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Hi,

I am new to the forum, so I should probably introduce myself first.

I am Han, I live in the Netherlands and I recently picked up my Innocenti from Rome Italy. It’s an early MiniMinor 850 from 1965, which is in need of a restoration. Now I am wondering if I should make it more Cooper S like ( which was my plan when buying the Innocenti, to create a Innocenti Cooper S), or I should keep it as original as I can. I have been told that it is a rare car and I shouldn’t change too much on it. But I would really like your opinions as to what i should do.

So I hope you all can help me!

Welcome to the Mk1 Forum!
I would definitely keep it as an original early Innocenti Mini Minor 850 which is a rare car.

I love all the Innocenti details like the unique lights, boot lid, grille

I’d be tempted to keep it looking like an Innocenti 850 externally, and keep the interior the same too. An engine/brake/suspension upgrade would give you the driving experience of a Cooper S and that’s easy enough to return to stock in case you or a future owner ever wants to do

But it’s your car, and if you’ve always wanted to make a Cooper S replica then go for it

Gosh, short of pushing out that dent and giving it a polish....In the UK its not a resto unless it involves replacing the missing and rotten metal below the glazing pillars and swapping out the roof skin!
Do as you want with the car - providing you save all the 'original' bits so that it can be reverted at some point in the future if you decide, or the next owner has the option..

For heavens sake, keep it as the rare car that it is. Replica, fake, faux, copies etc etc of Innocenti Cooper S's are commonplace. But the real McCoys are rare (?). Much the same as your '65 850 is rare

I have to agree with those saying to keep it original. We don't have many 850 Innocentis in NL and I've always found it a shame to see the tarted up ones (like Brooks Classics build for instance). I'd much rather see a nice original one with all the right Inno parts on it than a modified one.

But as others have said a 1275 looks like an 850 to the untrained eye, maybe some 998 disc brakes to keep the front end track in check and it can be good to go.

But that is a great find and I look forward to hopefully seeing it at a club meet or out and about in NL. Whereabouts are you?

Hi wellcome to this forum, about your question. Keep it original but an engine upgrade is a good option.

Cheers, Kees.

Welcome to the forum! Lovely to see a nice inno on here.

Keep it as is, or pep it up a bit, but just enjoy it using it.

I’m a recovering purist…

Thank you all for your input! I am convinced that keeping (and making) it original is the right way forward, and a challenge in it’s self.

@InnoCooperExport I am living in Lisse

Mybe you could thinking of keeping it the way it is without "restoring" the looks form the past years.

Enjoy you Inno Mini and I hope to see it ver soon at a meeting in the Netherlands.

Kees.