Thanks guys. I will take the suggestions and put them to good use in the morning.

Window glass by Triplex also has date codes..

It depends on the year of car you are looking at.
From 1980 on Minis were stamped with a full vin number (17 digits) in the scuttle gutter panel.
The boot lock has a 3 or 4 digit number the first one or two being the week and the last two being the year of manufacture.
The wiper motor has the same coding.
Some rocker switches and ignition switches on later cars are date coded.
Also try the seat belts fully extended there is sometimes a date stamp on a white label there.

My car (early '90's) has the vin stamped under the edge of the panel below the wind screen at the back edge of the bonnet. Read the description in the listing I posted.
https://www.minispares.com/product/Classic/Body/Panel/Repair/HMP441001.aspx?030703&ReturnUrl=/shop/classic/Body/Panel/Front~Panels.aspx|Back%20to%20shop

FYI, I tried running thru the "Search" bit, and found pretty much everything I need to know except the answer to my question. Weird huh? Anyway, I appreciate your thought full feedback.

Anybody else?

been living under a ROCK and in a cave?/ this has been discussed DOZENS of times here on MM.. do search..

Locating the VIN tag on a Mini is pretty easy. However, I have heard that the VIN is also stamped in several locations on the shell. Can someone tell me where i need to look for this? FYI, researching a potential project and I don't want to get caught up in any un-ethical stuff. Wink, wink.