Legacy Mini

Aquiring the 1969 Mini would be quite the coup. Especially for a first-time Mini Owner. My father didn't have a chance to own such a specimen until his 50s - and he's spent much of his life driving and restoring Minis both in the UK and here in Canada.

His last Mini was a 1967 Cooper S. He bought it as a burned out shell, the victim of an insurance fraud fire at a used car dealership. He was able to trace the history back to the original owner and even got in contact with the man after the restoration was complete; he learned that an old pipe-cleaner, mysteriously found in the car once all the interior had been removed, actually belonged to the original owner who still smoked a pipe!

I helped with a couple things during the restoration: disassembling part of the rear sub-frame and searching Mini Spares for windscreen and window glass stamped with the appropriate date-markers (tiny white dots above or below different letters on the safety registration stamp. This took the better part of a day's work and we managed to find almost every pane from a first-quarter 1967 production run.)

But that was pretty much the extent of my involvement. Even so, I was seriously disappointed when I learned a few years later through my brother (my dad and I have gone through long periods of non-contact), that after my dad returned to Canada from the UK, he sold the cherished '67 S to an American from Texas.

If the Old British Guy decides to sell his 69 Cooper (and if I'm lucky enough to be able to afford the car and restoration) - that sucker's staying in the family.

Luckily, my brother and his wife just had a baby girl so now there's actually someone to pass it on to...