It's been 5 years since I registered on this forum and this is my first post! It's never too late!
Well, I'm from France and I own a Mk1 Austin Cooper from 1967 (RHD).
I bought it years ago but due to other projects, it remained stored in a dry place.
As I've finished my last project (see here), I'm planning to start the restoration soon.
First, I'm trying to know more about my car.
Back in 1967, the Daily Mirror and Gillette organized a competition called "The Big Dig". It was a treasure hunt at Camber Sands on August 8, 1967: "The Big Dig Bank Holiday Competition for £60,000 worth of prizes". There was a selection of 100 competitors. Each competitor could be helped with one person of his choice. To be selected, people had to send a form on which they had to list five objects they would take on a desert island + one additional object and explain the reason for this last one. We'll focus here on a man named Cooper (I'm not joking!). Mr Cooper sent his form and said he would take a mosquito tent "Because it’s too hot to itch and I’m too lazy to scratch". He was then one of the 100 people selected for the treasure hunt at Camber Sands.
The beach was divided into squares and each square contained two boxes stuck in the sand. Competitors couldn't change square as long as the two boxes were not found.
Mr Cooper and his wife had a square near the water, which means wet sand so harder to dig. Mrs Cooper was very frail and become quickly exhausted. Mr Cooper never stopped digging and a few minutes before the gong, he found a box announcing he had won a Mini Cooper!
Mr Cooper loved his Mini Cooper and enjoyed every mile with it. He kept it until his death in 2000. When he died, his daughter (who married a French man and lives in France) knew the car was "special" and kept it in the family. After a few years, she realized she couldn't manage to restore it and decided to sell it. She wanted the Mini to go to a Mini enthusiast's home. And here I am!
Let's talk about the car itself now. I know only a few things but I'd love to know more about these 10 Mini Coopers and the best thing would be to find more Gillette Coopers (if there is more than one surviving car...).
The 10 cars were 1967 Austin Cooper 998cc. They were all built on the 31st of May 1967 as Tweed grey with OEW roofs Minis. On the 1st of June, they were dispatched to Kennings (London NW1) where they've been painted in silver. Note that only the exterior was painted. Interior, boot and engine bay are still Tweed grey. In his last years, Mr Cooper decided to repaint his car with a brush... That's why it looks drab.
I was told years ago by the Cooper Register that a 998 Cooper with a chassis number close from my Mini's left Longbridge at the same time, with Tweed grey and OEW roof colors. This car was registered PLM537E (Mine is PLM538E). I know that a chap named Tim Branigan used to own it. Then the car has been sold to someone else. By the time, the car had been painted dark blue. That's all I know. PLM537E gives nothing anymore in the DVLA base but the car was restored around 2000 so I bet it still exists. Tim Branigan and the next owner don't know anything about the Gillette past of this car.
In order to collect and centralize informations, I've just created this page on FB: https://www.facebook.com/Gillette-Austi ... 664643609/
Please have a look, like, and share. That will be the best way to get informations from people.
I'd love to be in UK to investigate about all this but I'm in France. So any help from enthusiast would be really appreciated.
A few pics now...
You'll find a few pictures taken on August 8, 1967 at Camber Sands here: http://www.alamy.com/search.html?qt=The ... day&imgt=0
I've found this on the internet. This episode is dedicated to the Gillette Big Dig Competition and I know Mr Cooper and his wife can be seen in it but I can't find a way to watch it! The links don't work.
Any help would be appreciated.
This picture was taken in August 1967. Mr Cooper had just won the Mini and made a trip to Scotland with it in the following days.
The car as it is today.
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