The Roaring Season

Sorry Bryan, my mistake. The later model English Minis with wind up wndows and no quarter lights had hidden hinges and the Aussie ones stayed external.

Allan wrote:Sorry Bryan, my mistake. The later model English Minis with wind up wndows and no quarter lights had hidden hinges and the Aussie ones stayed external.

This was an Australian built 1966 Mini Cooper 1275S I owned from 1968 to 1970(then I got married!)




You can see the quarter-light and wind-up windows.
Also the twin fuel tanks/filler caps, which I think were only an Aust feature. They used to cause a bit of consternation at gas stations at times - "which one do I put it in?"

We didn't get to see Bryan's picture of the French Mini at Bathurst 1966 - maybe not the same car as in earlier posts.

Stu

Twin tanks were a feature on Cooper S in all countries- saw a blue one in Crimea in 2007 . Had twin tanks, sliding windows, was LHD, and.mph speedo.
Interesting Stu-yours has Mini, when the Poms had Austin in that written script. Morris were like Frenchs in block letters.

John French was driving a 1964 Morris Cooper S in the 1964 Australian Touring Car Championship and as the car at Baypark in 1968 has the "droopy" door handle, bumper over-riders and the big hinged rear side window it could be the same car. (At least on the outside !)

(Ken Hyndman )

The one I owned from 68 to 70 (I think from memory it was a 67 version) was English but it had only one tank which was a pain because if I kicked it along a bit I had to refuel every 200 miles. It also had a close ratio straight cut gearbox from new which made a horrendous noise until I fitted extra sound deadening to the flour. Strangely I also had to sell it to get married.

I have a (Genuine) 1962 Austin Cooper that had a 997 engine and now has a whopping 998 cc (1986 year ) engine and 4 speed syncro gearbox..
It has been a project car but it is now enjoying life. It is a LHD version that was built for the North American market in Feb. 1962.
It still has the original Lucas wiring harness ! Hey if it ain't broke (or burnt ) why fix it !





(Ken Hyndman )

Our family car was 1964 Austin Cooper S......English 1275S with only one tank....I thought that the twin tanks were an option on the early ones. Cheers, Bruce

Your 1964 Cooper S family car would be worth a "mint" over here now.
You are correct regarding the fuel tank as it was an option on the Cooper S models only and became standard fitment from January 1966.
I had enough trouble with my one tank when I had to change the left rear shock and all the tank fittings and straps were rusted etc !
The sender has never been accurate since, so the old marked bamboo stick is a most important tool. I don't leave home without it.

( Ken Hyndman )

John McKechnie wrote:Twin tanks were a feature on Cooper S in all countries- saw a blue one in Crimea in 2007 . Had twin tanks, sliding windows, was LHD, and.mph speedo.
Interesting Stu-yours has Mini, when the Poms had Austin in that written script. Morris were like Frenchs in block letters.

My 66 Cooper must have been suffering from an identity crisis. As you can see, it had an 'Austin-Cooper' badge on the bonnet and 'Mini Cooper S' on the boot. As I recall it (45 years later), I bought it from an English chap who lived at Albany(NZ) and who was an Austin enthusiast, probably from an earlier time when the companies' made different cars from each other. Accordingly he put an 'Austin-Cooper S' badge in place of the Morris one. I had a feeling that Australian Cooper S cars were only branded Morris, but I could easily be very much mistaken. Some Coopers had block capitals on the boot rather than written script, were they English-built?

Stu

Ken-my Dad was an Ear , Nose and Throat Surgeon and in the 60s-80s used to go to California every 2 years for the latest conference.
When there, the other surgeons had Coopers to zoom around in, they could avoid the motorway traffic, drive on foot paths, easy to park etc. No one wanted to drive around in big long Caddys. When one of his friends came over to stay with us, he saw my 1967 Cooper S which I was racing 72-75 and he was rapt, even wanted to buy it. Coopers were common , a S was rare, he liked the twin tanks.

Back to Baypark. Dec. 1968.
This shows three of the US entries in the first Formula 5000 race in NZ. (Formula A in USA )
Closest car is the Sceptre HR 1 driven by Ron Grable. It has the number 8 bodywork on it but it raced and won as number 1.
Next to it is the Eisert 67 driven by Stew McMillen number 5 (This is the car that Dennis Marwood would drive for the Rorison Team in 1969.
The white car at the end is the LeGrand FA67 driven by Rex Ramsey.

Again note the work conditions, out in the sand and a few blocks of wood !



(Ken Hyndman )

The day after the racing my mate and I went down to the Mount and found the Grable car sitting in the local garage on the corner of Maunganui road and Salisbury. No one seemed to care as we poked around and then climbed in and dreamed of what it was like to be a race driver. This was about as close as I ever got to the real action !



Photo altered to hide my identity !

(Ken Hyndman )

October 1969.
Dennis Marwood now driving this Eisert 67 Formula 5000 car. This car began as an Indy car and raced twice at Indianapolis in 1967 and 1968. It was a mean looking machine and was nicknamed the " Fat One". This photo shows why !





Dennis Marwood was always friendly and ready to share his knowledge and experiences.

( That was due to his Morrinsville area upbringing no doubt ! )


( Ken Hyndman )

Gee Ken you have got some interesting stories ..re the Gable f5000 etc....plus plus...... hey as for Dennis....I have meet him a couple of times really nice down to earth guy I have bought a few carbs etc from him ...... they [racing drivers] are no different to u & I its all perception we are all brothers from an other mother .............

Any takers for what car in Team Cambridge colours is behind Dennis?-Andersons BMW maybe

stubuchanan wrote:

My 66 Cooper must have been suffering from an identity crisis. As you can see, it had an 'Austin-Cooper' badge on the bonnet and 'Mini Cooper S' on the boot. As I recall it (45 years later), I bought it from an English chap who lived at Albany(NZ) and who was an Austin enthusiast, probably from an earlier time when the companies' made different cars from each other. Accordingly he put an 'Austin-Cooper S' badge in place of the Morris one. I had a feeling that Australian Cooper S cars were only branded Morris, but I could easily be very much mistaken. Some Coopers had block capitals on the boot rather than written script, were they English-built?

Stu

its got a morris grill

Aussie cars had this grille, The Mini K , Aussie special with a 1100 in it also had this grille

John McKechnie wrote:Any takers for what car in Team Cambridge colours is behind Dennis?-Andersons BMW maybe

Reckon so John, not many other cars had those horrid square windows...

Rodger Anderson did an outstanding job driving this car. It was always consistently quick and well prepared. They probably did not get much factory support back then as 10 years earlier BMW had almost closed down due to bankruptcy and the motorsport division would not be a priority during the recovery period.
This 1969 BMW 2002 Ti had a 2 litre engine with twin Solex PHH side-draft carburetors.
See my attached photo.
I guess it had an electric fan to cool as needed as I do not see a regular engine fan.



(Ken Hyndman )

Allan wrote:Sorry Bryan, my mistake. The later model English Minis with wind up wndows and no quarter lights had hidden hinges and the Aussie ones stayed external.

My first car was a 1968 Aussie Mini Deluxe. iirc they also got the remote gearchange on all models before the Poms did. Went quite well after I fitted a big-valve Cooper head that someone had ported and polished. Dynoed 58bhp at the wheels, kept up with Escort Sport 1600 around Ruapuna. :-)