1971 | Austin Mini Cooper 'S' 1275

This exceptional Mini MKIII Cooper S is an incredibly rare car with just 792 built for the UK Home Market. Our beautifully presented car was confirmed by the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust as built on the 8th March 1971 and is finished in the correct period colour of Acqua. The Mini comes with a comprehensive history detailing low ownership during its early life, and mileage records are with the car dating back to 1986 when it had covered a recorded mileage of 36467. The Mini spent its early life in Scotland in Castle Douglas and with a Company Director in Loanhead, East Lothian. Maintenance records are on file during the late 1980’s and early 1990’s in Scotland before moving South of the border to England in 1997.

The Cooper S had major re-commissioning work at 40,000 miles in 1987, and during the 1990's it was subject of major bodywork with various replacement body panels. MOT certificates show low annual mileage throughout the 1990's and 2000's and by 2014 with 68,000 miles was in the hands of one of our customers who carried out further restoration work. We then sold the Mini for the first time to one of our regular customers but over the last eight years the Mini has had very little road use and has still a recorded mileage of under 69,000. Due to the lack of use, in 2023 a program of re-commissioning was started, and this soon developed into a major program of work that has resulted in over £40,000 of expenditure taking the Mini to an outstanding level.

The work began with the previous owner commissioning a full re-paint with all trims, rubbers and glass removed. In order to achieve a top quality engine bay finish, a decision was made to remove the correct 1275cc MKIII Cooper S engine and ancillaries to re-paint the engine bay. With the risk of the structurally sound underside not matching the standards of the rest of the car, subframes and underside ancillaries were removed to access painting the floor pans. The Mini was then built up, the engine was cleaned up and painted, ancillaries were detailed and the subframes powder coated. The Mini was put back together fully re-commissioned with thousands of pounds worth of renewed parts and hardware to include new wiring loom, new coolant hoses, heater matrix, various engine gaskets, thermostat, thermostat gasket, water pump gasket, fuel pump gasket, manifold gaskets, engine mountings, clutch and brake master and slave cylinder, brake hoses, brake servo, brake calipers, front brake discs and pads, wheel cylinders, rear brake shoes, front and rear shock absorbers, lower arm bush kit, suspension knuckle joints, rear radius arms, tie bar kit, CV gaiter kit, driveshaft gaiter, adjustable suspension cones, ball joint kit, front and rear hubs, subframe bushes, new clutch arm and release bearing, all new ignition items, rebuilt carbs, service items, new Yokohama tyres and many new rubbers, trims and seals.

The result is a beautifully prepared car with an outstanding, gleaming Acqua paint finish. The body did not require work due to low use since its 1990's rebuild so panels are excellent and straight, and the underside beautifully presented to a show level. The engine bay is excellent, the boot compartment superbly detailed and the interior is nicely finished many years on since a full re-trim. Mechanically the Mini Cooper S is excellent, its super fit and fantastic to drive. The engine is strong, feels quick and the gearbox offers lovely smooth changes. The handling is nice and tight, brakes fully rebuilt and sharp so the car offers a first class Mini driving experience. A huge level of work has gone into this car, its now ready to use and enjoy and is so much fun.