1964 Morris Mini Cooper 970 S

The Mini Cooper soon established its credentials as a rally and race winner, and the stage was set for even faster versions. The more powerful Mini Cooper 1071 'S' appeared in 1963 and quickly became the basis for competition-focused models. Larger disc brakes, more luxurious upholstery and discrete 'S' badges on the bonnet and boot were subtle upgrades with the real changes made to the adaptable A-series engine. With competition in mind, particularly the British Saloon Car Championship, in 1964 Cooper produced two 'S' models, the 970 and 1275 aimed clearly at the under-1,000cc and under-1,300cc BSCC classes respectively. The road-going 970 'S' was a real 'Homologation Special' with its 'revvy' little short-stroke engine producing over 65bhp but it was expensive to manufacture, so BMC made it a 'special-order' model, and consequently, very few were sold (with even fewer remaining today). The 970 'S' was only produced from June 1964 until April 1965 and with just 963 examples supplied, of which 397 were badged Morris, it's one of the rarest and most sought after Mini models.

According to the accompanying Heritage Certificate, this Morris Mini Cooper S Mark 1 970cc was a right-hand drive, home-market car, finished in Fiesta Yellow/Old English White, built on 7th December 1964 prior to being despatched two days later to BMC Dealers, Phil Read of Torquay, and onwards to its first owner. The interior was listed as 'blue and gold' (Powder Blue and Gold Brocade) and the only option selected appears to have been a fresh air heater.

We move forward to 2012 when DAP 93B was treated to a sympathetic restoration by well-regarded specialist, John Barker, and needed only a nearside front wing and outer sill before being finished to a high standard in its original Fiesta Yellow and Old English White. The interior was retrimmed in the correct Powder Blue/Gold Brocade material by Newton Commercial including a pair of new front recliners and a new set of NC carpets (the original seats and carpets will be included in the sale). It sits on its original 3.5" Cooper S steel wheels, which are now very rare. 

The mechanical aspects of the restoration were the responsibility of Richard Longman and included lowered Hydrolastics with additional front gas dampers, adjustable track control arms, negative camber, competition bump stops, a straight-cut, close ratio Longman gearbox, competition diaphragm clutch and a 'Power-Lok' limited-slip diff. The engine was fully rebuilt by Longman engineering and now measures 999cc. Development included a polished and ported cylinder head with 11:1 compression ratio, uprated valve springs and rockers, balanced and lightened flywheel, Works-spec twin H4 carbs with trumpets and a Downton exhaust manifold. A rolling-road print-out from 2019 shows that the car at that time was producing around 64bhp @ 6,000rpm.

The MOT History shows that the indicated mileage in February 2007 was 45,453, however in June 2010 it was 18,172 which suggests a change of speedo head, and Subsequent MOTs indicate a few hundred miles a year up until its present indicated mileage of 23,559. As well as the BMIHC , DAP 93B is supplied with its V5C, several old MOTs and Tax discs, some image prints of the body during restoration and a copy of Mini World Magazine May 2021 featuring this very car in their 50 years of the Mini Cooper feature.

Enthusiast-owned for the last four years, this rare 59-year old 970 S, one of only 397 wearing the Morris badge, must be of consideration and your inspection at the Silverstone Classic is welcomed.  

Although developed primarily for fast road work, this delightfully restored 970S does retain a substantial amount of originality and, in our vendor's own words 'This car needs to be driven to fully appreciate what fantastic fun it is'.