Description
A very original and genuine Morris Cooper S, OBP 31E was built on December 19, 1966 and despatched to W W Webber and Company of Basingstoke on December 22nd, 1966.
It was registered as OBP 31E on January 2nd, 1967.
According to the Heritage Certificate, it was fitted at the factory with a fresh air heater, sump guard, extra fuel tank, 4. 5" wheels and an oil cooler.
With full matching numbers and still in its original colours of tartan red with a black roof it had a careful and detailed restoration between 1999 and 2001 with various invoices on file. I am in touch with the previous UK owner. The panel fit is very good, with correct spot welds in the usual places. The engine was fully rebuilt by Minisport, and fitted with a very nicely ported, lead free cylinder head and 276 Kent cam in preparation for the 2001 Pirelli Classic Marathon Rally which it completed without fault.
There is a fat history file detailing much of the work and with pictures from the Marathon Rally.
Shortly after the rally the then owner passed the car on to his friend living in California, which is where I found the car in 2016, still in excellent condition and only requiring mild re-commissioning upon it's return to England.
I have used the car regularly, and it is a delight to drive and very quick. Serviced at SMMC and set up on the rolling road, it produced well over 100BHP at the crank at 5500rpm.
For reliability, I installed a NOS set of HS4 carburettors, a CSL electronic distributor and a solid state DVR3 voltage regulator which fits inside the original VR case, and so keeps the original look. It has recently had a new dynamo, but otherwise has needed nothing. The DVLA states only 4 previous owners. There is some history from it's early life, but detailed history from the 90's on, including numerous MOT's and invoices.
As a serious collector of Mini's and particularly the Cooper and Cooper S models, I was delighted to find this car, with it's original shell and interior including headliner and brocade panels, only the front seats had been replaced with more comfortable recliners for the Marathon rally. It still rides on full hydrolastic suspension, with the correct Cooper S displacers. The engine is also original and now at 1330cc. fully balanced and fitted with Omega forged pistons, it is one of the smoothest I have driven.
It retains all the correct features of a late 1966 Mk1 S including the 22G 1522 3 synchro gearbox with the stronger case and super smooth gear change.
I have covered a very enjoyable 6000 fault free miles since purchase. It was an invitee to the Goodwood Revival celebration of 60 yrs of the mini and is well known the the MCR.
This is a car to be used and enjoyed, and not a trailer queen. As such it has a delightful patina to the interior, with that hard to fake BMC aroma! The exterior remains in excellent condition, with no rust and nice paint work.
