1972 Austin Mini 1275GT Wood & Pickett

The eagle-eyed among you may have spotted that this car isn’t entirely complete at present.

Well, that’s not strictly true.

It is complete. It just isn’t assembled.

Supplied new to Wood & Pickett in 1971 and first registered in 1972, this Clubman 1275GT came with all manner of W&P bells and whistles and was one of the last cars to feature Hydrolastic suspension.

When W&P converted this car in 1971 they presented the owner with a bill for £1,376, which was not far off double the cost of the original car.

The current owner and vendor just happens to be the founder of The Market (and is therefore a fellow of impeccable character, judgement and taste…..or so he assures us).

He bought it as a fully working car about 5 years ago with a view to restoring it to a level far in advance of an earlier restoration carried out in the 1990s.

This became quite a big job, as you can see.

As he began to look under the skin it became apparent that there was rather more to do than he’d initially thought.

So, he took a deep breath and set about completely stripping the car down and systematically getting everything refurbished, rebuilt, restored or replaced as appropriate.

Some time later, having done most of the difficult and expensive stuff and getting the project to a point where the body is ready for preparing and painting, he has reluctantly decided that with other car builds reaching completion and his on-going commitments to multiple businesses, this is a project that deserves more time and attention than he’s currently able to commit.

So, now it’s your turn.

You’ll need to make decisions about the ultimate condition you’re after (what would you want to keep and use, what would you want to replace) and how much money you want to spend on trim, etc.

After that, what you’ll need is the ability, time and space to rebuild the car yourself or pay someone else to do it.

All and any rot has been attacked without mercy. New door skins have been fitted. The inner wings are new. All work was carried out using heritage parts by Andy Butcher, a hugely experienced restorer and a well-known name in Mini restoration circles.

Parts that needed dipping, blasting, grinding or welding have been thoroughly dipped, blasted, ground and welded.

New original 10” Dunlop alloys have been sourced and will accompany the 11” wheels that were on the car when the vendor bought it.

Everything else, though, is original, authentic and was in, on or under the car before it was disassembled.

The biggest decision you need to make about the bodywork is whether it should be black, white, shocking pink, polka dot, tartan…

As you can see from the overhead drone shot, this car is in bits.

All the bits are present and correct, including the interior. Some are refurbished. Some are new. But they’re all there.

Most are entirely original and authentic, right down to the leather upholstery (originally grey but since re-dyed maroon and a bit dusty in the pictures), the Webasto roof, the bespoke wooden dashboard, and the (rare as hens’ teeth) tinted privacy glass. Both front and rear screens are also present although not visible in the photos.

The engine was completely stripped and rebuilt by Roger Heavens (of Mini racing fame) in 2020 at a cost of £4,400.

The Hydrolastic suspension has been checked and refurbished where needed.

The sub-frames have been shot-blasted and painted, the floor panels and sills are new.

The vendor bought this extremely rare car (assembled, as evidenced in the accompanying photography) with a view to restoring it.

It came with original W&P paperwork and only 44k miles on the clock.

It comes with a selection of historic invoices and bills from its previous life.

The Mini is as much a defining symbol of the Swinging Sixties as the mini-skirt or the Zapata moustache.

And the ultimate, heady, indulgent expressions of this automotive icon are the bespoke specials produced by Wood & Pickett, Radford and the other Mini whisperers of the era.

This is a very rare car with good provenance and paperwork and one where all the really heavy lifting - sorting out the body, chassis, suspension and engine - has been done by someone else.

The potential car currently lying on the floor of our HQ could be transformed into the best concours-quality example of an original Wood & Pickett 1275GT Clubman in the UK - with most of the hard work already done.

Or you could aim slightly lower and end up with a thoroughly sorted car for everyday use. The choice is very much yours to make.

All you’ve got to do is put it together.

No, it doesn’t come with a set of instructions.

But you’ll soon know if you’ve gone wrong somewhere. If it starts looking more like a Lamborghini Miura or a Challenger tank, just retrace your steps and start again.

Come on. You know you want to.

How hard can it be?

We’re confident that this Wood & Pickett 1275GT Clubman-in-waiting is worth between £7,000 to £15,000 of anyone’s money although at no reserve it will sell from the very first bid.

Inspection is always encouraged (within Govt. guidelines of course), and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment 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, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.