1961 Austin Mini 850 Early floor-start example and just 100 miles recorded since a major restoratio

Registration - 305 NYA
Chassis No - AA2S7-D148784
M.O.T. - August 2024
Odometer - 31,269
This early, floor-start example of Alec Issigonis’ mould-breaking small car has recently emerged from a major restoration - its rebuilt original 848cc engine has subsequently covered just 100 miles. The body is freshly painted in the same Almond Green colour it bore when it left the factory, while the new light green and grey interior trim is also to original specification, and the Mini rides on period-correct 10” cream-painted steel wheels shod in Falken Sincera SN-807 tyres. A nice, and rare touch are the two wicker baskets housed under the rear seat – a little-known option back in the day. The vendor describes all aspects of the newly-restored car as ‘excellent’ and informs us that ‘305 NYA’ has been in the same family ownership for 20 years – not the more usual father-to-son story, however, but son-to-father! The enthusiast pair – the fifth and sixth keepers - have compiled two ‘huge’ history folders’. The Heritage Certificate shows that the matching-numbers vehicle rolled off the Longbridge production line on September 13, 1961, and was despatched to Taunton Motor Company in Somerset two days later (the dealer plate is still displayed on the driver’s door sill). It was then issued with registration ‘305 NYA’ on October 27. Sensitively restored and very well presented complete with 12 months’ worth of MOT, this charming little motorcar should provide its next owner with many years of fun motoring.
The classic Mini needs little introduction. BMC’s compact, two-door, four-seater may have first gone on sale in August 1959 but is inextricably linked to the Swinging Sixties. Designer Alec Issigonis maximised the space available for passengers and luggage by mounting the 850cc A Series engine transversely and driving the front wheels, making it a far more practical proposition than its diminutive proportions initially suggest. The model was first marketed as the Austin Seven and Morris Mini-Minor, with the Austin Seven being renamed the Austin Mini in January 1962, and the Mini marque itself coming into being in 1969.
In summary:
A newly-restored, matching numbers, floor-start example
Same family ownership for the past 20 years; six keepers in total
Just 100 miles covered since completion of the restoration