1978 Leyland Mini 1275 LS
Vehicle details
About this 1275 LS
This 1275 LS was last advertised for sale in 2006, when it was located in Geelong, VIC. If anyone has information about the current location or status of this mini, please get in contact with us so we can accurately record additional information on this register.
This car appears to have had a mini moke 1275 engine installed in place of the original 1275 LS motor. The 1275 LS motor should begin with a number prefix of 12H902, or 12H897. However, the number on this motor is 12YD - which was a prefix often used in Mokes I believe. This is also the earliest 1275 LS I have seen from the chassis plate, which confirms it was produced in July 1978. The majority of cars were produced in August - October 1978. I have also noticed, that this is the second nugget gold 1275 mini wh ich I have seen with brown carpet, rather than the traditional black. This could be a coincidence as an aftermarket change, however, may suggest that other colours were available.
The car appears to be all there, other than the original engine. Again, if anyone has information, please don't hesitate to get in touch with u by clicking on our username, or commenting below.
About the 1978 Leyland Mini 1275 LS
The Leyland Mini Clubman 1275 LS was the last mini version to be introduced and produced in Australia. The model was intended to have a longer production run as a high spec model in the Australian line up. However, with BMC ending manufacturing in Australia, the 1275 LS ended up being a run-out model, with estimates of 800 – 1000 cars produced overall.
The 1275 LS was produced in two colours, Nugget Gold and Hi-Ho Silver, both versions having side stripes with “1275 LS” printed to distinguish them from other models in the Leyland Mini line up. As the top model in the mini range, the 1275 LS was fitted with a 1275cc engine (sourced from and built in Europe), larger 12” wheels to house bigger front disc brakes, a long range fuel tank, and several other more “luxury” features available from the Mini parts bin of that era.
Interior features included a single speaker radio, triple pod instruments, adjustable seats and Formula GT steering wheel. Silver cars were generally fitted with Red corduroy style velour cloth seats, with black vinyl seat backings, door trims and roof lining. Gold cars were fitted with the same style fabric (but chocolate brown in colour), backed by cream vinyl, door trims and roof lining.
Without reference to the features of the car as briefly outlined above, a genuine 1275 LS can only be determined by its engine and chassis number. It is worth noting that the chassis plate of a 1275 LS will not specify “LS” like was done with other pre-1978 mini’s in Australia. The correct chassis first half prefix for a 1275 LS is XNFAD18Y/. The correct engine number can come in two forms. The most common form of the first half of the engine number prefix is 12H902. The other is 12H897.
It is unknown how many 1275 LS’s are still on the road, however, we have managed to collect the details of a decent number of cars on www.classicregister.com. If you have any information about any of the cars we have on this register, or would like to have your 1275 LS put on the register, please get in contact with us.
Here is an identification guide we've drawn up for the 1275LS:
http://classicregister.com/content/how-identify-1978-leyland-mini-1275-ls