Happy, happy day!

A lot has happened since the last post. I finally got on to ausmini.com, and that is an amazing forum. There are, get this, 18,000 members!!! They are a very busy and active forum, and really willing to help. One of the guys pointed out that the trolleys that run down the waterfront in Seattle are from Melbourne originally--I didn't realize that.

I got lots of feedback on the questions I posted, and the net:net of it is that the '66 is in fact a genuine Cooper S. There were clips on the early MKIs that substituted for the tabs in the boot, and I have holes that were for those clips. There also are two other numbers stamped in the body that are correct. The ragged hole is common due to a rubber part failing and letting the gearshift tear up the hole. The floor pan is in fact correct, as there was a change in '67 to the style of pan on the '70. The guys also directed me to a couple of really tiny hidden details that should be there, and the '66 had them all! One thing we discovered, however, is that the '66 may in fact be a '65. It was probably produced in late '65, and sold/titled in '66. This gives further support to the early discrepancies that were in fact present in '65 and '66 compared to later years.

So what we think happened is this: Somewhere down the line, the car had a front end accident. Fenders and bonnet were replaced, and the car was painted the butter cream color (or the butter cream was a primer, and the car was painted back to green and grey). The bonnet was from a normal mini, and the owner didn't bother to get the Morris Cooper badging back on the bonnet. Later on, someone did a respray of the car with the current metallic green and grey, also with the non-cooper badge up front. Years later, I come along and sort it all out, and put it back to original. What say you all?

Take a deep breath, and breathe out a HUGE sigh of relief... There is nothing like local knowledge... There is once again momentum in the project.

So at this point I have received giant eye bolts for the beam in the garage, and will receive a chain hoist on Monday. I will then be ready to pull the engines on both cars and have a look at the underside. I have removed the doors/bonnet/boot lid on the '66, and need to get the glass off it also. I jacked up the '66 the other day to look at some suspension components. My floor jack won't fit under the car! I had to use the stock jack to raise the car 8 or 10 inches, then could slide my floor jack under from the front. Too funny. Maybe when the hydrolastic suspension is charged it will be a different story.

What a thrill, to have two confirmed genuine Cooper S models in the garage at once!!! To lend perspective, there were about 5.3 million minis made around the globe. Of those, about 19,500 worldwide were Cooper S's. They were rare 40 years ago, and exceptionally so after all the years of rust, accidents, and neglect. I don't know if I'll be able to bring myself to sell one after restoration. Sssh...just don't tell Kathryn. :)

Happy day indeed.