The dates of manufacture, registration etc are all over the place Advert says 64, DVLA says 65 and french docs don't corroborate anything. Under wing not showing shock absorber mounts but underbonnet not showing hydro pipes. very strange.
I have a car that is a week earlier than this one. Never welded or messed with / one owner etc. That too has the 'mid changes' mixed set up such as door lights, stabilised speedo etc and yet, the older style sun visors and metal mirror.
My observation is that's its not made 100% clear as to whether its been re,shelled ,only that its the correct age shell, or am I missing something
To be fair it’s the last thing sellers usually want to talk about. It’s VERY rare for a seller to admit their £40k Cooper S has been reshelled because it’s the quickest way to put off a buyer. I speak from experience.
I wondered if it was a dual country car (two cars) as was still registered in UK, but I dont think it is - I had missed the log book and restoration photos on my phone.
Even if it was converted to dry, being a 970 this may of happened very early in its life, for competition or fast road use.
your car was built on the cusp of a change, and some documentation suggests that it was originally hydrolastic, not dry suspension. My Morris 850 is a week older than yours and has hydrolastic. We are a very careful bunch on here I'm afraid, and double check everything.
I think the car has sold now so this may not matter?
What photos do you need about my car. Why you write the body was changed?
Regards
[/quote
Shell "number", different from body number is of a proper 970 Cooper.
I would get this statement above changed to
"This car still retains its original Shell"
Maybe who ever wrote it translated slightly wrong, but it only states its an original 970 shell, which could be from a different car. You may possibly get more bids if this was changed so bidders are 100% sure
Hi Nick and folks, had a bit of nice chat with the vendor and discussed different aspects of his car. The shell is definitely that cross over period of a few weeks when the old metal mirror and small visors sat alongside a voltage regulated electrical system and a hydro type rest of the shell. The heritage cert says it was despatched with the original type oil cooler, and that is still on the car.
The new front panel with its diagonal (later oil cooler clearance) in the pic may throw the eye however, but as we know from some these hybrids, when built dry they used the hydro pipe brackets for the fuel line. Anyway, it all looks spot on to me. I suspect it was marked down for hydro, but in the end had the last of the dry set ups? Just a guess of course.
Pretty rare beast then? I hope Simon may come along and confirm, as he too has a crossover car from that period in late 64.