was asked to strip and rebuild the
engine, which required a re-bore to
1293cc. They supplied a new-old-
stock (NOS) crankshaft and balanced
the rotating components and, once
installed, the Cooper S was tested on
Beek Auto Racing’s rolling road (www.
beekautoracing.nl), where it produced
75bhp at 6,000rpm at the flywheel. And,
so far, the rebuilt engine has survived for
over 12,000km (7457 miles) of rallying.
“I push the Morris quite hard,” remarks
Philip. “During the rallies I usually tail or
overtake Porsches and Ford Mustangs
in the corners, and longer stretches
are good for 130km/h [80.8mph].”
To date, the Cooper S has been quite
successful, with a second place in the
De Venniper Koninginnerit one-day rally,
with 130 entrants, but mostly finishes
between 10th and 30th, sometimes
in a field of 150 cars in popular events
such as the Tulip and SLS Classic.
Throughout this competitive driving,
Marit has not only to work out the
directions and relay them to Philip, but
also trust his ability. “I don’t recall any
moments when I’m frightened,” she
explains. “It's actually more often the
opposite, when I tell him to step on it.
During the first couple of hours of any
new rally you need to take the time to
settle in again. This is mostly because I
constantly have to look at the map, not
at the road ahead, and try to calculate
the correct route while driving on twisty
country roads, so it does get you a bit car
sick but this wears off quickly and you
don’t notice it by the end of the day.”
Marit has also driven the Cooper S
and explains: “Sometimes we do switch,
either during the rally or for a full rally.
This keeps the game interesting as well
as a good opportunity to practise, which
gives you a better understanding of
MiniWorld June 2019 75
OE-spec Tartan Red interior
with Gold Brocade Grey
inserts for the seats and door
cards. Coir matting footwell
inserts help to clean feet
before using the pedals.Navigator controls include Brantz
tripmeters and Herwins stopwatches
with dashboard-mounted controls.200km/h Smiths
speedo was already
fitted to the Cooper S
when Philip bought it.Philip researched and acquired
a selection of Works parts to
finish off his dashboard.»