WHEN Greg Hales first laid eyes on his beloved 1961 Mini Cooper V997, he knew he had found something special.
“Everything, including the carpets and accessories, was original, and the mileage was just 6900. It had only been driven between October 1961 and September 1967, then stayed in storage until I found it in 1985.”
“I spoke to someone who can remember seeing V997 flying around Glasgow in the early 1960s, and he recalls the car made a real stir,” says Greg. Greg bought the car from Lain Fraser, who ran well-known Glasgow car firm A&D Fraser, which had its headquarters on Springkell Avenue in Maxwell Park, long since demolished.
He adds: “The Mini Cooper was a purposely designed ‘souped-up’ saloon car to meet demand for affordable club racing while also being used as regular transport mid-week. The Greg explains: “Lain was a friend of John Cooper, both had met through the British Racing Drivers Club…Cooper’s famous tartan bunnet was in fact a gift from the Fraser family."Greg’s car is one of the oldest first-batch production Mini Coopers, and it has never been repaired or welded.
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