R50 Front struts early model year 2002
 

I have a 2002 Mini Cooper built 1/02. apparently mini used a front strut specific to cars produced for the first 3 months then switched to a different strut in April 02. so far as I can tell, the only difference seems to be that the sway bar end links attach to the spring base on the strut assembly, but in cars produced after March 02, the sway bar ends attach to the flange on the strut tube. I want to use aftermarket struts, but Mini parts sellers dont know if it is possible to use struts for the cars produced after March 2002 because their parts books tell them they dont fit. Does anyone here know if I can use the later 2002 strut assembly on my car, and just switch the sway bar end links to accommodate the different mounting point? Thanks.