1971 Mini Cooper S

The vendor, who ran an automotive garage and workshop for many decades, bought this 1971 Mini Cooper ‘S’ in 1973. It transferred from trade registration to his personal registration in 1993.

The car had been purchased new as one of a small fleet of Cooper ‘S’ cars for the CID squad at Liverpool and Bootle Constabulary.

We know this because the car is accompanied by a Police log book detailing every trip made by the car and noting any minor faults encountered along the way. 

Sadly, the log doesn’t contain any details of the numerous scouse scallywags who would have been nicked by burly officers leaping from this very car brandishing truncheons and hand-cuffs.

Now then.

The vendor is now in his 70s. Some 35 years ago he began to develop a bad back and reluctantly had to admit that the Mini wasn’t perhaps the best choice of vehicle for him. Consequently, this car has sat unused in a heated garage for all that time bar the occasional outing to a car show or local rally. 

He thinks it last had a short run out in 2018.

It has covered just 56,378 miles from new and is in remarkably solid, authentic, strong condition, having been well-maintained and carefully looked-after by trade professionals for the entirety of its particularly sedentary life.

And when we say sedentary, we really mean it: in 2006 the mileage was 55,928

We have driven the car and, aside from the fact that it needs a good service, it is an absolute pleasure to spend time behind the wheel. 

It has all the pep, balance, poise and nimbleness for which the Cooper ‘S’ was rightly famed, and it’s guaranteed to have you grinning from ear to ear in next to no time. 

There is a not displeasing whine from the gearbox, but it’s not one you need to worry about. That’s because this car has straight-cut drop gears and the noise is a trait, not a fault.

The car has an MoT certificate (with no advisories), valid until 4.7.24. 

The car has recently had a new battery fitted. Last year it had four new tyres. A year or two before then, it had new brake calipers fitted and had the braking system thoroughly overhauled.

Go back another 25 or so years and the car had new fuel tanks, front wings, door skins and sills fitted.

The condition of the bodywork is really very decent indeed and there are no creases, dents, crumples or other aberrations of significance in evidence.

The shut-lines and panel gaps are as consistent and even as they would have been when it left the factory in 1971.

The chrome work is in fine fettle throughout.

The wheels appear to be in good order.

The paintwork is a trifle flat, unsurprisingly given the car’s age, but it’s still held up pretty well.

There are a couple of very small dinks, some cracked paint and, possibly, a little bubbling in the n/s/f wing where it faces the passenger door. 

We found a couple of patches of micro-blistering on the black roof and some scuffs at the base of the front valance.

The car has a few stone chips here and there and some paint has rubbed away on the edges of the welded seams.

The mounting bar for the three spotlights is a bit scruffy.

It’s a similar story of honest, authentic originality on the inside.

Save for a small tear in the squab cushion of the driver’s seat, the vinyl upholstery is untroubled by the passage of time and is in decent nick, front and back.

The car comes with an alternative driver’s seat (and headrest) which was installed to help ease the vendor’s back.

The door cards are in very good order.

The headlining has a zip running across the centre of the roof, which would have been fitted to allow the Police access to the original roof-mounted blue light and comms antennae.

While intact and free of rips or tears, the headlining is a little scruffy and stained at the top of the ‘B’ pillars.

The carpets are mostly OK but have come unstuck and loose around the floor-mounted seat-belt brackets and the rear ashtray. There is a hole in the carpet to the right of the accelerator pedal.

Just to underline the time-warp status of this car, there’s an 8-track player and an accompanying ‘Hammond Organ Dance Party’ cassette.

The storage bin behind the driver’s seat is a little battered and bruised.

We found a couple of small holes in the dashboard trim above the central instrument binnacle, and some splits to the vinyl trim beneath it.

The boot is in good condition and the vendor tells us that he can provide the original boot board divider with the car.

We didn’t press every button, tweak every toggle or fiddle with every knob, but those we did press, tweak and fiddle with did as they were instructed without misbehaving.

Basically, it’s all really pretty good.

Everything in the engine bay appears clean, dry, right and proper, and the two extra head studs (designating the engine as an ‘S’ variant) are present and correct. 

The undersides of the car look to have a good deal of structural integrity and seem to us to be uncompromised by time, wear or use. 

Clearly, you’ll want to see for yourself.

This car comes with the original Police log book, plenty of MoT certificates, old tax discs and a few photographs. It also has multiple sets of keys. Please note that while the V5 document gives the body type as '4-door saloon', this appears to be a clerical error on the DVLA's part.

What it doesn’t have is a documented service history – and that’s because the man who’s owned it since 1973 had his garage and workshop do all the work. 

The vendor tells us that he’s more than happy to spend time telling the next owner all there is to know about the car.

If we know anything, we know that you’ll be waiting a very, very long time to find another original Cooper ‘S’ that’s been stored for the best part of 35 years and is in this kind of condition. 

It comes with very good provenance and just two owners from new: the Police and then a man who has kept it safe and out of harm’s way for 51 years.

It’s the real deal and we like it a lot.

We’re confident to offer this fine car for auction with an estimate of £17,000 - £22,000.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at the Bonhams|Cars Online HQ. Viewings are strictly by appointment. To make a booking, please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, and read our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.