Identification needed. Real Cooper or Copy?

Ive just been given a '98 R Mini Cooper. Or so I think. But a fellow mini
owner says that he does not think its a Cooper. He says that it should have
the 13'' wheels and wide arches, whereas mine has the smaller 12'' wheels
and narrow black arches.

I thought you could still get a Cooper without the wide arches in '98 but
they also did the Rover Sports Pack edition with the wheels and also the
Cooper S which you could only get from John Cooper Garages.

Please help with some ID pointers,Ive got the V5 now and that says Mini
Cooper, but my mate is winding me up all the time..Git.

Ben.

Your car could still well be a cooper, rover still produced coopers with 12"
wheels and smaller black plastic arches, the sportspack was just an option
at this time.
I don't know many id pointers comparing coopers and non, but a friend has a
mini 7 1998. his is obviously missing the bonnet stripes and white mirrors,
although i know yours could have had these added. His hasnt got a 2 tone
leather steering wheel, yours should be white leather (or silver if silver
roof) where you hold it, and black top and bottom. 98' coopers have 2 extra
clocks in the dash above the radio (volts and oil temp) but again these
could be retro fitted. The winged bonnet and boot badges mostly say cooper
if it is, or just "mini" if not.

I would go with the V5 and say you have a cooper. Ignore your friend, Ben
Hope that helped,
im sure someone else will have more ideas where to look,
RS

"Ben & Claire" <cm005c2224 (AT) blueyonder (DOT) co.uk> wrote

Ive just been given a '98 R Mini Cooper. Or so I think. But a fellow mini
owner says that he does not think its a Cooper. He says that it should
have the 13'' wheels and wide arches, whereas mine has the smaller 12''
wheels and narrow black arches.

I thought you could still get a Cooper without the wide arches in '98 but
they also did the Rover Sports Pack edition with the wheels and also the
Cooper S which you could only get from John Cooper Garages.

Please help with some ID pointers,Ive got the V5 now and that says Mini
Cooper, but my mate is winding me up all the time..Git.

Ben.

As far as i know the rover mini seven wasn't available in 98! only the std
1.3i. Granted they are virtually identical, but you couldn't call them the
'same'. The seven did get a proper 'SEVEN' boot badge and it also got a
different accellerator pedal from the 1.3i - a silver steel jobbie with no
rubber that was larger than the std square item. Mine also had half leather
interior plus a two tone red and black steering wheel. If it doesn't say
seven on the logbook then officially it isn't one. Had fun taking mine
around mallory though! I have seen a cooper on a 51 plate with 12" wheels -
only the 1 mind (

Cooper S kit is the 90bhp kit that cooper garages would fit to anything as
long as you had the cash.

From what I remember all the end of line coopers had silver
roofs/bonnet-stripes and black/silver seats didn't they?

Chris

"RS" <l400ras (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote

Your car could still well be a cooper, rover still produced coopers with
12" wheels and smaller black plastic arches, the sportspack was just an
option at this time.
I don't know many id pointers comparing coopers and non, but a friend has
a mini 7 1998. his is obviously missing the bonnet stripes and white
mirrors, although i know yours could have had these added. His hasnt got
a 2 tone leather steering wheel, yours should be white leather (or silver
if silver roof) where you hold it, and black top and bottom. 98' coopers
have 2 extra clocks in the dash above the radio (volts and oil temp) but
again these could be retro fitted. The winged bonnet and boot badges
mostly say cooper if it is, or just "mini" if not.

I would go with the V5 and say you have a cooper. Ignore your friend, Ben
Hope that helped,
im sure someone else will have more ideas where to look,
RS

Ive got thebonnet stripes and white roof etc also the mirrors are white
The steering wheel is as you described it, white(ish) where you hold it.
butI have only got a clock, no volts or oil temp, however it was first
registered in april '98 I suppose it could have been made some time before
that?
The bonnet and boot badges say mini?
Its beginning to sound like a bit of a botch job.

"RS" <l400ras (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote

Your car could still well be a cooper, rover still produced coopers with
12" wheels and smaller black plastic arches, the sportspack was just an
option at this time.
I don't know many id pointers comparing coopers and non, but a friend has
a mini 7 1998. his is obviously missing the bonnet stripes and white
mirrors, although i know yours could have had these added. His hasnt got
a 2 tone leather steering wheel, yours should be white leather (or silver
if silver roof) where you hold it, and black top and bottom. 98' coopers
have 2 extra clocks in the dash above the radio (volts and oil temp) but
again these could be retro fitted. The winged bonnet and boot badges
mostly say cooper if it is, or just "mini" if not.

I would go with the V5 and say you have a cooper. Ignore your friend, Ben
Hope that helped,
im sure someone else will have more ideas where to look,
RS

"Ben & Claire" <cm005c2224 (AT) blueyonder (DOT) co.uk> wrote in message
news:Yp2jf.108457$Es4.27494 (AT) fe2 (DOT) news.blueyonder.co.uk...
Ive just been given a '98 R Mini Cooper. Or so I think. But a fellow mini
owner says that he does not think its a Cooper. He says that it should
have the 13'' wheels and wide arches, whereas mine has the smaller 12''
wheels and narrow black arches.

I thought you could still get a Cooper without the wide arches in '98 but
they also did the Rover Sports Pack edition with the wheels and also the
Cooper S which you could only get from John Cooper Garages.

Please help with some ID pointers,Ive got the V5 now and that says Mini
Cooper, but my mate is winding me up all the time..Git.

Ben.

On Tue, 29 Nov 2005 19:58:48 GMT, "Ben & Claire"
<cm005c2224 (AT) blueyonder (DOT) co.uk> wrote:

Ive just been given a '98 R Mini Cooper. Or so I think. But a fellow mini
owner says that he does not think its a Cooper. He says that it should have
the 13'' wheels and wide arches, whereas mine has the smaller 12'' wheels
and narrow black arches.

Nope, only the sportspack cars had 13-inch wheels and wide arches.
They are slower than the 12-inch cars and don't handle so well.

I thought you could still get a Cooper without the wide arches in '98 but
they also did the Rover Sports Pack edition with the wheels and also the
Cooper S which you could only get from John Cooper Garages.

Correct. The John Cooper cars are the only ones which have any real
connection with Cooper, of course. The Rover Cooper MPIs were simply a
branding exercise. Mechanically, they are identical to the non-Cooper
cars. It was simply a matter of which cosmetic pack you chose when you
ordered it.

Please help with some ID pointers,Ive got the V5 now and that says Mini
Cooper, but my mate is winding me up all the time..Git.

As I said, mechanically they are identical. If your V5 says Cooper,
then presumably it was branded as a Cooper from new. All that actually
means is that it had bonnet stripes, a white roof and some Cooper
badging, together with any other extras specified by the original
purchaser. Mine, for instance, has alloy door furniture (but not gear
lever knob) and front overriders (but not rear).

Basically, you could pick and mix from all the colour, trim and
interior options and have the car badged as a Cooper or not according
to whim. As | said, mechanically the twin-point cars supplied by Rover
Group - as opposed to the John Cooper Garages cars - were mechanically
all the same. No problem bringing them up to Cooper S Works 90bhp
spec, though.

Regards, David Betts
davidb (AT) minilist (DOT) org
The Mini Gallery:
http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?m=64635537103&n=1366070334

On Wed, 30 Nov 2005 00:40:49 GMT, "Ben & Claire"
<cm005c2224 (AT) blueyonder (DOT) co.uk> wrote:

Ive got thebonnet stripes and white roof etc also the mirrors are white
The steering wheel is as you described it, white(ish) where you hold it.
butI have only got a clock, no volts or oil temp, however it was first
registered in april '98 I suppose it could have been made some time before
that?

Additional dashboard dials were an option. Mine doesn't have them
either.

The bonnet and boot badges say mini?

That is correct for this model.

Its beginning to sound like a bit of a botch job.

Not atall. See my previous post.

Regards, David Betts
davidb (AT) minilist (DOT) org
The Mini Gallery:
http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?m=64635537103&n=1366070334

Ok thanks to all the responses. I think I can say that I've got a Cooper,
even if only in name. At least I drive to work in mine,unlike my friend!
What are the main mechanical differences between the 90hp Cooper and mine?
I assume its Valve sizes and Cam profile etc?

I've been thinking about converting the car to a street racer, full blown
wolf in sheeps clothing, I want to keep it looking fairly standard on the
outside but mental underneath. Ive already scared a local Subaru Impreza
driver off the lights (well at least to 50mph!)

"David Betts" <davidb (AT) minilist (DOT) org> wrote

On Wed, 30 Nov 2005 00:40:49 GMT, "Ben & Claire"
cm005c2224 (AT) blueyonder (DOT) co.uk> wrote:

Ive got thebonnet stripes and white roof etc also the mirrors are white
The steering wheel is as you described it, white(ish) where you hold it.
butI have only got a clock, no volts or oil temp, however it was first
registered in april '98 I suppose it could have been made some time before
that?

Additional dashboard dials were an option. Mine doesn't have them
either.

The bonnet and boot badges say mini?

That is correct for this model.

Its beginning to sound like a bit of a botch job.

Not atall. See my previous post.

Regards, David Betts
davidb (AT) minilist (DOT) org
The Mini Gallery:
http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?m=64635537103&n=1366070334

On Wed, 30 Nov 2005 16:31:05 GMT, "Ben & Claire"
<cm005c2224 (AT) blueyonder (DOT) co.uk> wrote:

Ok thanks to all the responses. I think I can say that I've got a Cooper,
even if only in name. At least I drive to work in mine,unlike my friend!
What are the main mechanical differences between the 90hp Cooper and mine?
I assume its Valve sizes and Cam profile etc?

OK. First thing to do is to change the exhaust for a free flow system
of your choice from the cat back. Then install an lcb (long centre
branch) exhaurst manifold and a K and N replacment filter in the
standard airbox. This will free up most of the power, although it may
also give you a bit of a flat spot as the ecu doesn't cope terribly
well with mods.

If you want to go the whole hog, then the next stage is a replacement
head and cam followers. I haven't bothered with this yet as the
exhaust mods make a huge difference.

I've been thinking about converting the car to a street racer, full blown
wolf in sheeps clothing, I want to keep it looking fairly standard on the
outside but mental underneath. Ive already scared a local Subaru Impreza
driver off the lights (well at least to 50mph!)

As a Subaru Impreza owner as well I can assure you that he either
can't drive or was not trying.

Regards, David Betts
davidb (AT) minilist (DOT) org
The Mini Gallery:
http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?m=64635537103&n=1366070334

As a Subaru Impreza owner as well I can assure you that he either
can't drive or was not trying.

I think it was probably more complacancy. you know how it is, you tend to

underestimate the little guy!

Ive already scared a local Subaru Impreza driver off the lights (well at
least to 50mph!)
wait till he puts the other two plug leads back on then have another try,

I doubt very much that any standard mini would even come close to a Impreza,
Fitzy

"Ben & Claire" <cm005c2224 (AT) blueyonder (DOT) co.uk> wrote

Ok thanks to all the responses. I think I can say that I've got a Cooper,
even if only in name. At least I drive to work in mine,unlike my friend!
What are the main mechanical differences between the 90hp Cooper and mine?
I assume its Valve sizes and Cam profile etc?

I've been thinking about converting the car to a street racer, full blown
wolf in sheeps clothing, I want to keep it looking fairly standard on the
outside but mental underneath.> "David Betts" <davidb (AT) minilist (DOT) org> wrote
in message news:qgnqo1d89l9gl2p42161tmoba2i4mqjccd (AT) 4ax (DOT) com...
On Wed, 30 Nov 2005 00:40:49 GMT, "Ben & Claire"
cm005c2224 (AT) blueyonder (DOT) co.uk> wrote:

Ive got thebonnet stripes and white roof etc also the mirrors are white
The steering wheel is as you described it, white(ish) where you hold it.
butI have only got a clock, no volts or oil temp, however it was first
registered in april '98 I suppose it could have been made some time
before
that?

Additional dashboard dials were an option. Mine doesn't have them
either.

The bonnet and boot badges say mini?

That is correct for this model.

Its beginning to sound like a bit of a botch job.

Not atall. See my previous post.

Regards, David Betts
davidb (AT) minilist (DOT) org
The Mini Gallery:
http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?m=64635537103&n=1366070334