They look similar, but underneath that familiar round-nose body is a whole heap of differences between the first and last production Minis. Marc Stretton pokes around in every nook and cranny to see how the Mini evolved over its lifetime.

Words Marc Stretton
Photography Gerard Hughes

Ask anyone in the universe what the two cars pictured here are, and around 99.9 percent of those surveyed will answer: “Minis”; there may be a couple of mad old Martians who think they’re looking at a Daihatsu Charade, but most people will get the answer right.
Question what’s special about the these particular two cars and that figure will drop to only a couple of percent — only a Mini devotee can spot that the white Mini Minor, registered 621 AOK, is the very first Morris ‘production’ car, (built by hand in just seven hours, by Cowley factory worker Albert Green in May 1959), while the red with a silver roof Cooper Sport 500, X411 JOP, was the last Mini made (driven off the Longbridge line on October 4, 2000 by pop star Lulu). Both are top exhibits at the Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon in Warwickshire.



While more than 41 years of manufacture separate the two Minis, first appearances would suggest they are essentially the same car — i.e. a Mini, as already stated. But is that statement entirely true? Well on a superficial level, of course it is, but look a little deeper and it may be a surprise to find out that there is virtually no panel or mechanical part shared between the two. If you go down to a component level, then many of the pressings and parts look similar, but years of development and improvements mean that when it comes to naming one major item that could genuinely be called ‘the same’, we’re struggling. Let’s take a closer look…

The Shell
The main shell of a Mini has such a distinctive outline that it is copyrighted as a design, and both AOK and JOP, which are both of the ‘round-nose’ bodywork type, share what would be known as the classic Mini shape — an amazing fact considering the number of times that look was planned to be changed. As early as 1968 the car’s designer, Alec Issigonis, had penned and produced a prototype known as the 9X, with a modern boxy body for his creation. After that plan was dropped, the flat-fronted Clubman arrived in 1969, but still the round-nose version kept selling. Then, in 1980, the Mini Metro was introduced to kill the Mini completely, but predictions of its demise, once again, proved premature.
Despite the similar look to the first and last shells, however, there are hundreds of minor, and plenty of major, differences between the two and, remarkably, some of the most significant ones took place within the first year of production when what are best called ‘teething troubles’ were ironed out.
The biggest one of these was that in very early cars like AOK, the floor panels went underneath the toeboards (below the dash). It was soon discovered that this arrangement allowed water to leak into the cabin and soak the carpets, so that joint was redesigned to have the floorpan joint on top of the toeboard. Water collecting in the roof gutter was also a problem, so drain holes in the gutters were soon introduced, with a drip rail (in May 1960) added to direct the water away from the door apertures.



The third nuisance was with the front and rear screens which, under certain ‘lively’ driving conditions, could come out of their apertures. Early Mini apertures were cut out of a flat panel, and the rubber surround had difficulty remaining in place with this arrangement. So the front and back panels on later cars were pressed to form the recessed screen aperture that would remain, (with the other two changes above) as standard until that infamous day in October 2000.
There are many more subtle differences with 1959 production year Minis too, like floorpan pressings, starter button mountings, radiator shape and door designs, but identifying them all and getting the timeline correct is a grey area still, even for owners of such cars — though a brave attempt to sort out what’s what can be found on www.1959miniregister.com.
More changes to the Mini saloon shell took place over time and most happened as improvements were made to the cars in terms of safety, luxury and technological advances. In 1967, the MkII had a new front-end arrangement (grille and bonnet) plus a new rear panel with a larger rear screen and bigger lamp units. A more subtle change was to the front lower valance, which was given ‘cut-aways’ at its ends to allow more air to pass and cool the front brakes.
In 1970 — or very late 1969 to be accurate — the MkIII shell saw the glass area on the side of the car increase too. The doors grew in size slightly and lost their exterior hinges, while wind-up windows replaced the sliding type that had been used since 1959 (sliders allowed for the iconic door pockets of the early cars as well as keeping the initial costs down). These alterations were deemed big enough to give the shell a new ADO (Austin Drawing Office) code of ADO20, as opposed to the original ADO15 designation for the Mini.
From then on changes would be less noticeable as they were more hidden but still significant. In 1976 the front subframe changed from a twin-bolt to a single-bolt rubber mounted item, (necessitating major re-engineering of the front-end under the bonnet where that bolted up), while the front and rear bulkheads altered several times depending on the routing of wiring and mounting of extra components, (such as a brake pressure regulator for example). Much later the introduction of fuel injection would completely alter the floorpans to accommodate the extra pipework involved with that system. And finally, with the last cars, like JOP, front-mounted radiators would reshape the inner wings, as they no longer needed the cooling ducts cut into them.
So did that mean that other panels like the outer wings are the same in the first and last cars? Well no, is the answer still. Not only does JOP have Sportpack arches so the wings were cut down (using a template in the factory) but the legal need to have side repeaters means they had mounting holes for those too. The roof? No again. Look carefully and you’ll see a factory fitted radio aerial, so a hole is present in the later roof panels. Clutching at straws we did consider the rear valance may have remained unaltered, but a captive nut spot-welded in for foglamp mounting doesn’t appear on AOK’s rear-end. Time to give up on the bodywork then.



Engine
AOK was powered by an 848cc A-Series engine with single SU, HS2 carburettor, which produced 34bhp and could reach 72mph, while JOP’s motor kicks out 63bhp in its 1275cc A-plus, multi-point fuel-injected guise and was good for 90mph. The evolution from one to the other began with the development of the Mini Coopers and Ss that would start a tuning revolution. With increases in engine capacity to 997 (later 998), 1071, and finally 1275cc — plus twin carbs — power figures were boosted to 55bhp, 70bhp and 76bhp respectively. (The ultra rare 970 Cooper S of 1964/5 also existed and had 65bhp on tap).
Mainstream Minis got the 998cc engines with the MkIII ‘Mini 1000’ model’s introduction in 1969, while the 1098cc initially appeared in October 1975 on Clubmans and Clubby Estates (and was only ever used again in the UK for the 1100 Special of 1979) and the largest capacity production engine, the 1275cc, first powered a non-Cooper car — the 1275 GT — in 1969. Between October 1980 and July 1990, however, (when the Cooper name reappeared on the Rover Special Products Mini) the only engine size for a Mini was 998cc, although this was, from then on, in the form of the highly modified A-plus unit.



October 1991 saw the first fuel-injected Mini — the Cooper 1.3i with single-point (throttle body) fuel injection — and a carburettor’d 1275 engine became standard in the UK on all (non Cooper) Minis in May 1992. The final leap to reach the level of tune that JOP boasts came in October 1996 when multi-point fuel injection was introduced, and by then the cars were equipped with a catalytic converter, electronic engine management and so much emissions controls there was precious little room left in the engine bay.

Transmission
Mainstream Minis throughout all years only ever had a four-speed gearbox, (with the exception of the Cooper Sport 5 Special Edition, but that was a Cooper Garages add-on) but there were many changes to the gears and ratios, casings and clutches, so a 1959 unit won’t bolt-up to the bottom of a late 1275! August 1968 saw the introduction of synchromesh on first gear and the most significant alteration took place in early 1973 with the introduction of the rod-change mechanism. Use of this new system meant floorpan modifications and use of a lower engine-steady bar was needed from then on.

Brakes
The first Mini was equipped with what would now be considered the scary set up of drum brakes all round. Again, the Mini Coopers (997cc) would lead the way with the introduction of front discs in September 1961. Disc brakes would be used on Coopers and 1275 GT Clubmans in later years, but not for standard production model Minis until 1984 with the use of 8.4-inch discs on the Mini 25 SE in July, and brought in across the range during October. Other brake improvements, as seen on JOP, include a dual circuit system (used from September 1977) and servo assistance (standardised in October 1988, although once more, this had been used on sports models for many years).



Suspension/Steering
The basic suspension set up on these two cars is one area that finally has many similarities. Alex Moulton’s revolutionary rubber spring and cones set-up is there, with radius arms, dampers, stub axles, steering rack, top and bottom ball joints and such like. All components have been subtly modified and upgraded over the years, of course, so once again nothing from the 1959 car would fit JOP and there was a period of Mini production when things were totally different.
From September 1964, Moulton’s more advanced Hydrolastic damping system was used, necessitating changes to the subframes as well. Some loved the ‘wet’ set-up, others hated it, and between late 1969 (when saloons went ‘dry’ again) and 1971 (Clubman and Cooper S) it was phased out, leaving the original-type suspension system to carry on until JOP ran off the line.



Wheels
Morris 621 AOK runs on 10-inch steel wheels and tyres, while X411 JOP has (comparatively) massive 13-inch alloy rims and rubber. Debate will probably rage until the end of time as to which is best, with many claiming the 10-inch size give superior handling and the 13-inch alloys are all-look, while ruining the driving characteristics of the car. For many years (from 1984 across the range, but introduced on the 1275 GT in 1974) 12-inch wheels and tyres were used, and this size has many devotees who claim it is the best compromise between looks and handling. The Sportpack cars, from October 1996, were the first UK cars to have the option of the ‘big’ 13-inch alloys (although the German ‘Silverstone’ SE did feature them in 1995), and these, as the showpiece wheels, are used for the last of the line Sport 500.



Interior
The wonder of the first Mini for many buyers was the amazing amount of space within the cabin of the Mini — later, after the world knew of Dr Who, it would forever be described as TARDIS-like. AOK’s interior space is best described as ‘spartan’ though, but many would argue that the central speedo, front door pockets, forward tilting seats, winking green indicator stalk and door-closing pull cords are icons of the design that were sadly missing on the later cars. A ‘luxury’ in AOK, which was an option on base models and only standard on the DeLuxe models in 1959, included the twin-speed heater/blower.
Certainly inside JOP the cabin feels more cramped, with bigger, but more comfortable seats, a full length dashboard with padded dash rails (and instruments in front of the driver, as first seen in the Clubman when it was introduced in 1969), stereo equipment, thick carpets and an airbag-equipped steering wheel (from October 1996), but that is the price paid for more comfort and safety in the last car.



And that about sums up the major differences between these two ‘most famous’ Minis. To list every minute alteration would take many more pages than this feature, or even a whole magazine, would allow. But during this year, at the multitude of shows that will be taking place to celebrate this icon’s 50th birthday in 2009, check out both a 1959 Mini and a year 2000 Cooper and you too can play the let’s-try-to-figure-out-what-part-from-that-would-fit-on-that-one game. If you can come up with anything we haven’t let us know. Yes, they may both be Minis, so they’re the same… but also very different.