mk1-forum.net

Hi:
Great forum, new member, first post.
I have a Mk 1 Austin Cooper 998. Heritage Certificate says it was built in November 1965, specification RHD Export, and was exported to New Zealand the same month. Only factory option was the fresh air heater.
I am aware that export spec vehicles had some differences from those built for sale in the UK.
The car has no vinyl on dash rails or A pillars. There is no air tube through the engine bay and bulkhead to the heater - the large hole in the bulkhead for the air tube on UK cars is blanked over. The ID plate is riveted to the bonnet slam panel above the grill, as opposed to being adjacent to the radiator.
I am told that other cars arrived in NZ with similar features.
Can anyone confirm that this is how NZ Export spec cars were built at that time?
Would greatly appreciate any comments.
Cheers
Kevin

Hi & welcome inhere Kevin



Jens Christian

I can't confirm those specs for NZ but they sound exactly the same as cars exported to South Africa. Only difference by the sound of things is that over here the body coloured dash rails as A pillars on the Cooper and S models were dealt with by spraying them with a textured black paint.

NZ Coopers were the same as UK ones - have vinyl on the dash and A pillars and have the fresh air elephant trunk etc. Only difference is the front indicator lenses - NZ cars had clear glass and UK home market models had yellow (sidelight in the headlamp) and I think the NZ cars had the front tie down eyes where UK ones had plain bolts in the front subframe. Chassis plate was always on the rad shroud. Coopers were never assembled here in NZ unlike Oz and SA.

The blanking plate over the bulkhead hole was on locally assembled 850 cars - as they didn't have a fresh air heater. Local cars were spot welded where UK cars were spot and roller welded. You can see the roller welds along the gutter and the side seam where the chrome trim goes. UK had FE numbers next to chassis number and also front drivers side floor. Sometimes these go with rust repairs or front damage.

Coopers are 50yrs old now so lots of repairs, re-shells etc on a lot of them. There was a Mini specialist in Dunedin which rescued a lot of wrecked/raced Coopers in the 70's/80's and swapped shells with nice 850's etc. All seemed OK back then.

If you can post your FE number up Lefty someone will be able to date your car. As Graeme states above your car being UK built will be very little different than home market cars in '65 and should have hydrospasmic suspension, dash vinyl, boot brackets and have swivelly round sun visors.

My UK built 65 RHD Cooper S export to Hong Kong has the covered dash panels, VIN and FE plates on the slam panel, and a body colored cover over the big heater tube opening as it was delivered "less heater." All else appears to be identical to domestic market cars. The license plate panels were painted white with a four digit number painted in black...probably done locally in Hong Kong. Found Hong Kong coins just under the lip of the switch panel where they fall down from the front shelf.