1965 Austin Mini Cooper S 1275 “DPY 160C”

Since fully restored!

This very rotten wreck is a genuine, all-original 1965 Austin Mini Cooper S 1275 W/ standard fuel tank, black plate Yorkshire registration “DPY 160C”, in an original shade of corroded “Surf Blue” W/ white roof. I took this picture in-person back in October 2018, and was present in December that year at a very well-attended auction at the famous Mathewson’s classic car auctions at Thornton-Le-Dale, Ryedale, North Yorkshire, U.K. My friend bought a 1962 Anglia 105E Deluxe at auction that day. The Mini was initially expected to fetch around £3K-£5K, at least under £10K, but sold for a staggering £18,000 at auction, the winning bidder being Mr. Peter Watchman - a classic Mini enthusiast from Sunderland. The car is a genuine “Barn Find”, as it was parked stashed with old glass bottles and junk inside a moldy 1930s garage in the nearby North Yorkshire town of Stokesley for over 40 years. The Mini was featured on the popular series “Bangers And Cash” and caused quite a stir among MK1 Mini enthusiasts online.

This vehicle was in an extremely rough shape of disrepair. As evidenced by this picture, and shots from the show. There were lots and lots of seriously rusted patches of sheet metal and even worse deep rot on practically every angle of the car. Despite this, the new owner and his team of talented restorers decided to salvage as many rebuildable pieces as possible and even managed to bravely save the original bodyshell, rather than source a replacement. As many original parts as possible were restored and reused.

The Mini was in such a dreadful state to begin with, in fact it - seeing the car up-close in person while taking this picture made me think that anyone willing to buy it would probably only either use it as an original spares donor (mostly for the dashboard, glass, stainless trim pieces and reference points), or maybe even just display it in its given condition as some sort of macabre museum display piece. However, the result of over at least three years of hard work and considerable expense all put into this car resulted in an immaculate, spectacular, and gorgeous complete painstaking restoration. In fact, this is one of the very best restorations I have seen, given the “before” and “after” comparisons. Massive credit and respect for Mr. Watchman and his team of dedicated restorers and family! Peter not only has successfully and faithfully preserved a rare and interesting classic, but also regularly drives the car to shows and classic Mini meets, giving people the opportunity to see this incredible rebuild up-close! The logbook was reissued in January 2023, so the car might belong to someone else now. I’d love to know how much it sold for!

This car, considering just how rough it was, as seen in this photo and others, when compared to the perfect, complete brave restoration it received, proves that even the roughest cars can still be restored, albeit with considerable hours of hard labour and expense. Arguably, nothing isn’t “completely unsalvageable”.

Official video here, featuring in-progress stages of the restoration: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd52UGNwRFg

Taken on: October 27, 2018

Tags:

DPY 160C

BMC

Mini

Austin Mini

Mini Cooper S

Cooper S 1275

Surf Blue

Restoration Project

Rust

Rusty And Crusty

Project Car

Original Condition

Black Plate

Mathewsons

Mathewsons Auctions

Bangers And Cash

Ryedale

North Yorkshire

Classic Car

British Classic

British Car

British-Built

Neglected

Barn Find

Since Restored

Historic

Derelict

Junk

Scrap

Mouldy Mould Rotten

UK Rotten Corrosion Damp

Old

Car

Needs Welding

1965

1960s Car « less

Groups appears in: • Classic/collectable cars and motorcycles • Classic Cars more » • all things rusty • Austin cars • Great Britain • Alternative Britain • Abandoned, Neglected, Weathered, or Rusty • Junkers -n- Classics (OLD CARS TRUCKS,TRACTORS,BOATS,AIRPLANES , • Proper Cars (British Marques Only) • Cars from the Past: Classic Cars • Hunt the Black Plate • barn finds • Decaying Britain • Classic cars all over the world • British Cars 1945-1975 • Classic Project Cars • Vintage Cars & Trucks (Built for British Roads) • Scrapped, Dumped, Neglected and Wrecked Classic Mini's • Needing Some TLC! • Unused, Unloved and Abandoned Classic Cars • Curbside Classic Cohort • The Classic Car Wiki • car restoration • British Cars Photography • 30 years of British Cars 1955-1985 • Rust in peace - Classic Cars • Great British Cars • I Spy a Classic British Car (Pre 2000) • "The Cars of BMC. The British Motor Corporation 1952 > 1968" • "1959 > 2000 Classic Mini & Classic Mini Variants Group" • GEOFFS MOTORING MEMORIES « less

Camera: Apple iPhone 6, 29mm, ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Apple iPhone 6
Focal Length:	29mm
ISO:	200
Flash:	On, Fired
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Show full info

Stats: 1,481 views / 5 comments

go back

Link to this photo view:
Link to this photo large view: