1972 Mini Cooper S

This Cooper S is a 1969 Mk2 which was reshelled into a genuine factory body shell in 1972 by the previous owner , a Mr Terry Lewis who purchased the Car when it was 2 years old with a damaged front corner. Mr Lewis , at the time a fledgling car dealer and Mini racer , purchased 3 new S shells from Morris for £1900 ! One was used for KNY and the other 2 were stored as spare race shells .

The original owner had a rather exuberant right foot and ran out of skill one Saturday night on a Country road after a night on the Light Ale with his Girlfriend .

Mr Lewis decided to create his ideal Cooper S .

The brand new shell was painted Black , a Webasto Sliding roof was correctly fitted complete with tinted Perspex wind deflector . This has clearly never leaked and remains in perfect working and water tight order . Chrome extended wheel arches were sourced and fitted together with a set of wide period correct Alloy wheels .

Every single component apart from headlights , grille and front suspension was transplanted into the new shell. Mr Lewis , in his admitted naivety , requested that DVLA , the Ministry at the time , viewed the car to enable him to submit it to the road . As he had not simply attached the original chassis plate form the damaged car onto the new shell , the Ministry gave the “new “ car a 1972 identity . Unlike so many of his contemporaries of the time , Mr Lewis did what he thought was the right thing !

Notwithstanding , the car is a genuine MK 2 Cooper S re registered in 1972 .

A front mounted oil cooler was fitted, snugly nestled into the cut out Grille as per the boy racers of the days requirements !

The car has been in my Family since July 2007 when it was sold by Mr Lewis . Between my Uncle , my Cousin and myself , we have managed to clock up around 600 miles in 16 Years . Mr Lewis’s Wife used the car as her daily driver from 1972 until 2007 covering just over 60, 000 miles . The car at one point had 2 baby seats in the rear and a toddler on a cushion sitting in the front . Happy days .

The last time I used the Car was in 2016 when she sailed through an MOT and we used her as our Taxi at the Goodwood Revival . She ferried our Team from our Hotel to the Circuit each morning and evening for 5 days .

As it was a celebration of Mini Cooper S s that year we did 4 laps of the Circuit in a Parade . She performed flawlessly and although as a Classic Racer myself , I have driven much more powerful steeds around Goodwood over the Years , it was a seat of the pants experience . She has a lively engine and enjoys a good scream and sticks like glue to the black stuff . A surprisingly comfortable driving position as at 6ft 3 inches I thought it would be tight .

I have recently recommissioned her . There are no leaks whatsoever . The suspension is leak free and sits at the factory ride heights . We build and maintain Classic Racing Cars and she is period correct in all areas.

Personally, I would remove all the chrome embellishments and replace the alloys with standard steel Cooper S rims . Each to their own I suppose ……

I am thinning out my collection of too many ( if thats possible ) Classic Cars , which is clearly ridiculous and she is offered at an appropriate price to enable any prospective purchaser to take her to the next level and create a very valuable asset , or simply use and enjoy her as is .

I have verified the Engine Numbers and all components with the Cooper S Register and other ‘S’ Gurus and everything is Period correct . The Engine SAY number denotes all steel internals and correct nitrided crank etc . Way before AM fell out with Mr Cooper and reneged on their agreement resulting in lesser engines and the ultimate demise of the great Marque .

No wonder this dump of a Country is in the mess it is .

Rant over …….

A great Cooper S at an equally great price.

I have the V5 . All numbers match .

Last 3 owners were my immediate family .

I have the bill of sale from 2007 when we purchased her .

There’s a few invoices for work we did a while ago . A few MOT certs etc.

Been in dry storage for last 16 years apart from sunny day jaunts and death defying Goodwood Circuit Trackday .

All the best

Simon

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