1967 Austin Mini Cooper S Works Competition Car

23rd Sep, 2026 10:00 KELHAM HALL | NEWARK, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE https://handh.co.uk/vehicles/1967-aus... Campaigned by the Works in MK1 and MK2 guises as both a rally and race car Class winner on the 1969 Tour de France Auto with Paddy Hopkirk / Tony Nash. Also driven by Timo Makinen / Paul Easter and John Rhodes Acquired by its previous keeper in 1981 and then treated to a twenty-five year restoration Part of the Ronald White collection since 2008, when it was bought via one of our auctions Accompanied by a history file, including several period competition photographs Works Minis are known by their UK registration numbers not only for ease of reference but also because, in some instances, said number plates are the only constants in their lives! Bodyshells, engines, gearboxes, suspension, brakes and wheels etc were all deemed replaceable service items during their time with the Abingdon Competitions Department (and afterwards if they were subsequently campaigned by privateers). ‘OBL 45F’ is arguably among the most interesting Works Minis due to its history encompassing MK1 and MK2 iterations and both rally and race duties not to mention its association with such Mini folklore greats as Timo Makinen, Paddy Hopkirk and John Rhodes. The registration number ‘OBL 45F’ was applied to at least three different cars by the Abingdon Competitions Department. Beginning life as a late MK1 Cooper S, the Austin’s first Works foray was as Timo Makinen and Paul Easter’s recce car ahead of the 1968 Monte Carlo Rally for which it was equipped with a spare wheel laden roof rack and near standard engine. Allocated to Tony Fall and Mike Wood for the July 1968 Gulf-London Rally, the Mini was converted to Group 6 specification complete with a far more potent powerplant and limited slip differential. It may or may not have been re-shelled in preparation for the notoriously tough, 2,000-mile long event too. Setting the fifth fastest time on the opening Oulton Park stage, ‘OBL 45F’ succumbed to LSD failure thereafter (indeed, only thirty-nine of the 106 entrants managed to complete the rally). After a few months, in 1971 ‘OBL 45F’ passed to Christopher W. Paxton of Harrogate, whose ownership was brief. That November, it sold again to Thomas Daffern Seal of Coventry — Tom Seal, of course, being a name which requires no introduction to the cognoscenti of racing Minis. Seal started his career at Jaguar’s experimental department in 1968, where he was involved with developing new parts for the straight-six and V12 engines, but when he got home he invested his free hours in the noble pursuit of making Minis go as fast as possible. ‘OBL 45F’ certainly did move quickly—Seal set to work tuning it and, once equipped with an Arden eight-port head and Amal quad-carburettor set-up, it was lauded by Cars & Car Conversions in their February, 1972, issue as the most powerful Mini they had ever tested. “Unbelievable…” they called it, “Like being blasted from a human cannon… That gearbox, a dream… Straight-cut, close-ratio, all synchrony… we reckon he’s got one of the best Mini rally engines he could.” The evolution of ‘OBL 45F’ also saw it modified with a Clubman bonnet, but in 1981 it was bought from the Warburton family by David Potter, who embarked upon the 25-year task of returning it to 1969 Brands Hatch specification. Invoices from Lenham Sports Cars give some insight into the final stages of the restoration during 2007, after which the car was driven and branded “indecently quick.” We were privileged to offer it for sale in 2008, when it was purchased for the Ronald White Collection. Since then, it has been kept on mostly static display in a private museum, so will require some recommissioning. Now equipped with a 1,293cc engine with twin Webers, a four-speed straight-cut gearbox with limited-slip differential, a sump guard and Halda instrumentation, we have no doubt it would still perform well in historic events, subject to recommissioning. The excellent history file contains the original buff logbook, much correspondence and period photography, a 1978 MOT certificate at 11,500 miles, other historic MOTs and logbooks, restoration photographs, and £4,000 of invoices, including £2,800 from Lenham in 2007.