The good ones are creeping out of reach’
Your tales of the latest classic car deals. This week, how one reader got a 1275 GT project after years of looking
What made you want a 1275 GT?
I’d been looking for an honest 1275
GT for quite a long time - it’s a car I’ve always promised myself, but with values currently going a bit crazy, the good ones are starting to creep out of reach.
Tell us about this one.
This one popped up online in January and I immediately contacted the seller. Last MOT’d in 2003 and stored since then, it’s completely original in almost every respect: 46K miles, Leyland White paintwork with dark brown GT stripes, virtually unmarked sorrel ‘deckchair’ interior, correct steering wheel - even the original Dunlop Denovo Runflat wheels and tyres. Apart from service items, the only obvious repair work is one replacement outer sill.
How was the purchase?
It was being sold by a Mini specialist, who were too far away for me to be able to justify viewing the car in person under the current circumstances, so the sale was conducted remotely over telephone and email, but frankly there was never any doubt that I would be buying it! At just shy of £8K it wasn’t cheap for an unroadworthy Mini, but I would have been looking for a long time to find a more straight example for that money. The seller delivered it directly to my door within a couple of days for a socially-distanced handover, making it the easiest car purchase I’ve ever made.
What are your plans for it now?
It needs repairs to the sills and front floors, treatment of other superficial rust, and then a full re-spray, but is sound in most of the usual problem areas. It will get a sensitive recommission of all the mechanicals, but I’m really keen to preserve as much patina as I can in this process. Unfortunately, the Denovo wheels will have to be swapped for something more conventional in order to fit new tyres, but they will stay with the car as part of its story.