Moral dilemma

[abri]

I'm sitting in a situation where I may have to make a hard decision. I have two minis. The one is an early '65 Austin Mini 850 with totally original and matching everything except for seats and door cards that have been re-upholstered. Couple of tiny spots of rust on the floor, minor surface rust elsewhere. "Time warp" originality except for the seats and door cards.

The second one is a late '66 Austin Cooper S 1275 with significantly more rust (although not too bad), on its 3rd coat of paint in an unoriginal colour, 12G940 head, 22G1128 gearbox, no matching dates anywhere except for the wiper motor, re-upholstered seats & door cards in the wrong colour, completely incorrect roof lining and interior trim, new (ish) non-mini carpets, missing boot board, missing engine number plaque, missing chassis number plaque (but verified as original).

I cannot find an original roof liner or aluminium tread plates or parcel shelf liner or dash liner, door & side window rubbers, steering wheel & wiring loom for a MK1 in South Africa. Do I give up the originality of the 850 and put its original parts (listed in the previous sentence) in the Cooper S for the sake of restoration or leave the 850 alone?

[pad4]

mk1 1275 S - everyones got one

original unmolested 850 mini - tiz a rare thing ....

[IAIN]

I had a similar situation 15 years ago. S's were still worth more then basic models back then. I didn't do the obvious,I kept the unmolested car, I am very glad I did. You can't fake originality.

If your rebuild has to be another shell, just wait, one will turn up eventually.

[coopertim]

i can only agree with the previous comments. An original car has a certain feel about it, it would be a shame for such a car to be lost in order to give the illusion of an original 'S' The unmolested humble 850 is becoming a rarity nowadays which is a great shame.

All the best. Tim.

[abri]

Ok, that was what I thought as well.

I'm just afraid there is no way in hell I'm ever going to get the right interior trim for an SA cooper S. I will post some pics of the roof lining fabric and you can tell me whether its the same as UK. Same with the floor carpets and linings.

These are examples of what I need (taken in an original SA spec Morris 1071 S)

Roof lining


Roof & C pillar


Dash & parcel shelf lining


Floor trim

[mk1]

I agree, original is original. If your S is that far off being right it never will be again. No point ruining a really nice original car just to get your S a bit closer to being right.

[wolseley 1000]

abri,
as you are an expert in S.A. cars I would ask you for a personal favour. I´m collecting parts for my Wolseley 1000 at the moment and basicly have got everything I need for the restoration. I have even found some of the missing basket weave vinyl in the correct color for the seat trim! The only thing missing is a pair of correct sun visors in that particular pattern like the shown C-post trim. If you ever find some of these please let me know.

btw, please keep the 850

[abri]

Hi Wolseley,

I might actually have an extra pair of those. Will check when I get home today.

I take it that means this roof lining and c-post trim was also unique to SA cars? That would significantly reduce the possible sources

Where did you find all these SA spec parts? Please share your contacts with me.