Original Mini Van Grille?

Mini Technical Sections Problems, Questions and Technical
1

So this van was bought for me back in 2009, not much progress has been made but developments are being made as to when I should be able to start cracking on.

Having looked around on the internet a lot to see if there are any other vans with this grille that don’t look modified in any other respect, I haven’t yet found any others.

 

It’s a 1978 95, looks original in every other respect but I’m just wondering if this was some optional extra? If not do the chrome parts simply screw onto the original steel press grille?

It won’t have been cut and shut as the plate on the passenger side sill is there and there isn’t an ID plate under the bonnet, which is how i’m lead to believe it’s meant to be, and there are absolutely no visible marks of any modification anywhere on the bodywork that could suggest that it’s been changed from car to van.

 

Thanks for any help in advance. If this is in the wrong section feel free to move it, I apologize in advance :slight_smile:

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2

The grill isn’t original all vans came from the factory with the grill pressed in as part of the front panel and not removable. It’s not uncommon to see saloon grills fitted though as removing them allows for more room when servicing. 

 

There should be a seam line between the wing and front panel on each side which has been filled over on your car. This probably means the front panel have been replaced at some point and who ever did it used a saloon panel. The bonnet would also been swapped for a saloon one at the same time as it has the top grill moulding that would have been there originally.  

 

The joint between the two panel should be a visible like this. 

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3

Ahh cool thank you very much, must have been an of-the-time modification as the van was retrieved from a ditch and clearly hadn’t been used for quite a while.

 

Cheers for the help.