Owning a Cooper Monaco

Paul Griffin bought his Cooper Monaco in 2011, ‘It had been based with its previous owner in Spain for some time, so I went over there to see it with Sid Hoole. Shipping it back required quite a bit of form-filling but it a was fairly straightforward process. ‘There were no real problems when it arrived from Spain, but Sid did notice something awry with one of the magnesium rear wheels the car had when I bought it. The suspension geometry on that corner was out too; we came to the conclusion that the previous owner had probably clipped a curb while hill climbing on Spanish street circuits. Sid corrected the suspension and replaced the wheel.

‘At the 73rd Goodwood Members’ Meeting, a D-type dropped its oil at St Mary’s; I was following close behind and immediately became a passenger, drifting across the grass into the tyre wall. The Cooper ended up with body damage to three of the four corners, but the chassis and the mechanicals were left unscathed. I took the opportunity to have it repainted in colours it ran at Goodwood in 1959.

‘I use it for tours as well as racing; Sid has been familiar with the car for around 35 years so he know the car extremely well. He always prepares a box of spares to take along but it is very reliable and robust – up to now they have never been required. It’s a delightful car to drive on the circuit but is also a reasonable road car.’