the Cooper S was taken for an extensive
test drive and, unfortunately, engine
failure occurred. “The original crankshaft
gave up after 30 years of rallies and
rebuilds,” he says. “It snapped, ending up
in pieces in the gearbox. Luckily the rods
went straight into the gearbox instead
of coming out through the engine block.
We were able to weld up the gearbox
case and keep the original engine block.”
Ben van Leeuwen Mini Centre
up,” he says. “At first, I wanted to make
sure that the layout of the dashboard
was correct to its period and it contained
all the right equipment. Although most
of the equipment was already present it
was in a bad shape and needed replacing
so a full custom wiring loom was created
and braided. The preference to braid
it instead of using tape – as used by
Abingdon – was the only difference.”
Once the wiring had been replaced,
of Philip’s first jobs on his Cooper
S was to replace the wiring loom,
with help from Jeroen Rothman of
The Classic Kabelboom Company
(www.classickabelboomcompany.
com), located west of Amsterdam.
“Based on Abingdon archive pictures
from different rally books, we were able
to reproduce the correct dashboard and
fuse box layout, as well as the hardware
components and relays used to wire it
74 June 2019 MiniWorld
[ Mk1 Morris Cooper S ]
“I wanted to make sure that the layout of the
dashboard was correct to its period...”
With quick maintenance in
mind, access to the fuses
and even the windscreen
washer reservoir and its
electric pump are in front
of the navigator’s seat.Navigation essentials mounted in the
door pocket include a map light, wiper
switch, horn button and an upside-
down broom head for storing pens.The parts for the dry-
suspension Cooper S
were sent to Portugal
in 1964 and assembled
there in 1965.