The Mini Library Reviews...

Mini Cooper - The Real Thing.
by J Tipler

This book is nicely presented, with a stitched spine, and high quality glossy paper making for a long life expectancy. John Cooper provides a potted history of the Mini Cooper in just four pages of Foreword, liberally peppered with the famous names who've become so driving Coopers....he seems surprised that the Mini has lasted so long, and even more so that it is a cult car in Japan. (I would say it's a cult car in more places than that!!) With this preface by the master, John Tipler sets out to provide 'the extraordinary story of an extraordinary car'.

The text begins with a Mini geneology chart, a long list of acknowledgements, notably a number of Rover staff, and a contents page of the 13 Chapters and 7 Appendices. Resisting the temptation to skip directly to Appendix 4 'Spot the Fake', I turned instead to the Introduction.....it and the successive chapters are treated sequentially below:

Introduction

Tipler admits he wasn't a contemporary Miniac, but was rapidly converted after driving a '90's Cooper S courtesy of Rover's PR Department. He gives a brief history of the introduction of the Mini, the trendiness of it in the 60's, and the demand for a go-fast version which led to the development of the Cooper. An interesting snippet I learned was that Mins were referred to as 'Min-Bins' or 'Bins' in the UK. In contrast, in Oz the common term of endearment (or not!) was 'Brick', given the perception of hurtling red Minis as having the aerodynamics of flying house-bricks....'Hot Brick Clubs', of course, soon appeared.

Ch. 1 In the Beginning: Sir Alec Issigonis

Describes the engineering ingenuity of Issigonis, a 'natural genius', notes his achievements preceding the Mini, notably in suspension and drive trains, which he tested by taking up sprinting and hill-climbing in a two seater. The Morris Minor was his first major design success, which he followed with the Mini in response to the 'invasion of Teutonic and Italian' bubble cars. Some of his now-famous sketches are included, and 1/2 page photos of the first produciton Morris and Austin Coopers.

Ch. 2 The Cooper Story

Some of the design faults in the early Minis get a mention, particularly the ingress of water, which took three months and a redesign of the floor to solve. It seems that a Cooper Mini was inevitable given the long association of Cooper and Issigonis in competition, and John Cooper's use of the A-series engine in Formula Junior racing cars. It wasn't long before Cooper had his contract drivers, Jack Brabham and Bruce McLaren, in Minis, and was busily installing Formula Junior engine parts....designing a remote gearchange, and convincing Lockheed that disc brakes could be fitted to the tiny 10" wheels.....enter the Mini Cooper! The rest of this chapter is devoted to model changes as the 997 cc became 1071 cc, 998 cc, 970 cc and 1275 cc, the brake discs were enlarged, hydrolastic suspension was introduced, twin tanks fitted. The demise of the Cooper came with Lord Stokes' winding up of the Competition Department in cost-cutting by the new British Leyland Motor Corporation, and decision not to renew the consultancy agreement with John Cooper in 1971. BL's GT Clubman is seen as a poor substitute for the real thing.

Ch. 3 Production History and Evolution

Chronology and detail changes are given for UK production of: Mk 1 Cooper July '61-Nov. '63 (997 cc) and Nov. '63-Sept. '67 (998cc); Mk 1 Cooper S Apr. '63-Aug'64 (1071 cc), Apr. '64-Aug. '67 (1275 cc) and June '64-Apr. '65 (970 cc); Mk 2 Cooper (Oct. '67-Nov. '69); Mk 2 Cooper S (Oct, '67-Mar. '70); Mk 3 Cooper S (Mar. '70-June '71). Engine and chassis numbers are given for each model, and the specific interior and exterior features distinguishing it. Very well detailed for UK production. The Mk 1-3 Innocenti Coopers rate a couple of pages, with a summary of their features, but production elsewhere, notably Australia, where >6000 Coopers were built, is not mentioned. A very useful chapter for determining the pedigree of an English Cooper, although only external photographs, and small black & white at that, are used. Colour, and interior shots of each model, would have added appreciably to this chapter.

Ch. 4 Building the Cooper

Not often seen in Mini books, this tour of the Longbridge assembly line has 10 half-page photos of Mini is various stages of assembly, and a text which details the difficulties of cramming even more into the same small space. The robotic assembly lines of other marques simply are not feasible with the Mini, and much of the 50 man hours required to assemble each Mini is still done the old-fashioned way - 'by hand' - explaining also why (as we Miniacs knew anyway!) no two Minis are the same. Interestingly, some of the work force have been assembling Minis for >20 years , and there is a strong sense of history on the Mini production line.

Ch. 5 Paddy Hopkirk Profile

Paddy Hopkirk's successes in international rallying in the 60's Works Coopers are legend, however he was axed from BL's Competition Department in 1970. He went on to set up an accessories business, employing some 200 people at the time this book was written. Rover asked him back for the 1994 Monte Carlo Rally - see the April and May issues of MiniWorld for the full story! (The Coopers finished....)

Ch. 6 Rallying

Begins with some of the disappointments of the early underpowered Mini in rallying, noting that 'when the Mini got the power it deserved in the S-type, it was near to uncatchable.' All of the famous names in rallying are here in detail - 25 pp. of exploits of Aaltonen, Mäkinen, Easter, Hopkirk, Liddon, among others. The Min's successes on the Monte Carlo rally are detailed, as is the notorious 1966 disqualification and other dodgy decisions which mitigated against the very successful Min's. A good historical read, and some good pics, albeit b&w, of rally cars in action.

Ch. 7 Racing

Proving that 'the girls' could be up there with 'the boys' Christabel Carlisle's exploits racing Minis in the early '60's are described. The world's fastest piano teacher in a Mini?! Lots of action photographs at Silverstone, Goodwood, Nürburgring, both Works cars and other fast Minis. Some of the names: Warwick Banks, John Handley, Ralph Broad, John Fitzpatrick, John Rhodes, Steve Neal, Gordon Spice, John Cooper.

Ch. 8 Super Coopers: Cooper Specials & Specialists

Examples of some variations on a Mini theme in 17 pp, some with double-spread full colour pics...the MG Mini, an alloy bodied Pininfarina-deigned coupe, the turbocharged Era M1, lowslung Mini Marcos and even lower Deep Sanderson, the 'curvaceous' Ogle Mini, various Radford cars (including specifications of the Radford Mini De Ville). A potted history is given of some of the super tuners...Downton Engineering, Broadspeed, Taurus and Speedwell, John Cooper, Lawrencetune, Hack KNight Developments, Janspeed, Kent Automotive Developments, David Vizard, Oselli, Minisprint Engineering Developments. Other performance suppliers are mentioned. A useful summary of the who's who in 'quicker' Mini historical development.

Ch. 9 Coopers Ancient and Modern

Tipler's views on modern Coopers were gained from driving a loan car from the Longbridge PD department - he found some of the features of the modern Cooper 'positively third world'! He also did a comparative test of a 20 year old Cooper S against a modern hatch - a Citroën AX GT - noting that they were 'chalk and cheese', but - 'I'd say go for the Cooper S and put a smile back on your face.' Good photographic reproductions of period advertising, and some new Cooper adverts.

Ch. 10 Buyer Beware!

A two-page spread on what to look for when buying a Cooper...the increasing value of Coopers prompts the unscrupulous to rip off less well-informed punters...even some well-informed are conned by devious swaps, faked logbooks or other records, swapped ID or compliance plates, etc. Parnell's 'The Mini Cooper - A Buyer's Guide' from the Mini Cooper Register, is recommended. Adequate chapter in the context of the book, but a dedicated Cooperphile will go for Parnell's 'Original Mini Cooper and Cooper S' for the details of UK models. Oz and other non-UK produced cars are seriously neglected, and require their own volume!

Ch. 11 Restoration

A summary of restoring variously eroded Coopers, particularly the most vulnerable points for corrosion. Of necessity brief, but a common sense approach - when does it become more economical to re-shell a basket case than to carry out surgery of rotten sections and weld in new sections?

Ch. 12 Cooper Comeback

The late '80's-early '90's upsurge of interest in the Mini Cooper must be seen in no small part to be the responsibility of John Cooper, who had been shipping Cooper conversion kits to Japan for some time. He attributes the rebirth of the Cooper to this continued Japanese interest. It was Rover Japan which prompted installation of the 1000 cc Metro engine in a Mini Mayfair for shipping to the Japanese market. Eventually the factory took notice and started making a Cooper of its own utilizing the MG Metro engine.
This brief section (6 pp.) recounts the revitalized Cooper, the development of the Mini Cabriolet, and notes the impending entry of Paddy Hopkirk in the 1994 Monte Carlo Rally - 30 years after his historic win!

Ch. 13 Future Cooper

Reviews the drawbacks of the Mini in modern auto design terms...noisy, dated A series engine, and so on, but because the Mini was never styled in the first place, and never tried to follow fashion, it still doesn't look out of date. Tipler queries whether Rover would address the problems and give the Mini an extended lifespan? As we now know, BMW's acquisition of Rover Group and infusion of capital into the Mini has ensured our favourite car will be around into the next century.

Appendix 1 Going Clubbing

8 p. summary of UK and international Mini Clubs, mention of Mini World magazine, which first appeared in the summer of 1991, and a directory of selected Mini clubs in most countries. Not an exhaustive list - Tipler notes that there are ca. 85 Mini Clubs in the UK - only 5 are listed.

Appendix 2 Works Cars Competition Results

A comprehensive 9 page tabulation of Works cars placings...Austin Sevens, Morris Mini Minors, Cooper and Cooper S and Clubman GT 1959-1970, including a page on the Works Cooper Rally wins, 1962-67.

Appendix 3 Specialist Addresses

Only 10 from the multitude in current Mini magazines are listed.

Appendix 4 Spot the Fake

What to look for to determine if a particular Cooper is genuine: cylinder head casting numbers, shape and stud numbers, gearbox casing numbers, distributor identification, transmission ID, SU carburettor tags, glass codes; Relevant to UK production only, and no substitute for Parnell's detailed treatment.

Appendix 5 Original Road Test Data

October 1961 road test of Austin Seven Cooper.

Appendix 6 Paint and Trim

Lists body colours and trim of Mk 1, Mk 2 Cooper & Cooper S, Mk 3 Cooper S, and Rover Cooper ditto. Not applicable to non-UK production.

Appendix 7 Specifications & Evolution. Production & Performance Data

Comparative figures are given for the 997, 998, 1071 970 and 1275 Cooper variants, and performance figures are tabulated. Production figures 1961-69 for the Cooper and '63-71 for the Cooper S. CKD kit production for Eire, Belgium, Portugal, South Africa and Australia is included. Figures may be understimates, not including non-CKD production in Oz and elsewhere?

Review by Russ Shiel, Albury, Australia

Russ Shiel

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