love:mini - issue 2

NEW!

Minis get dirrrty!!!

Full Dakar Report

love:mini

ISSUE:2

FRESH CONTENT, honest opinion

Mayfair comparison NIAIS Paceman launch Rocketman concept Hillclimb guide WRC MINI info HRCR Round-up Countryman first drive

SHOWS

Bingley MINI Thunder London Parade & more...

WIN!

MOSS VOUCHERS

M ighty M in i Cha mpion

Longbridge’s secret workforce DIY TECH • Replace water pump • Change steering wheel inserts

love:mini

about love:mini love:mini is your free community-based digital magazine with a fresh take on the Mini scene.

Loaded with honest, independent opinion and reviews, in-depth reporting and social interaction, hot news from the scene and original Mini-related content, we can be anything you help us to be.

SUBMIT

Mini Memories

interactive You Youcan cannow nowinteract interactdirectly directlywith withthe magazine, the magazine clicking by clicking on linksontolinks, topics of interest email addresses and enabling and video you toscreenshots, contribute at the enabling click ofyou a button. to broaden Onceyour we figure experience out how at the to click use more of a button. of this cool stuff, we will!

FEATURE

My Club

your magazine To be able to create love:mini we rely on Mini enthusiasts from around the globe to send us reports and pictures of what is happening in their local area. We are always looking for more people to help contribute by sending us pictures and stories. You can contribute, and in so many different ways, so get in touch and get involved!

editor@love-mini.co.uk

love:mini

*

• any Mini featured

• independent opinion • info & advice • MINI friendly • original content • made by readers

about love:mini love:mini is thie first magazine to bring together coverage of classic Minis and MINIs, and through this we hope to build stronger bridges between the two Mini communities.

We also want to promote the fun side of Mini-ing - with comprehensive motorsport reports, driving articles and challenges.

We enjoy spirited driving and discourage reckless driving.

As an independent publication, we are not restricted by ridiculous company policies, nor do we need to be nice about everything just to arse-lick advertisers. We can show you the real way enthusiasts work on their cars, give an honest review and opinion on topics and events, and, with an army of enthusiasts at the end of the mouse, we can do almost anything you’d like to see.

of charge. All contributors have voluntarily given up their time to write, photograph, or send stuff to us.

We may not be able to pay for your contributions, but we’re all about you - the enthusiasts, and the cars - and not the shareholders.

There can be some perks - such as free show tickets, or interviewing a Mini legend - but the limit is only limited by your imagination.

editor@love-mini.co.uk

Social life

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Brisbane, Australia

Website www.mini cooper.org/ australia/

32

love:mini

T

he day started as a on a navigation run in to the beautiful summer day Soon everyone started Queensland Hinterland. their at North Pine Dam until engines and departed The Mini Cooper Register with the westerly wind came their navigation questions and graciously invited the Mini blew a lot of our registration and first poker cards for Owners Club of Queensland a paperwork into the water. scenic drive to the first and stop at Tony and Kath set about The registration papers Woodford, meandering making this a wonderful via the had everything to do with picturesque Mt. Mee Range sponsored day to raise this day of days which funds with lots of Mini bends, was for research for the Crohns to beautifully orchestrated and collect their next poker and Colitis Association

by Mini Cooper Register of card from Judy and Ray Australia.

Australia stalwarts, Tony Retchless. and With lots of helpers and Kath Formosa, to undertake Unfortunately, Brian Heys’ donations - particularly a Poker Hand Run Day cash little beast had a clutch which and beautiful Darling Downs involved the purchasing problem and couldn’t make of meat from club member varying numbers of cards Bob (up Hooper of - the BBQ breakfast the trip. It was tucked up safe to five) at various locations and sound at the Formosa’s was finished in record time.

Shady Rest Motel and was Rally:Circu it:Hillclimb:Autograss: Words Peter Scherer Sprint

Motorsport

UK MINI CHALLENGE Photos www.minichallenge.co

.uk

ROUND 1

Champion starts new campaign in winning form Fresh

R

faces and fresh cars with fresh liveries rock up at Rockingham.

eigning Mini Challenge champion just fell short of a hat-trick of wins in the opening rounds at Rockingham , when Chris Panayiotou clinched his maiden victory in the final race of the weekend. Only 0.769s secs covered the top three after qualifying, with Caudle’s new John Cooper Works Class car taking pole from ex-Formula Vee and Formula Ford racer, Jason Mills, with Panayiotou in third. Lee Allen just had the edge over Steve Liquorish for S Class pole and debutant David Ogden topped the Club Class.

Caudle led the initial charge through Turn One from Panayiotou and Mills. But Allen made a sensational start and charged past Mills into the Deene Hairpin.

As the lead duo began to escape Mills recovered third as Allen had the JCW’s of Jason Richardson and Chris Knox in formation behind.

Knox made it into fourth through Turn One for the third time and Richardson followed into Deene.

Mills was next to fall as Knox charged by into Deene a lap later.

Up at the front though, Caudle had everything under control and cruised to a comfortable victory. “I was a bit worried at the start, but I think we all made a few mistakes,” he said.

Panayiotou was a comfortable second, but although Knox retained third from lap four, he had Richardson on his tail at the flag.

Mills ended his race in the gravel at the Esses after an earlier power loss gave way to brake failure. “I had started to lose power from the third lap but when the brakes failed I managed to angle into the gravel.

But after I got out it caught alight under the bonnet,” he explained.

Former Sport Maxx Cup racer Chris Oakman rounded off the top

MINI 2011 Facelift

love:mini

Rockingham

five after an almighty scrap with the determined Allen.

“Loved it. I knew I would pick up a few places at the start, they had the edge over me at the Esses though every time,” said Allen.

Chris Smith’s R56 was seventh and former MG Champion Lee Sullivan secured second in the class leaving Steve Liquorish S to fend off Dean Raymond for third in class.

Kevin O’Connor took the Club Class spoils by a whisker from debutant David Ogden, having led all the way.

Race Two

Knox got the jump on Caudle at the start of race two, but the Champion shot down the inside into Deene to take charge again. Panayiotou grabbed third with Allen fourth after another demon start.

Into Tarzan for the second time

Overhau ling the MINI’s look and two new models .

UK

A social club for Mini enthusi asts, with weekly meets and fun for everyon e.

makeover

Submitted by Marie James

M

anchester Minis is in it’s 11th year and still going strong, with new members joining every month.

We have over 100 active members and these spread from Cornwall to Leeds, not just Manchester .

We are more than just a Mini club that meets once a month, we are more of a social club, and we meet every week on a Wednesday at the Cheshire Line Tavern, Cheadle. Most discussions are not Mini-related, but of course we do have the usual Mini chats, but just about anything passes as conversation. And we have quite few technically and mechanical a lyminded people, so that helps with any Mini or non-Mini related problems.

We have an

and would perhaps be sent to our bedroom, where there was of course no TV or heating apart from maybe a hot water bottle at bedtime! If it got really cold then there was an extra paraffin heater for the hallway which ran on esso Blue or Pink Paraffin which were always advertised with a catchy tune on TV in the winter months.

1963 is also about when my own early memories of the Mini begin. At this time the Mini was just about the only front wheel drive car available, so even though my dad didn’t like them much, to my delight he borrowed one from his garage and car sales business to get to work in the snow a little easier — as Minis, with the engine weight over the front driven wheels, had much better traction in the snow than most of the rear wheel drive cars of the time, unless a heavy weight was placed in the boot and snow chains fitted to their wheels.

The only 4x4 vehicles then were 24 love:mini

The se

online forum that anyone can join and there are sections on there for mechanical help, as well as all the all important upcoming events, and a general chit chat section.

At the Cheshire Line Tavern where we meet, I often organise quiz and raffle nights for everyone (I’m the Events Organiser, so everyone kind of looks to me for things to do, but occasionally we get some nice fellows who arrange their own entertainme nt so I get to just join in and take a step back). All the proceeds go to the club funds which buys things like flyers, gazebos, banners, website renewals etc. We also do autotest nights once a year at the

The Mini had much better traction in the snow than most cars of the time

10

DATE

Location

Manchester Minis

1963

T

Words and photos Brett Nosse.

August 30, 2009

Club Profile:

Born not long before the Mini was launched, Martin Bell recalls his memorie s of growing up in the world alongside the Mini.

he recent snowy weather knitted by their mums to got me thinking back to keep out the cold, but I also the really bad winter & remember we still had to wear snow of 1963 which started short trousers despite the cold on Boxing Day 1962 and weather! lasted until March ‘63 in many places... back then we FeW luxurIeS still had to go to school each At home few had central day, staying home and playing heating, very often there would out in the snow would have be ice on the inside of my been considered skiving. For a bedroom window when you youngster, of course, snow is an woke up on a freezing cold adventure and I can remember morning! There were only two walking through the deep snow warm rooms in our house; the to school in Wellington boots kitchen, due to heat from the and climbing to the top of cooker and the coal-fired boiler tall snow piles at the sides of for heating the water, which the roads and driveways that had to be lit each morning with had been cleared. The school a dangerous-looking gas poker playground quickly became by my mum. One of my pocket an ice palace with one slide money stretching almost the length jobs of the playground. The bigger was to boys would run up and launch fetch the themselves on it, hurtling along buckets at high speed and unable to of coal stop for anyone in the way.

It needed would give today’s health & from the coal bunker out in the safety conscious school staff a back garden. The other warm heart attack! room was the living room where Today it seems many schools we mainly watched TV and stop children going out to play which had a gas fire. However, in the snow even if they opened if any of us left the door to — much too dangerous… this room open and let all the Many boys used to wear dark expensive heat out into the cold woollen SAS-style balaclavas hallway we were in big trouble

Poker Day Run Celebrating 50 years with the Mini Cooper Register Austra lia

62

Time:warp

Share it Are you’re doing something exciting that you think others would be interested to hear about - then share it with the wider community?

We are all about encouraging people to share their knowledge and get more involved in the scene.

As a digital magazine we can be very dynamic in size and style, to accomodate any type of article.

From home-made mods and stunning photos to club announcements and heated opinions, we have room for them all. Just get in touch.

Mini run

All free, thanks to you Everything you see in love: mini has been contributed free

cond refresh to the MINI’s appearance has been revealed, along with an announcement of two new diesel models for 2011.

From September 2010, all MINI saloon, Clubman and Cabrio models will be subject to the update, although we expect newer models to feature elements of the new look. The subtle changes follow on from 2006’s refresh, which again moved the MINI away from it’s child-like look to something more serious.

Overall, the cars have been touched up inside and out and there is also a new set of colours and a new range wheels to tie-in with the restyling.

118

Starting at the front you can see the most noticeable change in appearance is in the lower bumpers, front and rear, which have been extended downwards to conform to those new pedestrian safety regs and prevent knee injury in the event of a collision.

This in turn has given the MINI a

The lock-up

love:mini

Bruno Cottanceau Hello love:mini, my name is Bruno Cottanceau. I’m 54, single and I live in France.

Here is a picture of my MINI Cooper S, which I have nicknamed UK GIRL! She is a 2004 Cooper S model, and has been treated to a few luxuries, such as a reprogramed ECU, JCW brakes, new WebSpoke wheels, JCW injectors and airbox, all of which has pushed the bhp output up to about 200bhp.

I hope you all like my beautiful UK Girl as much as I do.

Got an idea?

Have you thought of a cool idea for a feature you’d like to read about? If so, others would probably like to read about it too.

We have contacts and authority all around the Mini industry and if you have a good idea for an article, we can try and help make it happen for you.

Where possible, we would even set it up for you to write the article yourself, after benefiting from any relevant experience that goes with it.

more aggressive stance, which to join the foglight on the may be to the liking of most lower rear bumper. male drivers.

The Clubman has had For Cooper S owners its who own tweaks with the rear have been crying out for brake light cluster confoming cooling vents - their prayers more to other models with a have been answered negating chrome surround, while the Cooper the need to remove the front S model has a wide opening foglights for a similar effect. between the two exhaust Optional xenon headlights pipes which replicates can be ordered with either the form of an air outlet and black reflectors or adaptive is bordered by chrome edging. lighting which turns the Inside the central facia headlights as you turn the has been darkened from steering wheel - essentially the contrasting light grey to enabling you to see round black, and a new LED display corners better. sits within the basic speedo.

From the side the indicator The optional premium speedo now repeaters have been visually comes with a colour screen enhanced, looking less which can be used to watch plasticky and featuring a glass videos via an external device. cover with concentric circles.

More chrome has also S owners are again treated to been added to the interior something a little more flashy. surrounding airvents and At the rear all MINI models on the steering wheel. now feature dynamic LED Trim colours have been revamped rear lights that shine brighter and claim to be made the harder you brake. Under from better materials than before. particularly hard braking Optional ambient lighting they will even flash to is warn now also available, covering following cars that you are 756 shades of colours, braking sharply. Additionally and the interior and exterior mirrors the reversing light has moved Showing us your Mini are available with autoposition stuff from the light cluster dimming.

134

FEATURE

My Mini Sam Renton Hello love:mini, Im Sam Renton, 20 and currently have my own media production company based in Stafford.

I am a very keen photographe r and have restored my mini with my dad for the past 2 years. We bought it completely standard

from its previous owner in newark, the front was the worst but we were amazed with the condition of the doors and rear. We replaced the whole front and had it fully resprayed. I replaced the rear subframe and sprayed it a funky green. i have also given it a retro mk1 look, to set it apart from other minis. i hope to spray the front subframe and engine in the near future as well

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Official

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WELCOME

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The mi niest MI NI is finally here. p.58

ISSUE 2

Four-seater (ish) Rocketman lights our fuse.

SPRING 2011

Double-hinged doors.

A

fter a great response following the launch of the first issue of love:mini we are delighted to present to you the second issue.

We’ve struggled to cut down the number of pages, as there is just soooo much to share with you. And sorry for

the long wait.

This time around the magazine is choc-a-block full of rallying and motorsport information to keep you hooked for hours.

As part of our brand expansion we’ve also recently agreed to sponsor

the Bristol Mini Day on June 5, (see the Events page) and will be branching out further throughout the year.

Craig McBeth Editor craig.mcbeth@love-mini.co.uk

THIS ISSUE WAS MADE WITH HELP FROM:

John Baker, Jan Fialkowski, Tony Haslam, Thomas Wuerzi, Matt Price, Mark Lim, Matt Parkinson, Norman Nelson, George Marsh, Mick Yates, Robin Hood Mini Club, Stuart Watson, John and Lynne Kornbrekke, David Young, Ger Roberts, Snowdon Minis, Mel Toombs, Ruth Williams, Brian Thomas, rallysportmedia.com, James Beckett, Ben Hamer, Mark Cowan, Louise Inch, Andy Yeomans, Chris Ordon, Charlie Johnson, Dave Overfield Allan Faulkner, Josh Kelly, Mohammad J. Al-Harbi, Chris Fawcett, Tanya Medcroft, Adam Nierzad, Greig Allan, Anton Gihan, James Beckett.

Copyright blurb

Copyright of all contributions remains with the original owner. love:mini produced content is copyright of love:mini. By submitting words and photos to love:mini you agree to allow us to use and reproduce this material in any way, shape or form (in a non-offensive manner) for the foreseeable future.

We do not intentionally use copyrighted material without permission, and for the most part we have been given permission to use copyrighted material.

However, if you believe we have used copyrighted material without permission, we will do what we can to make amends. Reasonable attempts have been made to find and contact any copyright owner whose material may have been used.

love:mini

dash:board www.love-mini.co.uk

Storytime

Sharing your tales, new and

LOOKING BACK it’s Even with the seats out going to be a tight squeeze!

by Thomas Wuerzi

T

he Mini has never been the most comfortable car to sleep in, but some some of us probably have at because point - whether it was Pleasant surprisep.m. had we’d broken down and “Friday afternoon, 4:30 the here to wait a few hours for The weekend is finally and AA, or because the tent – and lots of rain is expected. too sleeping bag had become What could be nicer than bare the that fine cold and wet to pick up a small but car metal cabin cell of the selection of reading material not to was a better choice, it’s from the filling station to opt would one something enjoy during my two free do. days? Back at home I make the However, one classic myself comfortable, turn flip enthusiast, who also happens coffee machine on and to work for MINI in Munich, the magazines I just through found did just that when he bought. as a hotel with a classic Mini I could barely believe my is a hotel the bed. Thomas ‘Wuerzi’ eyes, there is actually halls the in quite a character

How things were back in 1959.

14 Memory Lane

for of MINI HQ, and is known and his ‘funny little accent’ representing a typical classic owner, so it was no surprise he told to his colleagues when them what he had discovered to do. and what he was about

16

Sleeping under the stars.

You that has a Mini room! room. read that correctly: Mini in They actually put a Mini to go their hotel room. I have there. there, no, we have to go this I was not yet aware that a long decision would lead to quarrel. and drawn out marital time.

But one thing at a After reserving the room, night the day of days, no, the was of nights got closer and the suddenly upon us. When the door to our room opened, lit up eyes of our night-time at us bed companion gleamed Open - a likeable Mini British Classic in chic black.

We let our eyes sweep were through the room and Jack absolutely thrilled. Union seats, floor lamp, Mini racing a starry sky over the opened it convertible top and, believe seat or not, a Union Jack toilet were we But in the bathroom. so first starting to get hungry, eat. we went to get a bite to night our to forward Looking to in the Mini, we returned our room later that evening.

May fai rC o

8 Timewarp

Sleeping in style

6 7 e r a p m

old.

love:mini

Your classic Mini photos pre-2000.

16 Storytime

Getting even closer to your loved one.

Mini run

UP TO SPEED

malaysia

Unique nation Minis’ Malaysian road trip

18 Club Profile

Meeting the crew from Surrey Hills.

22 Event Reports

Bringing together Minis from all over

DATE

November 19, 2010

LocATioN Kuala Lumpur to Penang, Malaysia

o

n the weekend of the various Mini groups in November 19, a group of Malaysia for group runs and Mini lovers organised a road trip to Penang from Kuala social gatherings.

The group assembled at the Lumpur. calling themselves Jalan Duta toll early on the ‘Unique Nation Minis’, 22 19th. Forming into a long line, Minis, of various types, the Minis, accompanied by travelled down the North three support vehicles, went South expressway for the down the expressway towards group’s inaugural road trip. comprising of Mkis, iis, iiis, two Mokes, and one 1275 GT, the Unique Nation Minis came together to share and promote a love of original design Minis. organizer and founder, Gig, said that the group was formed to promote the social side of owning a Mini, to share knowledge and Rally:Circuit:Hillcl resources, and bring together imb:Autograss:Spr int

love:mini

How to get started in hillclimbing a Mini.

56 louise inch

A day with the BBC. love:mini

Hillclimb & Sprint

on the PULSE

Dakar Rally Raid 2011

ng A quick guide to starti ting by Ben Hamer hillcl imbing and sprin to an easy and cheap way

The MINI Countryman gets its first real test with a foray through South America.

are Hillclim bing and sprints in your roadgoing Mini. start having more fun

Photos X-Raid/Dakar

T

42 Motorsport

50 hillclimb guide

their first fuel stop at Tapah.

After their second stop at Gunung Semanggol, the Minis arrived at the Ferry Terminal in Butterworth at 4:00p.m.

Provided with an escort by the Royal Malaysian Traffic Police, the group checked in the 1926 Heritage Hotel in

Motorsport

22

Mini fun from all around the world.

The Dakar Rally, the HRCR Mini Cup, Mini Masters Series.

the nation.

Words and photos Mark Lim

42

love:mini

he Dakar Rally is steeped in history and has a fascinating story to tell. It all started back in 1977 when Frenchman Thierry Sabine lost on in the Libyan desert during the Abidjan to Nice Rally.

So overwhelemed was he by the challenging terrain and landscape that he founded the Paris to Dakar Rally which quickly found popularity and now over 30 years later it is considered one of the most gruelling rallies in the world. This was the rally the MINI had chosed to put its new Countryman, and WRC representative, through its paces.

German rally experts X-Raid were tasked with getting the new MINI Countryman up to scratch for the enduring rally and set about reinforcing the bodywork, adding a

rollcage, sumpguard and dumping in a new 3-litre, 315bhp engine from the BMW X3CC rally car. The final result isn’t the prettiest of MINIs, but it sure does look tough.

Experience driver Guerlain Chicherit and co-driver Michel Périn were brought on board to pilot the new MINI and find and push its boundaries to the limit.

This year’s rally was based in South America, following the new formula of moving the rally since terrorist attacks in Mauritania forced the cancellation in 2008. Starting in Buenos Aires in Argentina, the rally would cut across the country heading for northern Chile before turning south and following the coast and then cutting across country again and over the border back in to Argentina and finishing at Bueno

S

o what is hillclimbing and sprinting?

Hillclimbing and the sprinting are basically same discipline and are referred to as speed events. up, And let’s clear one thing hillclimbing is NOT driving that is a car up a muddy hill, timed Trials. Speed events are up a laps of a circuit or a run form hill. It is about the oldest of motorsport and originated cars their racing toffs from up their driveways, well something like that anyway.

Cars are run one at a time only with so it is very safe, yourself to blame for an run accident. Events are all on solid surfaces, tarmac a or concrete, and involve standing start and a flying finish. You will learn more about the format of events later in this article.

50

Speed events are a great many way into motorsport, but get hooked and never move fast on. If you want to drive in a competitive environment and a friendly atmosphere events then this is what speed one are all about. There is mentioning worth more thing that at this point and that is car two drivers can drive one at any event. This is great as it can halve a car budget not and even if your car is you will competitive in a class always be racing someone so with the same equipment, no excuses.

So where do Minis fit into speed events? used in Well, Minis have been were speed events since they a very first built and are still in competitive proposition

are several classes today. There Minis some very fast full race national out there still breaking are records and equally there out some near standard Minis there just having fun. is Whatever you have there to suit class a certainly almost events you and your car. Speed cars to allow a large variety of production compete, ranging from of cars (with varying levels of modifications) and all types seaters kit cars through to single Formula (which can range from ined Fords and motorbike-eng single types to £100,000+ 600bhp are seaters). Few types of cars excluded from speed events, some WRC cars and karts are a Mini that spring to mind. In competing these days you will be directly with cars like Novas, small Fiestas, some Japanese old rival cars and even the Mini’s the Hillman imp.

love:mini

58 On the Pulse

In-depth news on the biggest issues.

72 Shout/Rant

I’m a pocket rocketman

CONCEPT

It’s

58

been rumoured for a while, but finally MINI’s small MINI concept has arrived - and in what style! to resort to a squashed, raised diagonal lines. Very The Rocketman concept smart. car like Again like the classic Mini, at a glance Furtherthe Toyota iQ. is a homage to everything features include visibility all around is another the classic Mini stands for Carbon-fibre double-hinged doors, either feature here. The classic - maximum space in the was space frame side of the A-panel to make lauded for its all-around smallest size, and forward visibility access easier. The rear lights and with hardly any obstructions thinking ideas, and it is packed double-hinged aresomething special too, with on the Rocketman full of ideas. (including the doors ‘handles’ of light projecting glass roof), it’s going to Immediately the style of be like stop and indicator lights the onto car stands out with its Unique the body of the car. flecks of carbon on display, but Look closely at the wheels projected in actual Our View fact the whole car is created rear lights and you will see they are Wow. Where to begin. It looks on a carbonfibre spaceframe trimmed with a carbonfibre fantastic, but you’ve got to ask making it ultralight. So 3+1 seating hubcap - this is how much of this would another fuellikely ultralight, that MINI is saving mechanism, making quoting the make it onto a production model.

Twin-opening jaw-dropping economy wheels more aerodynamic figures A full carbon-fibre spaceframe . rear with of 94mpg.

At the rear the hatchback for starters sounds droolworthy The pictures don’t do it drawer boot is pivoted right enough, but what about the cost? in the justice, but the Rocketman centre of the wholly glassy The rear lights are a bit Aerodynamic roof. silly, is just 11-feet 3-inches The boot also has a second long, but aside from that, what wheels storage is there adding about 13 inches section in the shape of to the not to like? You can get four in, classic’s famous length.

In just, but let’s be honest, 94mpg a drawer that pulls out. it’s not a today’s modern world of On top there is nod to the safety, family car is it? Even the classic getting it down to this British heritage of the Mini size Mini isn’t the family car it once was a tough job, especially with a union jack glass was - it’s a plaything, exactly roof. when looking to keep MINI’s like The design is actually created this will be. famous front end and not using the car’s structural have The all-round visibility and beams along the horizontal and glass element is also a top detail love:mini for us. We like, a lot.

Classic Mini sized MINI the answer to our prayers?

FEATURES

Gear

new

Bits and pieces for your

^Mini

T ToP MounTs

Table fron caMber adjus cemod ified.com www.raceper forman £195

to without having the perfect ride Race mounts from your MINI for adjusta ble top Want to set up Well these camber trick. get all dirty? d are just the and track and Performance Modifiebeen tested both on the road making The mounts have d from within the engine bay, a doddle. adjuste ry at the track can be easily ing testing the geomet alumin ium with self lubricat adjusting and t quality billet is an excellen Made from aircraft the adjusta ble top mount set s Teflon race bearing serious driver. more choice for the

door Mirror caPs

mmm JCW goodies

http://mybeautifulmin i.com www.mini mania.com From £55 / $225

Your comments and gripes.

flair to your Add your own individual door mirror MINI with a set of genuine without powercaps. Available with or Chrome Union Jack, Checkered, fold you can choose from flush you might If you’re feeling really covers and Black Jack styles. very cool JCW carbon-fibre the even want to consider a mortgage might have to skip making but at $695 a pair you

74 The lock-up

payment.

on

bonneT scooP insulaTi alTa accessPorT

www.altaperformance.com $895

Your Minis.

90

love:mini

with Got the urge to play around The your MINI’s tuning settings? simple plugALTA AccessPORT is a up to and-play device that hooks allows your diagnostics port and device also you into the ECU. This an claims to be able to unlock the wheels additional 20-40bhp at connected. within minutes of being with In-house maps are included as you the ability to upgrade car. Currently change parts for your for North this device only works are there but American models, Asian plans for a European and compatible model soon.

www.mini mania.com $37.50

S at high speed a lot If you drive your Cooper for isn’t it?) then the (well, that’s what they’re of the bonnet scoop has been reported cases excessive heat. If you partially melting due to insulation, then it migh S isn’t fitted with this be worth considerin it. Suitable for 2007 S Hatchs, 2008+ S Clubmans and 200 Convertibles.

t ere

ur ht ng 7+

09 S

Schnitzer MINI 90

love:mini sponsors

Move over Mobility Scooter Y

our first thought s on this MINI? was to say Pretty cool, that huh? What electric-poweredthis concept vehicle about if I from AC Schnitze Well, whateve - still cool? Not as r is actually much? is growing r your views , and on electric manufacturers with oil and fuel prices rocketin vehicles, their popular For us petrol-h(and customers) are ity g, it’s easy looking for to eads though, hard coupled cheaper-to-run see why the sound with a sweet alternat ives. a combus exhaust note of the crank and pistons tion-eng ined add to the car. Howeve real ambian working r, before you of the nearest start spitting ce of driving G-Wiz in the directio or 20 years or Prius just think n to the time when most vehicles future in 10 powered by alternat ive are likely to be means to And althoug fossil fuels. h, many of think about us electric vehiclesdon’t really want to have to eventua , if lly drive them, we are going to better make then they them to be pretty special, had this Police and MINI is giant step in the right directio n.

...electric power just got serious

love:mini

82

love:mini

83

FEATURES 76 mayfair lady

SOCIAL SCENE

A look at the new and classic versions of the Mayfair.

112 After Hours Mini in a game, aren’t we lucky!

80 Country drive

114 Noticeboard

A reader’s first opinions on the MINI Countryman.

Announcements, stolen Minis, and general stuff that doesn’t fit elsewhere.

82 Silent police AC Schnitzer give the MINI-E a police and power makeover.

116 DIGIMINI

Weird and cool Mini stuff on the internet.

DIGIMINI

118 Future Events

ful from the web

The weird and wonder

is a This snowy picture ition beautiful juxtapos love of love and hate. is the desire to decorate a one’s Mini with of preferent ial sticker one’s personal opinion, in while hate appears the the acronym and wording which offers to a derogatory term the anyone who reads an driving sticker whilst suV. Beautifu l.

Upcoming events for the season.

WORKSHOP

Snapped

KNOWLEDGEBASE

acebook pages MAgneTized Mini www.facebook.com/ MagnetizedMini

BRiTish Mini CluB www.facebook.com/ britishmin iclub

Mini MOTORsPORT www.facebook.com/ Mini.Motorsport

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86 The Business

Finding out about Blakehill Body Centre.

88 GEAR

Bits to buy for your Mini.

Objective Remove the faulty water pump and fit a new one.

#2

tOOls • 2x 7/16” spanners.

• 7/16” and 1/2” sockets

AROnline on the Celebrati ng 10 years stands web, AROnline, which has become for Austin-Rover, king for anyessential bookmar British cars one whose love of the humble extends further than little Mini. and useful of tons is There the site and unique material on maintained it is designed and Keith Adams. by motoring writer

• • •

Flathead screwdriver Possibly 10mm socket/spanner Gasket paste

time 60 minutes Difficulty 4/10

Replacing the classic Mini’s water pump Alternator off and radiator out.

1.

To get access to the water pump you’re going to need to remove the grille, alternator and radiator.

cOst Around £22 for water pump and gasket

First remove your Mini’s grille, either by unscrewing it from the front panel, or by undoing the grille buttons.

94 Under 106 DIY TECH II Change your MINI’s construction 102

102 DIY TECH I

Replacing a classic Mini water pump.

by Craig McBeth

Considering your Mini’s engine is rusty/brown water trail, powered by lots of little I traced it explosions back to the water pump. This was (or burns for the technicallyconfirmed with the engine correct), you’ll want to running be make and water leaking from sure the cooling system it. is working A lack of water in the properly. cooling system will cause the In my case I noticed a engine to water leak overheat and terminally and the need to top up kill your the radiator Mini’s block and likely the head every few days. So, following the too. So make sure it’s all working.

love:mini

A detailed long-term project diary.

Submit your articles

Showing you how it is really done.

DIY TECH I

love:mini

Yeah, yeah, don’t mention the state of the engine bay.

2.

Make sure the engine is cool. If you have been running the Mini in the last hour, go away and come back in half an hour. You really don’t want hot water from the radiator pissing out all over you.

3.

In theory it’s probably best

steering wheel inserts.

108 Diaries

What people have been up to with their Minis. love:mini

Time:warp A sketch of a potential future city car.

The original Mini design demonstrates how its compact design can still offer lots of space.

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Reliving the life of the Mini

1959 F

Development on BMW’s carbonfibre monococque begins in earnest.

ollowing a wave of new model releases from MINI, as well as the departure of longterm Head of MINI Design - Gert Hildebrand - we thought it would be worth looking at the original Mini design.

Issigonis’ concept was for maximum space in the smallest package - something we would all agree the MINI failed on. But with news suggesting that the Third Generation of MINIs could be redesigned from scratch under the new leadership of Anders Warming, there is some hope of a more mini package. Along with the development of carbon monocoques and three and two cylinder engines, this mini car could be closer than you think...

SEE NEWS PAGES

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Time:warp Austin Village

The fast expansion of the Longbridge factory during World War I, led to a quickly built village to house the growing number of workers.

T

he history of the Mini, its founding fathers and its birthplace spans further back than just the lifetime of the Mini. By the time the Mini was launched in 1959 the Longbridge factory in Birmingham had already been standing for 54 years. Bought as a derelict tin printing works in 1905 by Herbert Austin, it developed to become the home of the very successful Austin Motor Company, and later the less-successful BMC/BL/ Rover.

With the outbreak of the

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First World War in 1914, the factory was required to stop car manufacturing to produce munitions for the Allied Forces. Such was the demand for all types of equipment that the factory quickly expanded.

Austin was concerned that because of the massive increase in the workforce that was needed to fuel the War Effort he had to find dormitory accommodation. To give some idea of the sudden increase in numbers of employees, in 1914 the company employed just 2500 people but by 1918

Words & copyright John Baker.

Photos John Baker and British Motor Industry Heritage Trust.

it had grown to 22,000 who were mainly women. Transport was limited in wartime so he needed accommodation locally, this was a problem as the factory was built in a very rural setting. So on November 16, 1916 he decided to buy 120 acres of farm land in Hawkesley Mill Lane from Thomas Middlemore for ÂŁ7750.

Because the development need to be constructed quickly in December 1916 he purchased 200 Canadian cedar wood bungalows from the Aladdin Company, Bay City, Michigan, USA, at a cost of $115,000.

The Company took out a mortgage in 1917 with the Secretary of State for War and the Minister of Munitions, which allowed it to have access to a maximum of ÂŁ75,000 to develop the estate. Interest on the loan would be at 5.5% per annum.

Austin Village

To construct a new estate involved a lot of planning, also all the main services such as sewers & drains, and the supply of gas and electricity had to laid on. As this was a green field site, an agreement was made with Morland & Impey Ltd that access to the development could be made by using a private roadway from Hawkesley Mill Farm.

The estate was laid out in the shape of a horseshoe by J W Wilson. The main road through the estate was apply called Central Avenue which at one end divided into a dual carriageway which is rumored to be the first dual carriageway in the City of Birmingham.

Because of the possible fire risk twenty-five pairs of conventional brick houses were built to act as a fire break (one brick pair of semi to every six bungalows), A

temporary licence on the 26th April 1917 was granted for the erection of the bungalows, because the council was still concerned about the possible fire risk. It was agreed between the Company and the Birmingham Corporation that 37 Central Avenue would be used as a Police Station, it appears that in the end this did not happen.

Now that permission had now been granted, work started immediately and after 11 months the last one was completed and occupied. As the license was only for 15 years, the City of Birmingham Council continued to renew the so called ‘temporary’ licenses for the wooden bungalows, but in the 1960s accepted that after nearly 40 years they were in-fact permanent structures.

The bungalows had the following living room measuring 20ft by 10ft which you entered from an enclosed porch. With a kitchen dining room 10ft by 10ft which included a gas cooker, gas washing boiler, sink and cupboard space. Three bedrooms each 10ft square, you will see that the accommodation was not too crowded. At the back was a large garden where vegetables could be grown and probably a long washing line.

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Rent on a bungalow including rates was 14s 6d (ÂŁ0.73).

As each house or bungalow was used as a dormitory, the accommodation was seven people to a bungalow and 12 people to a house, so that the estate was able to house about 2,000 people.

After the War in the 1920s, when the company had a very reduced workforce, the houses were sold to families of Austin employees at ÂŁ250 leasehold and ÂŁ300 freehold.

It is interesting that the deeds to the properties laid out for a specific schedule of house painting etc. which would ensured that the village would be well maintained even though ownership had passed to the individual residents.

What the deeds did allow was that the timber bungalows could be replaced with brick structures on the same plots, interestingly not one owner took up this option.

The Company sold the remainder of the land to Birmingham Council and

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Hawkesley Farm which had been empty since 1936 was demolished in 1947. This part of the land was purchased

by Mitchells & Butlers Ltd, who built a Pub called the Woodpecker. Work on the

building did not start till 1960, and opened for business on the 8th December 1961.

The remaining land had been developed by the Council for housing in the 1950s. A new Church of England church

was built at the corner of Longbridge Lane and Turves Green. Longbridge Baptist Church in Hawkesley Crescent moved into a new church in Turves Green in 1954. The original wooden church was taken down and moved to the new site to become the hall. Two semi-detached houses were built on the vacant land opposite Central Avenue.

In 1990 a small group of dedicated residents held a meeting to discuss the possibility of forming a local association with the aim of preserving this unique estate. So the Austin Village Preservation Society was born and in 1997 achieved conservation status.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.austinmemories.com www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk

Austin Village

Longbridge Factory

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Memory Lane Your classic Mini memories from 1959-2000

IN loving memory Jan Fialkowski Hello love:mini, May I submit a few pics of our treasured 1972 Minivan 850cc. We travelled the length and breadth of the UK in this little car, and spent many a night in it with a young family when off camping.

Oh happy days.. My dear wife Cher (in pics) died of breast cancer in 2009.

She loved this wee Mini.

She bought a Mini Cooper Sportspack in 1997, now kept as new, in her memory...

I know you don’t want recent images, but I MUST send one of Cher sitting in her pride and joy (MiniCoo) ... as she was dying of cancer..

She died six months after this photo was taken.

With best regards Jan Fialkowski

2008 14

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1975 xxx

My life of Minis Tony Haslam Hi love:mini, here are some of my old Mini pictures for you to share with the Mini community.

Pic 1 (below) is my van outside my mate’s house in Chester 1968.

Pic 2 is of my wife Jill on a trip out North Wales 1967, just before we met. Pic 3 was in North Wales on holiday in 1973 when we first got together.

Pic 4 is North Wales again, on holiday in 1974 just after we got married. The last picture is of my sister Jen with a Blue 1000 Wendens Ambo, Essex for cousins wedding in 1974.

1974 1974

SUBMIT

Mini Memories

1968

1967

1973 love:mini

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Storytime

Sharing your tales, new and old.

Sleeping under the stars.

Even with the seats out it’s going to be a tight squeeze!

Sleeping in style

by Thomas Wuerzi

T

he Mini has never been the most comfortable car to sleep in, but some of us probably have at some point - whether it was because we’d broken down and had to wait a few hours for the AA, or because the tent and sleeping bag had become too cold and wet that the bare metal cabin cell of the car was a better choice, it’s not something one would opt to do.

However, one classic enthusiast, who also happens to work for MINI in Munich, did just that when he found a hotel with a classic Mini as the bed. Thomas ‘Wuerzi’ is quite a character in the halls

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of MINI HQ, and is known for his ‘funny little accent’ and representing a typical classic owner, so it was no surprise to his colleagues when he told them what he had discovered and what he was about to do.

Pleasant surprise

“Friday afternoon, 4:30 p.m.

The weekend is finally here – and lots of rain is expected.

What could be nicer than to pick up a small but fine selection of reading material from the filling station to enjoy during my two free days? Back at home I make myself comfortable, turn the coffee machine on and flip through the magazines I just bought.

I could barely believe my eyes, there is actually a hotel

that has a Mini room! You read that correctly: Mini room.

They actually put a Mini in their hotel room. I have to go there, no, we have to go there.

I was not yet aware that this decision would lead to a long and drawn out marital quarrel.

But one thing at a time.

After reserving the room, the day of days, no, the night of nights got closer and was suddenly upon us. When the door to our room opened, the lit up eyes of our night-time bed companion gleamed at us - a likeable Mini British Open Classic in chic black.

We let our eyes sweep through the room and were absolutely thrilled. Union Jack floor lamp, Mini racing seats, a starry sky over the opened convertible top and, believe it or not, a Union Jack toilet seat in the bathroom. But we were starting to get hungry, so first we went to get a bite to eat.

Looking forward to our night in the Mini, we returned to our room later that evening.

SUBMIT

Mini Story

But then: surprise. Only one of us fit in the Mini, the mattress is just too narrow for two, at least when I’m one of them!

Who gets to sleep inside it and who draws the short straw and has to sleep in the normal bed? This is where we get to the quarrel. For my wife it was self-evident that she would sleep in the Mini, but not for me! So we rolled a dice. OK, I won, but the evening was not over yet. Life

is not a picnic! Despite a dirty look I cuddled myself under the blanket and counted little Minis until I peacefully fell asleep.

Food for thought

After a delicious “reconciliation breakfast” we had the luck of being able to ask the “architects” of the Mini room a couple of probing questions. The answer that

On Her Majesty’s Service.

explained everything: “As a passionate aficionado of the Mini, I wanted to give likeminded people something back in the form of a theme room.” It wasn’t a problem for Dirk Boll to sacrifice his own black Mini British Open Classic.”

La nd hotel Beverlan d Sch lichten felde 21 48346 Os tbever n Tel. +49 02532-956 80 info@eventvera nst alter.de ww w.hotel-beverla nd.de

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UK

Social life Club Profile:

Surrey Hills Mini Group Guildford-based club likes to keep active.

Submitted by Matt Price

F

irst launched in August 2005, SHMG was originally called Surrey Hills Motor Group, with the aim of reaching out to Mini and other classic car owners from the Surrey Hills area.

During late 2008 our regular meeting place closed down and so January 2009 saw the launch of the re-named and re-branded SHMG (now called Surrey Hills Mini Group), moving to our new location: the

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Worplesdon Place Hotel and now expanding our catchment areas to aim at Mini owners across the whole of Surrey, North Hampshire and all surrounding areas.

These days we are now one of the larger clubs in the area with over 65 members with more members people joining all the time!

We have all types of classic Minis from early MkIs to late Coopers, and

lots of varieties throughout the years of production.

As the Minis don’t like the wet weather, we also have many social events including off-roading, BBQs and trips out, and so there are activities all year round, not to mention

Social life

FEATURE

My Club

Our social events include offroading, BBQs and trips out the pub meets!

We meet up on the second Sunday of every month at the Beefeater in the Worplesdon Place Hotel, GU3 3RY, from about 7.30pm. Just five minutes from Guildford town centre on the A322.

Membership is £15 for a single application or £25 for a joint application and for that you get:

•R egular club news and info •D iscount at various Mini shops and motorfactors •F ree or discounted entry to shows, including club stand places •F ree t-shirt and car sticker (per member) •F ree and friendly advice • Plus much more!

WEBSITE www.shmg.co.uk love:mini

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Club FactFIle Social life

R

Surrey Hills Mini Group

S U V

Formed 2005

areas.

Meeting place Worplesdon Place Hotel, Guildford, GU3 3RY

Members Mini owners/fans of all ages! Currently over 65 members!

Contact details Club President Matt Price

W Secretary

Hayley Nind

X Z 0 1

Areas covered Surrey and all surrounding Why should people join your club?

Friendly people and a great social scene!

Membership fee Membership is £15 for a single application or £25 for a joint application. cars of interest

2

Activities As the Minis don’t like the wet weather, we also have many social events including off-roading, BBQs and trips out, and so there are activities all year round, not to mention the Pub Meets!

Lots! – including several magazine featured cars Project cars Several members have projects!

What is the most expensive/rarest car owned by a club member?

Expensive: probably Matt’s MK1 and Ian’s MK2 Cooper S

Rarest: two scamps, a woody traveller and a genuine police van and a Moke Which is the most desired club member’s car by other club members?

You’d have to ask them!

Which is the fastest car/ largest bhp?

Matt’s MK1 – 138bhp normally aspirated A series.

Paddy – when he finally gets his 1380 turbo finished!

Which is the most popular paint colour (of members cars)?

Red, Blue and Green are the most popular colours!

Any motorsport competitors?

None

3

Who’s in a band?

None

4

Who owns the most?

Ian (4) along with Matt & Hayley (4)

5 69 20

My Club

www.shmg.co.uk

T

Y

FEATURE

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Who owns the oldest?

Paddy (1962)

Who’s the Chief?

Martin

Matt & Hayley

Who is the prettiest?

Who’s the Techie?

Pippa the Dog!

Ian & Matt.

Who is the oldest?

Who’s the Computer boffin?

Dave Vincent

Dan P

Who is the most musical?

Who’s the Anorak?

Matt

Matt

Who is the cheekiest?

Who’s the Boy Racer?

Dan T

Vinny & Ian

Who is the most likely to have road rage?

Who’s the Wise Owl?

Hayley

Ian & Matt

Who is the most likely carry lots of spares?

Who breaks down the most?

Leyland Job.

Who is the one who always runs on empty?

Ian

Who is the BLONDEST? Tina!

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Mini run malaysia

Unique Nation Minis’ Malaysian Road Trip Bringing together Minis from all over the nation.

Words and photos Mark Lim

DATE November 19, 2010

Location Kuala Lumpur to Penang, Malaysia

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O

n the weekend of November 19, a group of Mini lovers organised a road trip to Penang from Kuala Lumpur. Calling themselves ‘Unique Nation Minis’, 22 Minis, of various types, travelled down the North South expressway for the group’s inaugural road trip.

Comprising of MkIs, IIs, IIIs, two Mokes, and one 1275 GT, the Unique Nation Minis came together to share and promote a love of original design Minis.

Organizer and founder, Gig, said that the group was formed to promote the social side of owning a Mini, to share knowledge and resources, and bring together

the various Mini groups in Malaysia for group runs and social gatherings.

The group assembled at the Jalan Duta toll early on the 19th. Forming into a long line, the Minis, accompanied by three support vehicles, went down the expressway towards

their first fuel stop at Tapah.

After their second stop at Gunung Semanggol, the Minis arrived at the Ferry Terminal in Butterworth at 4:00p.m.

Provided with an escort by the Royal Malaysian Traffic Police, the group checked in the 1926 Heritage Hotel in

The customary wave to camera on the ferry.

Burmah Road for their three-day stay in Pulau Pinang.

A round island trip followed the next day, with the Minis cruising round the streets of Georgetown and grabbing attention wherever they went. After a free afternoon, a seafood dinner was laid on, with many tales of Mini ownership being swapped.

The Unique Nation Minis headed back to Kuala Lumpur after lunch on Sunday, with new friends made and old friendships renewed.

Stunning views along the coast.

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Showtime

Mini Fair 2011 Fighting the crowds to find those elusive parts as enthusiasts prepare for show season.

UK

Words and photos Matt Parkinson

A DATE January 30, 2011

Location Bingley Hall, Staffordshire

Website www. britishminiclub. co.uk

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new year is a fresh start for many and the Mini scene is no different, with the show season kicking off at the British Mini Club’s Mini Fair.

After the lull brought about by winter, hordes of enthusiasts descended on Bingley Hall in search of bargains, cars for sale – or maybe that elusive bonnet badge you’d been promising yourself?

As with previous events, the autojumble was a hit with showgoers, many of whom could be seen rummaging through boxes filled with parts of all

shapes and sizes, to suit Minis of all shapes and sizes.

In the main hall, MINIs were to be seen parked alongside classics for the very first time at Bingley Hall, whilst a host of traders were able to offer enthusiasts replacement parts and tempting tuning options for those looking for a little more ‘oomph’ for their pride and joy. The British Mini Club also attempted to coerce enthusiasts to their stand with another of their popular ‘Win a Mini for a pound’ raffles.

This year, Stuart Pike would be handed the keys to a British Racing Green Sportspack Mini Cooper after he was announced as the winner, securing an unexpected drive home.

The concours cars on display at this show normally give a fantastic sneak-peek at what we can expect from the Mini scene over the course of the year and the cars on show certainly didn’t disappoint. Dessie Moore, who

Super Coopers

C

had travelled from Omagh, Northern Ireland to show off his newly completed Mini Sprint. His trip paid off, as the Sprint claimed top honours in the 1960s category.

Steve Moore’s MINI GP was also receiving plenty of admiring glances, with plenty from the judges too, as it claimed the award for best MINI, ahead of Linda Bennett’s Cooper, which came a close second.

The balcony in the main hall was occupied by the clubs once again, who were followed a simple theme drawn up by the British Mini Club this year: “Famous Coopers.” This allowed the clubs plenty of freedom to use the Cooper name as they wished. Some used the Cooper name for a

lubs were competing for the best club stand and a nice little cheque for their efforts.

This year’s theme was a different take on the Cooper, and with that many clubs immediately thought of fez-totting comedian Tommy Cooper. So it was with great delight that so many had made the effort to pay tribute to such a legendary comic.

Regular attendees Birmingham Mini Owners’ Club, Crewe’s Missiles, Hilltop Minis, The Elf & Hornet Register, The MINI Clubman Register and others returned once again, while some new clubs made their first appearance, such as MINIs Unleashed (www. minisunleashed.com).

Birmingham MOC made the most of their stand space by creating a boxing ring depicting Henry Cooper fighting a Mini Cooper, while another club thought back to the iconic denim of Cooper jeans to stand out from the crowd.

Club cars of all shapes, sizes and generations were getting inolved in the show theme.

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Showtime rallying theme, whilst others drew inspiration from Tommy Cooper, Alice Cooper and boxing legend, Henry Cooper.

It was Potts About Minis who stole the show with their stand. Their stand allowed show-goers to race each other using remote control Minis, or by racing each other on the PlayStation that had been brought along by one member.

And so, with the prizes handed out and a new owner found for the ‘Mini for a pound’, the British Mini Fair came to an end. However, with the impressive quality of the cars at this year’s show, who knows what we’ll see this time next year?

See you in 2012.

Woah, that’s totally bogus man...

M

iniworld Magazine’s latest addition to its nest is Bogus 2 - which follows on from the tragic loss of the original KAD twin-cam Bogus in 1995 when he was stolen Created by Mini Sport the 130bhp 1380cc Mini is powered by Mini Sport’s own 7-port X-flow head.

Mini Magazine’s cover car was one of the stars of the show.

New coupe from Derek’s Minis.

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HEINZ HORNET

A This Mini Sprint, with its chopped bodyline and roof, won the award for Best 60s Mini and was a real winner with the crowds too.

Its sublime finish with deep

Best ’60s Mini Desmond Moore (Mini Sprint) best ’70s Mini Paul Sutherland (1275GT) AUR 791N

red interior and matching twin body stripes, harnessed with the racy engine is bound to keep owner Desmond Moore smiling for many miles to come!

n ultra-rare Heinz Hornet made an appearance at the show on the Elf & Hornet Register stand.

Loaded with all its luxurious trimmings and official certificate, it was definately one for the photo album with just 57 ‘varieties’ of this converted classic created and many less still in existence.

WINNERS

best ’80s Mini Ruth Lowe (Designer) F902 SNH best ’90s Mini Paul Taylor (Cooper Sport) K15 POO best New MINI Steve Moore (MINI GP) H4 YGP

This happy man won this Mini for just a quid!!

Best Mini Pick-up ADO 959T Best Elf / Hornet TYN 823F Mini of the Show ABM 187L (Rally Mini Clubman) Best Club Stand Potts About Minis

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Showtime

Yeah right!

MINI Thunder II Rumbling track offerings in the ultimate West Coast driving experience. Words Norman Nelson

Photos George Marsh

USA

DATE February 19-20, 2011

Location Thunderhill Raceway, CA

Website www.mini thunderhill.com

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J

ust two days before MINI Thunder II, a snow storm hit the west coast, including Washington, Oregon, and California. With over 100 entries coming and many having to drive through the mountain passes of Oregon and California all eyes were glued to the weather channels on television. The storm dumped several feet of snow and many felt they would not be able to dig out in time to get to Thunderhill.

But with a little luck and clearing skies the roads were cleared and the Mini migration began. Some with New MINIs, some with classics, some even trailered.

It rained and snowed all the way up to Friday night

as these determined “track junkies� made the trek.

Most entrants stayed in local hotels in town near Thunderhill and checked in before driving the 7 miles to the track.

On Saturday night we had

So Cal Mini Maniacs en-route to the venue.

Mini Thunder - what is it?

Mini nutters cram out the cafeteria.

Place your chips!

pre-registration, dinner and a casino gambling night. A local gaming company brought in the tables, dealers, and chips.

After dinner, while many gambled like it was a real casino, they all were looking for the sponsor’s prizes to be paid for with their winnings. Cheers would ring out as the ball would drop on the Roulette table, hitting that magic number as the lucky winner would jump up and throw his hands in the air. One would have thought he had just won $10,000. Others would sit quietly at the poker tables, staring at their opponents and wondering when to bluff or when to call.

All went back to their

hotels winners and eager to come back the next day to drive.

As dawn arrived, the temperature had dropped below freezing and frost had coated all the Minis.

With a little assistance with the choke, we fired off our Minis and let them run to heat up the car and defrost the windshields.

It took the use of scrappers to get the frost off, but soon we were all heading for

It’s an HPDE (High Performance Driving Event) for MINI/Minis only.

This is a driving school taught by experienced and qualified instructors and coaches. All ‘Beginners’ are required to have a coach ride with them. As they progress they get moved up to ‘Intermediate’ and then they can drive on their own but with other participants of equal experience and skills. The ‘Advanced’ group are the more experienced and are given much more freedom (such as open passing in designated areas). Then there is the ‘Race Prepared’ group where they are pretty much open. It is not a race, but as you can imagine there is a lot of individual battles going on.

Smiles and bragging rights are the trophies.

Each participant gets five - 20 minute track sessions, followed by 20 minute classroom session where instructors would go over the course, critique drivers, show videos and use chalk boards to illustrate the proper lines, braking points, shifting points, etc.

We have eight instructors (classroom) and 30 coaches (on-track). We also provide demo rides by the advanced and race prepared drivers.

Participants and guests are required to wear helmets and sign waivers, then get seatbelted into the cars and take ‘hot laps’ as passengers. We have some interesting cars for demo rides, including a Ferrari 430, a NASCAR, several exotic Porsches, Corvettes, and even a Lamborgini.

The track is 3-miles long with 15 turns and some great elevation changes.

In a MINI most can get to 100+mph on three of the straights. Lap times ranged from as low as 2:02 seconds to about 2:45.

The Revolution MINI is a 400 HP GP MINI. It can achieve speed of about 140 mph down the main straight.

There are sponsors and dealers in the paddock.

Vinyl wrapping by Vinyl Styles, Mini Mania and Seven Enterprises all with their goods and services.

Revolution Mini Works is also doing Dyno-Tunes.

Valley Motorwerks and O2 Motorsports are there as sponsors and are helping and assisting participants with any problems with their Minis.

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Clockwise from top left: Pre-track clean to remove dirt and grit from the road.

A change of tyres or wheel pressure for extra grip.

Prep talk prior to track action.

Minis as far as the eye can see in the pits.

the road to Thunderhill. The sun rose and lit up the powder white snow on the surrounding mountain peaks and the lush green hillsides made quite the contrast.

Each entered the front gate after signing the waivers and headed to a spot in the paddock. Then quickly over to registration to check in and get their group sticker and car number. As they entered the clubhouse to register the aroma of fresh hot coffee caught everyone’s attention and the coffee pot became “the place to be”.

Soon everyone had registered and had out “All-Hands” drivers meeting and those famous words were spoken “Ladies & Gentlemen - Start Your Engines” Actually the 100+ entries were

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broken up into four groups; Beginners, Intermediates, Advanced, Race Prepared. They all met in groups and the first Minis were on track at 8:00AM. While the participants were motoring around the 3 mile - 15 turn road course, guests and visitors were roaming the pit & paddock area visiting with vendors.

Jan Brueggeman of Revolution Mini Works was performing Dyno-Tunes for those that want to get every extra HP out of their little “speedracers”. There were Demo rides available to guests and spectators, some of the cars included a Ferrari 430, a NASCAR, several exotic Porsches, Corvettes, and lots of other high performance vehicles.

The 400 HP GP MINI of Revolution Mini Works was brought

out to the track to provide to promo and awe for the crowds.

Ian Stewart was flown out across country from Florida to drive this beauty. Many other notable drivers were there to coach and give Demo rides such as Doug Peterson, 7-time SCCA National champion, 24 hour of Dayton winner and builder of Juan Montoya’s Indy 500 winning engine. The participants and guests enjoyed taking rides, at speed, with many of the experienced coaches and celebrity drivers. I understand that Ian Stewart in the Revolution Mini achieved speeds of 140 MPH down the front straight with passengers.

Touring the pit & paddock was an adventure as there were many highly modified Minis and even some owners dressed in the 1960’s English “Hippie”

The Minis get ready to roll out on to the track.

400 bhp!!

attire. Something to see for everyone.

The day closed with no accidents, no injuries..

But plenty of smiles and loads of “High-5’s” and talk of returning next year for another day at Thunderhill.

Stay tuned for MINI Thunder III in 2012.

Keep the Rubber Side Down.

ks for The SCMM crew - than the great photos!

The classic Mini scene didn’t let the side down with some awesome examples turning up to rival the big boys.

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Mini run

1732ft asl Run to Tan Hill Inn Driving to the highest pub in the UK is thirsty work

UK Words Mick Yates Photos Robin Hood Mini Club & Stuart Watson

I DATE February 20, 2011

Location Yorkshire

LENGTH 100 miles

Website

www.facebook.com/ home.php?sk=group_ 162202223817852

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t was a typical cold wet windy Sunday in February but that did not stop 25 Minis joining the Robin Hood Mini Club run to Tan Hill Inn near Reeth & Richmond, North Yorkshire - the Highest Pub in the UK. At 1732 feet above sea level Tan Hill Inn is the Highest Pub in Great Britain and was made famous in the 1970s by an advert for Everest Double Glazing featuring Ted Moult and his feather.

The feather and a photo of Ted Moult are still to this day next to the window featured in the advert.

Starting at Ollerton in Nottinghamshire there were three meeting points on the run with the last being the services at Scotch Corner where over 50 Mini

enthusiasts enjoyed the complimentary tea coffee & cakes provided by the club.

After the much-needed refreshment stop the convoy snaked its way along the narrow deserted twisty roads (great fun in a Mini) towards Tan Hill with Mick Yates the event organiser leading the way.

As the Minis got closer it became obvious how high the Pub was as there was an ever-increasing amount

of snow on the surrounding hills, but fortunately the roads were clear.

All the cars arrived safely at Tan Hill for lunch and most people headed for the sanctuary of the pub but a few of the group were straight under the bonnet of their Minis to carry out the usual minor running repairs that go hand in hand with owning a classic.

After the food, there was a few awards and a free

This family travelled all the way from Blackpool, so they must be used to the cold.

Amy Hibbert wins a baseball cap in the raffle.

raffle for prizes donated by Tracy the landlady at Tan Hill. Doug Cardy won a Tan Hill t-shirt and Amy Hibbert won a baseball cap. The Akram family won the award for the furthest travelled Mini, travelling from Blackpool in a lovely convertible with a cool “WOW� numberplate.

12-year-old Sam Sleeman was awarded a certificate from Alan Tideswell, the founder member of the club, for being the 100th member to join the Robin Hood Mini Club.

A well-deserved drink for the drivers and rest for the Minis.

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UK

Showtime

DATE February 25-27, 2011

Location Stoneleigh Park, Warks, UK

Website www.raceretro. com

Race Retro All things historically racelike to make you misty-eyed.

W

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ow, what a brilliant show, as most of the cars (and bikes) on show were from the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s I felt young again! I grew up admiring these cars.

The cars on show were all immaculately turned out and had people in attendance who loved their cars and more importantly, loved to talk about them. The Mini Cooper Register stand (pictured) was however a bit of a disappointment after last year’s show with just TWO Mini Cooper Ss on display. Not sure if any new members were signed up but at least they were there!

The Monte Carlo Rally stand had Rauno Altonean/Henry Liddon’s Morris Cooper `S’ ORX 7F, (1968 Monte Number 18) Class Winner and third overall, on show, I have not seen that car around for a long time, the chairman will probably inform me of where it is kept!

The SU stand was a real treat, they had genuine spares on sale for H2s H4s HS2s HS4s, and even earlier carburettors, all displayed in

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a 60s period style. Swiftune had a great stand with all the “nice” bits on show, with Nick Swift on hand for any advice.

Of course the highlight for me was the live rally stage; this was run on both Saturday and Sunday, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Very wet and slippery, lots of spins but no real damage.

Star drivers that were in action included Will Sparrow (my hero of Motoring News rallying days), Russell Brookes and Jimmy McRae. Unfortunately no Minis were driven round the stage. The stage itself was more like one of the Mickey Mouse stages of the 70s RAC rally. I had a press pass and was fortunate enough to stand next to the track!

It would be great, for next year, if the Register could persuade one of the members to drive a Historic S around - just to hear the straight cut gears whining away would be awesome. Maybe BFX 404B or L333 EJB could be persuaded!

A great show, well worth the visit and I will certainly go again.

Words and photos David Young

Australia Day

C

elebrations on the Sunshine Coast followed our familiar pattern for Australia Day 2011. An early start for the BBQ Breakfast at Russell and Sally’s on Buderim Hill saw another beautiful day with only a few clouds in the sky and plenty of blue – a welcome sight after the recent wet weather we had all been experiencing.

Russell and Sally, with assistance from Deb n Ayre, have the sausages and bacon sizzling when we roll up with plenty of juice, coffee and tea ready to go. The rest of the gang roll in and enjoy a hearty breakfast before it’s time to head up the hill to marshal up for the parade.

The parade is again the shortened version trialled last year and we marshal up in the car park of the Buderim Tavern. Here we have an opportunity to have a relaxed chat after decorating the cars and a look at the other groups that are also marshalling up in our area.

Lead car for this year is ‘King James’ a 1959 Morris Minor that has been imported from New Zealand and restored by Russell for his owner Janeta Grady. Once again the reception that the group gets from the spectators is tremendous.

Mums and dads have the special

Despite recent floods, Aussies still find time for a barbie WORDS & PHOTOS

smile that makes you wonder just what the sight of our special little car has reminded them of. The kids (no matter what their age) seem to all recognise the Mini – especially Mr Bean – and Morris the Labrador (riding in Russell’s Moke) seems to be enjoying the attention as much as the crowd enjoy seeing him in the Moke.

Food, glorious food

Unfortunately the recent rains mean that the fete that is usually held in the school grounds has had to be cancelled and we therefore head back to Russell and Sally’s for morning tea. Upon our arrival we are pleased to see that Tom has finished the dishes and has the makings for cuppas all ready for us. The girls have once again been active in the kitchen and there is a plentiful supply of slices and such for our morning tea. (I think there was some fruity stuff too).

Around 11-ish we organise the group photo and thank our hosts and then head off for the next part of our day. This year we head out to Kenilworth where the local pub is hosting a car show. Is there a better way to get free parking close to the dinner venue in a busy

John and Lynne

tourist town? Upon Kornbrekke our arrival (after a spirited drive down Tom’s favourite Mini road) we are ushered into our reserved parking and have a look at the other cars before heading to our reserved table to organise lunch. It is a busy day but the food is out in short time and well worth the wait.

With lunch out of the way some of us take a walk and end up at the cheese factory where we partake of an ice-Cream (only ordered a small one as they are plenty BIG enough).

The others stay at the pub and have another chat. Upon our return we are entertained by the V8 boys leaving, mostly loudly and often with tyre smoke following them (voted by the Auricht boys as the VERY BEST part of the day).

Our group leaves in dribs and drabs – our Brisbane visitors head home up over the range through Montville whilst the Sunshine Coast group head back the way we came.

Once again a great day out and about in our favourite little car.

A great day made possible by the generosity of Russell and Sally and the assistance of lots of folk but in particular Deb n Ayre and Tom. Thanks to all and Happy Australia Day.

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Showtime

Autosport International Traders and punters take in the latest offerings from the motorsport world.

Words and photos David Young

UK

H

DATE January 15-16, 2011

Location Birmingham NEC, UK

Website www.autosportinternational.com

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aving had such a great time at last year’s show I decided to attend on the Friday Trade day. It was less crowded with room to move and time to study the cars on show.

The displays were, as usual, full of young ladies who were not wearing much in the way of clothing! If that is your scene then you would have been delighted. I went for the cars.

McLaren had a superb display as did Porsche. Ginetta had their new cars on show as well as the G40s and G50s, (and some near naked girls).

From a Mini-lover’s point of view there was not much of interest. Though at 10.30 Dave Richards of ProDrive was on the stage talking about the new MINI 4WD ‘Works’ Countryman and how well they are selling. Apparently

they were showing the car ‘down the road’ to journalists so they did not have one for the show! Dave Richards was sounding very positive and was looking forward to having a competitive MINI available to the public.

Forge Motorsport were also showing their version of the Countryman. It looked well put together and fit for the road, but I am certainly no expert, so we will have to wait and see how successful it becomes.

From a racing point of view there was a Super Mighty Mini of Paul Chater on show, looking great and sure to please classic Mini owners. I bumped into Mr & Mrs Peter Baldwin walking around the show but alas there were no Miglias or Se7ens to be seen.

There was one R53 Cooper S on show from 1320 Mini, used on the time attack series. I

Snowdon Jaunt Words Ger Roberts Photos Snowdon Minis

Welsh winter run in the snow and sun.

S

nowdon Minis’ Geoff Owen had some withdrawal symtoms from the summer Mini events and runs so in November we set off following him along with F.A.B. Minis’ Neil, Reuben and Wes. Starting from Porthmadog we used the B-road up to Beddgelert to Pen-y-Pass for a photoshoot with Snowdon in the background.

The roads were well gritted over the past few days so no risk was involved. From there we drove along the Conway Valley to Llandudno.

It’s such a great pleasure to drive the roads we have on our doorstep in all weathers and if anybody fancies a tour please join us on the Snowdon Minis Tour of Wales in August 2011. www.snowdonminis.co.uk was disappointed that Dunlop did not appear at the show, letting down both the BTCC and the MINI Challenge series, a surprise since last year they had a great stand and regular speakers along with Colin Turkington’s WSR BMW and the new MINI Challenge R56 car.

What was great is that I met up with loads of people who I had photographed during the year; I even bumped into Mr Clayson while listening to Dave Richards.

I will probably go again next year as this show does mark the start of the racing year.

But I will not lose any sleep if I can’t make it!

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Mini run

New Year’s Day London Parade Starting the new year as you mean to go on...

Terry and his bad weather Shorty.

Words and photos Mel Toombs

M

UK

DATE January 1, 2011

Location London, UK

LENGTH 3 miles

Website www. londonparade. co.uk

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y first Mini adventure of 2011 started a few months ago when my club, London and Surrey MOC, were asking for people to take part in the parade that happens in central London on New Year’s Day. Having lived in North West London my whole life and never having visited the parade I thought ‘why not?’.

So as the last day of 2010 rolled around the van had decided to behave itself and actually work for a change so I set about getting it ready for its parade debut.

When I got it home I set about making the van look festive. The theme for this year was silver, as the parade was celebrating it’s 25th year.

By this time it was dark, more than a little cold and I was rapidly running out of time.

I was due out with friends

that night to celebrate the changing of the years.

Getting the van ready is much like getting myself ready for a night out, so I gave the van a wash and set about putting a few sparkly snowflake stickers all over the outside.

I then loaded all the balloons and other silver decorations I’d purchased earlier that day and put the van to bed with its cover on, now I just had to get myself ready for that night.

Given the time that I had to get up on New Year’s Day and like most people I’m very grumpy when suffering with a hangover, I decided not to

drink and be my friends’ taxi for the night.

The night was going well, my group were getting drunker and being sober I was going to be able to remind them what they got up to, which would cause me no end of amusement in the days to come. Midnight came and went and we carried on partying ’til about 2am. We made it home about 3am via

decorations I’d brought with me - tinsel and huge foil 25 balloons. With that all done it was time to sit and wait. It then started to rain, this I blame entirely on Terry, hahaha!

As midday and 1pm came we still hadn’t moved, it was only a three-mile route and I’m sure I could have walked it by now. Not knowing how much longer we had to wait and the fact that I was freezing and really starting to feel the lack of sleep from the night before I decided to have a little sleep in the van.

Next thing I know its 2.30pm and we are finally about to move, the Jags and Lotus Approaching Elise’s were ahead of us and we only had the Trafalgar Square. Honda Gold Wing Owners’ Club behind us so they had saved the best for almost last. the local kebab shop, by 3.30am I’d made my excuses As we drove past the Ritz and the wrong way down and gone to bed. The alarm was set for 7.30am, who Haymarket we made as much noise as the little Minis says you need eight hours sleep?! could. There were thousands of people lining the route As I dragged myself out of bed a few hours later I and in amongst it all I saw some of my friends’ parents, thought to myself ‘why oh why did I volunteer myself I briefly stopped to say hi and then we were off again. for this?’. We were meeting somewhere south of the I wasn’t sure how my van would handle sitting in Thames on the Old Kent Road at about 10am so I was the stop-start queue as I’d only finished building her in on my way by about 8.30 and had to stop about 300 May 2010 and she hadn’t really been tested like this too yards later as the ice had reformed on the inside of the much. windscreen as well as the outside this time.

But as we made our way past Trafalgar Square and On my way again I was soon travelling through down Whitehall, Big Ben came in to sight and I knew central London with next to no traffic. The sensible we were nearing the end. The rain was still falling, the people were still tucked up in nice warm beds sleeping crowds were still huge, but the little van was doing through the early stages of their hangovers. brilliantly.

I love to drive my little van through As we passed the cameras and London when the roads are empty dignitaries we came out in to Parliament as it takes it back to its heyday when Square and it was all over. We were many of the well-known shops used handed a medal commemorating that them for deliveries and things. fact that we had taken part in the biggest event in London on New Year’s Day so all that was left for me to do was Bad weather omen head home and put the van to bed.

For once I made it to the meeting It was a very long day but despite the point early, so early that I was the good old British weather trying to ruin it, first one there. As I sat and waited I had a truly wonderful Mini adventure to for the others to arrive I started start my year! to think about the day ahead. I was hoping for dry weather so that it was a good day for both the spectators and participants.

That hope was shattered when an orange Mini pulled up beside me. It was Terry with his gorgeous Clubman shorty that many of you would of seen at shows with the Palmer Brothers Minis. As much as I love this car I hate to see it at a show or run as it almost always guarantees that it will rain.

Breakfast was consumed and once everyone had arrived we set off for the start point of the parade.

We arrived at Hyde Park Corner around 11am and we parked up ready for the start of the parade at 11.45am.

I set about attaching the rest of the silver

The crowds were out in force despite the weather. love:mini

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MINTECH

Social life

5567 Taylor Road #1 Naples FL 34109-1897 239-431-7088 alan@MinTech.comcastbiz.net www.mintechnaples.com

MinTech grand opening Checking out the newest MINI specialist in Naples, Florida

Words and photos Ruth Williams

Yum!

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uring the afternoon and on into the evening of December 11, Mini Cooper flags flew proudly in front of the large white party tent backing Taylor Road, 300 yards North of Pine Ridge signaling the location of MinTech, Naples only independent exclusive Mini Cooper repair, maintenance and modification facility.

MinTech, in celebrating its grand opening, pulled off more than a party - it hosted a Mini car show. Despite the cool weather 70 Minis parading onto MinTech’s grounds.

Each Mini demonstrated its individuality from the newer MINIs to some classics, including a 1973 Austin Mini 1000 owned

by Lee and Jean Dunlop named Molly, and the highly modified hand-built cars by Ireson Motorsports of Fort Myers. Paul Ireson, of Ireson Motorsports

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displayed his two show Minis - a VTEC Mini and a twinengined Mini which has 1100bhp in a 1800lb car. The impressive audio and video systems installed in these cars were provided by JL and installed by Craig Rehard of Audio Connection.

Alan Williams, MinTech’s owner/operator and his wife Ruth hosted the event. Alan’s abilities to assist his clients, comes from over 30 years of automotive experience and shop ownership.

Many of his current clients enjoy talking with him about the many variations of the Mini.

Keith Nickols, MinTech’s lead technician, a factory trained MINI Specialist, opened the shop doors for tours and answered questions about the MINI, literally from the bottom up, as a car was on

display on one of the two service lifts. Many clients had never seen the underside of a Mini before. In true MINI fashion the under carriage is as meticulously designed as the rest of the vehicle.

Checking out the MINI from all angles.

Party time

The festivities continued throughout the evening with libations, great food and giveaways. Southern fair of pulled pork, chicken black-eyed peas, local greens, corn bread and peach cobbler headlined the food table. Naples local restaurants; Fernandez the Bull, Food & Thought, and Sunburst Café furnished this fine fair in abundance; the balance of which was received by St. Matthew’s House after the event. Theresa and Jerome Tocio the owner/ operators of Sunburst Café and long time friends of Ruth and Alan, provided serving support alongside Mintech’s staff.

As raffle tickets were distributed by Ruth, she posed the question, or “pick up line” as Ruth was calling it; “Would you like to jump out of an airplane?”.

One of the evening’s ‘great prizes’ coined in the party invitation was a free tandem skydive sponsored by Skydive Southwest Florida. When ticket number 328 was called out, jubilation rang from the crowd as Michelle Augustyn; 27 year old 2010 Mini owner/lover elatedly expressed her bliss over the gift. She calmed down just long enough to proclaim “I’m so excited I have to call my husband and let him know”. That was the first prize raffled off which notched up the level of the groups’ enthusiasm. The Louis’s owners of the 2008 Mini Cooper S called “Sifter” won two giveaways in a row which met competitive groans from the crowd. People sent out chants when numbers were called “higher, higher or lower, lower” depending what number they held.

The majority of the winning tickets were drawn by sevenyear-old Daniela Garcia and her 12 year old sister Carolyne. The local Naples girls attended the party with their father a 2006 Mini owner Tom. Less-is-more didn’t apply to the give-aways raffled off, as there were plenty to go around. The Grand Prize of FREE Oil Changes for the life of your Mini - MinTech’s Client Rewards Program - was won by Sasha Solomon and her 2006 Mini Cooper S. As a Mini generally takes on Extreme machine from the character of its motorer, so Paul Ireson. did MinTech’s grand opening take on the persona of its clients and their Minis. Over 150 residents came together with one common interest.

The majority of people did not know each other prior to the event but this did not deter the lively conversations.

As the event ended people were saying, “We had such a good time and met the nicest people”. It was not hard to see that everyone enjoyed this blow-out, roll-out event.

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Motorsport Rally:Circuit:Hillclimb:Autograss:Sprint

Dakar Rally Raid 2011 The MINI Countryman gets its first real test with a foray through South America.

Photos X-Raid/Dakar

T

he Dakar Rally is steeped in history and has a fascinating story to tell. It all started back in 1977 when Frenchman Thierry Sabine lost on in the Libyan desert during the Abidjan to Nice Rally.

So overwhelemed was he by the challenging terrain and landscape that he founded the Paris to Dakar Rally which quickly found popularity and now over 30 years later it is considered one of the most gruelling rallies in the world. This was the rally the MINI had chosed to put its new Countryman, and WRC representative, through its paces.

German rally experts X-Raid were tasked with getting the new MINI Countryman up to scratch for the enduring rally and set about reinforcing the bodywork, adding a

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rollcage, sumpguard and dumping in a new 3-litre, 315bhp engine from the BMW X3CC rally car. The final result isn’t the prettiest of MINIs, but it sure does look tough.

Experience driver Guerlain Chicherit and co-driver Michel Périn were brought on board to pilot the new MINI and find and push its boundaries to the limit.

This year’s rally was based in South America, following the new formula of moving the rally since terrorist attacks in Mauritania forced the cancellation in 2008. Starting in Buenos Aires in Argentina, the rally would cut across the country heading for northern Chile before turning south and following the coast and then cutting across country again and over the border back in to Argentina and finishing at Bueno

Stage Place Time 1 2 3 4 5 6

74th 7th 9th 7th 12th 7th

03:16:17 03:22:37 03:55:46 02:01:47 05:26:12 05:22:27

Behind 1st 00:57:45 00:11:49 00:13:26 00:04:38 02:26:12 00:28:34

DRIVER PROFILE Guerlain Chicherit Date of birth: Place of birth: Place of residence:

20.05.1978 Paris, France Tignes, France

S

Frenchman Guerlain Chicherit has been driving for the BMW X-raid team since Dakar 2006. In 2009, the former Extreme Skiing World Champion won the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup for the first time and this marked the third victory of its kind for the X-raid team. Chicherit won the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and Transiberico rallies and was ninth in the 2009 Dakar Rally and fifth in 2010.

Aires again.

Stage 1’s excursion to Cordoba didn’t get off to the best of starts for the MINI ALL4 team as fears over the cooling system proved right and the team lost almost an hour on the lead car. With 57.45mins to make up after stage 1, it didn’t look good as the team sat in 74th place, but there was still a lot of rallying to do.

The journey from Cordoba to San Miguel de Tucuman was much more productive in stage 2. With the niggling problems supposedly sorted Chicherit set about making up for lost time and stormed past the crowd to finish the stage in 7th, 11 minutes behind the leader.

As the team got to know the characteristics of the Countryman and Chicherit got into the swing of the car,

they started to produce more consistent results on stage 3 and 4. Stage 3’s effort to San Salvador de Juju saw the team come home in 9th, 13 minutes off the leader. While on stage 4 to Calama the team placed 7th, 4.38minutes behind.

Outta luck

The previous efforts to make up for lost time from stage 1 were hampered again on stage 5 to Iquique, when 137km in the Countryman got stuck in a rut which ate into the stage time. Fellow X-Raid teammate, Leal Dos Santos, helped pull the MINI out, but by the end of the route the team were 10th and 52 minutes behind the leader.

The final stage before a day

off saw the teams heading to Arica. In a non-eventful run, the MINI team finished the stage 7th, 28 minutes behind the leader and 9th overall, 2.45:25secs behind the leader at the halfway stage of the rally.

With a much needed rest day in the offing, the team were able to analyse the performance and look at any niggles the Countryman may have developed. However, as the team were looking to prepare for the second half of the rally, disaster struck. Whilst out testing the car Chicherit and chief mechanic Frank Tröbs, the MINI was flipped into the air rolling three times and destroying the bodywork. Both occupants were safe, but team director Sven Quandt took the immediate decision not to

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Technical specifications:

Motorsport

rebuild the car overnight and Chicherit and the new Mini All4 Racing were withdrawn from the event.

“If this had happened during the race then it would have been more acceptable,” said a bitterly disappointed team director Sven Quandt.

“But this accident happened on a roll-out test after the car had just been completely rebuilt. Everything was fine.

Guerlain had just confirmed this to the mechanic who was in the car. Guerlain decided he wanted to do another 25km, which is normally not necessary and then he came over a crest and we know what happened next.

“There was a clear understanding between Guerlain and us that the car has to go to Buenos Aires, no matter what the position. Even if it was slow, I did not care.

He knew that and we had a meeting again in Arica about this.

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“The car is very strong. There is nothing integral on the body that is damaged, but this is a disappointing setback for what is a very exciting project. We knew the car was fast and reliable.”

So the first foray into motorsport for the Countryman may not have been as exciting as it could have been, but the company will now have a better understanding of how the car handles and responds under pressure and this will have been an invaluable lesson for the whole MINI motorsport department.

MINI All4 Racing Max power output 315 bhp Torque approx. 700Nm Displacement 3,000cc Length/width/height (mm) 4377/1994/1996 Fuel capacity approx 420 litres

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Motorsport

ROUN D 1

HRCR Mini Cup: Rallye Sunseeker Historique New rally season gets underway with champ Clive King battling against last year’s stage winner Eric Davis for a perfect start.

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he first round of the 2011 HRCR Mini Cup supported by Astran Cargo Services Ltd, took place as part of the Rallye Sunseeker on the 26th February in the forests around Ringwood and Wareham.

The championship is for all categories of Minis up to the end of 1981 and is in its third year following the launch in 2009 to celebrate the Mini’s 50th anniversary.

Currently there are 11 drivers registered, eight of whom entered the Sunseeker.

Last year’s champion driver, Clive King, was back to defend his title in his 1965 Cooper S, however not on this occasion with his regular co-driver Bob Ward. Another

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very experienced co-driver, ‘Polly’ took the LH seat – for those that don’t know this is a ‘he’ and the name on his competition licence is definitely ‘Polly’ (another story).

Last year’s winners of the Sunseeker Historique, Eric Davis/Russell Joseph, were seeded at 1 in their 1970 1275 GT with King/Polly at 2. John Brooks/Phil Harvey, last year’s HRCR Challenge winners were at 3. Andrew O’ Hanlon with new co-driver Debby Myers was returning to the series with a new car following a serious accident on last year’s Welsh Rally which resulted in the car being written off.

However it is a testament to the safety features the vehicles

and crews must have that both driver and co-driver only suffered severe bruising. They were running at 4 and at 5 was Gordon Cameron/Sheila Grimshaw, also in a Cooper S, our oldest competing crew with the total age of car and crew over 200 years between them. Next up was son and father team of Jason/Hugh

WORDS Brian Thomas PHOTOS rallysportmedia.com

Motorsport

Thompson in a 1973 Cooper hoping to have a better season than last when niggling mechanical problems ruined most of their events. Seeded at 7 was Alison Lock in her 1967 Cooper with a very late change of co-driver with Eric Davis’s son Matthew standing in just the day before.

Rounding off the entry was another 1275 GT, that of Nigel Dutson also with a new codriver in Keith Fellows.

Ready, set, go!

The ceremonial start on the harbour side at Poole on the Friday evening saw all the Minis lined together with other historic crews and a field of around 50 modern day

rally vehicles, many from the British Rally Championship.

Fame at last with some of our crews being asked to sign autographs and there was much reminiscing with members of the public, all who seemed to have owned a Mini at one time or another.

It was here we had the first drama of the weekend when the Lock/Davis car would not tickover and there was much pushing to get the car through the start arch. Luckily their mechanic found the problem with the points and by the start on Saturday the engine was running sweetly.

The event was run over eight stages, making a total competitive mileage of the stage 42 miles. Overnight rain left the tracks very slippery and a there was a fair amount of standing water. Not deterred by this King/Polly set off at a pace taking nine seconds out of Davis/Joseph on the first 3-mile stage, with the Thompsons just a further two seconds adrift.

Next up were Brooks/Harvey, O’Hanlon/Myers, Cameron/ Grimshaw, Dutson/Fellows and Lock/Davis. This was virtually the order at first service after the first four stages, except a scenic excursion on stage three for Davis/Joseph allowed the Thompsons to move into second place, but only by five seconds. Brooks/Harvey also had an off on stage three which caused them to

drop around four minutes in getting going again. However the second loop of three stages saw the demise of Brooks/Harvey who damaged the clutch in extraditing themselves on stage four. It finally giving out on stage five.

King/Polly stayed trouble free and continued to dominate. Davis/Joseph stepped up the pace and moved back in to second overall by the second service before the seven surviving crews set out for the final stage at the main spectator venue at Somerly Park.

Unfortunately this stage had been previously used in the first loop and had cut up very badly having had the complete 60-car entry through it, so discretion being the better part of valour most of the crews settled for a safe run through. However, this was not without a last minute scare for Lock/Davis when they became bogged down in the mud a 100 yards from the finish, but willing spectators helped them out and they recorded a finish. Seven of the eight starting recorded a finish.

A good start to the season with already increased registrations this year.

The next round is at Down Ampney for Cheltenham Motor Club’s ‘Get it Sideways Stages’ on April 9.

RACE RESULTS 1 King/Polly 2 Davis/Joseph 3 Thompson/ Thompson 4 O Hanlon/Myers

To follow the championship visit www.hrcr.co.uk and click on the Historic Stage Rally Challenge

5 Cameron/ Grimshaw 6 Dutson/Fellows 7 Lock/Davis

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Motorsport

Oulton Park

ROUN D 1

Swift leads the pack as Moreno makes debut

Familiar names as the new season begins.

F

ormer Grand Prix racer, Roberto Moreno, made his Masters Historic Racing debut at the wheel of a Mini - what else, at the organisation’s opening meeting of the 2011 season at Oulton Park on March 12th.

Tempted into the car by the Masters Top Hat Event

Manager, James Beckett, after a chance meeting at a track day at Goodwood, Moreno took-up the challenge of driving a Mini, and didn’t disappoint.

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Getting to grips with the car during race qualifying, Moreno quickly set the fastest time of any Mini competitor driving the car belonging to Masters boss, Ron Maydon.

Moreno’s previous race start prior to Oulton had been the 2008 Indy 500, and so the Pre ‘66 Touring Car Race start proved no problem for the hugelyexperienced Brazilian who quickly found his way to the front of the Mini class and hot

on the heels of the V8-powered Mustangs. Sadly though, Moreno’s dream debut did not last as a missed gear resulted in Maydon’s

WORDS & PHOTOS James Beckett

To follow the championship visit www.themastersseries.com

RACE RESULTS

Pos N um Name Car 1 6 Time Hen ry Man n Ford Cor ti na M kI 2 53 1:01:47.101 Dav id Hal l Ford Cor ti na M kI 3 86 +7.156 Dowd/Cooke Ford Mus ta ng 4 76 +12.484 Nick Sw if t Mor ris Cooper S 5 67 1:02:36.860 Chr is tia n Devereu x Aus ti n Cooper 6 16 S +18.419* Gly n Sw if t Mor ris Cooper S 7 58 +44.440* Ea rn shaw/Ear nsha w Aus ti n Coope 8 47 r S +1 lap Scragg/Bussell Jaguar M kI I 13 72 +1 lap Har rison/Ja rd ine Aus ti n Cooper S +5 laps * behi nd lead ing M in i

Pts 9 6 9 9 6 4 3 4 2

View the full MOTORSPORT CALENDAR

car retiring to the pits with a bent valve.

With Moreno and Maydon out of the equation, the battle for the Mini class became a battle between Nick Swift and Christian Devereux.

The two battled closely as the forty-five minute race progressed, but at the fall of the flag it was Swift who held the

advantage.

Devereux kept him honest by chasing to the flag, with Glyn Swift third. Mark and Russell Earnshaw were the fourthplaced Mini home, the only other little car to reach the end of the race.

At the head of the field victory went the way of Henry Mann, his debut victory, at the wheel of his father’s Lotus Cortina.

WATCH IT The race, including stunning onboard footage from Mini Coopers, can be seen on Motors TV on Friday April 8 at 6.55pm.

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Hillclimb & Sprint

A quick guide to starting hillclimbing and sprinting

by Ben Hamer

Hillclimbing and sprints are an easy and cheap way to start having more fun in your roadgoing Mini.

S

o what is hillclimbing and sprinting?

Hillclimbing and sprinting are basically the same discipline and are referred to as speed events.

And let’s clear one thing up, hillclimbing is NOT driving a car up a muddy hill, that is Trials. Speed events are timed laps of a circuit or a run up a hill. It is about the oldest form of motorsport and originated from toffs racing their cars up their driveways, well something like that anyway.

Cars are run one at a time so it is very safe, with only yourself to blame for an accident. Events are all run on solid surfaces, tarmac or concrete, and involve a standing start and a flying finish. You will learn more about the format of events later in this article.

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Speed events are a great way into motorsport, but many get hooked and never move on. If you want to drive fast in a competitive environment and a friendly atmosphere then this is what speed events are all about. There is one more thing worth mentioning at this point and that is that two drivers can drive one car at any event. This is great as it can halve a car budget and even if your car is not competitive in a class you will always be racing someone with the same equipment, so no excuses.

So where do Minis fit into speed events?

Well, Minis have been used in speed events since they were first built and are still a very competitive proposition in

several classes today. There are some very fast full race Minis out there still breaking national records and equally there are some near standard Minis out there just having fun.

Whatever you have there is almost certainly a class to suit you and your car. Speed events allow a large variety of cars to compete, ranging from production cars (with varying levels of modifications) and all types of kit cars through to single seaters (which can range from Formula Fords and motorbike-engined types to £100,000+ 600bhp single seaters). Few types of cars are excluded from speed events, WRC cars and karts are some that spring to mind. In a Mini these days you will be competing directly with cars like Novas, Fiestas, some Japanese small cars and even the Mini’s old rival the Hillman imp.

Motorsport

What Car to Use It is important to state at the outset that the definitive guide to rules and regulations are set out in the Motorsports Association (MSA) ‘Blue Book’. You will receive a copy of this book when you get your competition licence. In addition, organisers of championships and the events publish their own supplementary regulations, which must also be followed before being able to take to the track.

As a beginner with no racing experience and a ‘B’ Class licence (see later - how to get a

licence) you will be able to drive all types of production and kit cars. In a Mini you will only run into problems if you have a non A-Series engine or a spaceframe car where you will be put into sports libra where the eligibility is more complicated.

For now we will assume that we are all competing in original Minis with A-Series engines!

A number in the back window is low cost

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Timing beam splitter

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Classes Minis fall into Minis fall into several classes depending on what engine you have. In general though Minis will be in the up to 1400cc class, be that roadgoing or non-roadgoing (modified production).

Added to this are the classic classes in which older minis can also be eligible. Worth noting is that there is a 1.4 multiplier for forced induction engines. Therefore a 998cc turbocharged or supercharged engine can be used. However, a 1275cc or higher capacity engine that is turbo or supercharged is not be allowed. This is because the Mini was never manufactured

with greater than a 1400cc engine so can’t run in the up to 2000cc class. This may seem odd, but it is the rules so you have to work within them.

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Get, or make, a sticker showing which way to turn the engine off.

Roadgoing Classes

If you want to use a roadgoing car, be that your weekend toy or everyday road car - and many people do - then you will need it to satisfy a number of safety and competition requirements, these are as follows: 1. H ave a sticker on the ignition key or cut out switch indicating which way to turn it off 2. Have stickers indicating the location of the extinguisher

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Motorsport 3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

toggle (if fitted) and tow points H ave a yellow battery earth cable.

Yellow tape works wonders here.

H ave your race number on the sides of the car. Magnetic door squares are available or stick some numbers on a white background in the rear windows.

A timing splitter. The measurements and location of the splitter are defined in the ‘Blue Book’.

S ecure seats. Particularly worth noting this one as most standard seats fitted to Minis are not great.

T wo throttle return springs.

A generally goodcondition car.

I f you are entering a roadgoing class then the car must have a valid MoT, road tax disc and insurance.

Modifications are allowed in roadgoing classes. These are fully detailed, in cryptic form, within the ‘Blue Book’.

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2

The basic rules are below. This is not an exhaustive list but the ones I feel are most pertinent: 1. The engine, head and gearbox must be externally recognisable as the original type of engine fitted to the car.

2. The interior fittings must remain. This means all seats, doorcards, dashboard, etc.

Worth mentioning here is that the seat can be changed for more racy type seats for safety reasons, but the number of seats must remain as original.

3. Induction is free, i.e. carburettor, injection, forced induction, etc.

4. Suspension must be of the same type as original, upgrading parts is fine.

Basically so long as the top and bottom arms, at the front, are mounted to the same parts of the subframe then you are free to change things. Rubber springs can be changed to coil springs or coilovers could be fitted, etc. The rear must remain of a radius arm type.

5. Tyres are restricted by the MSA list. These are referred to as List 1A and 1B tyres.

Check that any tyres you buy are eligible for the events/ championship you are entering.

Non-Roadgoing Classes (Modified Production)

If you want to properly modify a car or build a non-roadgoing car then the regulations do get a lot more complicated. Again the regulations are all in the ‘Blue Book’. These are the basic rules: 1. The engine and gearbox must be externally recognisable as the original type of engine meets the specificfitted regulations. to the car. The head is free and this is why you see lots of 16v Minis at speed events and this is another reason why the BMW bike head is very popular.

2. The interior can be completely stripped.

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3. A rollcage must be fitted to the standards specified in the ‘Blue Book’.

4. No modification to the unitary construction can be made between the wheel hub centres. In practice this means that the front wings can be removed in front of the front wheel hub centres. This has been a hot topic in the past so before you get the angle grinder out do some research.

5. Opening panels can be replaced with other materials, i.e. Fibreglass boot, bonnet and doors.

6. Induction is free, i.e. carburettor, injection, forced induction, etc.

7. Suspension must be of the same type as original. For example you can fit coilovers to the rear, but the suspension must still be a type of radius arm.

8. Tyres are free, slicks are predominantly used.

Both the lists above are just what I think are important.

Speaking to a competitor and reading the Blue Book is advised before you start your build. Make sure that what you are building fits into the regulations. If you just build something and then try and compete in it you may find it is not eligible. One thing that will stop you competing is the noise of your car. Every circuit had different noise levels that your car must be below and if your car fails the noise test you will not be allowed to run. To be honest the noise limits are quite generous and you should have no issues in a Mini.

If you want to buy a car already modified for hillclimbing then you should ensure that any non-roadgoing car has an MSA logbook.

Logbooks are essential for non-roadgoing competing cars, although they are easy to obtain, buying a car with one gives some security that it

“A typical single day event will involve two practice runs and two timed runs”

Motorsport

What happens at an event?

The day is split up into several parts; Signing on, Scrutineering, Practice, Lunch and Timed Runs.

The day will start early with signing on and scrutineering typically starting around 7.30 or 8.00am. To sign on you need to take yourself, your licence and any club and championship ID cards to the signing-on office.

Every event seems to have a different method for how this works, but all are generally explained in the joining instructions, failing that just look for the queue.

Then it is time for scrutineering.

Scrutineering is nothing to be scared of. Your car and personal safety kit will need to be inspected by an MSA scutineer to make sure that they are suitable and safe. Before your first event it is worthwhile having your car looked at by someone with experience to make sure that it is ready for competition. Respect the scrutineers opinions it is very, very rare that cars are not allowed to compete and if you do have a problem you will more than likely be fighting off help from fellow competitors rather

than having to look for it. After scrutineering there maybe time to walk the course. Walking the course is encouraged for first timers, however, you will find that even the most seasoned competitors will walk the course in the morning. It gives you chance to see the layout of the track and talk bollocks about the lines you plan to take, inevitably they will be nothing like the ones you end up driving. At many events there will be a drivers’ briefing.

All the drivers will be called to a meeting where the clerk of the course will explain how the day is to be run and what is expected of everybody. Make sure you attend these, especially if you are a new driver.

After all this excitement it is finally time to get in the car and do your practice runs. The first cars will start at around 9.00am.

If you are in a roadgoing Mini you will most likely be in the first few classes so make sure you are ready to run when you are called. You will

probably now join a queue down to the start line. When it is your turn you will need to drive to the start line where the marshals will line your beam splitter up with the starting beam. Then you just have to wait for the green light and off you go. A point of note is that the green light does not indicate that the timing has started, merely that the course is clear for you to go. You can therefore take your time and go when you are ready, don’t take too long though marshals can get impatient!

Each event is different, but a typical single day event will involve two practice runs and two timed runs. The practice runs are just that, a practice. Take time to learn the course and the conditions. You will be given a time for the practice runs so you can compare times to other competitors and see how you are improving. These time will not count at the end of the day. The timed runs are what count so make sure that they do.

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Motorsport Personal Safety Equipment The minimum you require is a suitable fireproof helmet some fireproof overalls and gloves. Additionally you can buy fireproof underwear, balaclavas and racing boots; these are not necessary but it’s all added safety.

Safety equipment has to comply with specific BS standards. These are listed in the ‘Blue Book’ but anyone selling such equipment should be able to help you out.

Why do I need to join a car club and why the HSA is ideal?

Getting a racing licence

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...and a Copy of the Competitors’ Yearbook (Blue Book) All UK race licences are issued by the Motorsports Association (MSA). As a beginner you will need a “non-race National B” licence.

In most instances you will not require a medical, just your doctor’s name and address and then a passport photo of yourself. The license lasts for one year from January 1 to December 31.

Every licence is issued with a copy of the Competitors’ Yearbook, more commonly referred to as the ‘Blue Book’.

Once you start competing, you can work towards getting your licence upgraded by

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To gain entry to events you will need to be ‘invited’.

This basically means that events are only open to members of clubs or specific championship competitors. Who is invited to an event is listed in the supplementary regulations issued with entry forms by the organising club.

Obviously not all events are open to all clubs and championships.

The HSA as a national club is invited to many speed events throughout the year and throughout the country. The Richard Egger HSA Speed Championship visits many of the best hillclimb venues in the country and is an ideal way to get invited to enter such events. getting it signed at events to say that you competed in a safe and satisfactory manner.

How MUCH? Most entries are between £80 and £130. Then you just have to think about getting to the venue, petrol, tyres, etc. Some events are all weekend, where you get to practice on the Saturday and the timed runs on Sunday.

All venues have camping facilities so even accommodation is cheap.

Membership to a club is in the region of £40 and a championship entry can be a similar amount. A race license is also around £40. The biggest cost to a beginner will be the race suit and helmet. I would say you will need around £200 to get the basic kit from a budget brand.

Further information •

www.hillclimbandsprint.co.uk

•

www.gurstondown.org

•

www.bjautobits.co.uk/dews-speedseries.htm www.prescott-hillclimb.com www.harewoodhill.com

• •

CONCLUSION And that is about all you need to know. I highly recommend going along to spectate at a local event. It is the best way to see what the sport is all about. You will find competitors very helpful and happy to talk about their cars and the sport. There is an interactive map on the HSA website that shows where all the major speed events are located with links to organising club websites.

In the Pit Mark cowan

Name: Mark Cowan Age: 41 Occupation: Company Director Racing Team: “Coward Racing” – Vickers Race Engines Sponsor: Remco Graffix Limited www.remco-graffix.com Current racing series: Mini Miglia Championship Car number 99 Car details: Blue 1300cc Best series position: currently 8th Racing since: 1990 – 1994 then restarted in late 2008 Racing history: Started racing 100 National Karts in the early ’90s for the London Karting Club in Tilbury, Essex

about a mini adventure FACT! The best and closest motor racing after bikes in my opinion.

wall in qualifying at the French GP to get pole this showed he was made of the right stuff!

What type of character are you in the pit?

I’m a really tech head, I need to know everything about everything. I never stop thinking about how I can improve my performance. My team mate Rob Howard likes to be the loudest person at all times.

It’s a strange environment because you have say 4 drivers with egos looking for an advantage. Even signing on in the morning becomes a competition and I’m not joking.

Who would you most like to race against?

My Brother good old sibling rivalry.

Unfortunately Paul lost the use of an arm after a massive motorbike crash several years ago. Now he just tells me what I’m doing wrong and how he would have done better.

How did you first get into racing and then racing with Minis?

My family raced Motorcycles and Sidecars for in the 80’s and 90’s once I started to earn reasonable money I brought my first Kart which was a used works Tony Kart with a Black Face Rotax engine. After 2.5 full seasons I moved to Suffolk with work and started a family. In 2007 my best friend Mark Smith had been racing minis for several years and invited me alone to watch.

I decided to rent a car from Rightline Motorsport for the last round in 2008 at Rockingham. In 2009 I brought Gary Shipton’s car and set about building a competitive car for 2010.

Describe your best driving experience?

Pembrey 2010 great race see here on youtube http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=jegsmkpPdhc

What appeals to you about racing Minis over other cars?

The best car ever made, everybody loves mini’s FACT! Everyone has a story

With who do you have racing rivalries and why?

Obviously my Team Mate Rob Howard we have an ongoing bet each race where the loser buys the curry in the evening, so fat Rob has lost every time.

And you’re scariest driving experience?

My accident at Snetterton in 2009 www.youtube.com/ watch?v=u8iwLfJF3B0 This wrecked my cars front end.

What is your dream car?

A McLaren F1 Road Car! Who is your hero and why?

Ayrton Senna simply the best in my opinion. His passion and love for the sport was always there to see. He raced the pants off his cars every lap of every race. When he deliberately hit the pit

Do you have any superstitions or rituals you do before racing? (lucky pants?)

I have noticed some drivers have a few minutes time out before the race. I get nervous myself but I focus on the final parts of my race preparation. I always go to the toilet a few minutes before getting into the car, just in case.

What is your road car?

We have VW People Carriers at home; having four children makes having an exotic German/Italian toy unpractical.

But my wife has asked for another car for the shops so I might change my mind.

What tips do you have for others wishing to try racing?

Don’t do it!!! Seriously come and watch first. Visit the paddock meet the teams and drivers. I don’t know a single driver in the Mini 7 Club who wouldn’t give you advice. I would also strongly recommend joining the Mini 7 club it’s only £18 a year online at www.mini7. co.uk and take your first step into motor racing.

Set a budget and keep to it. We all want to go faster but you have to be realistic with your money. Our club has races throughout the field so everybody has fun!

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Motorsport

Mighty Mini Champion 2010 love:mini joined Louise Inch for an interview with the BBC as she battled to become champion of the Mighty Minis.

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hilst in the midst of battle during last year’s Mighty Minis season, Louise Inch, and father Paul, called on the local BBC News crew to boost her profile as the sought to take the championship title. She also invited love: mini along for moral support.

25-year-old Louise only started racing in 2008, and we

Paul Inch Engine Services Ltd Unit 1 St John’s road Cattedown Plymouth Devon PL4 0PA 01752 255563 louiseinch1@hotmail.com

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have been avidly following her progress over the seasons.

After getting a feel for racing in 2008, and learning her trade for consistency with team-mate and 2009 Champion, Chris Morgan. Following Chris’ success and promotion to the Super Mightys, 2010 was her time to shine. We joined her and dad, Paul Inch, at Castle Combe for filming.

Smile!!

Getting set for filming and Louise and her dad had trailered up their pink racer from Plymouth to Castle Combe circuit, which had allowed for on-track filming during the lunchbreak of its scheduled events.

After getting the off-track shots of Louise getting in and driving off and dad doing checks, we all jumped into the parade car whilst Louise followed us, enabling the cameraman to get some tracking shots.

Retreating to the parapit Louise completed two more laps so we could

Sitting down in the back and bracing myself to allow the cameraman to film was a bit nervy!

film her crossing the line, before an interview in the pitlane.

Whether it was the boost in confidence, the pink livery scheme or just good old fashioned hard work, it paid off, and Louise managed to keep her results consistent and finish the series as leader and champion. For Paul Inch Engine Services, that is two years running they have produced Championship-winning cars. Here’s to 2011, all the best Louise.

WATCH THE FINAL VIDEO

An unscripted on-camera interview put the pressure on like a tailgating rival.

Louise was going full pelt during filming so the dangers were very real!

Mighty Minis info: www.mightyminis.co.uk

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on the PULSE

CONCEPT

It’s

been rumoured for a while, but finally MINI’s small MINI concept has arrived - and in what style!

The Rocketman concept at a glance is a homage to everything Carbon-fibre the classic Mini stands for space frame - maximum space in the smallest size, and forward thinking ideas, and it is packed double-hinged doors full of ideas.

Immediately the style of the Unique car stands out with its flecks of projected carbon on display, but in actual rear lights fact the whole car is created on a carbonfibre spaceframe 3+1 seating making it ultralight. So ultralight, that MINI is quoting Twin-opening jaw-dropping economy figures rear with of 94mpg. drawer The pictures don’t do it justice, but the Rocketman Aerodynamic is just 11-feet 3-inches long, wheels adding about 13 inches to the 94mpg classic’s famous length. In today’s modern world of safety, getting it down to this size was a tough job, especially when looking to keep MINI’s famous front end and not have

Classic Mini sized MINI the answer to our prayers?

FEATURES

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I’m a pocket rocketman to resort to a squashed, raised car like the Toyota iQ. Further features include double-hinged doors, either side of the A-panel to make access easier. The rear lights aresomething special too, with ‘handles’ of light projecting stop and indicator lights onto the body of the car.

Look closely at the wheels and you will see they are trimmed with a carbonfibre hubcap - this is another fuelsaving mechanism, making the wheels more aerodynamic.

At the rear the hatchback boot is pivoted right in the centre of the wholly glassy roof.

The boot also has a second storage section in the shape of a drawer that pulls out.

On top there is nod to the British heritage of the Mini with a union jack glass roof.

The design is actually created using the car’s structural beams along the horizontal and

diagonal lines. Very smart.

Again like the classic Mini, visibility all around is another feature here. The classic was lauded for its all-around visibility and with hardly any obstructions on the Rocketman (including the glass roof), it’s going to be like

Our View

Wow. Where to begin. It looks fantastic, but you’ve got to ask how much of this would likely make it onto a production model.

A full carbon-fibre spaceframe for starters sounds droolworthy enough, but what about the cost?

The rear lights are a bit silly, but aside from that, what is there not to like? You can get four in, just, but let’s be honest, it’s not a family car is it? Even the classic Mini isn’t the family car it once was - it’s a plaything, exactly like this will be.

The all-round visibility and glass element is also a top detail for us. We like, a lot.

The wheels are fitted with aerodynamic hubcaps to get the maximum mpg.

Double-hinged doors make access easier.

The interior carries over many familiar elements while introducing new ones.

driving a cabrio without messing up your hair.

The real challenge for the designers was inside though. The classic seated four, and the Rocketman seats... four. Well, 3+1 according to the press release. This means that if the driver and passenger push their seats all the way forward, you can get four in. The fourth seat is a foldaway item in ‘backpack’, much like in

the iQ. A redesigned movable dashboard features a removable control unit which allows owners to load sat-nav maps, music and other digital content to the car. Significantly, all controls the centre console are now located on the steering wheel (except the joystick) and a new digital clock is situated in the driver’s eyeline behind the wheel.

The fourth seat will be in a backpack behind the driver which unfolds. The front seats and dash can move forward to give more space in the rear.

The hatchback pivots from the centre of the roof and a drawer pulls out at the back.

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WORDS Andy Yeomans PHOTOS Chris Ordon

on the PULSE

CONCEPT

Ah

NaIAS premieres MINI paceman

yet another exciting year at the North American International Auto show, but what sets this year apart from any other year is we were introduced to the Mini Paceman.

Although many of the concept design features, such as the gas tank leather tab, aren’t likely to make their way to production, it was a great addition by the design crew to really display Mini’s aesthetics.

Mini has a minimalism approach to their design and it’s something I always applaud because it speaks of a niche market that doesn’t require flash to sell its products, although you could always add as much flash as you want.

As has been described before, the Paceman is like a three door Golf, of sorts, but already looks to set itself apart from that category with better design and potentially better power.

The Paceman concept sat

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Seventh MINI family member confirmed. beautifully on a turntable displaying its mesmerizing green colour and copper accents all the way around.

Starting with the grille, the lines just add a swoop design that angles everything back, over the hood and to a sloped roof. Next to the driving lights sit sleek intake nostrils for the air system. The front fenders have a wonderful splash of brushed copper accents leading to the five-spoke wheels that have the inner rim painted with the same copper accent.

During his launch speech, Sales and Marketing Director, Ian Robertson, said: “This car captures the typical MINI characteristics – unique design, clever functionality and signature driving fun – with a new level of agility. It combines an athletic, masculine coupé appearance with the dimensions of the MINI Countryman. It has more of

a horizontal orientation than the MINI Countryman – which gives it a very dynamic expression.”

And it doesn’t stop there, “And with the 1.6-litre John Cooper Works twin-scroll turbo engine under the hood, there’s real power in this car. As it’s based on the

Our View

It’s a smaller Countryman and perhaps the future of the MINI brand? We’re still undecided. It moves further away from the small car concept with its larger platform, and it’s not as friendly or cute to look at as Minis should be. Is it going to appeal to women drivers?

We all know the love MINIs. There’s no doubt the functionality and technology will be great, but we’re not so sure about the blacked out windows and limited visibility with the slanted bodyline cutting out a lot of vision. And the headlights are too Countryman-like and should be rounder.

The raked bodyline gives a more aggressive look but also compromises visibilty.

MINI Countryman, this car can also have MINIALL4, which is MINI’s allwheel drive.”

Just to top it off, Robertson confirmed that the Paceman will make it into production dubbing it the first Crossover Coupé in the premium small car segment.

“I’m thrilled to tell you now, for the very first time, that there will be a seventh member of the MINI family – and we will base it on this concept!”

The Paceman could become the basis for the next generation of MINIs.

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on the PULSE

CONCEPT

Ever

imagined the day when scooters would be cool again?

Perhaps the day is sooner than you think, after MINI showed off its latest concept at the Paris Motor Show, this October.

Three electric scooters have been on show, with funky, luxurious and retro looks.

An electric motor is housed in the rear wheel with a lithium-ion battery. A retractable cable, like the ones on vacuum cleaners, can be plugged in to a conventional socket to recharge it.

On the handlebars is the familiar circular binnacle which includes the on/off switch. Cleverly the console can also incorporate a smartphone which can be used for music, navigation or telephone calls - and no doubt much more once the apps developers get cracking.

The style of the scooters has all the hallmarks of the MINI brand; from the funky bold, contrasting colours, to

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Scooter Surprise

The urban commute will never be the same again.

Smart’s idea of an electric scooter.

It looks a bit Sinclair 5-ish to us.

the retro-styling, additional spotlights, large MINI badge, chrome and MINI-style headlight - it’s unmistakably MINI. There are two different versions (in three styles), the two-seater and the solo-rider.

The single-seater has been given a more luxious fitting with a comfort-shaped seat with leather upholstery and a British Racing Green livery, in a nod to its British heritage.

Both versions also make use of another design feature, from the Countryman. The inside of the front of the scooter has a centre rail running from the handlebars to the heelboard.

This is just like the one in the Countryman, meaning accessories can be switched between the two vehicles.

Funnily enough, Smart also unveiled an electric scooter, smartphone enabled concept at the Paris Motor Show.

Our View

The idea surprised many, including ourselves, after what is such a clear deviation from what the classic Mini was.

But looker harder at what the Mini was, and what MINI is, and you begin to see it is about innovation, being cool and having fun. No one can deny that is what the classic Mini was. MINI has taken that philosophy and is basically applying it to various markets.

Scooters, generally, are not very cool - unless you have a mod-style Lambretta or Vespa, but look at these, they’re fresh, funky, stylish, modern and killer feature - eco-friendly electric, (well, as far as the government are concerned).

Who can’t imagine a city of metropolitan urbanites in their stylish gear and scarfves quitely zooming around the streets.

As far as business goes, MINI has hit this one right on the head.

on the PULSE

Recharging the lithium-ion battery is easy with a retractable power cable that fits domestic plug sockets

The centre binnacle enables the rider to use their smartphone to interact with the scooter. With the addition of a bluetooth helmet, integration is complete.

The contrasting colours and bold MINI-style headlight and indicators make this scooter unmistakably MINI.

British Racing Green and a comfortable ‘worn leather’ seat are reserved for the ‘sporty’ scooter.

You want us to sit where? But it’s just a one-seater - you tease.

Plug your smartphone in.

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e m a g e h t n i BACK 40 years on.

MIN I retu rns to ra lly ing

rALLY

It’s been a

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long 40-year absence from the rally scene since the last official Works Minis competed, if you discount Rover’s aborted attempt in the late 1990s that is, but all of that is about to change as MINI announced its entry into the 2011 World Rally Championship.

Using the new Countryman model, which has been given the ‘works’ by Banbury-based rally experts ProDrive, the team will enter a limited number of events (6/13) in 2011 to get a feel for the competition and make any tweaks in preparation for a full assault on the title in 2012.

British driver, Kris Meeke, has been recruited to pilot the official WRC MINI, while ProDrive will also be making

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customer versions of the car available for independent teams to use if they are interested.

Powering the championshipchasing AWD car will be the BMW-developed 1.6 litre, four-cylinder Di turbocharged engine, shifting through an Xtrac 6-speed sequential gearbox. www.wrc.com

Our View Although there is criticism about the lack of competition in the WRC at the moment, we think it’s a positive step to get the MINI back into official motorsport. And with the experienced hands of ProDrive at the helm, success should be a real possibility.

Kris Meeke The man chosen to lead the MINI into battle is British-born Kris Meeke. Aged 31, he is the 2009 Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion.

Meeke started as a designer for rally-prep team M-Sport, before trying his hand at competitive driving in 2000.

Mentored by Colin McRae, Meeke had a couple of seasons in JWRC racing Corsas, and a few races in the WRC, before moving to Peugeot for full seasons in the IRC for 2008-10.

on the PULSE

MINI WRC 2011 ENTRY DATES 5-8 May Rally Italy 28-31 July

Rally Finland 18-21 August

Rally Germany 8-11 September

Rally Australia 29 Sept-2 Oct

Rally France 20-23 October

Rally Spain 10-13 November

Rally GB

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I’m therefore sure that MINI’s participation will lead to a rejuvenation of interest in the World Rally Championship and bring a whole new audience to this spectacle.”

Q&A: David Richards

Chairman & CEO Prodrive Group

At the launch of the WRC MINI at the Paris Motor Show, Prodive head-honcho David Richards talks about the new car and its chances in the competition.

Paris.

After studying accountancy, David Richards became a professional rally co-driver, finishing his competitive career by winning the World Rally Championship title with Ari Vatanen (FI) in 1981.

Following the 1981 season, he devoted his time to developing his business interests, which led to the formation of his own rally team and the creation of Prodrive in 1984.

In this interview, the chairman and chief executive of the Prodrive Group talks about the development of the MINI WRC and MINI’s contribution to this process.

Mr Richards, what does working together with MINI mean to you?

David Richards: “I have been involved in the World Rally Championship for more than 30 years, firstly co-driving Ari Vatanen and then subsequently managing several teams. I can honestly

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say that in all this time, I have personally never been so excited or seen so much interest in a new entrant, as we are seeing today with MINI. In the 1960s the original little red and white MINI captured the imagination of the world and won what was then the most challenging motor race in the world, the Monte Carlo rally. More than 40 years on and people still talk about this achievement with great fondness.”

Is it possible to add a further chapter to MINI’ success story in rallying?

Richards: “I firmly believe the new MINI WRC car will capture the imagination of today’s generation of rally fans just as it did then and, as in 1964, this interest will spread well beyond the world of motorsport. I have had so many people coming up to me and say that they had read about the new programme and would be cheering us on.

When did you start to develop the MINI WRC? Richards: “While we are only now unveiling the new MINI WRC, Prodrive has been working on its development since the beginning of 2009. It is the most well prepared and best engineered rally car we have ever built, and in its first tests, it is already exceeding the targets we set ourselves for the project. I have to be honest and say that when we started on this road towards designing a rally car to the new 2011 WRC regulations, we never thought we would be working with MINI. Right at the beginning of this journey, we established a small but focussed team of engineers with the task of developing a new car with complete freedom to design the ideal rally car to meet the new 2011 rules. For the first three months we did nothing but analysis. We mathematically modelled every aspect of a rally car.”

Why was the MINI Countryman such a good basis for a WRC version?

Richards: “This initial work threw up some very interesting findings and fundamentally changed the way we approached the design of the MINI WRC car and also where we focussed our engineering resources.

We analysed more than a dozen cars from various manufacturers, measuring key elements like wheel base, centre of gravity, weight, track etc. It was only then that one of my team mentioned he had heard about a new MINI. Having run race and rally

Q&A: David Richards Prodrive’s premises in Banbury (main) and Warwick (below).

programmes with BMW in the 1980s and 1990s I was still in touch with many people in the company and they were able to confirm that this was indeed the case. A few quick measurements of the new car and we soon realised that it would be a great base for a World Rally Car. How does MINI contribute to the development process?

Richards: “By the end of last year our focus was totally on the Countryman. MINI shared all its technical and engineering data on the car and we began applying our generic rally car design to the Countryman. I have to say that the support from both the engineering and commercial teams in Munich is extraordinary. At the early stage there was only a gentlemen’s agreement in place, but since then there has been commitment to the project from all levels within the company.”

On which areas of the car did you put particular focus on?

Richards: “One of the key tasks we set the engineering team was to make the car practical and economical to use for private teams without in any way compromising its performance. The car will be produced in reasonable volumes, in motorsport terms of 25 to 30 per year, and thus it has to be easily maintained in remote locations across the world. As a result, if you look at the new MINI WRC, its design is very clean and simple and, in engineering terms, that has taken a lot more time and effort. For instance, all four uprights are interchangeable as are the anti-roll bars, so our customers don’t need so many spare parts to run their cars. There are also many innovative features around the rest of the car including the roll-cage design which will make the MINI extremely safe.”

Are you happy with the results of your team’s work?

Richards: “I am very proud of what our team of engineers has been able to achieve and the early testing results are extremely promising. By combining the experience of David Lapworth our technical director, who has been with Prodrive since the very beginning, with the inspiration and new ideas from a team of young engineers we have been able to produce a radically new car. However, let’s not underestimate the challenge that faces us as I’m sure our competitors are working equally hard on their new cars for 2011, but if you are going to be a new entrant to any championship, there is no better time to join than when there’s a new set of technical regulations and a new tyre supplier.”

Words courtesy of MINI Photos courtesy of Prodrive

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Back soon, but not as soon as expected.

EVENTS

TVMOC quits IMM2014 bid Goodwood talks breakdown.

T

business

MINI United Cancelled 2011’s big event is no-goer after problems at final approval.

Top

news of the season is that MINI has cancelled 2011’s plans for MINI United. The firm says they wanted to make the event bigger and better than the 2009’s 50th anniversary celebrations at Silverstone and that they need more time to be able to do this. So MINI United will return in 2012.

No further details behind the reasoning have been revealed, but we can speculate that is must have been a pretty big issue considering only in February MINI had released the date and regional location of the get-together.

Naturally there are many disappointed fans, but that disappointment

runs into the MINI team too. Having spoken to MINI, they too are desperately sad that the event will not be going ahead this year, so try not to hold it against them too much. There must have been a pretty good reason for the late announcement.

The statement reads: “In 2009 you rocked 50 Years of MINI in Silverstone – it was awesome – and really raised the bar. We are preparing MINI United at a whole new level, and need more prep time to go BIG. Thanks for your understanding!

Stay United. It all goes down in France, 2012.”

Following comments on its Facebook Page, MINI United replied:

“The MINI United Team is listening to your every word and completely understands the distress about MINI United’s move to 2012.

We live MINI, drive MINI and are passionate fans just like you. We were as excited as you to have it all go down in 2011 and share your disappointment with the fact that the MINI Challenge and MINI United program will be postponed to the first half of 2012.

Big events go through numerous approval stages. We wanted this BIG MINI United festival for you, but we failed to deliver and for that we are deeply sorry.

Stay United, Your Heavy-Hearted

motorsport

Dani Sordo joins WRC team

hames Valley Mini Club has announced it is withdrawing its bid for IMM2014 following a breakdown in talks with its preferred venue, Goodwood.

A shortened version of the club’s press release reads: “It is with much regret and disappointment that Thames Valley Mini Club announces the withdrawal of their aspirations and much vaunted bid for the 2014 International Mini Meet at Goodwood Motor Circuit.

This announcement comes following advanced stage talks revealed a significant disparity in a key area between the IMM 2014? requirements and Goodwood’s own vision of the event. Both TVMC and Goodwood have worked to overcome the issue but ultimately have found little room for the negotiation of a suitable solution.

Thames Valley Mini Club has investigated a number of alternative venues and possibilities but has not found a site that sufficiently meets the criteria for an anniversary event. The Club has therefore decided to withdrawal its bid rather than present a lesser, alternative option to that previously advertised.”

Spanish driver follows Meeke to MINI.

The

second driver to be announced to join the official MINI JCW WRC team is WRC experienced Spaniard Daniel ‘Dani’ Sordo.

“There has been a great deal of excitement

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surrounding MINI’s return to the WRC, so to be part of this new team is a fantastic opportunity for me,” says the 27-year-old Sordo. “I’m sure MINI has a big future in the sport. I’m looking forward to working with Kris Meeke.”

Minis will not be returning to Goodwood in 2014.

LAUNCh

, And that s a wrap French owners treated to LE.

MINI

France launched the MINI Mat in January, a Limited Edition run of 250 units of Matte wrap for hatchback models.

The custom wrap covers the bodywork, with mirrors and antennas in contrasting chequers.

Side vents, key fob and key insert slot will also receive special numbering to highlight the LE factor.

Underneath the wrap is standard paint meaning that the MINI can be restored to a factory look once the two-year wrap guarantee comes to an end.

And the cost for the Mat package, a mere €2800. For UK fans, it might be worth hopping over the Channel to sweet-talk a dealer into doing one for you.

EVENTS

history

Oldest unrestored MINI Buy a rusty undrivable car for just £11k!

An

advert appeared earlier this year claiming to be selling the oldest unrestored Mini in the world. At £11,500, it might seem a bit steep for some rusty metal, and what is the new owner likely to do with it? Restore it? Making it just like any other restored Mini. So what would you do, keep it as original, rusty and unusable, just so you can have the kudos of having an original, unrestored Mini?

Or would you restore it?

Either way, £11k, plus the restoration cost is likely to set you back the best part of another £40k if you get it done by a professional. Deep pockets at the ready then.

The advert states: “The 1959 Mini sports chassis number A/AS27-108, the 8th Austin Seven Mini built. Known history states it was built on May 15, 1959 known as the first pre-launch hand built car made that day, and dispatched to Car Mart

in Colchester on July 31. A Farina Grey DeLuxe, 108 has had two owners from new and been in its current ownership since 1986. Off the road since 1985 it is in very original unmolested condition but will require a full restoration. The front subframe and engine all matching numbers, were removed in 1986 to gain access to the inner wings and do remain with the car. A replacement driver’s door aside 108 appears very complete with only a few small items having been replaced over the years. Only two earlier Austins are so far known to exist, HUE 627 and KEG 77 are both in Japan so 108 could be the earliest Austin in Europe. Comes with original registration number and a host of paperwork including the Heritage certificate.”

Amazingly it did sell, and more amazingly to Autoblog UK writer, Richard Bremner.

He is currently undecided what to do with it.

Thong run 2011 cancelled Dwindling numbers force a rethink.

The

Clubman Estate Register (CER) has taken the difficult decision to cancel this year’s Thong Run. In a statement, club chairperson, Liz Rogers said “The Clubman Estate Register have held a charity Thong Run annually since 2005, and over this time have raised over £6K for charity and had a great time in the process.

However, a number of factors have led to a decision to put the event on hold for 2011. Although

the event has a small group of regular (and devoted!) attendees, falling attendance has gone handin-hand with a general reduction in involvement from existing CER members, of whom there are circa 600. The Thong Run team would like to thank all those who have attended since 2005 and it is hoped that the event will return in a different form in the future, with the full support of the CER membership. http://clubmanestateregister.yuku.com

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marketing

Let it Snow Countryman introduces itself to America.

Outside

of Macy’s in New York’s Herald Square is not a bad place to draw attention to yourself, so that’s exactly where MINI USA placed a giant snowglobe with a MINI Countryman inside.

It was one of many marketing stunts employed to signal the arrival of the Countryman in the US in January, emphasising its all-weather, all-terrain capabilities. Times Square was also plastered with MINI ads.

personnel

hillclimb

Warming in as head of design leaves 10 years on

DEWS dates

Hildebrand moves on after 10 years in charge.

Bidding

17 APRIL Bournemouth MC Clay Pigeon Sprint 14 MAY Torbay MC Wiscombe Hillclimb 21 MAY Woolbridge Wiscombe Hillclimb

Anders Warming replaces Gert Hildebrand who leaves after 10 years.

22 MAY Woolbridge Wiscombe Hillclimb 25 JUNE Torbay MC Mamhead Hillclimb 26 JUNE Torbay MC Mamhead Hillclimb 20 AUG Torbay MC Mamhead Hillclimb 21 AUG Torbay MC Mamhead Hillclimb 2 OCT Bournemouth MC Clay Pigeon Sprint www.dewsc.org.uk

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farewell after 10 years in charge of the MINI Design studio, Gert Hildebrand, 57, has passed on the mantle to Danish designer and head of Exterior Design at BMW Anders Warming, 38.

Hildebrand took control of the MINI’s design and development during the 2000s after the original designer, Frank Stephenson,

business

keep the mini mini BMW chief warns on MINI size.

Klaus

Draeger, BMW’s development chief, has warned that the MINI brand should not build too many large cars, because it could damage the brand, according to Autocar.

The magazine says

a fond

some of BMW’s senior management are ‘cautious about the likely success of the Countryman’.

However, early sales for the Countryman are good, and overall sales for MINI saw their highest ever sales figure in 2010.

left the company.

During his time Hildebrand saw the MINI family expand to include the Clubman, Cabrio, Countryman, Roadster and Coupe models.

Warming began his career at BMW Designworks USA in 1997 before moving to Munich in 2005. In 2007 he took over as head of Exterior Design, at BMW. Under his leadership, the Z4 and new BMW 5 Series were created.

A Paul Weller designed MINI has been auctioned off for charity.

The month-long auction saw the MINI sell for over £20,000. Charities War Child and Nordoff Robbins will share the proceeds.

rally

Mini wins the monte (again)!

Hythe have moved

brief news

Hythe Performance Parts have moved over the New Year period. Their new details are: Hythe Performance Parts Ltd Classic Mini Parts Specialist Unit 1, 6 Fairfields, Off Free Prae Road, Chertsey, Surrey, KT16 8EA 01932 567373 sales@hytheperformance.co.uk

New MED website Aaltonen wins centenary rally for MINI team.

Mini

legend, Rauno Aaltonen, has won the Monte Carlo Rally Historique celebrating 100 years of the rally.

Supported by MINI, the former rally winner started out from Marrakech in a 1969 Cooper S, covering over 1600 miles just to get to the starting point in Monte Carlo.

However the master was of the snow tackled whatever the mountains could lay down before him and the team romped home in first spot. A fitting win for the anniversary of the rally.

Rauno said of the

experience: “A lot of things look much the same as in the 1960s,” “Then it was all about top speed. In the Monte Historique regularity is the key, although the required 50km/h is very difficult to achieve on some sections.”

Some regulations have changed too, as he continued to explain: “Up to the mid1960s there was no limit on spikes,” he said, “and I had as many as 600 spikes on a wheel. Plus, we had 1200 tires ready and waiting on rims for our three competition-trim cars.”

custom mini

Hampton is MINI YOURS

Clubman shows off new customisation program.

MINI

Hampton introduced MINI Yours. This uniquely styled Clubman is a leading example of what future MINI owners will be able to do to their cars as they are built from the factory.

MINI Yours is a new customisable options scheme that expands the current customisable options available, and allow owners to make their mark more individual

than ever before.

With countless combinations of paint, interior and exterior trim, wheels and gadgets, MINI Yours has taken customisation at the factory to

Classic Mini engineering gurus, MED, have relaunched their redesigned website. Check it out at www.med-engineering.co.uk

W&P on Facebook

Classic coachbuilders turned restorers and parts suppliers, Wood & Pickett, has joined the digital world of Facebook and has moved from its original page to www.facebook. com/woodandpickettltd

Paceman gets production

Dr Klaus Draeger, BMW Board member has stated that the new Paceman concept will go into production, and it will be alongside the Countryman in Magna Steyr, Austria.

Tattooed todger

A man in Germany has won a brand new $32,000 MINI Cooper after having the word MINI tattooed on to his penis.

Andreas Muller, 39, said: “Once I’m sitting in the car, it won’t matter anymore. Then the pain will be gone and it’ll be alright,” he said.

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@@ @@ @@ @@ @ @ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @ @@our@Sho@ut @ @ @ Y@ @ @ @ @ @ a re it! pin ion? Sh@ n o@ a t o G @@ @ @ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @ @@ @ @ @ @ @ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @ @@ @ @ @ @ @ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @ @@ @ @ @ @ @ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @ @@ @ @ @ @ @ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @ @@ @ @ @ @ @ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @ @@ @ @ @ @ @ @@ @ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @ @ @ WIN! @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @ @@ @ @ @ @ @ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @ @@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 72 editor@love-mini.co.uk

Up and running

Just wanted to say Hello & congratulate y’all with this fabulous web site!!!!!!

Just received your site info from Shirley & Phil Blahak. I am a (very inactive) loyal mamber of the AMO Club in Arizona & live in Fountain Hills, AZ (65 Fahrenheit @ this moment today).

Just to make sure that the classic Innocenti 1300 Mini Cooper won’t be sold, I have transferred the “Title” to my oldest Grandson some time ago. But rest assured that it stays with me until I give up driving the “Beastie”.

Cheers, Hans Schmid Hi just been reading the online mag and think its great have you got any plans to put it in to print i for one would be a convert from mini world and mini mag David Gamble

Thanks to David, Hans and all the other well-wishers who got int ouch to wish us luck with the magazine. The response has been amazing and overwhelmingly

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positive, so please keep your contributions coming.

Flood damage

The Australians and New Zealanders haven’t been having too much luck with mother nature in recent months, and the usually pristine Minis have been taking a battering as shown in this picture sent to us from Steve Wright of Queensland, Australia.

The floodwaters that left a lot of Brisbane 6ft deep in the wet stuff also managed to ravage this local Mini garage leaving oil and liquids all over the place, and interiors ruined and unusable.

GET A GOOD DEAL

STAR LETTER

Heya Craig Well, everyone is looking for the best deal and coverage for their mini. I think I may have found it. Lancaster Insurance.

Having been involved in a “crash for cash” scam, Lancaster were right behind me from the offset. And today i phoned to enquire about the cost of a Stg3 head and a turbo .. i

www.love-mini.co.uk

was most delighted at it not bumping the premium up AT ALL. Every modification is declared on MinBin and none have added anything to the policy.

So don’t be scared, mod and declare! Not every insurance company will charge the earth!

Emz

Thanks for this Emz. We’re currently in the process of putting together a rough guide of insurance prices for Mini/MINI owners, so keep your eyes on our website for when it arrives.

Moss vouchers www.moss-europe.co.uk

Classic British car parts restoration specialist, Moss-Europe, is kindly offering a £25 voucher to the best letter sent in to us each issue.

No matter where you are in the world you can still get your vouchers, and then spend them on high quality bits for your Mini.

To be in with a chance, just email us a letter!

@@ @@ @@What real@ly gets our goat @@ @@ @@Don’t @ believe the hype @@ @ @ @@ @@ @@ @@There @@ @@ @@ @@ @ @ @@ @@ @ @@ @ @ @@ @@ @@ @ @@ @ @@ @ @@ @@ @ @@ @

RANT THIS ISSUE:

comes a time in life when we’ve provided a good service and are after others to do the same and meet our own high standards.

This came across my mind while discussing the outlook of our websites with a fellow classic car enthusiast, and what perspectives we take and plan to do during 2011.

To say he had a lot planned over the coming years would be quite an understatement, whether it be driving more classic cars or owning some quite eccentric cars. My plans, compared to his, are quite different, but we do run two very dissimilar websites with different intentions.

This brings me onto Gran Turismo 5, recently released on Playstation 3. It would be fair to Picture Rabisuke @ flickr say the hype surrounding the game was marking out it to be exactly what it said on the case ‘the ultimate driving simulator’. I’ll admit I was late to the party on playing the ultimate petrol head driving game, where the anticipation was of the highest. That wasn’t down to me, my order was delayed. However, before I had even had a chance to play it, opinions about the game had surfaced around the internet.

Was it worth the price? How does it compare to previous Gran Turismos?

Is it better than Forza Motorsport?

I’ll agree that the sheer build-up and news on the game did mean that the bar looked to have been raised from previous games, but the comments that were appearing on a number sites suggest people wanted more than what they were given.

As with many driving games, the game is flawed in some areas but makes up for in others – in this case the handling is far better than Forza, while the AI graphics are poor in places. I’m not one who goes along with hype, so went about making the comparisons to what I know best rather than expecting more than I know I’ll get.

As an overall package the new Gran Turismo is a good all-round game where driving is the focus rather than some of the minor visuals, but does miss out with the glitches online. So does the publicity that surrounds particular sectors of our lives cause us to think that what we are getting is going to better than it is? I’m not so sure, but I can certainly see that the creators of the Gran Turismo series have left some previous players unpleased.

Well you can’t please everybody can you?

The Trend

Bitesize chunks from the scene

HOT MINI Rocketman - we like a lot, and signals from up high suggest it WILL be put into production.

Rauno Aaltonen wins the historic Monte Carlo rally. A great achievement.

Early indications from the first events of 2011 show crowds returning to the scene.

Third party entries into the WRC with MINIs should give the official team a run for their money.

MINI United cancelled. The big party is on hold for another year.

MINI Scooter seems a bit too far removed from the brand at this stage.

Fuel prices are rocketing to unaffordable levels and nothing is being done about it.

NOT

Submitted by Charlie Johnson

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The lock-up Showing us your Mini stuff

Dave Overfield Hi love:mini, here is my MINI. It is a 2006 2nd Gen MINI Cooper with a Pepper pack but it has all the features of the Chilli pack bar the steering wheel.

The car started off as a learner car before I had it from Rybrook MINI in Worcester. The car had a full service history

and was up for 10k. A bargain and I had it.

Since having the car I have only done a few mods to it these are including, interior-centre arm rest, Alcantra gear gaiter, parrot bluetooth, checkered dash, checkered roof, checkered numberplate surround, checkered A-panels (now changed to mimic the WRC MINI graphics - thanks to Sign

my Ride in Worksop), brake callipers painted red and the petrol cap surround painted white.

Mods I have planned include a K&N airfilter, an engine remap, some new alloy wheels (now fitted!) and a bigger back box.

So far it’s has gone to many shows from Himley Hall to L2B and MINI united with many more to come.

Allan Faulkner’s Mini Pick-up

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Out of Action Submitted by Josh Kelly

T

his MK2 Riley Elf had been sitting in the same spot for around nine years when I rediscovered it.

When I was about 10, a wrong turn on my bike led me to find a Riley Elf and a MkI Mini sitting in an open-front garage. I’m not sure how long they had been there before then. Back then, I wasn’t really into photographing neglected Minis, so went home and forgot about it.

But last year, I decided to try finding these two cars again, and by luck one of them was still there!

It is a 1964 Riley Elf

MkII, which was an unfinished project.

Sitting on a frame was protecting the tyres from being damaged. The engine was missing, as was the grille. No other parts were missing but the hubcaps and other parts were sitting inside the car. Recently, I decided to make a checkup on the car, and to my surprise it had finally been moved, hopefully it is on its way to being restored! In its place was a Mini-based beach buggy, will be interesting to see how long this one stays in there!

Gone but not forgotton.

Mohammad J. Al-Harbi MINI Cooper

Broken but smiling.

One dead MINI.

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Mayfair Lady The name Mayfair just oozes high class and following MINI’s launch of its own LE of the smae name, we compare old and new.

Words & PHOTOS Chris Fawcett

Back in

1982, a new model of the Mini arrived on the scene. The Mayfair reached out as an upmarket version of this classic and favourite. A lot has changed in that time but the Mini following is still as strong as it has ever been.

In the year of its launch, The Falklands War saw the biggest troop movement the UK had seen since the Second World War, Prince William was born and classic movies Blade

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Runner and ET hit the big screen, plus Channel 4 was launched.

When the original Mini Mayfair debuted in 1982 it immediately earned a reputation for being one the most luxurious Minis money could buy at a price of £3630, approximately £13,600 in today’s money.

On its launch, the new

luxury Mini brought about a whole new definition of luxury. Out went the vinyl and brushed nylon that graced the seats and doors and in came a new Raschelle fabric. This, along with reclining seats with head restraints and a new cut pile carpet, made the whole seating experience for driver and passengers much more comfortable than in previous years. To enhance the driving experience a new four spoke steering wheel and a moulded handbrake grip replaced the old plastic. In came two door storage bins and a modern LW/MW Radio. Out went the traditional centre speedometer and in came the Clubmanstyle Binnacle in front of the driver.

The exterior of the car saw some improvements, with two door mirrors fitted as standard, new painted matching bumpers and grille.

Drums stayed until 1984 when 8.4-inch disc brakes came as standard

This was matched up with a new trim stripe and Mayfair motif, and the luxury of a locking fuel cap. The windows got a small upgrade with the inclusion of new tinted glass and to help with passenger comforts, opening rear quarter windows. The optional extras list was pretty small with only optional clear coat metallic paint, automatic transmission and optional Alloy wheels from the Mini Special model.

The specifications gave the feel of the Mayfair, being a car for the more discerning, a great improvement over the City. On its launch it still ran on drum brakes all-round, wrapped with 10-inch steel rims and styled road wheel covers. The drums stayed until 1984 when 8.4-inch disc brakes came as standard fitment across the entire range and the wheels grew to 12inch rims. The brakes received their final upgrade with the fitment of a servo in 1988. The engine started with the 998cc and slowly evolved up to the

The definition of ‘premium’ has changed a lot in 30 years.

Mayfair 1982

Engine 998cc single SU carb Power 40bhp @ 5000rpm 0-60: 17.5secs Top speed: 82mph MPG: 40 Transmission Four-speed Length: 3054mm Brakes Drums all round Wheels 3.5x10-inch steel Interior Single central speedo dial Price: £3363

Mayfair 1992-1996 From mid-’95 the Mayfair interior was fitted with Windsor fabric in Stone Beige, with matching doorcards.

Engine 1275cc single SU carb (SPi from Aug ’94) Power 50bhp @ 5000rpm (53bhp from Aug ’94)

0-60: 13.4secs (13.1secs from Aug ’94)

Top speed: 87mph (88mph fron Aug ‘94)

MPG: 35 Transmission Four-speed Brakes Front 8.4-inch discs, rear drums Wheels 4.5x12-inch steel Interior Full length walnut burr dash (from ’93) Three-clock binnacle, radio, clock, Metro seats, internal bonnet release

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Mayfair Lady

The family resemblance is clear to see.

1275cc towards the end of its life.

Modern Life

Jump forward 27 years and lots of things have changed in the world. Barak Obama is inaugurated as the first African-American President of the USA, Michael Jackson died and Avatar was the big hit on the movie screens.

In 2009 as part of the 50th anniversary, MINI released a special edition bringing back the Mayfair. The new car takes is styling cues from the classic Mini, but adds some modern twists to bring a car for the 21st century.

When you read that the car was being launched in Hot Chocolate Brown, you think back to the old classic Russet and Clove browns of BL, which are now classic in there own right, but the new colour is a metallic which sits nicely with its white roof and contrasting Toffee metallic bonnet stripes. The colour is something other manufacturers have started to imitate.

The MINI 50 Mayfair has

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a presence; standing on the 12-spoke 17-inch Infinity Stream alloy wheels tying in with the roof in classic white, with run flat tyres giving a firm but sound road holding.

The new mirror covers with a striped pattern of brown and black link the exterior to the matching dash trim details, and are another unique feature to the MINI 50 models.

The interior brings back the luxury feel with full toffeecoloured leather seating with white piping to contrast, and matching detail on the gear stick, dash rail, door panels and steering wheel over a black trim. This is a big improvement over the original plastic and soft cloth of the classic and in keeping with modern motoring. Air conditioning helps keep the comfort at a high level especially on the sunny day we took the photos.

The finishing details making the car stand out include a new Mayfair logo on the indicator panel and stainless steel sill protectors.

The special MINI 50 logo badge, accompanied with

twin spotlights on the grille adds to the style and brings a piece of nostalgia.

Performance comes from the whole range of Cooper including the Diesel and S specifications, giving everyone a power and performance package to suit their needs. Prices start at £18,415 for the Cooper up to £21,280 for the Cooper S. We would like to thank Jon Betts and Laura Hutton of Scotthall MINI Hampshire for the loan of the Mini 50 Mayfair Cooper and to Karen Dawson, chairwoman of P&SMOC for her classic Mayfair “Rosie”.

Mayfair 2010

Thirty years on and the new Mayfair boasts over three times as much power.

Engine 1598cc Power 122bhp (Cooper) 184bhp (Cooper S) 0-62: 9.1secs (Cooper) 7.0secs (Cooper S) Top speed: 126mph (Cooper) 142mph (Cooper S) MPG: 40.9 (Cooper) 38.7 (Cooper S) Transmission Six speed Length 3699mm (Cooper) 3714mm (Cooper S) Wheels 7Jx17-inch alloys Price: £18,785 (Cooper) £21,810 (Cooper S)

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Looking mean on the street.

My MINI Countryman Review

WORDS & PHOTOS Dave Overfield

love:mini reader borrows his local MINI dealer’s demo Countryman and gives us his thoughts on it.

The Country

man may not be everyone’s cup of tea but it should be welcomed in the great Mini/ MINI family.

On first impressions it’s big yes. Big, but put next to a MINI saloon and it doesn’t look that big at all. It is ideal for anyone who has to move up to a bigger car from their classic Mini to new MINI and want to stay with the scene.

The Countryman I have test driven is the Cooper S with its sporty stance and mean-looking front grille.

From the outside the car has a bigger front end with a similar grille to the hatch but again, slightly bigger.

Its ride height is up high which is good for looking over other cars giving a good all round view of the road.

The four doors open wide giving easier access for people to enter in the front of the car and for the passengers in the rear. The bootlid has an impressive MINI badge which also doubles up as the boot handle, something seen on VWs. Once open the boot space is large and better

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than the hatch and with the rear seats dropped it turns it into a small van.

The alloy wheels that come on this model are the 18-inchers and in black they look mean.

The interior is the same as the standard hatchback with its large centre speedo, rev counter behind the steering wheel. The seats are comfortable and hold you in while driving it hard around corners.

This model had the two rear seat option which gives the rear passengers there own seat separated by the centre rail. This in-turn has a mobile phone holder, two cup holders and sunglasses holder.

Driving the Countryman really surprised me because I thought it would be slower and wallowy but it was not. The acceleration was very good with the car being able to pull away very quickly and on the motorway pull past others with ease.

On normal roads it handled very well, and with its high up position you can see clearly over the other traffic.

On country lanes the car lived up

“

Compared to o and not much

han ce t m a p s m age n? Hm g g u e l lubma Mor C INI M a

MY Countryman Review

“

, other SUVs it s not big at all, h bigger than a MINI hatch

n m.

to its name as I pushed it round the twisty roads with ease. The only difference was the size as I had to be wary of other traffic due to its size.

The handling overall was good but not as good as the hatchback.

The other good point was the fuel economy driving the Cooper S with all its power and size hardly touched the fuel, driving it at high speeds on the motorway, normal traffic and country lanes.

Above all it is a good car to have perfect for someone who wants a bigger car and wants to stay in the Mini family. Is it a MINI? No to be honest. It is a little big but would sit comfortably in the family range.

The car I drove was the Cooper S Countryman All4 with Chilli pack.

Cost £30,000 The car to go for would be the Cooper or Cooper D, The All4 costs an extra £1200 and in my opinion is really not needed.

Thanks to Rybrook Worcester for the loan of the Countryman.

Mission control. Ready for launch.

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r e v o Move t o o c S y t i l i Mob ...electric power just got serious

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ter

Y

our first thoughts on this MINI? Pretty cool, huh? What about if I was to say that this concept vehicle from AC Schnitzer is actually electric-powered - still cool? Not as much?

Well, whatever your views on electric vehicles, their popularity is growing, and with oil and fuel prices rocketing, it’s easy to see why manufacturers (and customers) are looking for cheaper-to-run alternatives.

For us petrol-heads though, the sound of the crank and pistons working hard coupled with a sweet exhaust note add to the real ambiance of driving a combustion-engined car. However, before you start spitting in the direction of the nearest G-Wiz or Prius just think to the future in 10 or 20 years time when most vehicles are likely to be powered by alternative means to fossil fuels.

And although, many of us don’t really want to think about electric vehicles, if we are going to have to eventually drive them, then they had better make them to be pretty special, and this Police MINI is giant step in the right direction.

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This is actually AC Schnitzer’s sixth annual concept car and as well as putting forward food for thought on the future, it gives the MINI Specialist tuning firm to show off its latest goodies.

The principle focus for the concept is to demonstrate that you can have high-end performance from an electric vehicle - although this still hasn’t overcome the age-old problem of durability and range. If this were to be adopted in its current state by police, we reckon they would very quickly be given the runaround with crims keeping the cops on the chase until the batteries died and the car rolled to stop. And with a charge time of hours, the crooks would be long gone before the electric MINI got back on the road.

On the other hand, if you suspend reality for moment, the MINI’s silent approach

See you in a few hours. would make it ideal for discreet approaches at night and its reduced weight should make it launch like a rocket and certainly ensure it has enough oomph to keep chase with the outlaws.

Under the chassis is a selection of Schnitzer’s best bits with cool front and rear skirts, 4-pot callipers and adjustable racing suspension.

Shiny aluminium goodies adrn the inside and a lovely set of Mi2 Schnitzer wheels add real character. Blue underbody lighting is also a neat touch.

TECH SPEC

Base model: Engine: Performance: Max. torque: Max. speed: 0-100 km/h: Consumption: Accumulator: Charging time:

Cruising range:

Suspension:

Lightweight aluminium goodies deck out the interior, along with a matching Police Blue colour theme.

Aerodynamics:

Wheel/Tyre set:

Interior:

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Exterior:

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The principle focus for the concept is to demonstrate that you can have highend performance from an electric vehicle

C

MINI E (R56) Electric motor 204 bhp (150 kW) 220 Nm 152 km/h (electronically limited) 8.5 seconds approx. 15 kWh / 100 km Lithium-Ionen, 35 kWh, aircooled 2.4 hours (230 V, 50 A) 3.8 hours (230 V, 32 A) 10.1 hours (230 V, 12 A) 160-180 km during realistic conditions AC Schnitzer racing suspension, height adjustable, AC Schnitzer high performance brake system, front axle AC Schnitzer front skirt, AC Schnitzer rear skirt, AC Schnitzer bonnet vents AC Schnitzer wheels Mi2, 7.5J x 18� with tyres 225/35 ZR 18, HANKOOK Ventus S1 evo tyres AC Schnitzer aluminium handbrake handle, AC Schnitzer aluminium pedals, AC Schnitzer aluminium foot rest, AC Schnitzer footmats, velour

by FOLIATEC

Underbody lighting gives more presence on the road.

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The

Business Getting to know your Mini vendors

Services • • • • • • •

General service Pre-MoT check General repairs Welding Resprays Restorations Free pick-up & delivery within 20-miles

Blakehill body centre Classic Mini enthusiast starts up his own Mini service and respray business to fuel his passion.

When you

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send your Mini off to be worked on then you want someone who understands the ‘Mini thing’ that we all have with our Minis. Fortunately, despite the decline in classics, there are still talented enthusiasts out there starting up businesses and offering services for the time short or mechanically challenged owner.

Blakehill Body Centre owner, Rob Medcroft, has been involved with Minis practically his whole life, having grown up with them as family cars.

At the age of 12 he took up grasstrack racing where he was told “if you want to race, then you must work on the Mini” to which he jumped at the chance - and there his real passion for working on Minis began.

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He raced until he was 19, during which time he was also taking a mechanics apprenticeship. A few years later he also went on to do a body repair and spraying course, which gave him all the skills to start his own business.

With his wife, Tanya, they have two daughters who have also been brought up alongside of Minis. When they were small the family would amaze people in the streets by fitting two adults, a toddler, a baby, a baby seat, a booster seat, a pram and a buggy all in the Mini.

Now the eldest daughter has just turned 16 and already the proud owner of a Mini.

“She cannot wait to get out and drive it at the end of this year,” says mum Tanya.

In 2009 Rob was working in a well known motor factory

Family members are cheap labour, but they all love Minis, so it’s ok.

Rob does all the work himself to ensure it is to his own high standards.

Tricky headlining? No problem.

Rustproofing in all the cavities.

CONTACT

Blakehill Body Centre Unit 1, Blakehill Business Park, Chelworth rd, Cricklade, Nr Swindon, Wilts, SN6 6RB 01793 759399 Rob@blakehillbodycentre.com www.blakehillbodycentre.co.uk

Prepped and ready for a full spray. where he was a team leader.

As news broke out that they wanted people to take redundancy Rob and Tanya saw the opportunity for Rob to fulfill his lifetime dream of opening his own bodyshop, where of course he would specialise in classic Minis.

With a lot of hard work and support from his family his dream became true as in April 2009 Blakehill Body

Centre was opened.

You are guaranteed a personal service as Rob takes charge of every step of the job, from the quote right through to the final polish.

Rob happy to chat about Minis, especially if you ask about his 1966 Cooper he is restoring. Then next on his list is a respray for his wife’s Mini which I’m told is set to be a real head turner!

Business Profile

A state of the art spraying booth does the business.

Do you run a Mini-related business?

Contact us for your free DPS profile and let our readers know what you’re about, and what services you offer. editor@lovemini.co.uk

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Gear

classic

Bits and pieces for your ^Mini

heel

Lightweight Steel Flyw w w w.m in ispares.co.u k £140+VAT

Stainless steel grille buttons

www.smiffysbits.co.uk £12.50 per pair

mping mach ined to increa se cla is l ee wh fly el ste d ne tor ring Th is lighte p and the tim ing reluc sli tch clu l tia ten po ing pressure reduc power. eel to produce ma ximum wh fly the o int d ine ch is ma and often gs were lia ble to move rin tor uc rel tal me al tra power The origin eel shou ld give you ex wh fly is th so r we po caused loss of th SPi and M Pi. tments. Available for bo jus ad er oth y an ut tho wi su re Plate or Cused with a Va leo Pres be T US M ls ee wh fly e engine wi ll Thes ed pressure plate or the rat up % 20 s are Sp i in AEG485 M ce. ing slot wi ll be out of pla not sta rt because the tim er as C-AEG425 Single point injection ord order as C-AEG424 Mu lti Point injection -

Money box

Expanding on his successful range of shiny Mini embellishments, Smiffy has started manufacturing these stainless steel grille buttons. They’re a bit more expensive than the chrome ones, but you can bet they will last a heck of a lot longer before rusting or becoming unusable. Grille buttons - great for quick access to the front of the engine.

www.frost.co.uk £15.83 Whether it’s an addition to your hoard of Mini collectables or you just think it’s a cool gift for someone, this silver-plated Mini money box looks great and would be the centrepiece of anyone’s mantelpiece.

Not only that, but you can also put some money in it to save for your next parts.

Silicon hose sets

www.minispares.com £127.66 (SPi); £172.60 (MPi)

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Mini Spares can now offer top quality silicon coolant hoses for all MPi and SPi Minis.

The kits contains the all the hoses need for your injection Mini in a choice of shiny blue, red or black silicon that should last forever and not degrade with heat, age and underbonnet environment.

These kits are ideal for both the owner who never wants a failure or the daily driver that wants to forget about hose problems forever,

S/S tower bolt covers www.smiffysbits.co.uk £17.50 per pair

If there is one bolt that stands out in the engine bay, it’s the big-assed front subframe tower bolts. They’re not exactly high on the priority list of things to replace to tidy up the engine bay, and over time they will start looking dull again. Fortunately Smiffys Bits is now manufacturing these stainless steel tower bolt covers to keep the engine bay looking tip-top.

Autotees classic mini t-shirt

to this

www.autotees.co.uk £12.99

We know you can’t get enough of your Mini clothing, but to avoid ending up wearing the same stuff as your mates, why not take a look at Autotees where there is a decent selection of t-shirts for Mini and retro car enthusiasts.

MINI owners are also catered for with a couple of designs featuring the Mini’s big brother.

Available in black, red, navy blue, bottle green, burgandy, plus ladies and youth sizes.

from this

lubman Stainless Steel C bonnet catch o.uk

Locking Petrol Cap

w w w.sm iff ysbits.c £19.50

ot ton have not been forg Clubman ow ners iff ys depa rt ment as Sm in the sh iny bits eel ased a stai nless st Bits ha s now rele it ill w catch. Not on ly Clubman bonnet it y, to your engi ne ba add some sparkle item s er than standa rd ng lo st la so al ill w en ing. smooth-act ion op for many years of

BMC A Classic Engine Rebuild

www.minispares.com £11.50

With petrol prices at record levels it makes sense to guard your fuel, and now, thanks to Mini Spares the classic locking petrol cap for Minivans and early Mini saloons is available again.

The original style vented cap is suitable for all Mini Pick-ups, vans, estates and MkI/II Mini saloons. The factory changed to a non-vented cap on the MkIII saloon.

series DVD

w w w.frost.co.u k £16.24

to disma ntle and you, step-by-step, how s ow sh D DV te inu -m show ing how to Th is 40 so included are gu ides Al e. gin en s rie Se Aengine and renovate an dis tri butor and set the d an tor ret rbu ca the str ip and serv ice engineer. dit ion for any budd ing ad l efu us A . ing tim n ign itio

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89

Gear

new

Bits and pieces for your ^Mini

ts Camber adjustable front top moun ww w.raceper formancemodi fied.com £195

per fect ride wit hout hav ing to Wa nt to set up you r MIN I for the stable top mou nts from Race get all dirty? Wel l these cam ber adju trick.

Per formance Modified are just the on the road and track and The mou nts have been tested bot h the eng ine bay, ma king can be easily adju sted from wit hin at the track a doddle. adju sting and test ing the geomet ry min ium wit h self lubricating Made from aircraft qua lity billet alu top mou nt set is an excellent Tef lon race bea rings the adju stable choice for the more serious driver.

Door mirror caps

mmm JCW goodies

http://mybeautifulmini.com www.minimania.com From £55 / $225 Add your own individual flair to your MINI with a set of genuine door mirror caps. Available with or without powerfold you can choose from Union Jack, Checkered, Chrome and Black Jack styles. If you’re feeling really flush you might even want to consider the very cool JCW carbon-fibre covers but at $695 a pair you might have to skip making a mortgage payment.

Bonnet scoop insulation ALTA AccessPORT

www.altaperformance.com $895

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Got the urge to play around with your MINI’s tuning settings? The ALTA AccessPORT is a simple plugand-play device that hooks up to your diagnostics port and allows you into the ECU. This device also claims to be able to unlock an additional 20-40bhp at the wheels within minutes of being connected.

In-house maps are included with the ability to upgrade as you change parts for your car. Currently this device only works for North American models, but there are plans for a European and Asian compatible model soon.

www.minimania.com $37.50

If you drive your Cooper S at high speed a lot (well, that’s what they’re for isn’t it?) then there has been reported cases of the bonnet scoop partially melting due to excessive heat. If your S isn’t fitted with this insulation, then it might be worth considering it. Suitable for 2007+ S Hatchs, 2008+ S Clubmans and 2009 S Convertibles.

3D badge holder

http://new.minimania.com Mount from $27.50, outer ring from £7.95, badges £27.50 Brighten up and personalise your MINI’s grille with these uber-cool 3D badges. Express yourself by selecting from a range of graphics to fit the badge holder and add another bit of flair to your motor.

There are currently over 20 styles available with many more also available in standard magnetised and domed badges.

Tow-hook licence plate www.cravenspeed.com $60

Are you one of those MINI owners always on the look out for something different to set your car apart from others? Are you always looking to start the next new trend? Well how about a licence plate affixed to your front tow-hook instead of centrally placed? We’re not sure how UK law officials would think of it, but in the US it seems to be a bit of a cult trend.

Rennline aluminium cockpit www.mossmini.com From $99

If you like your MINIs fast and like them to look fast too, then you’ll do well to find better than Rennline’s aluminium accessories for your MINI. More well known for its Porsche accessories, Rennline’s dip into the MINI market looks rather fruitful. Whether you go for a pedal set, track mats, pedal guard or one of the many other lightweight products, they will look great individually or part of a seamless set.

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Brushed Stainless gear Knob ww w.cravenspeed.com $99

ven speed, is Renowned afterma rket supplier, Cra nless steel gea r fina lly able to offer a bru shed stai on the stick knob. The item sits slightly lower its lightweight ma king shif ts slightly shorter and thermore, design ma kes it a dream to use. Fur han ism mec new a Craven speed have developed chi ng it laun t wh ich releases the gea rknob wit hou into the sun roof!

Driving Theory Test app http://t heorytestapp.co.uk £1.79

apps for sma rtphone users, Focus Mu ltimedia has released two ir Theory Tes t, wit h every wh ich allows them to practise the cial DSA questionba nk; or a question and answer from the offi vides a driv ing simulat ion Hazard Perception Tes t, wh ich pro as they appear. where users mu st identify hazard s

Rear mudflaps

Rear wiper delete kit

www.minimania.com From $53 Hot off the production line in North America are these aftermarket mudflaps for the newly-launched Countryman.

These items will ensure that your spangly new MINI’s underbody stays protected while you’re kicking up the dirt and also give you a styling variation over other new Countryman owners.

www.minimania.com $27.50

Looking for a clean look to the rear of your MINI? This kit will remove the rear wiper and replace it with a tidy, inconspicuous grommet.

Installation takes just 20 minutes and is completely reversable should you want to refit the wiper.

Kris Meeke Intercontine ntal Rally Challenge Champ ion w w w.veloce.co.u k £19.99

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The first M IN I W RC dr iver to be an nounced, Kr is Me eke, ha s coincidenta lly had a bo ok about him relea sed. As Br itish Int ercontinental Ra lly Champion the book loo ks at his progress, from his mentoring by Colin McRae to his never-say-d ie att itu de proven by a host of fightbacks. If yo u wa nt to get a better backgrou nd on the ma n now representing M IN I, pic k th is up.

TOOLBOX

Elbow

Engine cleaning gun £40.95 www.lasertools.co.uk

Givin’ it some hard graft

Grease

Essential equipment

If you like to drive your Minis hard then it is inevitable that you will get a nasty build-up of dirt and grime in your engine bay over time. This handy cleaning gun delivers a high blast spray of water (up to 120psi) to blast away the crud in your engine bay. It’s got a 0.75-litre tank with a long nozzle and trigger spray action, making it easy to use.

Alldrive Go’thru Socket Set £46.95 www.lasertools.co.uk How cool is this? A ratchet that you can put an extension bar through or over deep nuts and bolts to get to the fixing. This innovative idea comes from Laser Tools and combines with their patented Alldrive system that works on Metric/AF and many other fittings.

It’s an incredibly clever design and one that should relieve lots of stress for those lucky owners.

Parts washer £11.95 www.lasertools.co.uk Every classic Mini owners needs one of these - a parts washer. Trust me, when you get the grubby bits off to put a replacement part back on, you’ll want to clean all the reusable nuts, bolts and other parts. It’s made from rustproof stainless steel with and special coating to prevent scratches.

All you need is some solvent cleaners and you’ll soon be the proud owner of some shiny nuts again.

x Ma ultiM t, m mel .99 t.co n cu Dre £159 direc h ca sks ic lh ol w From .dreme r ta minute g to othe www latin e and ns per il c s s o scrap cillatio , dles os all Cor , sand 1,000 ryw d nd d cut grin 0 to 2 a d 0 woo l flush 30 ,a ase d meta g pad, e c : s e de an din ag hre Inclu rt stor a wood op san ood, t attery w lo b sma blade, k and rs for spare e o saw e, a ho g pap paint, in blad e sand ers for p thre ing pa d san

Autoglym Perfect Palm £7.66 www.moss-europe.co.uk Car polish experts Autoglym are offering this comfortable palm pad as the best way for cleaning and polishing your pride and joy.

Prima Car Care www.cleanyourcar.co.uk From £12.99 Prima Car Care is a unique family of auto detailing products ranging from complete paint protection systems to interior dressings and protectants.

The products have been designed and formulated with the most demanding auto aficionado in mind. Each product complements another.

Whether it be the silky concourse finish of our Nero Plastics/Vinyl protectant and the soft natural leather look of Nourish Leather Conditioner, or the depth and gloss from our Epic paint sealant topped with Hydro spray and wax.

The end result is a range of car care products that were made to exceed the highest of expectations.

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UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Courtesy of Adam Nierzad

O

ver two years ago Adam Nierzad, or Deathrow to TMFers, started work on his Mini - Elliot.

Having used it for an everyday car and a runaround, it had got to the stage when it needed a serious overhaul, in all areas.

After years of Mini ownership, Adam felt he had the confidence to tackle whatever challenges were to come his way, and with the help of other TMFers, he knew he had a helpful and knowledgeable group of enthusiasts who were always willing to offer advice and opinion.

With this in mind, in autumn 2008, Adam started what was to be a mammoth rebuild.

What makes this tale even better is that he is not using simple replacement panels, and in many cases is dealing with each problem as it arises.

Obviously if money allowed, then we would all like to use Heritage panels, but the reality is, this is how many owners repair their Minis. And as long as it is done to a good standard, there is nothing wrong with that.

The epic challenge is still ongoing for Adam, over two years later, but is coming into its final stages. We are picking up the build from the very beginning to entice you in and want to find out more. You can see where he is today and to make a comment, by visiting the build thread by clicking the project picture in the top right of this page.

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ON

ON DEAT

courtesy Adam ‘Deathrow’ Nierzad

HRO

Ada m M i n Nierza i ha s ju s d’s si x m t pa ssed ont h f i x its t wo y up for h i ea r a n n s deter io ivers a r y. rat i ng e ver y day

W

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UNDER CONSTRUCTION

start condition

Flitch panel.

UND R T S N O C Front wing.

SEPT 1, 2008

areas of attack Rear side window.

Oversills.

Doors.

Doorstep.

Front panel.

Doorstep.

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Chopping bits off

Photoshop mock-up

DER N O I T C U R SEPT 18, 2008

FEB 6, 2009

DEC 23, 2008

New RSP block.

Front mock-up

Exacton wheels

MAR 31, 2009

Oversills = bad.

APR 13, 2009

Bulkhead/flitch patching

At this stage Adam is planning a flip front, Exacton wheels and 1275 engine to replace the Elliot’s 998 block.

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APR 11, 2009 Making a flitch ‘catch’ tab for the flip front.

ENgine strip APR 13, 2009

Bent rocker posts.

Sorted.

Head off.

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After acquiring a 1275cc engine from another TMFer, Adam set about giving it a good clean and looking at all the bits that would be fitted to it.

APR 16, 2009

block clean APR 17, 2009 Bagging the loom.

MAY 19, 2009 MAY 3, 2009

MX5 seats.

MAY 24, 2009

With the good weather now turning up now and again, Adam began to find more time to work on Elliot, and real progress was being made. After cleaning the new block, the gearbox was cleaned and reassembly began. In the meantime, some Mazda MX5 seats turned up and Adam stripped the bulkhead.

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100

JUN 23, 2009

JUN 29, 2009

JUN 26, 2009

New bits!

Bit of patching.

JUL 2, 2009

JULY 11, 2009 JUL 3, 2009

Adam took the time to refurb his newly obtained centre binnacle, cleaning up the housing and wire brushing and respraying the metal parts.

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A change of Plan “Because I need to pay for my Uni accomodation next year, it forced me to sit down and evaluate what I’m spending on the Mini and where and whether or not it’s really worth the money, a bad idea I’m sure you’ll agree. Fortunatly, most things, such as the MX5 seats and other stuff came up well and I felt that they had been worth what they cost. Now, the one thing that did come up as not being worth what its costing me, is the engine.

So now, the engine parts I’ve collected are being sold, starting with the biggest first but then following on to the smaller bits I don’t need anymore.

The new plan is to strip my 998 down, clean, paint and rebuild it so it’s nice and pretty and then that’s going back in. I might have a play with some mild tuning. I have a spare unleaded head that I might have a play with and try out just for a bit of fun, using Vizard’s yellow bible.

Now that’s not the end of it, Elliot will still be going 1275, but only when I’ve managed to find a complete, running low milage engine which I can just paint up and install, rather than have to build, tweak, check, do a dance, check again, run in, have set up, etc. so that’s the new direction.”

cracking on

JUL 23, 2009

998 clean

JUL 16, 2009

Bit more patching.

JUL 11, 2009

Nice smooth bores.

Click here to follow Adam’s progress online

END love:mini

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Submit your articles

WORKSHOP Showing you how it is really done.

DIY TECH I Objective Remove the faulty water pump and fit a new one.

Tools • 2x 7/16” spanners.

• 7/16” and 1/2” sockets • Flathead screwdriver • Possibly 10mm socket/spanner • Gasket paste Time 60 minutes

Replacing the classic Mini’s water pump Alternator off and radiator out.

Considering your Mini’s engine is powered by lots of little explosions (or burns for the technicallycorrect), you’ll want to be make sure the cooling system is working properly.

In my case I noticed a water leak and the need to top up the radiator every few days. So, following the

rusty/brown water trail, I traced it back to the water pump. This was confirmed with the engine running and water leaking from it.

A lack of water in the cooling system will cause the engine to overheat and terminally kill your Mini’s block and likely the head too. So make sure it’s all working.

1.

Difficulty 4/10

To get access to the water pump you’re going to need to remove the grille, alternator and radiator.

First remove your Mini’s grille, either by unscrewing it from the front panel, or by undoing the grille buttons.

Cost Around £22 for water pump and gasket

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by Craig McBeth

2.

Yeah, yeah, don’t mention the state of the engine bay.

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Make sure the engine is cool. If you have been running the Mini in the last hour, go away and come back in half an hour. You really don’t want hot water from the radiator pissing out all over you.

3.

In theory it’s probably best

4 3 to remove the alternator first, but we disconnected the top radiator hose first.

Make sure the radiator cap is off, and then use a flat-headed screwdriver to undo the jubilee clip. Don’t completely undo it and leave it on the hose for easy re-attachment.

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4.

Disconnect the power connector on the alternator.

Then, using two 1/2 (13mm) spanners, undo the three alternator bolts. Once undone, remove the bolts, extract the alternator and belt from the engine bay and set them aside in a safe/dry place.

5.

Next you need to remove the radiator. Start by unscrewing the radiator cowling (the rubbery bit that fits on the outside of the radiator). There are four 7/16 (11mm) bolts that hold it on. The rear ones are a tight squeeze for access.

6.

Once done, you can undo the radiator support brackets, one on the top, one on the bottom. The top one is y-shaped and holds the radiator to the head, while the bottom one connects to the engine mount.

The top bracket bolts we found to be 2x 7/16 (11mm) and 1x 10mm. The bottom radiator bolt is 1/2 (13mm).

7.

7

With the bracket bolts removed the radiator should lift out a fair way. Be careful not to catch the fan blades on the radiator fins as this could damage them. Whilst lifting the radiator, you should have better access to the bottom radiator hose clip. Using a flat-head screwdriver, undo the jubilee clip and pull off the hose. Water WILL go everywhere so be prepared.

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MP

REPLACE WATER PU

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8.

Carefully remove the radiator/fan shroud and cowling. Then to remove the fan, use a 7/16 socket to undo the four bolts holding the fan and spacer and pulley onto water pump. Place the fan, spacer (if fitted) and belt to one side. The pulley can often be wedged onto the water pump so may need some lubrication (on the inside) and persuasion to come off.

9.

8

Undo the jubilee clip, with a flathead screwdriver, holding the hose to the pump. Again, there may be some water (the clue is in the name!). Use the 7/16 (11mm) socket to undo the four bolts that attach the water pump to the block. There should be two long bolts (at the rear) and two shorter bolts. With these out the pump should lift out and clear exposing the inside of your block.

10.

10

Take a breather, you’re half done.

Have a look at the old pump and compare it to the new one to ensure they are the same. Our impellers were a different style, but of the same dimensions, so this was not likely to cause any issues.

11.

Clean up any parts that you will be refitting to the car. Scrub any rusty bolts with a wire brush.

You can also clean off any rust that might be forming on the radiator or its shroud, and give it a lick of paint if you like. Wash and dust off the fan. A clean fan is more efficient and will provide better cooling.

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12

12.

Now that you’ve had your break, you’ll need to scrape away any old gasket that remains on the block. Be careful not to let any gasket fall inside the block.

13.

Get the new water pump and position the new gasket correctly. If you have a gasket compound then you can use this on both sides of the gasket, Use a bolt or two to keep it into position while you refit it to the block. Remember the long bolts go at the back.

14.

Do the bolts up loosely in an alternating order before tightening, and then torquing up to 14-19 lb.ft.

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15

15.

Refit the water pump hose and tighten up the jubilee clip with a flat screwdriver.

16.

Refit the pulley, spacer (if fitted), belt and fan using the four 7/16 (11mm) bolts. Make sure your fan is fitted the correct way round, otherwise it won’t work effectively. Don’t forget the fan belt!

18.

Get the radiator and hold it in position. If you have a friend handy, get them to hold the radiator while you grab the bottom radiator hose and force it back on. The hose should have some leeway in it so it can be pulled up higher. Once attacted, tighten the jubilee clip with a screwdriver and then carefully guide the bottom hose and radiator into position.

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17.

Put the radiator cowling into position and refit the long 1/2 (13mm) bolt that holds it in place on the engine mount underneath.

19.

Reattach the radiator and cowling to the shroud, again being careful of the fan blades on the radiator. The four bolts are 7/16 or 11mm.

20.

Attach the top yshaped retaining bracket and also the top radiator hose, and tighten the jubilee clip with a flathead screwdriver.

21.

Refit the alternator and connector and ensure the belt is as tight as possible. As a guide the belt should not be able to rotate by 90 degrees.

If yours can, it needs adjusting.

22.

Fill the radiator with coolant - a mix of water and antifreeze. Hand pump the top hose to pump some air out and refill the radiator. Repeat as necessary.

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23.

Once complete, refit the grille and you are ready to go. After running the car for the first time, allow it to cool and re-check the coolant levels. A squealing noise will mean the alternator/ fan belt needs tightening.

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Submit your articles

Photo credit: Berthil (MINI2)

WORKSHOP Showing you how it is really done.

DIY TECH II Objective Remove and replace the MINI’s steering wheel inserts.

Tools • Flat-bladed screwdriver • T20 torx screwdriver • Something short thin and pointy, like a 3mm Allan key Time 20 minutes Difficulty 1/10 Cost Cost of the inserts.

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Replacing the MINI’s steering wheel inserts Simple styling for your interior.

Just like the classics the MINI is pretty much totally customisable, even going as far as enabling you to change the grey inserts on the steering wheel where all the buttons are.

If, for example, you’re going for a

by Greig Allan

carbon-fibre look, then you wont want those dull original inserts ruining your theme.

Follow our simple guide to replacing them with your own choice of inserts, remembering to disconnect the battery first.

3

1.

First of all disconnect the negative of the battery before doing this routine.

You will be fiddling around in the area of the airbag, so you need to ensure the power is disconnected to prevent accidental activation.

2.

Adjust your MINI’s steering wheel so it is pulled out as far as possible. This will give you greater access to the areas you need.

3.

Using a T20 Torx bit, unscrew the two screws behind each steering wheel spoke.

4.

Behind the bottom steering wheel spoke is a push button which releases the steering

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7

5 wheel centre (including the airbag). Use an Allan key or similar object to push the button and release the centre.

5.

6.

Gently pull the centre of the steering wheel towards you to give you access to the connectors behind it.

From here you should be able to remove the steering wheel inserts to reveal the connectors. On the left-hand side should be just a single connector, and a double one on the right-hand side.

7.

Disconnect the connectors to allow you to fully remove the inserts and replace them with your new items.

8.

Reconnecting is the reverse of disconnection. When putting the steering centre into place, line it up first and push firmly until the bottom spoke locks.

9.

If you have disconnected the airbag the horn won’t go off, if not it will only be a short blast.

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diary

Anton Gihan

Do it yourself

Sri Lanka

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Out in Sri Lanka, Anton Gihan has had to build his own Mini and salvage whatever parts he can find.

1990 Mini (Red Cutie) Spec: Carburrettored 1275cc A-Series with HIFF44 carb.

I’m Anton, a 24 year old marine engineer. I’ve been into Minis since I was a kid, thanks to my dad.

I’ve owned my Red Cutie for about seven months now. It’s a 1990 Rover, painted in light red colour.

Originally she came up with a 1000cc engine.

But I recently replaced it with a 1991 Mainstream Cooper engine 1275cc with HIF44 carb.

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W

hen I first got the shell of the Mini it was in two pieces. So I had to weld it back together and build it from the scratch. It me took nearly three months to finish the job and get her running. Then recently I found this Mainstream Cooper engine by chance and decided to replace the previous 998cc engine.

The engine swap took me about three or four days, but I’m really happy with the performance difference.

I have also repaced the rubber cones with coil springs. These were hard springs though, I got them for a cheap price and fitted them, but it is a big mistake. The conditions of majority of Sri Lankan roads are poor, so it is very difficult to drive with them and do the corners well - so I’m going to remove

them and go back to the old method.

Other than that I have to fix the air conditioning, because we had to remove the condenser to fit the new engine. I’m looking forward this and hope to finish the job this week.

The main problem we face here in Sri Lanka is the lack of spare parts.

Parts are very expensive.

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diary I should have my own parking spot I come here so often!!

Waiting for the sun Bruce’s bodywork needs a little TLC before a full respray, but the MoT is first.

Craig McBeth

S 1991 Rover Mini Cooper Spec: Carburrettored 1275cc A-Series with Stage 1 kit, Falken Ze912 tyres. Standard mechanicals.

Now named Bruce, he has been in my ownership since 2007 and was my first car.

Bought for a bargain with tax and MoT he needed serious welding to get through the next test.

Friends from Wiltshire Avon Mini Owners (WAMO) helped out and the mechanicals were rebuilt (except the engine) before finally passing a retest early 2010.

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o the winter weather hasn’t been very kind on Bruce and there are bubbles of rust coming up on his rearquarters where I haven’t resprayed him properly. This is now my medium to long-term concern. Funds are tight for everyone at the moment and resprays aren’t cheap.

Even a home respray job with rattle cans would cost a fair bit with cans costing £6.99 each. You’ve got to think about priming, the coats of paint and then the lacquer, and then there’s the time of taking him off the road for too long.

Well that’s something my mind will be thinking about for a little while. In the meantime the MoT is coming up and there are lots of little issues to fix.

The clutch slave cylinder finally gave up the other day so I had to pop to Somerford Mini for one. www.facebook.com/ cmcbeth

That was £35 - the same price as the MoT. I picked up a new wiper box from Minisport at Bingley Hall and me and mechanical Mike spent the day fiddling about with that. I would have done a guide on how we did it, but I’m not sure I would recommend that people do it the way we did.

Getting the wiper box back on to (or even off) the bloody spiral cable was a right pain and I think in the end we had to prise open the opening where it attaches to make it fit.

There was a bit of laughter while we were replacing my handbrake cable too. It hadn’t been working for ages and we’d tried tightening it and adjusting the drum shoes to no avail. Eventually we figured the cable must have stretched too much and again I picked one up

from Somerford.

It looks like a simple job.

Rear cable goes from side to side and the cable from the handbrake grabs the other cable in the middle to hold it tight. However, I hadn’t looked at the quadrants that the cable rests in and they were caked in grime and it was a bit of a mission prying it out of them and through the subframe. As it turned

The door check strap has been re-welded.

www.love-mini.com www.facebook.com/loveminimag http://loveminimag.blogspot.com

loose. I think he solved this by using a rivnut type device and while he was there he fixed a broken bit on the door strap and rewelded where the handbrake attaches to the crossmember as this had come away too.

Added to that I’ve got some electrical demons which keep affecting my ‘accessories’ such as the stereo, horn, brake fluid light etc, but it’s not the fuse or connection and we’ve cleaned up the earth and fitted a new earth strap.

Nightmare eh? But my biggest challenge left before the MoT is a little bit of wiring for the headlamp pilot bulb. It’s an odd connection for a Wipac Quadoptic lamp and it’s never really sat well in the lamp, so I tried to straighten it so it would sit better, but it broke. And I’m not sure where to get another one from. Somerford say it’s part of a later MPi section of loom but I don’t want to buy a whole front end loom, so I’ll have to contact Wipac direct.

Rusty bits are appearing everywhere.

out, the cable had actually snapped on one side, solving the conundrum of why it wasn’t working. In the end I got some cutters and cut through the cable to get it off more easily.

Once off it was just a case of feeding the new cable through the

horrible grinding noise on occassion and I think for some reason the joint has now died, despite looking in good shape on inspection and being heavily regreased.

Oh my, back in January I got the steering realigned after fitting some new track rod ends. I’d

subframe and guide points and giving a good coating of grease wherever it made contact. Then it all needed adjusting and trying to get a new tight cable on the handbrake was an effort too, so what we’ve done is to attach it and stretch it, gradually tightening it up.

We’ve put a new CV boot on the driver’s side, and cleaned out the CV joint of crud, but now I’m getting a

obviously mucked it up and it was quite noticable, so it was well worth the £20 to get them realigned. The tracking was off already so that’s why I thought to change TREs before getting it realigned.

My mate’s dad, who is panelbeater and welder fixed a couple of little bits such as the wobbly and absent door mirrors. The holes in the door had become too big and so the fixing had become

my biggest challenge is a little bit of wiring for the headlamp pilot bulb

This rubber pilot light connector will only fit these lamps but I can’t find a replacement connector.

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Games

ALL HOURS s

itie Extra curricular activ Sweeeet!!

Let’s get dirrrty The next big game to get the Mini bug.

There

aren’t many games coming out nowadays that feature the classic Mini, so when one does we want it to be awesome and not some cheap cash-in like others we could mention.

Fortunately this forthcoming appearance is in the reknowned DiRT series, DiRT 3 in fact, which is out in May (if not delayed), and judging from the teaser shots it looks like it is going to be awesome.

And it’s not just the Mini that has got us excited. Ken Block’s amazing Gymkhana

Ford Fiesta is featured as well as some other iconic cars including the Audi Sport

OUT MAY 24

Quattro Rallye, Lancia Fulvia HF and MINI WRC driver, Kris Meeke’s 2009 Intercontinental Rally Championship winning Peugeot 207 S2000.

Developer Codemasters has said they have worked closer with manufacturers and racing drivers to improve the physics of the games and make weight shifts more realistic.

There is also a wider range of cars available, double the number of tracks and over 60% of rally content. Bring it on we say!

GAMER TAGS Hook up with other Mini friends on your favourite games

Liam Andrew liam123mini Dave Hackney Beetle boy

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Adam Banner adamsmd

WANTED! Global writers & photographers • Are you a budding photographer or writer?

• Want to build a portfolio for future work?

• Looking to hone your skills?

• Want free show tickets or to interview a legend?

If you answered yes to any of these questions then contribute to love:mini. We can’t pay you, but can offer perks and real-world advice for your development.

INTERESTED? If you’ve got a camera or notepad and want to try your hand... email us: editor@love-mini. co.uk

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T

aiwanese land scaper, Lia ng Nai-yuan, has bui lt this fou r-metre tall Tra nsformer from discarded bui lding materia ls and scrapped classic Min is.

The robot is based on bot h Bum blebee and Opt imu s Prime and has been attract ing ma ny tou rists. Nai-yuan spent over three months creating the art piece, dismant ling two Min is before welding the pieces back together to create this amazing scu lptu re.

Look closely and you will see this Transformer is made from classic Mini parts.

Club Announcements Hilltop Minis have moved meeting place to the New Inn at Storridge, Malvern, WR13 5HB. www.hilltopminis.com A new club and forum has been launched under the guise of Minis Unleashed. We met them at Bingley and they’ve got a cool logo. www.minisunleashed.com NI-Minis.co.uk has got a new design, give it a try and see what you think.

There’s still loads to do to finish it, so perhaps send your comments and suggestions. www.ni-minis.co.uk

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Appeal for stolen Minis, information Announce club changes, company special offers, advertise Minirelated jobs, births, deaths and marriages Send birthday, good luck or anonymous personal messages

ote

My N

m x.co

its and bobs. b r e h ot d n a s e g Your messa

T

SUBMI

i

@g ni

d r a o b Notice

love.m

this screeng rab shows pot ted on one of the Min i foru ms, fort hcoming Disney what appears to be MIN Is in the - Cars 2.

Pixar ani mated mov ie and sequel k cars and not a cha racter from the picture they look to be stoc tly sur prised. Find out this in the film, but we maybe plea san sum mer.

S

M

INIUSA released this set of universal hand signals alongside the launch of the Countryman.

Some obvious ones are missing, but overall it’s a good effort.

STOLEN Appeal for your stolen Minis here!

W

e all know classic Minis are small, but when we saw this picture we just had to share it. Small is not the word for this mini Mini. Looking like a miniaturised version of

the Elf/Hornet, we’re a little stumped at to what to presume. Is it a legitimate car driven by a tiny person or just conveniently left on the road to look like a real car? Send us your thoughts.

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DIGIMINI

The weird and wonderful from the web

This snowy picture is a beautiful juxtaposition of love and hate. Love is the desire to decorate one’s MINI with a preferential sticker of one’s personal opinion, while Hate appears in the acronym and the wording which offers a derogatory term to anyone who reads the sticker whilst driving an SUV. Beautiful.

Snapped acebook pages Magnetized MINI www.facebook.com/ MagnetizedMINI

British Mini Club www.facebook.com/ britishminiclub

MINI MOTORSPORT www.facebook.com/ MINI.Motorsport

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#2

AROnline Celebrating 10 years on the web, AROnline, which stands for Austin-Rover, has become essential bookmarking for anyone whose love of British cars extends further than the humble little Mini.

There is tons of useful and unique material on the site and it is designed and maintained by motoring writer Keith Adams.

Web Threads

Are you flashing at me?

Night-time driving and blinding headlights in classic www.theminiforum.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=185013

Proof Bini’s Can Look Cool!

Trying to convince some classic owners MINIs can be cool too www.theminiforum.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=177942

Wasted money on options? totalMINI discusses which optional extras are worth the money www.totalmini.com/forum/9-general-discussion/17936-wastedmoney-options.html

Advanced driving techniques We all love driving our Minis, but if we could improve our driving skills then would could also improve our enjoyment too.

Fortunately another Mini enthusiast has mastered a few advanced driving techniques and has filmed himself for others to learn/enjoy.

BLOG

s0ggyrice, as he goes by on YouTube, has few driving videos, showing everything from basic driving techniques to clutchless shifting and other advanced techniques.

Even if you don’t want to try it yourself, it’s worth a look to see what a Mini is capable of in a confident set of hands.

www.minion9.blogspot.com Follow what a Mini restoration shop in Malaysia does with its Minis.

Mini Kit Car, Custom, Hot Rod, Collectors V8 Item number: 120693013660 Location: Newport, Shropshire, UK Most Mini owners want our Minis to look a little different but with this beauty you would be driving the world’s lowest road legal car at just 24 inches high.

Using a 1967 Mini the body has been stretched to 14ft 4-inches, with a custom rollcage and 6inch windscreen. It uses Mini balljoints, hubs and steering, Jaguar brakes, 12x5 Superl

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Coming up...

Bristol Mini Day, June 5

sponsored by

event preview

Date June 5 Location Washingpool Farm, Easter

Compton, Bristol, BS35 5RE Price £??

Highlights Great new location Website www.bristolminiday.co.uk

T

he Bristol Mini Show has had a topsy-turvy history, and even more so of late.

In the past five years alone it has been held at three different locations, and two of those weren’t even in Bristol!

However, last year signalled the turning of a corner as the organisers tried out another new venue - this time within the Bristol boundary and with a whole heap of pluses.

The journeyman reputation hasn’t done wonders for crowds either.

A fea years ago the show was held at Bath Racecourse, which wasn’t a bad venue, despite being out of Bristol, but this was just a temporary measure.

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Then there was the soulless field in Weston Super Mare which seemed to be cursed with bad weather too. The atmosphere wasn’t great and the area was desolate and severely lacking in the character that Mini shows really need to be a success.

So it was with great relief that 2010 was such an amazing turnaround.

The new location at Washingpool Farm in Bristol is just a couple of minutes from junction 17 of the M5, opposite Cribbs Causeway, and is set in a lovely little West Country village, providing a heap of character, and the atmosphere was boosted by a good venue which can accomodate more acitivites

that the organisers have been planning.

Last year saw the introduction of club games, which was a big hit amongst the crowds, and there was also the opportunity for youngsters to experience grasstracking in a demo car on the back field.

The Bristol Mini Show now seems to have found its home, and everyone seems to like it. Somehow the magic of it attracted back the crowds for the best turnout for years, and the sun even hung around for most of the day, which was nice.

This year we’re hoping for more of the same and a few new additions to the show.

It’s gonna be great.

Event highlights

Comprehensive listings from around the globe APRIL 3 SHMG Polly Run

APRIL 25 NI Minis Drivetime Run

Worpleston Place Hotel, Guildford www.shmg.co.uk

www.ni-minis.co.uk

APRIL 9-10 Florence & Mugello Mini Meet Mugello circuit, Florence, Italy www.miniemotomaniaci.it

APRIL 8-10 South West Mini Brakes Combe Martin, North Devon. swminis.forumup.co.uk

APRIL 10 Malvern Mini Show The Malvern Showground, Worcestershire, WR13 6NW www.classicshows.org

APRIL 15 - 17 Minis on the Bay Silverdale, Lancashire www.oldhamminiclub.org.uk

APRIL 16 Pride of Longbridge Rally Cofton Park B31 2BQ. 10am to 4pm www.austinmemories.com

APRIL 17 Suffolk Run www.buryminiclub.co.uk

APRIL 17 Lincoln BIG Mini Day Held at Brayford Waterfront, www.trentvalleymoc.co.uk

APRIL 24 H2H Run Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire www.hamoc.co.uk

APRIL 25 SHMG Easter Run Worplesdon Place Hotel www.shmg.co.uk

APRIL 25 East Coast Mini Run www.eastcoastminiclub.co.uk

APRIL 29-MAY 2 Mini Splash Dash www.cumbriaminicruisers.co.uk

APRIL 29-MAY 2 Riviera Run

MAY 22 Mega Mini Meet Lytham Hall, Lancs

SUBMIT

Event Listings

lancashireminiregister@ gmail.com www.lancashireminiregister.co.uk

MAY 22 Surrey Mini Show www.classicshows.org

MAY 28-30 Minis on the Prom

www.rivierarun.co.uk

www.newportminiowners.co.uk

APRIL 30 Back to Downton Wick Lane, Downton SP5 3NS www.dewsc.org.uk

MAY 1 Teddy Bears’ Picnic Standedge Visitors’ Centre www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/ event.php?eid=124808357582899

MAY 2 East Midlands Mini Show www.classicshows.org

MAY 8 Himley Hall Himley, Staffordshire, DY3 4DF www.britishminiclub.co.uk

MAY 14-15 The Rally Show

MAY 29 Norfolk Mini Day Fakenham Racecourse, www.drive.to/nmoc

MAY 30 Knebworth Mini & VW Show www.classicshows.org

JUNE 5 Bristol Mini Day Washpool Farm, Easter Compton Bristol www.bristolminiday.co.uk

JUNE 5 East Lothian Classic Car day Vogrie Country Park, near Edinburgh www.elmoc.co.uk

Cornbury Park, Oxfordshire www.therallyshow.org

JUNE 10-12 IMM 2011 Switzerland

MAY 15 London to Brighton

www.imm2011.org

Crystal Palace, London to Madeira Drive, Brighton www.london-to-brighton.co.uk

MAY 20 - 22 Moorland & Coastal Mini Run Rosedale Campsite, North York Moors National Park www. northernminis.co.uk

JUNE 12 MCR Mini Cooper Day Beaulieu Motor Museum, Hampshire www.minicooper.org

JUNE 19 Colchester Mini Show

i e:min v www.colchesterminiclub.co.uk o l k the or the c e h C ite f JUNE 19 best webs d n a t s e Normanby Hall Mini Bigg event i n i Show m gs Normanby Hall, Scunthorpe, listin Lincs www.trentvalleymoc.co.uk

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