first mass-produced car with a transversally-placed engine.
Queen Elizabeth II was seen behind the wheel and after a series of celebrities bought them, sales took off.
It has become the most popular British car ever made with more than 5.3million cars sold.
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