RAISING THE STANDARD
Mini Magazine|February 2020
The Cooper Sport was great from the factory, but after restoring his, Paul Gershon couldn’t help but add a few extra special touches…
Martyn Morgan-Jones
RAISING THE STANDARD

There is no doubting that the Classic Cooper Sport, with its raft of factory-fitted upgrades, was a very desirable variant when it left the production line. Desirable, although as with any Mini there was still plenty of scope for modifying and personalisation. The feature car, a late 1999 model, belonging to motor trader Paul Gershon who, with his son Troy, owns and runs Different Class Cars in South Woodford, is a perfect example of how to take the factory product and enhance it.

“I already owned a nice Mini which my son and I had used on one of the Italian Job runs, and which was used by the last owner on the 40th commemoration of the film in 2009,” reveals Paul. “It was in great condition and good to drive, but I started thinking about getting another Mini, one that I planned to have brought up to concours condition.”

“I started looking for a suitable car, and eventually found this Cooper Sport, which I purchased from its lady owner in 2015. It had been the dealer’s demonstrator. Although she’d owned it for approximately 16 years from new, it had only covered 29,000 miles which was a real bonus. The advert also stated that it was in excellent condition and that it had benefitted from a part restoration.

“It drove really well, but to be honest, although it certainly looked nice, on closer inspection the bodywork wasn’t quite as good as described. Nonetheless, I was very taken with this Cooper and ended up buying it. I then drove it all the way from Yorkshire to London. It didn’t miss a beat.”

FULL ON

Even though it didn’t miss a beat, Paul planned to upgrade the mechanicals a smidge, although the first thing on his to-do list was to have the Cooper stripped, repaired and rebuilt to better than new.

Denne historien er fra February 2020-utgaven av Mini Magazine.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra February 2020-utgaven av Mini Magazine.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA MINI MAGAZINESe alt
RING MASTER
Mini Magazine

RING MASTER

Born at the Nürburgring circuit, the Martini Mini ACS came to life with a racing pedigree. But the sole example of this German Mini based sports cars was crashed spectacularly in ’66.

time-read
3 mins  |
February 2020
NEWS
Mini Magazine

NEWS

All the latest from the Mini scene.

time-read
5 mins  |
February 2020
Mini Magazine

STING IN THE TAIL

As 60th birthday presents go, a 1967 Wolseley Hornet is an unusual choice, but it was the perfect gift for Tina Riordan.

time-read
5 mins  |
February 2020
NEW ZEALAND MINI NATIONALS
Mini Magazine

NEW ZEALAND MINI NATIONALS

Kiwi Mini owners gather for a weekend of fun in Tauranga

time-read
2 mins  |
February 2020
Mini Magazine

RAISING THE STANDARD

The Cooper Sport was great from the factory, but after restoring his, Paul Gershon couldn’t help but add a few extra special touches…

time-read
8 mins  |
February 2020
Mini Magazine

Metal Guru

We caught up with Martin Davies of British Motor Heritage during production of their MkI Mini shells, including the shell for Mike Brewer’s #ProjectFrankie

time-read
5 mins  |
February 2020
Mini Magazine

RIDING WITH THE PUNCHES

A serious health scare caused Lee Williams to re-evaluate his entire life… including the contents of his garage.

time-read
8 mins  |
February 2020
Fantastic Plastic
Mini Magazine

Fantastic Plastic

The Elf gets a new garage mate, and this one is guaranteed rust free.

time-read
2 mins  |
February 2020
A TOUR DE FORCE
Mini Magazine

A TOUR DE FORCE

Mini Seven Racing will return to Brands to suppport DTM Racers

time-read
1 min  |
February 2020
Mini Magazine

A PRACTICAL MOKE

Glenda and Harry Williams always loved Minis but their retirement project is a little wilder than anything that came before.

time-read
5 mins  |
February 2020