By Jeff McClurg
The Mini has been and always will be one of those iconic cars that everyone recognises, and possibly the holy grail of those would be the Cooper S, the performance spec model which saw the Mini take steps into competitive motor racing.
Troy Deaman from Trundle has recently had his Cooper S on the road after purchasing it in April 2023.
“I’ve always had a soft spot for Mini’s after my first car at age 11 was a Mini,” said Troy.
“Dad was a motor mechanic and had a red one in his 20’s that he ‘warmed up’ a lot (and blew up a lot),“ he laughed.
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"So when he and I bought this one it was like a trip down memory lane. He’d been a bit down since losing mum a few years ago so this really got him inspired again."
Troy’s Mini is a 1970 Mk 2 Cooper S that was originally sold new in Sydney. It had spent all its life there and on the north coast before he became only the 4th owner and brought it out west.
“It was restored by the previous owner to its original GTO green and aside from the white roof and the mags, this is how it would have looked on the showroom floor,” he said. The matching numbers 1275 cc block is still under the bonnet although just like his dad, there’s been some work done – bored out to 1330 cc, lumpy cam, higher compression and police spec 1 ½ inch twin carbs.
That’s right; for those who don’t quite remember, the NSW Police drove Mini’s for a time. Some might also remember their racing success too with the crowning glory being the outright winner in 1966 at Mount Panorama where the Mini’s filled the top 9 places ahead of V8 Valiants and the like.
For Troy, he’s just out to enjoy his Mini now. As a fairly new member of the Central West Car Club in Parkes he recently had it on display at the Show ‘n Shine at Pioneer Oval in October.
The club meets regularly at Parkes Leagues Club on the first Wednesday of each month where members enjoy a meal, a drink and some good conversation.
There’s also a monthly street meet at the outdoor Coles carpark on the Friday night following the meeting and regular club runs throughout the year.
The club always welcomes new members and more information can be found at www.centralwestcarclub.com
