Lot details
Registration No: DEY 100
Chassis No: 1CB
Mot Expiry: March 2010

Not content with dominating Formula 3 - its rear-engined 500cc screamers won sixty-four out of seventy-eight major races between 1951 and 1954 - the Cooper Car Company set its sights on Formula 2. Introduced in 1952, the resultant front-engined Cooper Bristol lacked the power of Italian rivals but won considerable praise for its poise and chuckability. The Surbiton-based concern was quick to apply lessons learnt from its Formula 2 forays to sports-car design. Among the more tuneable powerplants available in post-WW2 Britain, the MG XPAG (1250cc) / XPEG (1466cc) pairing was favoured by small volume manufacturers and special builders alike. When either four-cylinder OHV unit was allied to a Cooper sportscar chassis featuring all-round independent transverse-leaf suspension, rack-and-pinion steering and four-wheel drum brakes, the result was typically a sharp handling and deceptively fast machine.

According to information supplied by the vendor, this particular example was supplied new as a kit (like almost all its siblings) before being clothed with a fibreglass Rochdale F-type body by first owners Niall and Ian Campbell-Blair. Interestingly, the two were also running the similarly attired 'Bristol-Barb' (registration number 'LBU 349') at around the same time. Despite being road registered as the Blair Special in 1956 (under the registration number 'DEY 100'), the Cooper-MG was apparently still being raced by Clive Doyle at the end of that decade. Laid-up following a period of road car usage, the story of its rediscovery appeared in Michael Ware's 'Lost and Found' column (Classic & Sportscar magazine, October 1991). Treated to an extensive restoration during which the decision was taken to fabricate and fit a copy of the factory aluminium body which George Cooper's Cooper-MG had originally worn, 'DEY 100' is since said to have been "used for racing and hillclimbs". Built-up by Edney, its 1500cc engine boasts a Laystall aluminium cylinder head, new competition distributor, Flamethrower coil, full-flow exhaust and twin 1.75-inch SU carburettors. While, other 'goodies' include a foam-filled fuel tank, Trident adjustable pedal assembly, flexible steel brake lines and Spax adjustable shock absorbers. Finished in blue with black upholstery, the two-seater is variously described by the vendor as being in "good" (bodywork, electrical equipment, four-speed manual gearbox), "tidy" (paintwork, interior trim) or "excellent" (engine) condition.