Thanks Kerm. I think most people who own these and other classic cars do it because they truly enjoy them and enjoying meeting like minded people. My wife & I enjoy meeting them on weekends at local cars & coffee gatherings. Never once have I heard anyone saying anthing other nice, complimentary things about someones' pride and joy. I'm still learning about these classic Mini's and really appreciate people who offer their advice and expertise. We do the same for new owners of classic Porsches, 356, early 911's. Thanks again for your comment.

Bruce

Stu, what do you tell people it is?  It sounds like we need to see some pics here.

I'm going to wade in here, because I have a proper 66, I'm in the UK and mine is a weird reshell thing. 

In 03, I bought a mini for £1500. It was freshly restored and it was done up as a rally car....the owner decided that he wanted to do proper rallying, rather than rally minis. Anyway, it's a 66 mini super which had a whole set of cooper stuff bolted to it, apart from the registration document. It was basically a 998 cooper put into a 66 deluxe shell and the registration plate is an 850 deluxe. 

It's more honest than a lot of coopers and esses, because it is a whole bunch of parts chucked together. 

You can argue with me until the cows come home. If you reshell a monocoque car, it is no longer the car. The running gear/stuff are merely clothing. 

Still, you have these muppets paying £20k for a cooper s which is a load of ebay bits chucked into a Austin Seven shell or whatever. It's dishonest and the people who pay over the odds for these cars are mugs.

That's a great mini, but it is as much 66 as I am black man....(despite being able to do a hilarious jamaican accent)

this is a very interesting documentary that discusses some of the issues pointed out on this post. Is it better to restore a classic using original components or upgrade it'? can it still be considered a classic?

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouhdGnH1QmA

Agreed you should just enjoy the car for what it is. Although you make no reference to the year in your last post the original poster said that you claimed it was and is a 1966 which it is not, even the articles refer to the body as a mid nineties spi shell. BTW it is not just the doors that are different amongst other things hard and labour intensive to change are the rear 1/4 Windows (apertures), rear window size, roof gutter, inner radiator fender, front wings just to name a few.

I stand by the work being done by Downton on a mid nineties shell with it then being re vinned to get into the States as a 1966.

Enjoy it but when you order parts to save a few headaches find out what you really have cause it ain't no 66.

BRT356,  What a wonderful post re: the purists.  It should be posted yearly at least.  I cringe when reading posts that put down other peoples cars. 

Kerm

356, nobody is disparaging your car at all.  It's a lovely little Downton Club Sport 40.

A word of warning is that I bought a very expensive build (my first) at that same reputable Mini shop you mention.  

As part of the build the shop told me they swapped the vin number to make it look like an early Mk 3 though it was based on a 1988 shell.  This was to protect the new owner (me) from DMV paperwork showing that I'd bought a non 25-year car in California.  I didn't know better; it was my first collector car.

The kind that the People's Republic of California is doing this to at the rate of ten a week: //flic.kr/p/oz6GDD

This is not a rare thing in the mini world, and that's why this thread got straight into it.

Wrong - try Mini Magazine, September 2002.

Shame on all of you "purist" for your disparaging posts regarding our classic "Downton" Mini. My wife and I purchase this beautiful car from a well respected, reputable Mini shop in Costa Mesa, CA. It's a beautiful car, runs great, handles great and has never been presented as anything other than a beautiful, great running and handling classic Mini. 

I have come across comments like those some of you have posted here in the Porsche club. These so called experts, who turn up their "I know more about everything [insert marque] than you" noses to anything other than a numbers matching, factory virgin car. I remember a time, when anyone daring to alter the lineage or heritage of a Porsche 356 deemed it an “outlaw” car unfit to co-mingle with the “real” cars. Really!? Are your guys ex-Porsche purist or do you consider yourselves Mini Purists. Is there a car halo circling overhead when you look at yourselves in the mirror? [smile] If not, perhaps you might want to pause a moment, stop trashing other peoples cars and start inviting them into the Mini community. 

When we drive our beloved little Mini, it puts a huge smile on our face and not surprisingly, to passerby's who could care less that our car is a "factory virgin" or one that has been restored to a high degree of drivability. When we go to Cars & Coffee gatherings thankfully, the vast majority or people we meet, you know actually car enthusiast, could car less if a Ford hotrod is equipped with a small block Chevy drivetrain, let alone if the Downton Engineering company still retains its pure engineering heritage and workforce from the '60-70’s and/or whether our car is “real” or “imagined”.

This car is, what it is. A beautiful, fun, comfortable, enjoyable driving, classic Mini that has gone through some changes since it drove off the assembly lines in England or elsewhere around the world. We feel no need to justify its existance or pedigree and make no claims as to what it was then or what it is now. Speculate all you want. 

For those of you interested in reading more about this car, Mini Magazine did a feature article and presented this car on its September 2002 cover. It’s a nice read and explains the backstory. So for all you naysayers, all knowing, speculators who salivate at the prospects of fueling the fires of discontent, go ahead, read it if you dare. For the rest of you who have been kinder in your remarks - thanks, I look forward to meeting you some day and talking these great little cars. 

Happy Motoring.

I've been to dozens of hot rod shows where people are very proud of their '32 Fords. You know, the ones with the fiberglass body, the Mustang II suspension, and the small block Chevy. Try convincing those guys they don't have a '32 Ford.

Yes, it is a re-VIN, but either he purposely left off one letter or it has a wonky number on it.  It is an early VIN number but should have started with M/A2S4 instead of simply A2S4.  MK1 Morris Minis were S4 (series 4) where Austins were S7 (series 7).

typical conversation about my pickup :

"No i didnt chop the back off"

Typical conversation about my Moke;
"No, it's not a kit. It was built on the same production line as the original Mini...."

"Oh, a Mini Cooper?"

"Yeah"
(I've grown weary of explaining to folks that a Mini Cooper is a rare beast. Something like a Shelby Mustang. Today all the MINIs sold in the US are MINI Coopers... because everybody wants to feel "special")

To "Joe Public" we ALL drive mini coopers.  It just depends on how much time you have to explain, in my case, why it says 'clubman estate' on the car!  

Anyone who buys a revin must accept the risk that at any time the car could be confiscated and crushed.  It's a shame this happens, but is it really worth the financial risk?  All it takes is one cop or DMV employee that knows the score to ruin your day.

If you read the mechanics testament he posted "it started life as an spi injected car" so the answer to your question is yes.

this guy has posted the vin in his ebay listing. Would someone decode it please? Another late model fuel injected car with an early vin plate?

//www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-Cooper-Rebuilt-to-late-model-Mini-Copper-Specs-1960-Mini-Cooper-Street-Rod-108-HP-/121382952776?forcerrptr=true&hash=item1c42fcdf48&item=121382952776&pt=US_Cars_Trucks

Very true Ian, but it has to pretend to be something else for another 7 years or so as it is utterly illegal.

IMHO instead of running down his misapprehension we should be celebrating what he really has.... which is a rather rare bespoke special.  

Downton was just one of several firms in the late 90s turning basic Rover products into "tribute" specials .... which included interptratations of the original Broadspeeds.   Some at  significant cost.

A very nice car that doesn't need to pretend to be something it isn't - because its special in its own right.

Cheers, Ian

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