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Hi, Can someone tell me what the "FE number" stamped on a small plate attached to the inner wing above the radiator represents?.

The FE is "F"ront "E"nd assembly, the experts can date the body from the numbers.

These are not in any logical order.

JC T ONE wrote:The FE is "F"ront "E"nd assembly, the experts can date the body from the numbers.

These are not in any logical order.

Many thanks for the reply, so are there records of which body number/chassis number had which FE number at the time of the build?

For the most part there is no record of what FE Number goes with which chassis number but FE Numbers can be dated quite accurately.

I startet a rebuild of my rally '62 Cooper and found this.



According to heritage cert. the body has A.O. 29 75 33



/Kenneth

Simon776 wrote:For the most part there is no record of what FE Number goes with which chassis number but FE Numbers can be dated quite accurately.

...isnt that whats eluded to in parnells book ?.. flitch panel numbers dont corrolate if thats the right word or have any significance unlike engine and comm numbers ??...foxy52

have any significance.

As Simon has made clear above, FE numbers weren't recorded in the factory, but their meaning is far from being "insignificant" to those few people (like him) who have taken the time to correlate these numbers by date.

An FE number can be an excellent pointer to whether a car is write or wrong.

mk1 wrote:have any significance.

As Simon has made clear above, FE numbers weren't recorded in the factory, but their meaning is far from being "insignificant" to those few people (like him) who have taken the time to correlate these numbers by date.

An FE number can be an excellent pointer to whether a car is write or wrong.

...aahh sooooo !..so the flitch/inner wing section number is not only a good indicator of when it was made but also dating the whole front end assembly and ultimately the cars finishing and coming off the production line.. so from that parts manufacture to the whole thing being put together would be within 4-8 weeks then... ??...tks....foxy52

mk1 wrote:have any significance.
An FE number can be an excellent pointer to whether a car is write or wrong.

Right or wrong in what way?
"Date" of production?
Sureley it must be impossible to tie an identety of a car up to a specific FE-number!

If I've understod this correctly - all the various saloon-models came of the same production line and in random order according to customer-ordres.
FE numbers on the other hand, were just a continuing number-series - no? (if not - how would it be possible to "date" a chassis?)

Surely it must be impossible to tie an identity of a car up to a specific FE-number!

It seems that Kenneth might have one of those cars where the FE Number is recorded in the production record as the Body Number so, no, it is not impossible.

FE297533 was attached to an Austin Cooper built mid March 1962 but as Kenneth has that on his Heritage Certificate as the Body Number (even though the actual plate indicates 297537 - the production records were handwritten so not infallible) then it is one of those cars. A 'normal' or 'correct' Cooper body number of that time would be around 3500.

For the most part, an FE Number does not tell you what model of Mini a bodyshell is from, just a very close indication of when it was built. Saloon, Estate, Van, Pick-up and most Elf and Hornet all share the same FE Number sequence.

PM sent Simon


Ian

A 'normal' or 'correct' Cooper body number of that time would be around 3500.

?? Could you explain that - I'm a bit confused!? The car is a real Cooper.

I added my heritage cert. to my original post.

As I remember - the cert. was made based on a bodynumber and my swedish papers. Cars in sweden (from that period) does not have chassis numbers stamped in the car.

Regards

Kenneth

Kenneth I'm not doubting that your car is an original Cooper.

At around the time your car was built some of the records were written by a different (presumably new to Mini's) person and they recorded the FE Number as the Body Number. This is why it is incorrect to say that FE Numbers were never recorded.

The Heritage Certificate is wrong to quote 'A.0.' as the prefix for your body number of 297533 - it is just that most Cooper body numbers start 'A0'.

By the way the engine number is wrong as well! Should be 9F-SA-H4581.

A 63 Cooper with a 65 FE number, no matter how convincingly done can identify a reshell whether the owner likes it or not.

Simon776 wrote:

Surely it must be impossible to tie an identity of a car up to a specific FE-number!

It seems that Kenneth might have one of those cars where the FE Number is recorded in the production record as the Body Number so, no, it is not impossible.

FE297533 was attached to an Austin Cooper built mid March 1962 but as Kenneth has that on his Heritage Certificate as the Body Number (even though the actual plate indicates 297537 - the production records were handwritten so not infallible) then it is one of those cars. A 'normal' or 'correct' Cooper body number of that time would be around 3500.

For the most part, an FE Number does not tell you what model of Mini a bodyshell is from, just a very close indication of when it was built. Saloon, Estate, Van, Pick-up and most Elf and Hornet all share the same FE Number sequence.

Great info simon,..if a tad confusing,.. so any FE number because of records u have made/put together can give an approximate date a mini was prob put together ??..its doesnt i.d a specific model ie cooper , van etc etc... whereas a comm number and engine number does pinpoint a particular model...??...its not possible to give an accurate FE number to an owners car if he gives u an engine or commision number then ??...its also only a number plate that can gives detailed info on a heritage certificate ??.. or is it just that the number plate recorded can quote the engine and commision number for a specific car.. i have all of those shown on my heritage certificate but no FE number... rgds foxy52

No offence guys - but I am still a bit confused and try to understand this.

Simon: Would a ´62 Cooper have a FE number in the 3500 numbers?

Mark: Do you believe my car has been reshelled?

Regards

Kenneth

another point would be that many many cars that have had new/replacement panels ie the flitch /inner nearside wing or whatever its called..due to severe rusting/damage etc etc... would have lost the original FE number forever unless it was peeled/taken off and retained at the time of replacement section/rebuild...never mind a completely new shell?...foxy52

Kenneth, what Simon said was that your FE number was recorded as the body number and the body number was never recorded.

The body number on your car should be in the 3500 range.

The records (heritage certificate) show a prefix of A0 and then the FE number... this was someone's mistake.

Imagine the following car:
- FE200
- body number A010

Someone recorded the body number as A0200

That's why your recorded body number is so high. The only thing wrong are the records made in the 60s. I think this is what Simon is trying to explain.

ricardo wrote:
Kenneth, what Simon said was that your FE number was recorded as the body number and the body number was never recorded.

The body number on your car should be in the 3500 range.

Shame that BMC / BL fitted the body no, in such a vulnerable place.

So many cars have lost their body no, becourse of rust or accident repairs, when a new front end was fitted.

A few body shops transfer the plate to the new front, but only a very few .

I also have a 1966 Volvo 122 Sport, on these cars the chassi & body codes, are stamped into the bulkhead.

Here is Aus the FE number is commonly used instead of the chassis number to register UK-built Minis. The chassis number on the chassis place is considered unacceptable by our authorities as it is not stamped/welded to the bodyshell.