Rust-bitten MGC and actress’s Mini Cooper

It seems that affordable and attractive six-cylinder British classic projects are still available, at least they are if your welding skills are sufficiently honed. Tim Gascoigne of Barons Auctions explains of this MGC GT, ‘The first owner was an RAF man. He had it shipped over to Germany when he bought it in 1969; by 1979 it was back in the UK, sold on to another RAF officer. He put it into storage in 1984 with the intention of smartening it up.’

This clearly never happened and the rust took an alarming hold, but a sale price of just £2860 leaves a lot of room to buy sills, wings and door skins for a third-lockdown project.

One that didn’t sell was a well-preserved 1966 Morris Mini Cooper S, offered by Bonhams MPH in December. It was first owned by the actress Sarah Miles who is probably best known for

Ryan’s Daughter, for which she received an Oscar nomination. With only one other subsequent owner, the car entered storage in 1977. The estimate of £22k-£26k seemed reasonable but as we went to press the car still sought a new home.

The 15-inch wheels and bonnet bulge tell you it’s a ’C, not a ’B

Cooper S is less rusty than most barn-found Minis

Mixed bag of furniture in the Mini needs sorting

1275cc and 76bhp (when new) made it huge fun

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