Description
What is a mini GTS?
The Mini GTS is a very rare Mini 1275 GT variant built by British Leyland in South Africa. British Leyland introduced the 1275 GT to replace the Cooper S, and the Mini GTS is a seriously tweaked mini 1275 GT variant built specifically for the South African race market with only 4200 built between 1971 and 1979 with less than 100 remaining today.
The south African built Mini GTS increased the bore, shortened the stroke, highly polished the combustion chamber, cross drilled the crank, added aluminium pistons and new steel-alloy valves.
After all these mods the Mini GTS tested one MPH faster than the legendary Mini Cooper S. In addition, a large 35-litre fuel tank replaced the two small tanks, larger 8 ¼-inch disc brakes were sized to 12-inch tires, and a heavy-duty oil pump replaced the oil cooler.
The “Cooper by Leyland” advertisement launching the car in 1971 read: “For little old ladies, it ain’t.” …and went on to become an iconic performance race car in South Africa winning just about everything in its class for the next 15 years.
The engine in this car is a bored and stroked 1399cc conversion by the legendary Orlando Da Silva, regarded as one of the most famous mini performance engine builders in South Africa.
Our Mini GTS 1399cc Engine specification
· 36 DCD down-draught weber (non-standard) with Orlando Da Silva custom manifold
· 286 Megadyne performance cam from Ripspeed
· New crank
· Performance ported flowed cylinder head with hard seats to run on unleaded fuel
· 3:1 final drive
· Overhauled steering rack with new swivel hub ball joints and tie rod ends.
Works carried out in the last 3 months
We spoke with the South African Mini GTS club who helped us decode the VIN tag and then set about putting the car back to its original build colour scheme.
· Bare metal re-spray in British Leyland Orange with black GTS stripes
· Under carriage sprayed with Raptor black sealant
· Light Brown carpets…all brand new
· Beige door cards and quarter panels…all brand new
· Beige seats and off-white headliner…all brand new
· Original GTS seats re-covered in beige to the original GTS pleat design
· Original GTS steering wheel with Leyland centre cap
· Original 12 inch GTS wheels and rims included
· All window / door seals and rubbers replaced
Full service to MOT standard by Old Forge motors in Harrogate carried out on the 24th and 25th July 2024
New Timken wheel bearing hub kits
New Mintex brake shoe set and springs
New Speedo cable
New Shock absorbers
New upper and lower suspension arm poly bushes
New exhaust hangars
Weber Carb stripped down, serviced and re-built
New spark Plugs
New coil and spark plug leads
New temperature sensor
Brake lines flushed and re-filled
New Rear wheel cylinders
New suspension knuckle joints with poly gaiters
New Tie bar rubber bushes
When you sit in this car it’s like sitting in a brand-new car that came off the factory production line 50 years ago…the cabin is absolutely beautiful and pretty much flawless.
This car was previously owned and treasured by a mini specialist engineer for the last 24 years, and with the work we have since carried out is now in top mechanical condition and is ready to go…and as you can see looks amazing!
Car is customs cleared (VAT and duty paid) and ready for the new owner to apply to be the first UK owner. When you sit in this car it’s like sitting in a brand-new car that came off the factory production line 50 years ago…the cabin is absolutely beautiful and pretty much flawless.
This car was previously owned and treasured by a mini specialist engineer for the last 24 years, and with the work we have since carried out is now in top mechanical condition and is ready to go…and as you can see looks amazing!
This car is fully fettled and ready to enjoy
