Has anyone looked at the authenticity of the 69 Mk 11 part restored in Melbourne, it's restoration has been underway since 1991. It is now a deceased estate sale. It has no ID plate or body stamping numbers but appears to be a genuine Cooper S. It is red with white roof advertised on car sales and car point

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/deta ... =4&sdmvc=1

How would I prove it's authenticity if I were thinking of buying it?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks Bede

There should at least be a body number stamped on the top top the radiator shroud. If you can obtain that, the Ausmini brains trust will be able to advise you further.

Also, the previous ownership mentioned in the ad would be handy AND the other blue car in the shed points to the red one probably being the real McCoy.

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1967 Cooper S - new front bearings to do.
1965 Cooper S shell - Slow progress. No time or money!
1966 Deluxe- next rustoration!
Mk 2 & XJ6 Jags. Less said the better.

That's been for sale for ages and the seller mustn't be very negotiable. Hard to tell with the photos, they're not really showing too much that makes one think genuine Cooper S.
If it's a genuine 69 MK II it should still have YG 2S4 with a car number from 501 up stamped into the inner guard radiator cowl. It should have a body number in the drip channel above the wiper motor. Problem can be its full of paint and can't be read. Or worse accident damage has lost the numbers for good.
Request photos of how the heater locates to the inside of the bulkhead, under the front parcel shelf. Also a photo of under the rear passenger side seat pan, the vertical section should have a small nylon bung for the fuel pump.
While still in the car I'd ask for a photo of the front foot wells with the carpet lifted up. This will also help verify whether the car has the correct floor pan for the MkII period.
Worth getting photos of the boot floor area to verify which style boot floor under the spare wheel. Should have 2 ribs if this is a MkII. This car should also have 2 tabs spot welded to the seat brace aligning the face of the RH tank. Plus 3 more on the underside of the parcel shelf. These were designed to hold the fuel tank breather pipes that cross from one side to the other, in place. How the bootboard brackets are fixed to the body are worth getting photos off.
The fixing of the steel wheel arch section for each plastic flare should be studied, spotwelds originally. Signs of screws and rivets holding them to the body flange would raise questions for me.

1100S block & head

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The bitterness of poor quality (or Crappy Workmanship) remains LONG AFTER the Sweet Taste of Low Price is forgotten.

IT has been regesterd in the past with the earliest rego papers being 1986,up to 1991 It was regesterd with a Serial number provided by VicRoads & the engine number.I drove from Cooma to have a look at the car,the young fellow appeared to not no much about it.His father aquiried the car with a lot of history in 1991.He started restoring it & had it half finished when he passed away.There are no numbers in the usual places & the son does not have an ID plate.The motor & g/box are genuine MK11 cooper s of 1969 vintage, but the state of repair of the motor is unknown the correct head is also missing.The rear of the car appears to be Cooper S with the correct spot welded tabs for fuel breather lines &the plate behind rear seat for RH fuel tank strap.Did these Coopers have a cover plate over the gear stick hole where the 850 gearstick was,if so it is not there.The thought occured to me thet it may have had a cut & shut IE the front of an undamaged mini welded to the rear of the origional car.The blue car is a mini S not a Cooper S.I would appreciate any help on identifying this car as it would suit me if it is genuine,the price is a bit high.I would be only too happy to pay a mini expert (slueth} to further investigate this car & as it is a 1200klm round trip from Cooma in NSW.Cheers Kath

G'day Kath,

The floor pan will not have any sign of a gearstick hole from the 850's as they didn't have the hole to start on our models.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

Look at the size of the welsch (spelling?) plugs on the block. Is that the smaller 1100S type?

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The bitterness of poor quality (or Crappy Workmanship) remains LONG AFTER the Sweet Taste of Low Price is forgotten.

I was trying to spot that myself, but I can't make them out.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

mk1 brake booster shouldnt a 69 have a vh44

They didn't change over straight away to the VH44. Can't quote the date however.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

Same goes for the master cylinders. It's amazing how many 69 Mk2's come up for sale. Especially when they were only made for 6 months or so before the compliance plates started.

I could be wrong but shouldn't an australian hydro floor have five flutes in it? One then two close together for the hydro lines and protector plate then two more on the other side? I could have been replaced but if you want a genuine appreciating asset then it's the sort of thing they should be correct.

Has hydro up front, can't see the lines for the back either, could be on a dry rear frame.

Plus the boot floor looks like it doesn't have the 2 ribs in it where the spare sits and I blew the pic up an I couldn't see the extra 2 captive nuts in the bulkhead for the mk2 speedo housing. I think it is either a 68 mk1 trying to be a mk2 or a 68 deluxe like mine late scuttle early floors trying to be mk2 the unfortunate thing is it's a deceased estate and if the son is selling it and knows nothing about it he would be none of the wiser to its true origin. Slightly off track I bought a 997 project 22yrs ago off a bloke near my work he also had a "coopers s" but it had a 850 tag and no s features in the boot he passed away and his wife was selling it as a cooper s I don't know if she new any better and I didn't want to upset her

It has the extra captive nuts for the Mk2 speedo binnacle. They are hard to spot but they are there.

I think you maybe right it's like looking for where's Wally