love:mini - Issue 5

THE no.1 online magazine for mini enthusiasts FREE

love:mini

ISSUE 5

www.love-mini.co.uk

magazine

s u o i c i l e Fibr

e diet for r ib f n o b r High ca ’s Mini g illin B ee L and

50TH ANNIVERSARY GALA

Luke

• Transformers Mini • Works Mini found • AC/DC Mini • Anders Warming • Paceman drive • Brands Hatch • Clubman Concept • Barden’s MINI showstopper • Event reports

M IN I Cha

llenge

love:mini

1

Advertise why love:mini is better DID YOU KNOW? P RINTED MAGAZINE READERSHIP IS IN DECLINE - online is the way forward DID YOU KNOW? OUR ADVERTS ARE CLICKABLE - linking directly to your site DID YOU KNOW? W E can prove how many readers we have - unlike the other Mini magazines DID YOU KNOW? W E HAVE THE CHEAPEST ADVERTS - ÂŁ50 for a half page DID YOU KNOW? WE HAVE THE WIDEST DISTRIBUTION OF READERS - we reach Mini owners printed magazines can only dream of editor@love-mini.co.uk 2

love:mini

WELCOME

ISSUE 5

Blog and social media links

May/jun 2014 F56 M IN I LAUNCH AT BOW KER

A

s love:mini becomes more popular, we are working hard behind the scenes to secure the best content we can provide to you, the readers.

Not only have we joined forces with the Mini Se7en Racing Club, which boasts the longest running one-make series in Europe, but we’ve also got the likes of premium interior merchants, Newton Commercial, giving an expert guide on how to fit underlay and carpet into your classic Mini.

In the features department we have two showstoppers,

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.

from Luke Billing and Neal Barden, and a look at two other Minis of interest, one of which is featuring in the new Transformers film, and a recently discovered Works rally Mini, hidden away for 20-odd years.

If you have a great story, or unusual project, want to Craig McBeth advertise your products or company, or just want to send Editor us some feedback... drop us editor@love-mini.co.uk an email.

THIS ISSUE WAS MADE WITH HELP FROM:

Sammiiee Watts@Mini Madness, Clive King, Mighty Mini Club Sri Lanka, Paul Lawrence, Newton Commercial, Mini Se7en Racing Club, Antony Williams, David Young, Matthew Barrington, Mark Chandler, Roy Sisley, Robert Leary, Ydrolina Mini, Dave Johnson, Oakfield Motorsport, Bowker MINI, Laurence Parcens, Neal Barden, Jon Alexander, Norm Nelson, George Marsh, Reiza Alvarez, Stefanus Albert, Greg Wenzlick, Chris Wynne Imaging, X-Raid, MINI.

www.ydrolina.net

love:mini

3

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

10 On the pulse

News - investigated.

18 Works Mini Works Mini found.

26 Transformers Mini in new film.

30 gear

Stuff for your Mini.

36 Upcoming events Plan ahead!

40 clubman concept 44 f56 launch Showroom event.

50 paceman drive Amild 600-mile jaunt.

54 fit the billing Lee & Luke Billing’s carbon-fibre Mini.

62 My mini

Neal Barden’s showstopping MINI.

70 Anders warming

Q&A session with MINI’s Chief designer.

74 Event reports Hopkirk Gala, MINI Thunder, Brooklands...

78 Brands media day 2014 98 Motorsport

and Clive King column.

120 Workshop

Fit a Newton Commercial carpet.

4

love:mini

What’s INSIDE

love:mini

5

The Mini Specialists - Since 1967 Quality, Reliabilty, Customer Service & NOW even better value for Money!!

Restorations Repairs Servicing Styling Performance Mini Sport Cylinder Heads

Roller Rockers

‘Breathing new life into the heart of your Mini’ With over 40 years of developing our own exacting designs and techniques, we have gained an unrivalled wealth of experience, which keeps Mini Sport as a recognised World Leader of Modified Mini Performance Heads. Listed is just a limited selection of the heads we manufacture, we can produce Bespoke heads to your own specification, please call us to discuss your requirements.

u Reconditioned

Mini Sport remanufactured heads are produced to original specifications, finished to the highest standards & designed as a simple replacement for the original old cylinder heads.

850cc, 998cc, 1098cc £258 1275cc A+, A series £256 (all prices are exchange)

u Mini Road (Stage 2)

Improved efficiency in the gas flow through the cylinder head, resulting in an increase in power and economy. Perfect for town, traffic & open roads.

850cc, 998cc, 1098cc - (29mm/25mm) (all prices are exchange) 1275cc incl injection - (35mm/29mm)

u Road Sport (Stage 3)

(all prices are exchange) 1275cc A+, A series carburettor models only

Mini Sport Alloy Roller Tip Rockers - Give the same power characteristics of fitting a performance camshaft without removing the engine. Also reduces valve wear by stopping the side loading on the valve stem created by standard rockers.

1.3 Ratio - standard £189.63 1.5 Ratio - uprated fast road £189.63 1.7 Ratio - competition £189.63

£751

u Grand Tourer (Stage 4)

Greater gas flow efficiency through the head along with Competition Valves, engineered to deliver Power & Torque to the mid range resulting in better economy. Pefect for overtaking and long journeys.

850cc, 998cc, 1098cc - (32mm/28mm) £842 (all prices are exchange) 1275cc incl injection - (35mm/31mm) £842

u 7 Port Mini X-Flow

Mini Sport 7 Port heads are manufactured to your exact specification, for maximum performance, torque and reliability - 1275cc engines only.

Casting with valve seats & guides £1441 £2171 Power gains Stage 3 Road specification £2218 of +20 BHP on standard engines Stage 4 Rally specification

1293cc

9 0bhp

from

Engine Kits Stage 2 1293cc Half Engine Kit £754 1293cc Short Engine Kit £831 1293cc Full Kit (carb) £1421 Stage 2 Built Engine Carburettor engine, ready to fit £1804 Injection engine, ready to fit from £1866

Stage 3

£870 £947 £1646 Stage 3

£2036 -

1380cc

104bhp

from

Engine Kits 1400cc Half Engine Kit 1400cc Short Engine Kit 1400cc Road Kit (carb) Built Engine Carburettor Injection

Stage 2

Stage 3

£872 £952 £958 £1038 £1550 £1718 Stage 2 Stage 3 £1934 £2109 £2100 -

Standard Valves each from £6.77 Competition Valves each from £22.42 Rimflo Valves each from £25.31 Valve Guide Set Mini (set of 8) £11.78 Valve Guide Set - Bronze Alloy £27.60 Valve Spring Set 850/998/1100 singles £14.26 Valve Spring Set 1275cc 200lb doubles £23.92 Rocker Pedestal Spacer (2mm) £2.80 Rocker Shaft Mini £9.79 Rocker Arm - Cooper ‘S’ £11.82 Rocker Arm - Sintered Type £10.80 Nut - Cylinder Head - each £1.00 Cylinder Head Stud - Short £4.32 Cylinder Head Stud - Long £2.70 ARP Head Stud Kit & Rocker Studs from £164.87

Rocker Cover

Polished Alloy Polished Alloy - with cap Chrome Plated Steel - with cap Metro Style Polished Alloy with cap Alloy with Polished Fins - Blue or Red Rocker cover gasket Oil Filler Cap - Chrome Oil Filler Cap - Red original Oil Filler Cap - Black Original Rocker Cover T Bars - Chrome (pair) Rocker Cover T Bar Kit - Blue or Red T Bar Fitting Kit - Silver, Red or Blue

£27.24 £29.39 £33.80 £45.46 £33.68 £1.32 £4.86 £7.41 £3.94 £8.77 £11.41 £3.73

Gaskets & Sets

Full engine & gearbox units also available - Please call to discuss your requirements with our experienced staff

Recon Engines

Crankshafts

For over 40 years Mini Sport have been producing a range of remanufactured engines built on a long established commitment to engineering excellence and customer satisfaction.

Illustration Only Engine E&G/box Engines 998cc - A series, A+ & Cooper £1488 £2371 1275cc - A series, A+ £1339 £2223 1275cc - Cooper Carb £1382 £2265 1275cc - SPi and MPi £1381 £2374 Surcharge from £360 £675 *E&G - Engine and Gearbox

Brand New 1275cc £279 Reground by Mini Sport Full Range, exchange From £166 (Regrounds complete with bearings & thrust washers) Main or Big End Bearing sets From £25 Thrust Washer Sets From £9

Engine Stabilisers Competition Engine Stabilisers

Injection type 1275cc type 850/998/1098/1275cc & Injection £24.85

Sales:

£186

from only

£56

over

20%

Power Increase

Carburettor type - Half kit no exhaust Injection type - Pipercross filter Injection type - K&N filter

£109 £302 £336

Parts & Mountings

Engine set - 850/998/1098cc £14.69 Engine set - 1275cc £9.89 Gearbox set - all Minis £8.98 Head set - 850/998/1098cc £14.89 Head set - 1275cc £10.32 Head set - 1275 with Copper H/G £12.16 Head set - 1275 with Turbo H/G £31.09 Head set - 1275 with AF460 H/G £50.07 Valve stem oil seals - set 4 £2.83 Copper head gasket - 998cc £10.91 Copper head gasket - 1275cc - AF460 £44.33 Turbo head gasket - 1275cc £23.06 Manifold gasket - Standard £1.06 Manifold gasket - Large Bore £2.58 Catalytic converter gasket £1.37 Full range of individual gaskets available

01282 778731 Worldwide Express Mail Order Specialists

Cam Follower (Set of 8) £12.23 Pushrod 1275cc 1.3i each £2.76 1275cc Steel Centre Main Strap £16.40 Chrome Dip Stick - Silver, Red or Blue top £9.60 Engine Steady Bush Kit - Std Rubber £1.44 Engine Steady Bush Kit - Comp Rubber £2.69 Engine Steady Bush Kit - Solid Nylon £13.32 Engine Mounting Standard £3.78 Engine Mounting Easy Fit Standard £6.92 Engine Mounting - Quick Release - Poly £9.90 Engine Mounting - Solid Type - each £18.00 Oil Filter Head - Spin On - A series £13.31 Oil Filter - Spin On type £3.54 Oil Filter - Spin On - 1996 on (PH4952) £4.50 Oil Filter Element - Early pre Spin On £4.80 Millers Oil Classic Mini 20/50 (5Litres) £28.80 Sport CTV 20w-50 (5litres) £53.04 Castrol Classic Oils Castrol Half Pint Pouring Jug £10.42 XL20w50 ( 4.5Ltr)£28.32 XL20w50 ( 1 Ltr) £9.34

Pistons

www.minisport.com love:mini

exchange

Camshaft only From £55.82 Camshaft Kits From £78.45 Cam surcharge £60.00 Also available full range of cams & kits from

Windscreen Locking Strip Fitting Tool Suspension Cone Tool METRIC or UNF Piston Ring Compression Tool 45-75mm Valve Spring Compressor Tool Flywheel Puller - Heavy Duty Socket - Flywheel Bolt & Ball Joint Nut Brake Shoe Adjusting Spanner Ball Joint Separator Tool Scissor Type Ball Joint Separator Tool Puller Type

£9.42 £30.97 £15.43 £23.73 £29.04 £43.31 £10.95 £29.02 £15.47

Feeler Guage Set (imperial) Brake Hose Clamp Tool Engine Mounting Bolt fitting tool Clutch Clevis Pin fitting tool

£15.18 £7.21 £16.90 £15.53

Special Tools Carbalancer - balances twin carbs £20.72 Colourtune kit - test fuel/air mixture £35.89 Eezibleed - one man bleed - brake/clutch£28.08

Flywheels Prices include:- set (4) pistons, rings and gudgeon pins. All sizes available.

998 Dished - circlip fit from £253.95 998 Flat Top - press fit from £317.96 1275 Slipper Std comp from £156.72 1275 Slipper High comp from £206.55 1380cc Powermax 73.5mm set £286.13

Timing Simplex set £21.74 Duplex set £27.20 Lightened Duplex set £50.40 Light Vernier Duplex set £89.56 Kent Vernier Timing Std £169.16 Kent Timing disc £11.65 Single row timing chain £4.07 Duplex timing chain £6.94 Cam locating plate £4.80 Timing chain tensioner pad £10.30 Tensioner Pad mounting bracket £7.50 Breather type A+ timing cover £48.00

Oil Pumps Slot drive 1275cc Slot drive 998cc Slot drive Turbo Spider drive 1275 Peg drive 850/1000/1100cc.

Oil pressure release valve & spring Oil pressure switch - standard

Mini Sport Ltd Thompson Street Padiham, Lancashire. UK Tel: 01282 778731 Fax: 01282 772043

£16.12 £17.11 £31.50 £17.29 £14.35 £3.48 £4.68

Open 6 Days Mon-Fri 8:30-5:30 Sat 8:30-1:00 Friendly Service & Helpful Advice

Longest established Mini Specialists in the World - Totally committed & providing everything Mini, all under one roof.

6

For four decades Mini Sport cams have been produced using tried and proven profiles available from mild road to All prices are full race profiles

Mini Special Tools

Performance Built Engines & Kits At Mini Sport we have the ability to transform your Mini to the specification of your choice. The dynamic 1293cc, 1400cc and 1430cc engines were originally developed in our own Mini’s way back in the 1960’s.

As you would expect, we have continued to develop and improve these engines making them just as popular for today's exciting breed of Minis.

stage 1 Carb

Head Parts

£656 £636

Improved efficiency in gas flow through the cylinder head, along with larger valves it is designed for maximum Power, Torque & Economy.

Perfect to release power from bespoke engines.

Cams & Kits

Stage 1 Tuning Kit Developed to achieve significant power increase, improved acceleration and top speed with better fuel consumption, whilst still maintaining engine reliability.

sales@minisport.com

4.154 Kgs

4.432 Kgs

4.028 Kgs

Mini Sport Ultra Light 1 piece steel billet flywheels - available in 3 weights to suit - Pre-engaged type £144.17 - Inertia type £136.14 Mini Sport Steel Replacement Flywheels - Pre-engaged type £191.08 - Inertia type £183.14 Ring Gear Inertia (thin) £22.62 Ring Gear Inertia (thick) £25.78 Ring Gear Pre-engaged £28.60 Remanufactured flywheel Lightened/Balanced (old unit must be supplied) £90.09

Clutch Plates

Mini clutch plate (diaphragm type) Competition clutch plate Verto clutch plate Sintered Metallic Full Race 6 Paddle Cerametalic Clutch Plate

£28.49 £97.55 £36.37 £214.72 £157.95

Rolling Road Tuning from only

£62

Computer Controlled Tuning - Book a session today and maximise the power and performance output of your engine. At the same time we will monitor oil temperature etc and adjust emissions accordingly.

Mini Club Shoot Out Days Great fun for groups of like minded people. Full details on request with a minimum of 10 cars required.

7

Quilted Jacket

Hoodie '64 Winner

T-shirt '64 Winner

Hoodie Shield

T-shirt Shield

T-shirt Honour

4 Pot Calipers � �

GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY OF THE RALLYE MONTE-CARLO VICTORY

Special Edition Clothing S, M, L, XL, XXL

only

£60

Completely reconditioned in our own workshops. The casing is chemically cleaned and then fully rebuilt with new bearings, shafts and baulk rings Reconditioned 4 Speed - by Mini Sport Rod - 850 to 1275 A series £574.19 Rod - 998 to 1275 A+ £574.78 Remote 850 to 1275cc £574.25 Straight Cut 4 Speed - by Mini Sport Straight cut close ratio fully built 4 synchro gearbox complete with differential.

Rod Change Gearbox £1221.42 Remote Change Gearbox £1218.58 (all prices are exchange) Superior quality material, incorporating original special tuning gear ratios. £479.89 £240.54

Bearing Kits - by Mini Sport Contains all bearings to re-condition a gearbox.

A series rod and remote £108.18 A+ rod change £99.74 Reconditioning Kits - by Mini Sport Contains all parts required for reconditioning.

A series rod and remote £217.32 A+ rod change £206.40

Gearbox Parts £7.56 £26.40 £33.60 £13.20 £11.95 £13.20 £6.73 £8.40

Clutch Parts

£27.10 £61.52 £61.52 £47.75 £88.25 £6.18 £8.05 £6.00 £15.60 £31.03 £63.67 £84.38 £4.20 £19.20 £18.28 £15.00 £15.77 £11.36

Clutch Kits Pre Verto Kit - Standard up to ‘82 Cooper Carburettor - Verto Standard Cooper Carburettor - Verto Heavy Duty Cooper Injection SPi or MPi Verto flywheel bolt Verto flywheel keyplate

only

£19.20 £29.35 Essential for all fast road & competition Minis

Gearbox Steady Kits

by Mini Sport Right or Left Side only £18.18

£45.90 £93.12 £240.18 £103.50 £4.63 £22.80

only

£15

£13 Kit Includes: pair performance discs, set fast road EBC brake pads. Direct replacement.

Calipers - each (RH/LH) Cooper ‘S’ - O.E Specification £84.00 Mini ‘84on (12” wheels) O.E Spec £62.40 Caliper piston, Cooper S, stainless steel £8.27 Caliper piston, ‘84 on, stainless steel £11.27 Caliper Seal Kit - Cooper S £5.28 Caliper Seal Kit - Mini ‘84 on £4.62

Cooper ‘S’ 10" wheels - x-drilled discs £107.06 Mini ‘84 on, 12" wheels - x-drilled & grooved discs £72.83

£48.22 £87.00 £76.37 £113.92

The Mini Sport 4 Pinion Differential was designed & developed for the serious fast road and competition driver who requires confidence that the power of their engine is transferred to the wheels without stress related breakages. CNC manufactured in our own ‘state of the art’ machining centre.

Pot Joint type £167.87 Rubber Coupling type £167.87 Differential Parts Diff Pin £14.40 Diff Pinion £9.70 Washer, Diff Pinion, A+ Type £2.56 Diff Output Shaft Fibre Thrust Washer £2.61 Diff Output Flange Cover Oil Seal £4.75 Final Drives - all ratios available from £152.26 LSD Type - all ratios available from £201.14

Drive Train

C.V. Joints & Boot Kits Outer CV Joint - Drum type Outer CV Joint - Disc type Outer CV boot kit Inner pot joint Inner joint boot kit Competition Drive Shafts Steel pot joint type, pair Hardy Spicer type, pair

£28.80 £30.60 £2.34 £33.60 £6.00 £182.29 £204.58

Drive Flanges

Brake Hoses, front or rear from £6.94 Handbrake cable, front or rear, from £3.30 Handbrake Quadrants Standard type, each £12.37 Alloy, pair Red, Blue, Black, Gold, Orange £28.94

Pads & Shoes

� �

Aeroquip Hoses

£19.85 £28.19 £86.78 £28.04 £39.16 £86.78 £30.00 £4.10 £3.23 £5.40

Brake hose kit (set 4) Metro 4 Pot caliper conversion Coloured Hose kits - red, black or blue Front Brake Hose, pair Rear Brake Hose, pair Clutch Hose Clutch Hose verto type

£39.29 £48.83 £46.40 £23.66 £23.66 £11.52 £14.22

Fits Mk3 single line non servo brake systems, to improve braking power & efficiency.

Mk1/2 Cooper ‘S’ Servo only £421.80

only

£190

Swivel Hubs

Wheel Bearings

Front, drum brakes type Front, taper roller disc brake type Rear, taper roller type

£12.65 £13.80 £14.39

£11.75 £16.07

Brake Discs

Standard specification Cooper S - 7.5" Discs, each Mini ‘84 on - 8.4" Disc each 8.4” vented - each Cooper 997/998 - each Performance Discs Cooper S 10" wheels - X/drilled, pair Mini ‘84 on - X/drilled & grooved, pair 8.4” vented - grooved, pair 7.9” vented - grooved, pair

Steering rack, RHD/LHD Sportspack rack, RHD/LHD Quickrack, 2.2 turns, RH/LH Steering rack boots (pair) Cooper S steering arm, each Track Rod End - Standard Track Rod End - Group A

£26.40 £14.10 £17.46 £54.88 £76.24 £46.80 £74.95 £81.56

Drum type - RH or LH, each Disc type - RH or LH, each Fully Built Disc type - RH or LH, each Alloy Disc Type - kit Alloy Rear Hub - ‘84on, pair Standard Rear Hub, each

£53.94 £53.11 £94.50 £550.98 £176.72 £25.33

£59.23 £113.65 £92.89 £5.40 £19.20 £7.88 £18.47

Subframes

�

Specially designed and developed using precision matched parts producing the Ultimate Mini Brakes.

Confident braking every time with consistent pedal feel and stopping power. Kit includes:- Mini Sport 4 pot alloy calipers, performance discs, performance brake pads and fitting kit.

7.5" Discs (10" wheels) kit £365.68 7.9" Discs non vented kit £353.48 7.9" Discs vented kit £375.32 8.4" Discs vented kit £404.70

Disc Drive Assy � �

�

from only

£536

Fully built disc drive assemblies using new and genuine quality components.

Standard specification Cooper S 10" wheels £567.02 Mini ‘84 on, 8.4" discs £536.03 12" to 10" wheel Brake Conversion kit £232.81 Uprated with 4 pot alloy calipers Vented with Grooved discs £775.33 Non-Vented with Grooved discs £752.45 Cooper S with Grooved discs £753.11 8.4” with vented & Grooved discs £804.18

Alloy Superfins � �

�

pair only

£118

from only

£189

from £420.01 Front from £188.60 Rear dry suspension type £211.61 Rear dry - Powder Coated £221.58 Rear hydrolastic from Subframe fittings & bushes, full range in stock

Cooling

Remote Servo Kit 7.5” ‘S’/GT (suit 10" wheels), each 7.5” ‘S’/GT - EN24 Hardened, each 7.5” ‘S’/GT - Alloy Lightweight, each 8.4” Disc type, each 8.4” Disc type - EN24 Hardened, each 8.4” Disc type - Alloy Lightweight, each Drum type (suit 10"), each Drive flange collar, disc type, each Drive flange nut, drum type, each Drive flange nut, disc type, each

Standard - front or rear - pre ‘84, each Spacer type - rear only - ‘84on, each

Steering Pads - ‘84 on (12” wheels) - standard £12.30 Pads - ‘84 on (12” wheels) - Mintex £10.52 Pads - ‘84 on (12” wheels) - EBC Green £30.66 Pads - 7.5'' Cooper S/ GT - Mintex £12.61 Pads - 7.5'' Cooper S/ GT - EBC Green £37.19 Pads - 7.5'' Cooper S/ GT - EBC Red £47.73 Pads - 7.5'' Cooper S/ GT - EBC Yellow £46.36 Pads Mini Sport 4 pot caliper - Mintex £12.85 Pads Mini Sport 4 pot caliper type - EBC £43.85 Front Brake Shoes - standard £13.50 Front Brake Shoes - Mintex £15.04 Rear Brake Shoes - standard £11.40 Rear Brake Shoes - Mintex £14.58 HUGE RANGE AVAILABLE, PLEASE CALL

Alloy Brake Kits

Brake Drums

Quickshift Master Cylinders Master Cylinder S/GT Plastic reservoir Master Cylinder S/GT Tin reservoir Master Cylinder Yellow Tag ‘85on Master Cylinder Green Tag ‘89on servo

Achieve the ultimate stopping power with these Mini Sport lightweight alloy 4 pot calipers. CNC machined ‘in pair only house’ from high grade anticorrosive alloy billets.

Calipers - 7.9" vented £288.79 Calipers - 7.9" non vented £288.79 Calipers - 7.5" (10" wheels) £288.79 Calipers - 8.4" vented £319.51 Gold, Green, Gunmetal, Titanium, Silver, Black, Red, Blue or Purple

£289

Sure Stop Kits

4 Pinion Diff

Gearbox Repair

Standard diaphragm (‘S’) Competition diaphragm - Orange Competition diaphragm - Grey Pressure Plate - Recon (exchange) Pressure Plate - Lightened Steel Flexible rubber hose - standard Release bearing - Tall (pre verto) Release bearing - Verto Slave cylinder - pre verto Slave cylinder - verto Master cylinder - Late type, plastic Master cylinder - Early type, metal Clutch Oil seal - Orange Rubber Clutch Housing Breather - ‘89on Verto Clutch Arm Clutch Throwout Plunger - Verto Clutch Arm - pre Verto Clutch Throwout Plunger

only

£28

Brake Parts

Protects the engine from any metal particles which may be in the oil.

Magnetic Oil Trap Kit Centre Oil Pick-up pipe

For improved feel and faster, slicker gear changes. Easy to install in approx 30 minutes.

Rod Change type £36.10 Remote Change type £34.54

S/C Gear Kits

Baulk Ring Heavy Duty Layshaft 4 Synchro A+ Bearing - 3rd Motion Shaft - Twin Row Bearing - 1st Motion Shaft Bearing - Differential Bearing - 1st Motion Gear - Roller Gear Selector Seal Kit - Rod Change Gearbox Sump Plug - Magnetic

only

£13

Oil Pipe & Mag Trap

Gearboxes

Straight Cut C/R 4 synchro Gear Kit Straight Cut Drop Gear Kit

only

£28

�

Radiators £140.93 Alloy 2 Core £152.86 4 Core uprated 2 Core injection uprated £151.59 £126.66 2 Core uprated £72.82 Cooper ‘S’/GT £135.15 Mini SPi £76.80 Mini MPi Expansion Tank - MPi £58.94 Expansion Tank Cap - MPi £5.92 Cooper S top rad bracket £9.12 £3.11 Thermostats, from Thermo blanking sleeve £7.31 Radiator Caps (7-15lbs) £3.70 from £3.00 Hoses, Fans/Belts £13.72 11 Blade plastic fan 6 Blade steel fan, yellow £33.80 from £2.77 Fan belts Water Pumps £16.69 High Capacity £18.00 MPi water pump Oil Coolers £73.90 13 row element only £98.10 Mini/Cooper S kit £105.13 Mini Clubman kit £133.96 Mini MPi kit £32.03 S/S cooler pipes, pair £22.68 Rubber pipes, pair Oil cooler thermostat £33.16

The Mini Sport Superfin superior light weight alloy brake drum has 25% extra fins for better cooling, a built in spacer for extra strength and rigidity, weighing 50% less than the original drum.

Drum Brakes pair only

£111 Fully assembled, consisting of back plate, wheel cylinder, handbrake lever including rubber boot, brake shoes and springs.

Standard Assembly Front, pair £116.13 Standard Assembly Rear, pair £113.17 Mintex Assembly Rear, pair £115.32 Rear Wheel Cylinder from £9.00 Front Wheel Cylinder from £10.80 Rear Brake Back Plate - RH or LH £26.40 Front backplate & adjuster - RH or LH £33.93 Rear Brake Adjuster kit (per side) £7.26 Brake Return Spring Kit - Rear £6.04 Front Brake Shoe Return Spring - Single £2.40 Brake Lever Set (handbrake) £14.40

Fitting & Service Center We offer a professional while-u-wait fitting service on almost all the parts we supply. Book your Mini in & we will take care of it for you, while you wait in the comfort of our fully stocked showroom.

love:mini

7

The Mini Specialists - Since 1967 Quality, Reliabilty, Customer Service & NOW even better value for Money!!

Restorations Repairs Servicing Styling Performance Bottom Arms

SPORTS

LCB Manifolds from only

£43

Fully adjustable sports suspension kit to allow fine tuning for maximum road holding.

Kit:- Adjusta Ride full kit, 4 sports shock absorbers, negative camber bottom arms, adjustable tie rods, poly bushes & rear brackets.

Sports Ride - Gmax Shockers - Kit £266.48 Sports Ride - GAZ Shockers - Kit £346.76 Sports Ride - KYB Gas Shockers - Kit £281.59 Sports Ride - Spax Shockers - Kit £433.02

ADJUSTA

1.5˚negative arms, pair £42.60 2.0˚negative arms, pair £57.35 Adjustable, heavy duty, pair £66.35 Adjustable rose jointed, pair £83.95 Adjustable rose jointed, heavy duty pr £127.32 Standard bottom arm bush, each £1.50 Uprated bush set, nylon £15.67 Bottom arm shaft, each £9.00

Adjustable Tie Rods

Variable Height Suspension Kit

Pro-Flow LCB Pro-Flow Injection LCB Maniflow Superior LCB Maniflow large bore LCB Maniflow catalyst LCB (injection) Maniflow stainless steel LCB Maniflow carb cat LCB inc link pipe Maniflow injection LCB inc link pipe Maniflow large bore 3into1

The unique design enables quick and easy fitment and suspension height adjustment. Designed as a direct replacement to the original alloy trumpet and knuckle joint, without modification.

Front set £45.18 Rear set £63.20 Full Kit, includes front and rear sets £98.31

SMOOTHA

full set

£375

Suspension Kit

Designed with Dr. Alex Moulton (the original Mini suspension designer) to transform the Minis original suspension, making the great car more comfortable and easier to drive.

Kit:- Adjusta Ride full kit, 4 shock absorbers, 4 new rubber cones & adjustable rear brackets.

Negative Camber Kit

kit only

£126 Kit:- 1.5˚negative camber bottom arms, Group A adjustable tie rods and rear brackets

Rear Brackets Negative camber & tracking rear brackets. Allows alignment of rear wheels.

from only

£57

Shock Absorbers Spax RED Front/Rear std or lowered, each £70.26 Spax Yellow Front/Rear std or lowered, each £70.26 Paddy Hopkirk Edition Spax - set 4 £254.16 Spax Full Coilover KIT. standard or lowered £611.98 GAZ Front/Rear standard or lowered, each £40.80 KONI Front/Rear standard or lowered, from £68.40 Bilstein B4 Gas - Front or Rear, each £22.50 Bilstein B6 Sport Gas - Front or Rear, each £73.80 KYB Front/Rear Oil, each £14.28 KYB Front/Rear Super Gas, from £24.01 KYB Front/Rear Gas-a-Just, from £35.32 GMAX Front or Rear, each £21.80 BOGE Front or Rear, each £14.88

Suspension Parts Rubber cone, genuine Ball joint kit (1 side) Knuckle joint Knuckle joint cup Radius arm, recon, exchange, each Radius arm repair kit Bump stop front (single thread) Bump stop front (twin thread) Rebound buffer, front Top shocker mount RH Top shocker mount LH Top Suspension Arm - LH or RH Top arm repair kit Lower suspension arm shaft Top suspension arm shaft Competition Suspension Front comp bump stops, pair Rear comp bump stops, pair Rose joints 1/2” (male) Rose joints 1/2” (female) Top shocker mounting (RH/LH) ea Lower shocker mounts pin, each KAD Alloy h/brake quadrants, pair Competition track rod end

Sales:

£40.69 £7.56 £3.24 £1.50 £60.85 £9.00 £5.40 £5.51 £3.36 £12.00 £12.00 £45.60 £14.77 £9.00 £8.28 £21.55 £24.36 £19.76 £22.97 £21.59 £6.89 £38.48 £18.47

from only

£91

2" Twin Centre

from only

£75

2" Twin DTM

from only

£84

£79 £79 £86 £86 £86

Single box system Twin box system Rear silencer

£75 £84 £62

Single box system Twin box system Rear silencer

£110 £120 £91

Single box system Twin box system Rear silencer

£84 £95 £75

Single box system £101 Twin box system £108 Rear silencer £84 Twin Round

Superior mirror polished stainless Twin DTM exhausts with lifetime warranty.

Twin round CAT system £207 Twin round LCB system £221 Twin DTM CAT system £197 3" Side Exit Twin DTM LCB system £211 3” Side CAT system £160 3” Side LCB system £174

Full Range available, please call

Carburettors Twin SU Carburettor Kits:Includes carbs, inlet manifold, linkages & filters 1 1/4'' HS2 £743.62 1 1/2'' HS4 £744.79 1 3/4'' HS6 £786.12 Inlet Manifolds Single HS2/HS4 water heated £35.40 Weber 40/45 DCOE £114.31 Twin HS2 or HS4 £102.76 Twin 1 3/4'' HS6 £85.39

Front Bump stop kit, pair £8.20 Engine steady £7.12 Engine steady, ultimate, pair £6.23 Gearbox steady kits £7.12 Front subframe upper kit £10.68 Front subframe, front mount £4.45 Front subframe, rear mount £11.47 Rear subframe kit (early type) £8.40 Rear subframe kit (late type) £10.82 Rear shocker bush kit £5.39 Full car kit (early type) £31.98 Full car kit (late type) £36.49 Lower arm bush kit £8.18 Tie Rod bush kit £6.23 Rebound buffer, pair £4.52 Polyurethene bushes available in Black or Red

Worldwide Express Mail Order Specialists

8

love:mini

Fast Road Yellow, from £144.90 Fast Road Yellow Side Entry £182.04 Fast Road Yellow Vacuum Adv, from £182.04 Competition Red, from £144.90 Flame Thrower Coil - Black £55 Flame Thrower Coil - Chrome £59 Flame Thrower Coil - Epoxy Race £63 Ignitor - Electronic Ignition from £109

Distributors - Standard

Single SU Carburettors from £235

65D Electronic Type £101 59 D A + ‘80 on £86 Vacuum Unit from £18 Vacuum Pipe from £3 Pig Tail Wire £25

Ignition Parts

Airfilter Mini Sport PiperX 1 1/4''HS2 - £36 1 1/2''HS4 cone £37 £36 HIF 44 cone £37 £36 Carb element Injection element - £39 SPi Induction kit - £80 MPi Induction Kit £80

K&N £76 £69 £77 £34 £35 £83 £100

Replacement Throttle body for MPi Minis. A quick & low cost performance boost.

Mpi 48mm £153.81

Lucas Sports Coil £18.60 Ignition Switch Mk4 on £42.00 Plug Lead set from £11.90 Silcone Plug Lead set black, red, blue, green or yellow - up to ‘96 from £13.55 - MPi set from £18.18 NGK Spark Plugs set (4)from £10.56 OE Spark Plugs set (4) £5.95 Distributor Caps, from £4.76 Rotor Arms, from £1.63 Contact sets, from £2.28 Condensor, from £2.07 Starter Solenoid, from £8.37

40 - 45 DCOE Weber carburettor £392 40 - 45 DCOE Weber kit £630

FACET Fuelling Solid State Electric Fuel Pumps Road kit £46.75 Fast Road kit £48.24 Competition kit £52.50 Interupter Electric Fuel Pumps Silver top Road kit £82.15 Silver top Comp. kit £84.44 Red top Comp. kit £90.02 Filter King & Petrol King Glass bowl 67mm £46.98 Alloy bowl 67mm £48.53 Glass bowl 85mm £50.89 Petrol King Pressure reg. £46.48

Wipers Full Kit: arms, blades, washer jets twin, bezel kit & blanking plugs only £37.84 Stainless Steel Wiper arm, each £5.16 Wiper blade, each £5.69 Wiper plug, each £3.84 Wiper bezel kit £7.45 Washer jets Twin, pair £7.55 Single, pair £5.83 Wiper Motor £39 Wiper Tube Kit £33 Wiper Wheel Box £14 Wiper Motor Strap £6 Wiper Rack £9 Motor Crank Wheel £24

Mini Sport Ltd Thompson Street Padiham, Lancashire. UK Tel: 01282 778731 Fax: 01282 772043

Open 6 Days Mon-Fri 8:30-5:30 Sat 8:30-1:00 Friendly Service & Helpful Advice

Longest established Mini Specialists in the World - Totally committed & providing everything Mini, all under one roof.

www.minisport.com

Full range of Aldon parts stocked, please call us for details

Electronic Ignition System

Throttle Body

£81.70 £29.75 £56.16 £54.00 £33.30 £60.78 £100.55 £2.58 £1.06 £1.91 £1.37

Aldon Ignition

Air Filters

Polyurethane Bushes

01282 778731

£92.06 £100.80 £117.60 £135.91 £184.38

10% POWER INCREASE

Standard Exhaust

Catalytic Converter Catalyst Removal Link Pipe Cooper Carb Downpipe Injection Downpipe Magic Pipe (instead of LCB) 998/1098/1275 Twin silencer system Estate/Van/Pick-up Twin silencer system Large Port Manifold Gasket Standard Port Manifold Gasket Injection Downpipe Gasket Catalyst Gasket

Mini Saloon 1967-92 System £301.73 Mini Cooper & S 1961-63, 1 Box System £301.73 Mini Cooper & S 1963-71, 2 Box System £347.64 Austin Mini 1275 GT 1969-80 System £366.00 Mini 1.3 SPi & MPi 1992-00 Cat-Back System £347.64

LCB Single Box System Side exit LCB Twin Box System Centre Exit CAT Twin Box System Side Exit CAT Twin Box System Center Exit CAT Twin Box Twin DTM System Centre Exit

Side Exit, LCB Mini Sport Superflow exhaust systems designed for Ultimate gas Centre Exit, LCB flow, increase in power yet retain a Side Exit, Van, Estate low noise level. A twin silencer Side Exit, catalytic system with stainless steel tail pipe. Centre Exit, catalytic

3" Side Exit

£99

£61

£79

£62

£34.14 £66.56 £148.86 £12.96 £0.66 £4.20

from only

from only

from only

Adjustable heavy duty pair Group 'A' adjustable pair Group 'A' rose jointed, pair Standard tie rod, each Tie rod bush, standard Tie rod bush set, uprated

25 year guaranteed Stainless Steel Original Spec Exhausts

Exhausts

Full range of quality exhaust systems and silencers.

2" Centre Exit

full kit

£61 £75 £79 £201 £107 £188 £122 £147 £258

sales@minisport.com

PowerLite Electrical

Dynalite Alternator that looks like a C40 Dynamo - Negative Earth £419.26 - Positive Earth £489.14 PowerLite Lucas Type Lightweight Alternator £229.00 Hi Torque Inertia Starter Motor 1Kw £153.75 Hi Torque Pre-engaged Starter Motor 1Kw £162.00 Slimline Inertia Starter Motor 1.6Kw £229.00 Adaptor Alternator to Lucas Plug £19.96 Dummy Control Box for Dynalite Alternator £54.00

Alternators & Dynamo - by Mini Sport 16/17ACR pre ‘80 NEW £65.46 45 Amp ‘80-’85 exchange £74.74 55 Amp ‘85-’96 exchange £60.00 70 Amp ‘85-’96 inc SPi NEW £71.88 MPi ‘97-’01 exchange £111.60 Dynamo - NEW £70.38 Starter Motors - by Mini Sport Pre Engaged Type NEW £89.14 Inertia Type - exchange (surcharge £40) £60.83 Inertia Type - NEW from £86.40

Wiring Looms Mk1/2 Mini, Cooper & ‘S’ from £167.13 Van/Traveller/Pick-up from £203.52 Mk3 Mini, Cooper & ‘S’ from £203.52 Mk4 2 or 3 clock from £249.94 Dash Clock Conversions Centre to Side or Side to Centre clocks from £32.22 Full range available, please call for details

Monte Mug winner

Col Du Turini Mug

each

37

£9

GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY OF THE RALLYE MONTE-CARLO VICTORY

Legend Pen

only

£25

Special Edition Merchandise

only

Wheel Arches

Light Systems

Quadoptic Headlamps LHD pair

Coaster Set 4

only

£9

Bottle Opener Keyring

RHD pair

Headlamps H4 Headlamp Assemblies, includes headlamp bowl plus inner bezel, suit LHD or RHD Pre ‘97 Mini from £43.71 MPi Headlamp Mini - with motor £58.16 Headlamp Leveling Motor - ‘97 on £46.64 Valeo/Cibie Halogen unit, each £36.65 Halogen Crystal Headlamp - standard £37.22 Halogen Crystal Headlamp - Angel Eye £46.15 Headlamp Bowl from £8.29 Rubber Seal - Headlamp Bowl £2.85 Inner Chrome Bezel, from £5.40 Chrome Headlamp Ring from £9.42 Genuine Rover Kit includes Cooper Lamp Kit 4 lamps, 4 brackets

Special Chrome Sports Pk Group 2 2 Race

5 Race

Special Arches, black £19.20 Chrome Covers inc Side strips £71.81 Monte Carlo style £63.42 Sports Pack - Genuine inc all fittings £342.16 Sports Pack - Non Genuine inc all fittings £50.16 Group 2 Glassfibre arches £54.85 Group 2 Race Glassfibre arches £55.77 Group 5 Race £61.54

Mud Flaps

Genuine Rear - pair

Mini Logo £29.38 Cooper Logo £30.60

Body Panels

Boss Kits to suit Mk1, to ‘76 or ‘76 on - Black with cap or horn control £54.32 - Polished with cap or horn control £83.83 Steering Wheels - flat or dished spokes 13” Woodrim - Polished Spoke £150.11 12” Leather - Polished or Black Spoke £150.49 13” Leather - Polished or Black Spoke £146.15 Other Steering Wheels - wheel only 12”,13” Black Vinyl 3 spoke £39.13 12”,13” Black Leather 3 spoke £56.04 13.5” Woodrim 3 spoke £72.04 13” Black Vinyl, red stitching £49.53 Boss Fitting Kit

KIT £52.25 £67.10 £88.16 £59.15 £16.12

Dashboards

Classic style only £141

full kit

£222 Full Kit: 2 Drive Lamps & 2 Fog Lamps £222.27 Full Kit: 4 Drive Lamps £220.67 Genuine Lamps, Fog or Drive each from £39.95 Lamp Brackets, outer or inner, each from £9.85 Wiring per lamp £11.92

Works Lamp Bar Kit

full kit

£165

Kit : Stainless Lamp Bar, wiring loom, 2 Drive and 2 Fog lamps

Spot Lamps

Lamp Bar

£59

Stainless Steel

pair

£38 Angel Eye Spot Lamps, red, blue or white £46.15 Rally Giant Spot Lamp Kit £39.12 Road Runner H3 Spot Lamp Kit £20.27 Side Repeaters Clear Type Amber Type

£2.46 £3.30

Indicators Mk1/2 - push fit amber plastic lamp unit £7.20 Mk1/2 - amber glass lamp unit, each £12.00 Mk1/2 - push fit clear plastic lamp unit £6.78 Mk1/2 - clear glass lamp unit, each £11.96 Mk1/2 - metal bulb holder £6.72 Mk1/2 - chrome outer locking ring £2.76 Mk1/2 - rubber boot rear of lamp £3.35 Mk3/4 - amber lamp unit (screw type) £7.19 Mk3/4 - amber lens, each £3.89 Mk3/4 - clear lamp unit (screw type) £7.27 Mk3/4/5 - clear lens, each £2.68 Mk5 - clear lamp ‘97-’01 £11.12

Rear Lights & Lenses Mk4 Lamps

£43 Mk1 Lenses

£31

Mk1 Rear Lamp RH or LH, each Mk1 Rear Indicator Lens RH or LH, each Mk1 Rear Stop Lens RH or LH, each Mk1 Lens screw kit, per side Mk2/3 Rear Lamp RH or LH, each Mk2/3 Rear Lens RH or LH, each Mk2/3 Rubber Seal RH or LH, each Mk4 Rear Lamp RH or LH, each Mk4 Rear Indicator Lens RH or LH, each Mk4 Rear Reverse Lens RH or LH, each Mk4 Rubber Seal RH or LH, each

Clear Lenses

Supplied as pairs complete with orange and Mk4 Uppers red bulbs, upper lenses only

£15

£37.98 £8.16 £6.54 £1.70 £47.94 £16.75 £7.24 £42.84 £6.82 £9.00 £6.30

Full range of Heritage, Aftermarket & Restoration panels available at the best prices, please call.

Replacement Panels Non Gen Genuine A panel Mk3 - RH/LH £10.93 £19.99 A post hinge panel - RH/LH £10.44 na Rear valance all models £11.52 £49.00 Rear valance closing plate £6.48 £34.07 Front floor well - RH/LH £18.36 £51.64 Rear floor well - RH/LH £25.02 £59.53 Sill Outer 4.5'' Mk3 on - RH/LH £14.02 £37.52 Sill Outer 9'' Mk3 on - RH/LH £15.44 na Sill Inner repair - RH/LH £8.82 na Door Step, shaped - RH/LH £8.82 £75.00 Boot floor rear repair £18.40 na Scuttle complete £50.22 £124.99 Door Skin Mk3 on - RH/LH £27.36 £80.00 Bonnet Mk2 on £117.45 £165.00 Front wing - early £51.30 £94.99 Front wing - late £51.30 £94.99 Front panel to ‘76 £61.02 £175.00 Front panel ‘76 on £56.88 £175.00 Screen corner repair £9.54 na Fibre Panels Full range of carbon fibre & glass fibre panels available, please call for details

Available only in Burr Walnut or Charcoal finish 3+3 RHD - also available in LHD only £141 one price

Style - 2 or 3 clock instrument facia £141 Finish - Burr Walnut, Charcoal or Alloy Options - Chrome ring inserts & extra guage holes Burr or Charcoal Interior Accessories Door Pulls, pair from £50.04 Window Winders, pair £50.04 Door Openers, pair from £53.41 Door Cappings, set 4 £126.00 Handbrake Handle £21.00 Gearknob - silver Mini Wings Logo £20.38

Custom Consoles Coloured Vinyl, Burr Walnut, Carbon Fibre look or Alloy. Radio slot Optional. Available in all colours.

Vinyl - no options from £70 Vinyl - radio slot from £79 Vinyl - air vents from £113 LHD or With - vents/ radio fr £117 RHD

Handles

10 Piece Polished Alloy Handle set Full Set only

£34.80

Screens & Seals

Exterior Handle Sets Mk1 set £78.22 Mk2 set £87.77 Mk3 set, early £97.42 Mk3 set, late £48.60

Windscreens

Clear, front £48.00 Clear Heated, front £255.85 Tinted, front £56.32 Tinted Heated, front £254.96 Top Tinted, front £56.40 Top Tinted Heated, front£276.28

Mk2/3 Clear, rear £77.44 Mk1 Clear, rear £92.52 Mk2/3 Clear Heated, rear£171.17 Mk1 Clear Heated, rear £171.17 CAN BE SHIPPED WORLDWIDE

Rubber Seals and Strips

Seatbelts

Automatic Belts in Inertia Reel type Black, Red, Blue, Front - Black £32.39 Beige or Grey

Front - Coloured £55.80 Rear - Black £32.39 Rear - Coloured £44.80

Full range of Harnesses available.

Screen seal front from £9.31 Screen seal rear £12.14 Chrome locking strip £3.78 Quarter light seals opening type £8.04 fixed type £10.97

MK3 Door seal Mk3 door chrome strip Mk4 boot lid seal Sill trim black Sill trim chrome deluxe Roof gutter trim black

£16.56 £15.60 £9.60 £9.56 £14.20 £10.62

Roll cages Front Cage - ROAD only * Rear Cage - ROAD only * Front Rear rally Rear race inc. Diagonal Rear detachable diagonal Multi point weld in cage Multi point bolt in cage Door bars - pair Roll cage padding, 80cm

£151.30 £151.30 £192.12 £204.20 £264.46 £336.86 £625.75 £939.89 RHD & LHD £113.33 available £11.40 * Red, Blue or Black available

Sump Guards RAC dural Monte Carlo Steel Extension

£96.00 £86.98 £68.56 £51.60

RAC

Steel

only

£6

Grilles

Handcrafted wood or leather steering perfection

£38

only

£3

Moto-Lita

Quadoptic H4 Halogen Conversion

£46

®

Parker Pen

£2

Golf Umberella

Wheels

Interior Trim

Cooper int release Cooper ext release Cooper Lamp Holes Mk 5 wavy int Mk 5 wavy ext Mk3 chrome Mk1 Austin wavy Mk1 Austin Cooper Mk1 Morris Cooper Mk1 Mustache surr.

Mustache ends, ea Mk3 surrounds, ea Mk3 Top surround Grille Buttons

£44.10 only £44.10 £44 £98.56 £82.43 only £82.43 £89 £73.90 £88.46 only £85.15 £98 £74.08 £91.96 £10.78 only £9.32 £83 £16.64 Internal Bonnet Release Kit kit only

£30

Chrome or Black set £10

Newton Commercial interiors & trims available for all models of Mini. Please call for details.

Seats

Cobra seats - available with Mini fixings Classic Vinyl - all colours from £135.90 Classic Vinyl & Piping - all colours from £157.78 Clubman - black, blue, red or grey £189.54 Monaco - black, blue or red £200.80 Forza FIA Approved - black, blue or red £248.53 GTB Recliner with h/rest- black cloth £437.57 GTS Recliner with h/rest - black cloth £443.46

Old English White, each Silver, each

£62.47 £62.47

wheel only 6x10 Silver, Anthracite or Gold £60 5x12 Silver - Minilight £68 5x12 Silver Polished rim £60 5x12 Black, red stripe £64 5.5x12 Silver Polished rim £65 5.5x12 Black, red stripe £64 5.5x12 Black, pol. rim £64 6x13 Silver £73 7x13 Silver £77 7x13 Deep Dish £86 7x13 Split Replica £86 7x13 Black, red stripe £86

Package (set4) Falken £365 Falken £423 Falken £403 Falken £413 Falken £422 Falken £430 Falken £410 Yokohama £545 Yokohama £516 Yokohama £545 Yokohama £545 Yokohama £545

Bumpers O.E. spec Stainless £46.80 Chrome £36.24 Stainless £42.14 Black or Grey £35.65 Clubman Front £158.57 Overiders & Corner Bars Mk1 kit £133.52 Mk1 kit & bumpers £214.37 Mk2 overider kit £58.48

Revolution wheel only Package (set4) 6x10 Black 4 Spoke £62.05 Falken £429 5x12 Black 4 Spoke £62.46 Falken £419 Starmag 6x10 Black Hi-Lite £52.09 Falken £377 6x12 Black Hi-Lite £59.03 Falken £419 7x13 Black Hi-Lite £72.05 Yokohama £502 Mamba 5x10 Black Hi-Lite £50.76 Falken £354 6x10 Black Hi-Lite £55.37 Falken £377 6x12 Black Hi-Lite £62.75 Falken £419 7x13 Black Hi-Lite £76.60 Yokohama £502

Mirrors Stainless door, each Black early, each Black late, pair Bullet chrome, each Bullet late chrome, ea Downton style, each Cooper Chrome, pair Classic clip on, each Cooper White, pair Interior - Stainless

£23.94 £19.85 £38.46 £13.86 £26.82 £21.07 £51.92 £27.91 £47.63 £24.26

Tyres 145/10 - Falken SN807 165/70/10 - Falken FK07E 165/60/12 - Falken ZE912 145/70/12 - Federal 165/70/10 - Yoko A032 165/70/10 - Yoko A008 165/60/12 - Yoko A539 165/55/12 - Yoko A048 175/50/13 - Yoko A539 175/50/13 - Yoko A048

Brightwork S/S Headlamp peaks £10.80 S/S Headlamp stoneguards £11.40 Mk3 chrome no plate lamp £20.69 Stainless seam mouldings, pr £23.52 Boot Hinges - chrome £10.73 Plain Door Handle Scoops £7.19 Alloy Dip stick: Blue,red,silver £9.60 Aston style fuel cap £19.76 Union Jack Badge £6.76 Cooper Boot Badge ‘92 on £34.79 GB Boot Badge £7.68 Cooper S Mk3 Bonnet Badge £20.41 Mk3 Boot Handle £24.80

Mini Parts 8.4” Vented Brake Kit 8.4” Vented Disc Drive Assembly 7.5” Cooper S Brake Kit 7.5” Cooper S Disc Drive Assembly 8.4” Standard Calipers 8.4” Standard Disc Drive Assembly

Decals

Carpet Sets Deluxe Carpets Black, Red or Brown £44.15 Newton Com, from £158.61 Black, Red or Grey £29.02 Sound insulation kit £44.14

from only

£29

Carpet Mat Sets Luxury deep pile tailored 4 piece carpet mat set, with specially formulated non slip backing to fit all Mini saloons RHD or LHD. Front mats come complete with embroidered Mini Sport Flying Flag Logo.

All season £22.80

£42.00 £49.90 £49.80 £50.45 FK07E ZE912 £60.60 £53.54 £62.00 £90.37 £71.94 £109.08 A008 A539

37

Chequered Roof £38.64 Union Jack Roof £45.00 Bonnet Stripes - B or W £9.28 Cooper Laurel £5.99 Pin Stripes car set from £9.16

Standard Carpets

Full range available

Cooper S

3.5J x 10 4.5J x 10 Reproduced by Mini Sport - 3.5J & 4.5J x 10” to original specifications. These wheels are NOT cheap copies, but exact replicas of the original design, perfect for any restoration project.

only

£23

Gauges Voltmeter from £40.78 Oil Pressure capillaryfrom £59.83 Ammeter from £21.23 Water Temp electric from £58.51 Oil Pressure electric from £78.01 Water Temp capillary £54.96 SMITHS gauges also available, please contact us with your requirements

® £550 £895 £525 £845 £395 £845

Quickshift Gearlever with Gear Knob £59 Gearlever Gaitor £18 Silver Gearknob £29 Oil Dip Stick £27 Polished Rocker Cover £39 Rocker Cover Cap £7.50 Red Rocker Cover T Bars £27 Steel Fuel Jerry Can £24 Steel Fuel Jerry Can-Red £24 Jerry Can Spout £14 Jerry Can Spout-Red £14 Luxury Floor Mats (4) £25 Front Grille Badge £14 Rally Plate Decals pair £4 Official Merchandise 8Gb USB Memory Stick £19 Rally Plate Mug £7 Mug "33 EJB" £7 Sticker Pack £3 Rally Plate Key Chain £4 Rally Plate Lapel Badge £2 Rally Plate Cuff Link set £9 T-Shirts - S, M, L or XL Roundel - Black £15 37 - Red £15 Rallye - Black or Grey £15 For the full range along with details & specs please go to the website

www.paddyhopkirkmini.co.uk

love:mini

9

Follow us online to get the latest news first

on the PULSE

legal

mini charity calender fraud trial collapses Mini Obsession and Lincs Mini Chaos founder Kerry Cox found not guilty after prosecution withdraws its evidence.

Linc

s Mini Chaos Club founder, Kerry Cox, has seen her trial for defrauding the Help for Heroes and Breast Cancer Breakthrough charities collapse.

There has been a lot of gossip and false information being spread on the internet since the trial finished in February, but love:mini likes to get to the root of the story and tell the truth. So, the information contained herein comes from official sources and documented evidence.

The 41-year old from Louth, Lincolnshire, was charged in December 2011 and pleaded not guilty to the charges of: • Four counts of Dishonestly making false representation to make gain for self/another or cause loss to other/expose other to risk (Fraud) • Three counts of theft The events revolve around the 2010 Mini Obsession Forum’s (now defunct)

10

love:mini

Nude Calendar, run by Mrs Cox, which was promoted as donating funds to charity. Several high-profile members of the Mini community, and companies contributed to the pictures in the calendar and sponsored the production of it.

In 2010, concerns were raised within the Mini community about whether the proceeds of the calendars sold did actually go to charity, despite claims by Mrs Cox that they raised over £1000 for the charities.

Mrs Cox then produced a letter purporting to come from the Help For Heroes charity, who then, when asked about the letter, questioned its authenticity.

Police contacted the charities who confirmed they had not received any donations as stated by Mrs Cox. Kerry Cox was charged with the above counts on December 22, 2011.

The matter was listed for trial on August 27, 2013 and a Jury was empanelled to hear the case. According to a court official, shortly into the trial

Kerry Cox is Miss September.

the prosecution highlighted a difficulty with some of the counts, which resulted in counts 6 & 7 being quashed.

On August 29, 2013, a further difficulty arose surrounding some of the evidence that had been given by Mrs Cox. That resulted in the Jury being discharged and the case being adjourned for the prosecution to consider their position.

On February 7, 2014, the matter came back before Lincoln Crown Court, and the prosecution offered no evidence in relation to the outstanding counts.

Having so done, the Judge formally directed that ‘not guilty’ verdicts, under Section 17 of the Criminal Justice Act 1967, be recorded against each of the five counts. There was no jury involved in the hearing.

Case officer Kerry Topham, told love:mini that the original calendar case in August 2013 had to be closed and jury directed to find the defendant not guilty, before Mrs Cox could be charged with perverting the course of

The screenshot that brou

ght the case down.

es letter.

The fake Help For Hero

justice. However, this charge was made after an error by her lawyers and was subsequently dropped.

In the trial that reconvened, she told us that the CPS decided that, because of the period of time that had elapsed, inconsistencies in witnesses and witness statements and the cost, that it was not in the public interest to continue.

Extract from CPS letter to witness.

the sale of calendars.

During the trial, the defence produced a document that had been published on a website that the defendant ran in 2009 that cast doubt on the prosecution’s claim of dishonesty. The trial was halted at that stage to investigate the authenticity of this evidence. This was a complex matter to investigate, because it had been removed from the website and the site’s hosting arrangements made obtaining authenticated copies CPS Statement impractical. In the end, the prosecution A spokesperson from the Crown could not prove beyond reasonable Prosecution Service gave love:mini an official statement into the withdrawal of doubt that the document was false. On evidence in the case: that basis, it was no longer possible to “The charges against Kerry Cox were prove that Kerry Cox had acted with brought in line with the Code for Crown dishonest intentions, so the case was discontinued by offering no evidence in Prosecutors, in that it was considered court.” that there was sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction and it The evidence produced by Mrs Cox was in the public interest to prosecute. in court was a screenshot purporting to be from the Mini Obsession Forum The basis of the charges was that she had made false representation about the which gave details of the percentage of proceeds which would go to charity charitable distribution of funds from

from sales of the calendar. Because the CPS could not verify its authenticity or prove it was false (the website had been removed and was hosted on foreign servers) they decided against taking the matter further, leaving the Judge no option under Section 17 of the Criminal Justice Act 1967 but to find Mrs Cox not guilty.

When contacted for a comment Mrs Cox said: “There’s not much to say really. It’s all over now. We went to court and there was a not guilty verdict. That’s it.”

Separately, Kerry’s husband, Carl Cox, was found guilty of ‘Witness Intimidation’ outside the court of her trial and sentenced to do community service.

While the judgement is officially not guilty, the fact that the case was not fully heard by a Jury leaves many questions unanswered and the integrity of Mrs Cox’s reputation shrouded with elements of doubt.

love:mini

11

on the PULSE

legislation

Threat to classics in london?

Transport for London’s plans for a Low Emission Zone could restrict access to the Capital for classics.

Ther

e’s been a lot of talk about the newly proposed Ultra Low Emission Zone that is set to be introduced in London in 2020.

The scheme is looking to reduce air pollutants and CO2 emissions within central London by using the existing infrastructure of the Congestion Zone.

A number of representatives of the classic car scene are worried this will lead to a ban on classic cars within the Capital because of high emissions.

Classic and Sports Car magazine leads one of several campaigns and petitions that have been emerging to petition the Mayor of London and head of Transport for London (TfL), Boris Johnson.

Taking these concerns to TfL, love:mini spoke to Nancy Ryder, spokesperson for TfL, who told us that the proposal are still in the early stages of concept and the issue of exemptions will be looked at later. The scheme is set to be offered for public consultation later in 2014.

“The original press release that was issued in February last year announced

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the Mayor’s intention for an Ultra Low Emission Zone in 2020.

Since then TfL has been exploring ways to introduce the scheme in 2020 and has focused on the development of options.

Engagement with stakeholders has been a key element of the process and this work will continue throughout 2014.Stakeholders feedback will help shape a final proposal for public consultation in late 2014.

At this point we will specify which vehicles we propose will be required to meet the emission standards. At this stage we are exploring the parameters of the scheme and for this reason it is too early to talk about exemptions.“ Whilst the details of the scheme are yet to be revealed, others are sceptical about the threat to classics in the Capital. “It’ll never happen,” said one forum user. www.tfl.gov.uk/media www.london.gov.uk

If you want to support the call for classic cars to have free, unrestricted access to London you can add your name to the thousands of others by clicking on the link below and adding your name.

Sign the petition here: www.classicandsportscar. com/news/general-classic-carnews/the-free-use-of-classiccars-in-central-london

News in Brief Stay up-to-date with our Blog and social media links

Blyton park mki perfomance day

skidz pilot project Buckinghamshire-based young persons’ charity SKIDZ, which provides motor studies programmes for young people, plans to establish a pilot project in Belfast as part of its strategy to expand operations across the UK over the next five years.

Preliminary discussions are already underway regarding creating a project in Belfast in partnership with the Integrated Education Fund of Northern Ireland.

This potential alliance is the result of initiatives being organised around the Paddy Hopkirk Gala and other events being held in 2014 in Northern Ireland to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Paddy’s historic victory in the Monte Carlo Rally.

Belfast-born Paddy is Patron

of SKIDZ and a long-time supporter of IEF. Graham Andrews, SKIDZ CEO, says: “SKIDZ and the IEF are both registered charitable organisations and are proud to have Paddy Hopkirk as a Patron. Proceeds from the Gala events in the Province will be donated to both charities. In this context, it seems appropriate that SKIDZ examines the feasibility of establishing a ‘pilot’ project in Belfast in partnership with the IEF – so that the proceeds can be invested back into Belfast and become one of the first of the new SKIDZ projects to open in the UK.” The pilot envisages 100 students initially in the age range 13-19 years will be able to access a range of courses.

Blyton Park raceway in Lincolnshire, is hosting the inaugural MkI Performance Day on May 4th.

For more information contact organiser Pete Flannigan: flan1275@aol.com

MITP BLURB Blur tribute band - Blurb have been confirmed as the headline act for Saturday night at Mini In The Park on August 10, with the support act named as The Kaiser Thiefs.

Tickets are £10 in advance (£15 on the gate) and an extra fiver for camping the night before. Under 14s free. www.minishow.co.uk

mini dealer awards BMW Group UK presented Halliwell Jones, Warrington with the prestigious BMW Dealer of the Year Award at an awards ceremony held at its National Dealer Conference in February. Exceeding targets set in nine different operational areas across its business, the dealership won the award following strong competition from the two other finalists, Chandlers Hailsham and Soper of Lincoln.

Other awards presented at the ceremony were:

travels West from San Francisco through to Boston, MA. Anyone wanting to join the convoy can do, for as long at they want. There is a one-off $45 fee, and participants will have to also book and pay for their own hotels, food and fuel. www.minitakesthestates.com

Mini top for mums A survey by HPI, has revealed most people remember their mum driving a Mini moren than any other car.

The ‘stroll down memory lane’ put the Mini first with 9.4% of the vote, ahead of the Ford Fiesta 6.6%, Cortina 4.7% with the Ford Sierra and Vauxhall Cavalier tied in 4th. Fifth place was drawn between the VW Golf, Ford Escort XR3i, Toyota Corolla, Ford Capri and the Austin Allegro.

Marketing Champion of the Year Wollaston BMW Northampton Corporate Sales Dealer of the Year Elms Group BMW Bedford, Cambridge, Stansted Used Car Dealer of the Year Bavarian Garages Belfast Aftersales Dealer of the Year Rybrook Warwick Customer Champion of the Year Lloyd Carlisle Dealer Principal of the Year Russ Trotman, Dick Lovett Bristol

MTTS registration TVMOC Gainsborough now open mini day first show MINI owners in America rejoice as the registration for this year’s Mini Takes The States is now open.

For the majority of MINIacs in America, this is the biggest and best event you can take part in.

The two-week journey

From the team that brought you Lincoln BIG Mini Day, Trent Valley MOC, comes an event on Father’s Day, June 15, which takes over Gainsborough city centre.

Entry is free. www.trentvalleymoc.co.uk

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PHOTO: Matthew Barrington

love:mini creates a partnership the Mini Se7en Racing Club the leading classic Mini motorsport club in the world.

As y

our favourite Mini magazine, love:mini, grows in popularity, we’ve expanded our support for Mini motorsport with the announcement of a sponsorship deal with the Mini Se7en Racing Club.

The M7RC is well known for running the longest form of onemake motorsport - the Mini Se7ens, since 1966, when Bob Fox won the first title, and the more powerful Mini Miglias aren’t far behind, starting a mere four years later in 1970.

The close, tight-knit racing of the Minis has been enthralling crowds for years, and even 14 years after the final classic went out of production, there is no sign of interest in the sport waning. “love:mini’s online reach is a great opportunity to boost the Club’s profile and get more people involved with both the Mini 7 Club and Mini motorsport as whole.” says

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Colin Peacock of the Mini7 Club.

“Working with love:mini we will hopefully reach a new audience who look to get their information online nowadays.”

As part of the deal love:mini will produce the Official Mini7 Racing Club newsletter and work with the Club to promote the series. love:mini Editor, Craig McBeth said: “The Mini 7 Club has a great heritage that has run alongside the history of the Mini and deciding to work with the Club was a nobrainer. As the longest running and, in my opinion, most exciting, form of one-make motorsport, getting more people interested in the Club is no less than it deserves.”

The Dunlop Mini Se7en & Mini Miglia Challenges supported by Mini Sport run on the same days, with two rounds each, ensuring you get your money’s worth of exciting track action. www.mini7.co.uk

Click to Download the ne

wsletter

MINI MIGLIA AND MINI SE7EN supported by Mini Sport www.mini7.co.uk APRIL 21 MAY 10/11 MAY 31 - JUNE 1 JUNE 14/15 JULY 12 AUGUST 23/24 SEPTEMBER 20/21

Castle Combe Brands Hatch

Cadwell Park

Thruxton

Oulton Park Donington Park Croft

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jay leno gets the MINI dakar experience Dakar winner Nani Roma takes US chatshow host Jay Leno for drive in the dunes.

Rece

ntly, the MINI ALL4 Racing had a very special guest on board: US-American comedian and TV-show host Jay Leno drove the 2014 Dakar Rally winner. Accompanied by the reigning Dakar Champion Nani Roma, he experienced the strengths of the MINI in the Dumont Dunes between Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

Leno spent the morning in the co-driver seat and enjoyed the experience to be surfed across the dunes with a height of up to several hundred metres by Dakar winner Roma. In the afternoon, Roma and Leno swapped seats and he took the wheel. Jay quickly familiarised with the MINI and soon, he tackled some dunes himself. On his return to the camp he had a beaming face. The video of his ride in the MINI ALL4 Racing can be watched at jaylenosgarage.com.

“Jay did a really good job driving the MINI,” revealed Roma. “It was obvious that he already has driven a lot of cars. Nonetheless, I was somewhat surprised when he

headed to first dunes flat out right away. We had a lot of fun together and I think it was a great experience for him.”

Jay Leno: “The thing I found really impressive is that the car is virtually unbreakable. As someone who restores cars and works on cars, I know how fragile they can be. This thing is just a monster. You can push it over and roll it over. That was the most impressive part. As far as driving experiences go, this is one of the great ones.”

Watch the Video here

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Freeview 38 Sky 167 Virgin 172

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Cars that rock - with brian johnson love:mini sent Andy Woolhouse to meet the AC/DC lead singer and find out more about his love for Minis and new TV Series on Quest.

The

stars turned out at the Vinyl Factory in London in April to promote Quest TV’s new line-up of programmes for 2014. Amongst them were Robson Green, Top Gear’s Richard Hammond, Drew Pritchard from Salvage Hunters, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason and AC/DC’s lead singer Brian Johnson.

Brian will be fronting a brand new programme on Quest starting Thursday May 8, entitled Cars that Rock with Brian Johnson. In the programme, Brian analyses, discusses and of course drives some of the most iconic branded cars in history. From the Bugatti and Ferrari to the humble Mini. Also on display at the launch show was Brian’s own 1275 Mini which he is racing at Goodwood.

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In the series Brian meets Mini legend, Paddy Hopkirk.

“Filming with Paddy Hopkirk was one of the highlights of the series,” says Brian. “Winner of the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally, he was a childhood icon of mine. We met on a deserted airfield in Oxfordshire with a 1960s Mini just like the one from the Monte. Hailstones were coming down, as they do in summer in England. Here, alongside me, was this lovely man, now 80 years old but just as sharp as he was when he won the Monte half a century ago. He turned to me and said: ‘Brian, this is all a little boring. Shall we spice it up a bit?’ I asked what we should do. ‘Get the speed up to 60 miles an hour, Brian. Would you do that for me, Brian?’ He had a twinkle in his eye.

So we got up to 60 and he said: ‘Now I want you to pull the wheel around as fast and as violently as you can.’

I said: ‘Oooh, won’t we .?.. won’t we .?.. roll over?’

‘Don’t you trust me, Brian?’ he replied. So on the count of three I yanked the wheel and he pulled up the handbrake and we did a 360. I whooped with delight.

‘Don’t get cocky, son,’ he told me.

‘Now let’s do it backwards.’”

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charity

$100k mini fundraiser New Zealand Caffeine Crew’s Mini opens the wallets and pulls on the heartstrings for Nelson Cancer Society.

A cr

ew of Wakefield men have raised nearly $100,000 for the Nelson Cancer Society by raffling off a restored yellow Mini, but their effort has come at a price - the Mini may leave Nelson, situated on the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island.

Retired mechanic Bob Croy bought the 1975 Morris Mini MkIII for $750, recruiting John Bruce, Martin Reid, Dal Stewart, Nick Harrison and Chris Tonkin to restore it for the 2014 Relay for Life.

The men, calling themselves the Caffeine Crew, had been working on

the car since 2012, and profits from the raffle will go to the Nelson Cancer Society.

A number of businesses, including the Bowater Motor Group, added their muscle to the project. Parts for the car were provided, and others donated prizes for the raffle.

The fundraising efforts got under way in November 2013. The raffle tickets cost NZ$20 each for a chance to win the restored car valued at over NZ$8000.

NZ Police Senior constable Peter Cobeldick drew the winning ticket at Wakefield police station, selecting a

ticket purchased by the principal of Levin Intermediate School, Trevor Jeffries.

Trevor and his family visited Nelson for the Woollaston Jazz & Blues Nelson Festival, picking up the winning ticket at the Nelson Market.

He said he had not given much thought to what he would do with the car if he won, he simply wanted to support the Cancer Society.

Linda Lucre, centre manager for the Nelson Cancer Society, said the Caffeine Crew had done an amazing job.

croft autodrome turns 50 Huge half-century birthday party and nostalgia event set for August,

Crof

t Autodrome hosted its first motor racing event on August 3, 1964 and exactly half-acentury later, on August 2/3, 2014, the sights, sounds and smells of yesteryear will be recreated when the Nostalgia Weekend roars into the north-east’s premier motor sport venue. Stars and cars from eras

gone-by are sure to wow crowds both on and off the track.

Now entering its fifth consecutive year, the winning blend of historic Hillman Imps and legendary Lotus Cortinas, live music, fashion displays, World War Two encampments and air shows makes the Nostalgia Weekend fun for all the family. www.croftcircuit.co.uk

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WORKS MINI

EX-WORKS CAR FOUND Mini ex-Works car discovered in barn find after 30 years

We’v

e all heard of barn finds, and we know there are some gems of a classic Minis hidden away somewhere, lost and long forgotton by their owner - but what you never hear of is an old Mini Works car being found... that’s because they’re rare as hen’s teeth and such time has passed that it is commonly thought that they’d long perished or been lovingly restored and cared for. So, you can imagine the shock to Mini enthusiasts Dave Johnson and Martin Price when they first realised what was before their eyes.

It started out when the pair bought some Mini parts from a bloke who lived on a farm a few miles away and claimed he had an ex-Works Cooper S

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in his barn that he’s had unrestored for 30 years.

Dave Johnson explains: “Even though the chap seemed decent and plausible we obviously dismissed the idea of an exworks car sitting un-discovered just down the road from us because Martin and I have been interested in Minis for getting on for 30 years each so surely we’d have known about it! We tried to put it out of our minds but about three months after selling the parts we came across Paul’s phone number and agreed that we should give him a ring and try to call

photos Dave Johnson

round and take a look what he’d got.

We made the call and arranged to meet at Paul’s farm and just in case he had something interesting, we asked a local chap called Dave Beswick to come

The famous Works switc h extenders.... or else you couldn’t reach them once harnessed in!

Expert Verdict

along, as he’s got a vast knowledge of ex-Works cars and we knew if this car was anything he’d probably recognise it.

Dave explained to us on the way the first things he’d be looking for was the asbestos heat shield on the bulkhead and the Hydrolastic pipes running inside the car through neat grommets in the bulkhead and down the inner wheel arches with inline coupling/ restrictors fitted. We knew the car was bought by Paul with a 970S engine but this was out the car so the pipes/heat shield should be clearly visible.

When we arrived at the farm Paul took us to the building where the cars were. What we were greeted with was a rough old red Mini with a white roof, right colours but not an obvious exWorks car - this was until we opened the bonnet and pulled the carpet back inside to expose the Hydro pipes. Dave couldn’t believe what he were looking at.

After being the biggest cynic out of any of us he was quite sure we were looking at an Abingdon built ex-Works car.

Thirty years ago when Paul bought the car he was told it was GRX 55D which had been purchased by Jonny Organ (known comps dept mechanic)

Needless to say we took lots of pictures and that evening emailed them straight off to Guy Smith and Robert Young. The next morning we spoke to both of them who had been discussing our find until from Abingdon or at least one of its late that evening and they were both incarnations and as we looked at it 99% sure we were looking at an exsat on its bump stops looking sad the Works S. story stacked up in our minds as it had What we had to determine next obvious damage on the nearside front was which car we had found. We all corner which was documented on the understood that if we could work out 1966 Monte and everything looked right. which car it was there was a good We wondered if after GRX 55D was chance the car would already exist damaged Abingdon decided to re-shell as most Works car had more than one the car or build a completely new car shell, so having a couple of cars both for the GRX55D identity to enter the claiming the same identity happens.

Circuit of Ireland?

Robert explained to us it would Tony Fall and Attis Krauklis win the 1966 Polish Rally in GRX 309D, driving with a 970cc engine.

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WORKS MINI

tor hot air outlet allowed The cut out on the radia ck of the engine. easier access to the ba

probably be easier to prove the car wasn’t GRX 55D than to prove it was, in fact the chances were we would never find out what numberplate our car competed on. The best hope we’d got of positively identifying the car was if it still had the body number plate intact on the front panel which was always going to pretty unlikely as we believed Paul’s car had 10 years rallying in private hands after its Works life. Robert explained to us the body numbers were recorded by Abingdon when they registered a new car so unless it was the first shell of a known Works car it would be meaningless as its number would have

A Works dash in keeping with the times.

never been recorded.

As you can imagine after getting the news off Guy and Robert we were eager to get back over and look at the car in more detail so we went back with a proper camera, a torch and some emery cloth to clean any parts up that looked like they might hold clues to the car’s past identity.

Obviously the first thing we looked for was the body number and to

our amazement there it was sat in between a 6RA relay and a rough old bracket exactly where it should have been, with a few layers of paint over it.

With the emery cloth and a wire brush it wasn’t hard to reveal the numbers which we forwarded straight on the Guy Smith.

Guy hadn’t got the list of body numbers, which is held by British Motor Heritage at Gaydon, so he called Robert. Robert hadn’t got access to the list either so he called Bill Price who straight away told Robert that the car wasn’t the first body shell of GRX 55D but was in fact the first shell of GRX 309D. This news came as a shock to us as only a couple of days before we first viewed

Internal brake and Hydr olastic lines neatly secured was a key indica tor.

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the car we happened to be looking at the history of GRX 309D. We understand that this find is not going to make the current people who are arguing about who’s got the genuine GRX 309D very happy. It’s well documented that Abingdon sent a race car to the States to compete in the Sebring 3-hour race. We think perhaps Abingdon built a brand new car for this prestigious event as they wouldn’t have wanted to enter a rally car that had done four major events into a circuit race. As far as we can work out this genuine Abingdon ex-Works car still survives in the States as a race car. Then we have the UK car that is registered with the number GRX 309D. We have researched what we can about this car and found its authenticity has come in for some criticism over the years but we can’t comment on how much of it has ever seen Abingdon but one thing is for sure, whatever it is it’s a thing of beauty and we’d love to own it.

Thanks to Guy Smith, Robert Young and Bill Price for their help in identifying this car.”

The truth?

So now there are three cars that claim to be GRX 309D, but from further research and work with the Mini Cooper Club, they believe that this barn Mini is the original GRX 309D that first competed in the 1966 Rally of the Flowers, driven by Paddy Hopkirk, as a 1275cc car. This GRX 309D then did the 1966 Polish and the Welsh rallies driven

by Tony Fall as a 970cc car where it was severely battered. The GRX 309D registration is believed to have been put on to a new car for the 1966 RAC rally, driven by Graham Hill as a 1275cc (retired). It was then prepared for the Sebring endurance race and shipped to America, where that second GRX 309D car lives.

Paul got hold of the original Mini when it was sold out of the Abingdon

back door via Jonny Organ, a Works mechanic, as a complete 970cc car minus the Works registration number, dash and rollcage, as well as a 1964 log book. It did a few club rallies in the Midlands and was used as a road car until the 970 engine expired. It then sat for a few years until bought by Paul for £300 in 1980. It is still sat in Paul’s barn.

For more information and to keep updated on what happens to GRX 309D visit the link. http://mk1-forum.net/viewtopic. php?f=4&t=8858

The ‘second’ GRX 309D racing at Courtland, Alabama in May 1967 at the SCCA “Heart of Dixie” National Championship Sportscar races. GRX 309D won the C Sedan class with Bruce Hollander driving.

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In 2

013

Firefighter David Franks of Kent Fire & Rescue Service, based at Herne Bay Fire Station, began to dream of building a track car with some friends to enjoy some racing fun at local Kent track events.

Dave was not new to the idea of buying a car and restoring it having already rebuilt his own personal 1985 MkIII Mini. From this knowledge and love for this classic vehicle he got a small group of friends together to invest in the purchase of a 1978 Mini MkIII saloon. This 35-year-old car was showing its age, but Dave’s group had a vision and were confident they could build a trackworthy car from this shell.

Having acquired the car, Dave, who was already the Station Rep for the Firefighter’s Charity, changed his vision for the vehicle following a visit to Harcombe House rehabilitation centre

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in Devon - owned and run by the Firefighter’s Charity (Formerly the National Fire Service Benevolent Fund). This visit highlighted the charity’s work and facilities in the rehabilitation of injured firefighters from across the country. Speaking to the staff and charity members it became clear to Dave that the charity required new ways of raising sponsorship and support to fund this invaluable service to the firefighters of the country, and so a seed was planted and Dave’s dreams for the race car began. Whilst at Harcombe House, Dave began sketching ideas for his race car, little knowing at this time how real these ideas would become.

In August 2013, Dave spoke to his

friends and expressed his interest in using the Mini to support fundraising for the Firefighter’s Charity. Having already made some enquiries Dave highlighted some potential sponsorship ideas to not only restore the car, but to fully convert it into a Race Specification Classic Mini. From this meeting the Firefighter’s Race Team was born.

The Fire Fighter’s Race Team’s vision was no longer just a track day vehicle, It was a fully fledged classic racing Mini which could be run by a small

Kent Fire & Rescue Service, the racing Mini will also offer local support by engaging with communities to raise Road Safety Awareness, highlighting the many safety features built into the group of individuals who have the vehicle to allow it to be used safely in a Fire Fighter’s Charity in their blood, controlled race environment.

Using the race car as the team’s heart This dedication to Road Safety to raise funds and support for the Awareness was demonstrated during a Firefighter’s Charity. visit to the NEC International Autosport The team is hoping to raise funds and Show 2014, where the team hosted a support by attending many different stand with the support of Kent Fire events across the country. Raising the & Rescue Service and West Midlands race team’s profile along the way and Fire Service, as well as the Firefighter’s increasing awareness of this worthy Charity. charity that supports UK Firefighters.

From the stand the public and The Firefighter’s Race Team Mini members of the trade were able to will be used in various fundraising engage with Kent Firefighters who activities including car shows, distributed road safety messages and hillclimbs, sprints, track days as materials, as well as displaying road well as being entered into two Race traffic collision rescue equipment and Championships (subject to team resources including the ‘Jaws of Life’. funding); BARC QMN Saloons and the The car build is now almost Classic Sports Car Club Special Saloons. complete and ready for ‘Shakedown’, Along side this, with the support of and with the help of Brands Hatch will be running track tests, leading into the race championships.

Once the car has completed its tests the team already has a full calendar of events that they wish to attend during 2014.

All of this is only possible due to the dedication of David Franks, the generosity of the team sponsors and of course the team’s own members donating time and money into the car.

The story doesn’t end there...

The team is now in need of further sponsorship to maintain the car and to run the team’s calendar of events. As a non-profit organisation further funding is essential to successfully run the team.

Donations are also required to support the FireFighter’s Charity, but by supporting the Firefighter’s Race Team they pledge to continue to raise much needed funds for the Firefighter’s Charity.

Contact the team DONATE www.justgiving.com/ firefighterscharity-kent-mini Tel: 01227 250 750 Email: info@firefightersraceteam.com Web: www.firefightersraceteam.com Twitter: @FireFightersRT

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Fire Fighters Race Team Mini Spec sheet Body: Classic Mini, 1978 MkIII manual 1000cc bodyshell, hand-made alley exterior MkI style hinges; GPR bootfloor floor; GPR removable front end fitted; GPR bonnet; All GPR supplied by Arc Angels; modified baulk head to take carb box; Carbonfibre bumpers and Miglia arches; Windows by ACW motorsport windows; Safety Devices bolt-in rollcage; FIA padding; paint Oyster Grey base with RGVA Vehicle Graphics wrap in oversized Fire Engine Battenberg, red front end with van white roof; Engine: 1275cc A-plus bored to 1380cc and fully built to Bill Richards’ Club Circuit Racing Spec; Mini Spares forged pistons; MED crossdrilled nitride crankshaft; A-Series 11stud; Stage 4 head with Minispares 1:5 roller rockers; Piper Cams race camshaft, followers, double valve springs and duplex vernier timing gear set; Weber 45 DCOE carb on Maniflow 5” inlet manifold; Maniflow LCB and 2” single pipe centre exit exhaust with centre box for noise regs; Swiftune catch tank; Brise race alternator, starter and Bill Richards spec Brise hand-made Alley front-mounted radiator; Aldon distributor; Think Automotive Mocal 13-row oil cooler; NGK plugs and silicon leads; solid mounted engine mounts and retro sport top and side engine mounts; Davies Craig electric water pump and Alley swirl pot; Facet fuel pump and 25ltr fuel tank; Estimated power, enough to scare myself silly !

Transmission: Bill Richards built four speed SCCR gear, drop gears; Swiftune supplied Quaife 14K ATB, Limited Slip Differential; 3:9 crown wheel and pinion; Hardy Spicer outputs and Mini Sspares race-hardened driveshafts; Mini Spares Clutch, flywheel, backplate and diaphragm.

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Suspension: All round Quantum Miglia spec dampers; Mini Spares yellow spot rubber cones; KAD front tie-bars, KAD rear camber brackets; extended heavy duty steering arms; Mini Spares adjustable lower arms; seam-welded and strengthend front subframe; solid subframe mounts; seam-welded rear subframe; Mini Spares reconditioned rear trailing arms fully built-up.

Brakes: Front Mini Sport 4-pot callipers; carbon metallic pads; 7.9” diameter ventilated and grooved discs; 4 dot fluid non servo; rear Minifin drums with standard brake shoes; Cooper S adjustable brake bias valve and standard handbrake cable with KAD Alloy quadrants; Aeroquip copper tube and Goodrich brake lines.

Wheels & Tyres: Revolution 13x8 competition wheels and Avon Racing full slicks and full wets.

Interior: Fully stripped out interior, rear pockets, door internals and dash fully removed; seat backs reinforced, rear shelf removed and Alley plate installed; new steering wheel drop bar, standard but lowered steering column and Lifeline Quick release; Mini Spares Quickrack steering rack; Corbeau personalised race seat and Luke 6-point harness; Sparco steering wheel; 12-volt planet supplied electrical parts, switches, cables, fuse blocks and connectors; Mini Spares supplied TIM Rev counter 10K, water temp and oil pressure gauges; Varley battery and cage; Lifeline supplied full FIA 4ltr foam electric fire extinguisher system; full custom wiring loom; OMEX supplied rev limiter and shift light; KAD quickshift gear stick; Lifeline rain light; Lifeline Mirrors both internal and external.

Whether you are looking for a standard replacement or a bespoke design of your choice, we can provide it for you.

Everything from a Gaiter to a complete interior, we manufacture it.

Centrally located in the East Midlands and present at shows throughout the year.

Find us on Facebook for the latest news and products.

Driven Innovation Ltd Complete Interiors start from ÂŁ899. Contact us for a quote Jay@driveninnovation.co.uk

07732 534546

www.Facebook.com/DrivenInnovation

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movies

mini stars in new transformers film ‘Big Tuna’ takes a leading role in the fourth installment of the epic robotic sci-fi movie series; and love:mini grills its owner.

The

Transformers franchise may have gone downhill in recent years, but if there’s anything that will get a flood of Mini enthusiasts through the turnstiles is featuring a classic Mini in the film - which is exactly what they’ve gone for in Transformers: Age of Extinction.

In the recently released 2 minute 30 second trailer for the fourth installment of the franchise, the classic Mini is seen prominantly in several scenes, most noticibly sporting a surfboard on its roof.

involved in the film and what we can expect to see from it.

How long have you been into Minis and when did you first get this one used in the film?

I’ve loved classic Minis since I was a kid, but I guess my obsession really started when the R53 came to the States back in 2002. I bought one of the first ones and that started the ball rolling. People came out of the woodwork to talk with me about my car, especially old-timers who remembered when classics were sold here in the 60s. These guys had some love:mini got in touch with the Mini’s amazing stories about auto-crossing owner, Troy Anderson, from Texas old Minis, and I knew I had to have to ask him about how the Mini got one. I bought my first classic, the Mini

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Transformers screengrabs courtesy Paramount Pictures

you will see in Transformers 4: Age of Extinction, in 2008. We call him “Big Tuna” (a nod to Andy’s irreverent name for Jim on the American version of The Office). Since then, I’ve added 3 additional classics to my collection: a 1984 Mini City that I am converting to rear-engine, a 1978 Clubman, and a 1983 Leyland Mayfair. I’m also the resident Mini mechanic for the Austin Mini Cooper Car Club (AMCCC).

What are the specs of the Mini?

Tell us about your car.

Big Tuna is a 1993 Rover Mini Sprite SPI LHD, and my daily driver. The car was imported to the States from the Netherlands in the late 1990s.

Incidentally, years later, I gutted the

interior to install sound-deadening material and found a few Dutch Guilder coins.

Have you done any modifications on the Mini, if so, what?

When I bought the car, the old rubber cone suspension was stock and long past its prime. I replaced it with coil springs with Hi/Los. I also put in adjustable lower arms, adjustable tie rods and converted the car to all poly bushings. I also put in fully adjustable KYB shocks. I converted the front brakes to 8.4” vented disks with alloy 4 piston calipers, installed aluminum super fins in the rear, and converted all of the brake hoses to braided stainless lines. Since I went with the bigger brakes, I had to get bigger wheels. I went with 13” Ultralights. I fabricated my own Group 5 arches and riveted them on with exposed aluminum rivets.

That was my first time doing any sort of bodywork, and I am really happy with how it turned out. I also gutted the interior, installed sound deadening material and put in a single Corbeau racing seat with a Corbeau four-point

harness. I haven’t done anything to the engine yet, but an R1 conversion is in my future plans.

I did, however, replace the stock exhaust with a long center branch header and an FMF 4 cycle dirt bike muffler.

How did your Mini get chosen to be used in the film?

About a year ago, Paramount Pictures contacted the local MINI dealership to ask if they might have a lead on a classic for the film. The dealer referred them to Dana Noworyta, the organizer of AMCCC. There are several classic Mini owners in the club, so Dana had each of us submit a photograph of our car to Paramount. They ended up choosing mine. I think they liked my car because it was the only LHD car in the group, and that fit well with the exterior shots they had already planned.

I also think that my car looked the most like a car a surfer would drive.

What did you have to do to prepare the car, if anything?

Paramount Pictures didn’t ask me to do anything to prepare the car for the shoot; however, when they told me that someone would be exiting the vehicle on camera, I offered to put the stock seats back in to make it less awkward.

They installed the roof rack with the surfboard that you see in the film, and sadly no, I didn’t get to keep it.

How did you feel entrusting your pride and joy to a bunch of strangers who were going to blow stuff up around it?

It was one of the most stressful experiences of my life. I felt like I was dropping my child off at summer camp.

“I got a call from the set - the mini had broken down”

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PHOTO: Miguel Figueroa

A mini would be an autobot - who could ever think of an evil mini I really didn’t know any of the details surrounding my car’s involvement in the movie, so I really didn’t know what to expect. I knew they would take care of Big Tuna, but I also had a feeling that there might be explosions nearby. To ease my fears, my friends, family and I stalked Big Tuna on the web. Every night, we searched for “spy shots” posted by people who had watched that day’s filming. I remember we would get ridiculously excited when we found pictures of Mark Wahlberg or Michael Bay that had my car in the background. One of my favorites, though, is a somewhat blurry iPhone shot that someone posted of my car in a parking lot, sandwiched between the old Optimus Prime truck and some random armored vehicles. Once word had spread that my car was going to be in the new Transformers movie, people started asking me if I would ever consider allowing my car to be

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blown up on the big screen. At first, my response was a resounding yes! I mean, who wouldn’t want to see their car blow up on the big screen? After more careful consideration, though, I don’t think I could have gone through with it.

What protection did they offer to ensure no damage to your little car? And did it receive any battle scars?

Of course Paramount Pictures insured the car while it was in their care, but I truly started to feel more at ease when the transportation coordinator told me about the other cars that were going to be on set. As for lasting battle scars, Big Tuna didn’t really come home with any. However, I’ll never forget the day that the transportation coordinator called me to let me know that the fuel pump had died mid-shoot. I’m a mechanic, and I know British cars.

When I dropped the car off, I told him to let me know if any problems arose.

I told him that I could either come down and fix them myself or walk him through the repairs fairly quickly.

I was surprised, though, to hear that the fuel pump had died. I immediately started to panic. Of all the problems I had imagined, I knew that the fuel pump would not be an easy fix. The transportation coordinator let me know that they would tow it to the next scene, so that it would not delay their shooting schedule, but that it needed to be fixed ASAP for an upcoming driving scene. I told him I would think about how to fix the problem quickly and call him back later that day. When I hung up the phone, I had an epiphany of sorts. I immediately thought that the problem was likely that the inertia switch had been tripped, shutting off the fuel pump. In the event of a collision, the inertia switch cuts

What was the Mini used for in the film?

From my understanding, the car belongs to one of the main characters, played by Jack Reynor.

If your Mini could transform, would it be an Autobot or Decepticon, and why?

Much to my dismay, I think Big Tuna would have to be an Autobot.

Decepticons would never choose to be a classic Mini. Every time Minis get scared, they leak oil. Plus, c’mon, look

PHOTOS: Jason Hennington

off the fuel pump to avoid fire. The transportation coordinator didn’t mention any accident, but I assumed that the inertia switch could possibly be tripped in the event of an explosion.

I called him back and told him how to reset the switch, and Big Tuna roared to life. When the car started, I really didn’t know whether I should be excited or scared. This was all the proof I needed to know that my little car was seeing some action; however, it wasn’t until I saw the trailer that my suspicions were confirmed.

at it. Who could ever think an evil thought about a Mini? They’re just fun.

You can’t help but smile around them.

Some people let fame go to their head after starring in a Blockbuster, how is your Mini behaving? Just as good/bad as usual or acting like a prima donna now?

I think Big Tuna is probably the same as he always was. He’s always had something of a Napoleon complex, so I can’t really see that this has changed anything. Like I’ve always told him, it’s not how many horsepower you have, it’s how you use them. Now he counts Optimus Prime amongst his closest friends.

Transformers: Age of Extinction JUNE 2014 The fourth instalment of the Transformers franchise sees the action take place four years after the last film. Former lead actor Shia Labeouf has quit the series - some will say thankfully - and in his place is all-round American action hero Mark Wahlberg.

After interest in the films seemed to decline, this ‘reboot’ - which from the trailer looks rather enthralling - could actually be a winner... and not just with classic Mini fans. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubGpDoyJvmI

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Gear

Bits and pieces for your Mini

£770+ eibach coilovers for r58/r59 www. www.eibach.com

Eibach has developed the Pro Street S coilover upgrade for Coupe and Roadster variants of the MINI. Two distinct kits have been created to cater for the differing engine options - and therefore axle weights - available on the car. The units can also accept any springs from Eibach’s ERS range, allowing rates and free lengths to be adjusted to owner’s preference, if required.

Ride height can be adjusted from anywhere between -25mm and -50mm, offering a truly aggressive stance if required, or a more subtle drop if preferred.

Damper rates are computer matched with the springs at the Eibach factory, making the Pro-Street S kit a true ‘fit and forget’ proposition once the desired ride-height has been set.

BMH Catalogue www.bmh-ltd.com

£FREE

The new British Motor Heritage (BMH) 40-page catalogue is out now and fully details the company’s offerings from panels and bodyshells to silicon hoses and retro accessories.

Order your free catalogue by emailing sales@bmh-ltd.com or calling +44 (0)1993 707200.

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Millers classic oil 20w50 nt £50 www.millersoils.co.uk Millers Oils has launched a new, Classic High Performance 20w50 NT oil suitable for classic Minis. The fully synthetic, low friction engine oil has been developed especially for high-performance classic vehicles providing better wear protection and increased efficiency over traditional oils. The new product ties in with the firm’s new support service which will offer classic car owners advice on the oil requirements of their specific vehicles.

“Many classic car owners don’t realise that most post-war cars run just as well, if not better, on modern synthetic oils as they do on mineral oils,” says Nevil Hall, Joint Managing Director, Millers Oils. “We have the task of helping people to understand the durability gains and other benefits that synthetic oils can provide.

The 20w50NT oil utilises nanotechnology in order to reduce overall running costs and extend component life by reducing friction by up to 63%, which in turn provides a reduction in wear by up to 38% compared to other synthetic oils of the same grade. These benefits all

add up to enable classic owners to get the most out of their car, while also protecting their engine.

rimmer bros technical publications dvd £35.50 www.rimmerbros.co.uk This DVD is collection of original technical publications for the Mini dating back from day one in 1959 to some of the most recent issues of technical info.

Included are Driver’s Handbooks for the Mini and its variants through the years, plus parts lists, special tuning data and lists, plus workshop manuals and much more useful information.

verto clutch kit £91.76 www.minispares.com In reaction to the spate of poorly fitting clutches that are flooding the market, Mini Spares are offering two precision engineered 3-piece Verto Clutch kits that you can rely on fitting properly.

The first fits all pre-1990 1100cc Minis up to the change to 1275cc

DSN Front Damper Mounts www.dsnclassics.co.uk These aluminium brackets are a direct replacement for the standard steel items. Supplied with all fixings and Allen key.

Manufactured in-house and available anodised in black, blue, red or silver.

engines and comes with an AP 180mm diameter clutch plate, an AP pressure plate and a release bearing.

Order as part number GCK151MS The second fits all post 1990 1275cc models (carburettor and injection) and has an AP 190mm diameter clutch plate, an AP pressure plate and a release bearing, Order as part number GCK152MS

£75 per set

£19.99 zip-guard www.frost.co.uk Produced by the same company who make the highly rated POR-15 primer, this anti-rust product - Zip-guard - is another move to ensure the dreaded iron-oxide stays off your classic car.

The ZIP RUST Technology encapsulates rusty surfaces without the need for special primers. Zip-guard has been designed to resist the damaging effects of severe weather and provide longlasting corrosion resistance. Such is the confidence in the product that it claims to protect against rust for an amazing 8-years, and can be applied directly to rust as well.

Available in colours green, brown, silver grey, grey, dark grey, black, gold, and copper.

DSN Seat pull knobs £12 www.dsnclassics.co.uk These replace the plastic items on all ‘lock down’ Mini seats. Available in black, silver or black with a polished face.

Again, manufactured in-house at DSN Classics.

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Gear

Bits and pieces for your Mini

SC mini t-shirts £16.65+VAT www.specialist-components.co.uk Specialist Components has launched its own range of Mini t-shirts with illustrations from Guy Allen.

The design image features Specialist Components’ very own Twin Kam Mini and unique wheels, with a company logo on the rear neckline.

Kids t-shirts are £8.99. Colours Sky Blue, Fuchsia (kids); Sky Blue and Grey (Mens); Fuchsia and Swimming Pool (Ladies).

£84 SC S/s LCB Exhaust manifold ww w.specialist-components.co.u k Specia list Components are rereleasi ng their popula r sta inless a steel LCB exhaus t ma nifold. With ds new fla nge shaping, Ma ndrel ben and TIG welded throughout, the item to also includes two Lam bda bosses s allow the fitt ing of sen sors. Cla mp included.

Mini spares catalogue £7.50 www.minispares.com Over two years work has gone into this latest parts catalogue which includes 217 pages of drawings, identification of parts and up-to-date part numbers of mechanical, body and trim parts. It is an essential tool in helping you identify classic Mini parts and also includes useful technical data.

ms two-way brake union www.minispares.com Mini Spares have just released a previously unavailable two-way brake union, as used on the front subframe of classic Minis.

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£21.60 The union can be ordered as part number 21A654 and retails at £21.60 inc vat (£18.00 exc vat for customers outside the EU).

VELOCE SPeedpro books From £17.99 www.veloce.co.uk Automotive publisher Veloce has released two more volumes of its SpeedPro Series which helps the homebuilder enthusiast tinker with their car by providing useful information and knowledge to help make better buying decisions for car parts. How to Choose Camshafts... helps explain camshafts, how to choose one and how to time it in. Available for £17.99 The 96-page SU Carburettor HP Manual is another in the series, this time focussing on the SU carburettors like those used in classic Minis. In here you’ll find more information about getting the best results from your project by using the right parts. Available for £19.99

AC Schnitzer exhaust ends From £249 www.ac-schnitzer.co.uk Fancy something a little bit different to jazz up your MINI’s tailtrims? German auto specialists AC Schnitzer have created these custom designs which will make your car stand out from the rest with some shiny exhausts.

The company claims improved performance and efficiency without affecting the MINI’s signature warble.

The double pipe racing design is available for all 2nd Gen Cooper S and SD models at £249.58, whilst the solo chromed tailtrim fits the JCW models as a pair at £254.11

£97.02 somerford W&P arches ww w.somerford-m ini.co.uk these arches Somerford Mi ni have been sel ling all over for ma ny yea rs and they are known They are the world to be the bes t ava ilable. qua lity gelmade from fibreglass wit h a high nti ng is coat fin ish. Th is ensures that no pai and come required. They fix from under neath , mean ing complete wit h arch to body piping r arches that no fix ings are visible. The rea e a rea lly wrap under the rea r bumper to giv new sets smart look. We have recent ly made rs and the of mould s from the original ma ste results are tru ly superb.

ms quick release rod cha nge gear coupling w w w.m in ispares.com The M in i Spares qu ick -relea se rod change gear couplin g is a di rect replacement fo r the standa rd item, doing aw ay w ith the troublesome roll pi ns.

It comes complete w ith high qual ity qu ick relea se cl ips.

£36

somerford group 2 arches £76.60 www.somerford-mini.co.uk Fifteen years ago Somerford Mini commissioned Bill Wood, who worked for the famous Stewart and Arden Company, to make the moulds for our Group 2 arches. Using an original Leyland Special Tuning set they asked him to improve on the quality and fit (they were very rough and ready). The results were superb. Somerford has now produced new sets of moulds from the original masters and have moved production to a new factory. The fit and finish are second to none and the finish is such that you do not need to paint them. They are supplied with arch to body piping and fixing screws.

VAT SC twin kam arp head studs £109+ ww w.specialist-components.co.u k These exclusive AR P head stud kits have been specified especially for the Specia list Components Tw inth Ka m conversion. The higher streng ns studs are ideal for these conversio and are supplied wit h smaller head nut that fits in place wit hout cam sha ft modif ication s that are needed usi ng sta nda rd item s.

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Gear

Bits and pieces for your Mini

MED Mighty mini Final Drive £210 www.med-engineering.co.uk MED’s latest version of its standard Final Drive that is being used in the Mighty Mini racing series.

If it’s good enough for the Mighty’s, it’s good enough for you.

MED advanced fixing system £90 www.med-engineering.co.uk If secure fastening of your main bearing cap is a top priority then MED’s Advance Fixing System ‘AFS’ high tensile main bearing stud kit is for you. The kit comes with a set of eight specially waisted and centred studs for use with MED’s four bolt steel main bearing cap set. Also included are eight forged ‘AFS’ multi point nuts and assembly lube to complement the kit.

£40 blanking plate p m pu er at w ED M ri ng.co.u k w w w.med-eng inee to move over to an If you’ve decided c mp in you r classi electr ic water pu ing ok ing for somet h M in i, you’ll be lo li ke th is.

omega flat-top 998 piston www.med-engineering.co.uk New to the MED range of Omega pistons is the new forged 998 semi slipper piston. CNC machined from lightweight alloy forgings, the new piston has been designed to be as light as possible, only 325 grams,

£500 including pin and rings, for use with either fixed or fully floating pins and supplied with a set of special wire circlips. Ideal for use with the firm’s Arrow 998 steel ‘H’ section fully floating conrods.

£120 MED k-head steel gasket www.med-engineering.co.uk MED has created a new steel MLS gasket to suit the BMW ‘K’ conversion. The stud pattern has been matched to the BMW ‘K’ cylinder head therefore the gasket is a direct fit. The bores of the gasket are to suit 73.5 bore and the thickness has been increased to 0.051” giving a compressed volume of 5.5cc.

MED Arrow 5.750” conrod £890 per set www.med-engineering.co.uk Working alongside Arrow Precision, MED has now redesigned the Arrow 5.750” conrod, reducing the weight down from 480 grams to 430 grams (inc ARP bolts and bush). The firm believes this is now the lightest 5.750” steel conrod for the A-Series on the market.

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THE NEW MINI. THE NEW ORIGINAL. ARRIVING MARCH 2014.

advert

To find out more about the all new MINI Hatch visit our website at www.bowkermini.co.uk or call your local Bowker dealership.

BOWkER pREsTON

Channel Way, On the Docks Preston PR2 2YA 01772 765995

BOWkER BLACkBURN

Trident Park, Off Whitebirk Drive Blackburn BB1 3NU 01254 274428

Official Fuel Economy Figures for the MINI Hatch Range: Urban 36.7-67.3 mpg (7.7-4.2 l/100km). Extra Urban 58.9-91.1 mpg (4.8-3.1 l/100km). Combined 48.7-80.7 mpg (5.8-3.5 l/100km). CO2 Emissions 136-92 g/km. Figures may vary depending on driving style and conditions.

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Event Highlight

Mini festival

Brands Hatch MAY 11, 2014 Oulton Park JULY 12, 2014 01474 872331 www.mini-festival.co.uk

How

do you improve a popular show that has seen its audiences swell in the past few years? An event that is so jam-packed full of track action, trade stands and club cars that the mind boggle to consider what will trump the previous event.

Yet for the Mini’s 55th Birthday celebrations the organisers of the Brands Hatch Mini Festival, have indeed come up with a new way to make the event bigger and better

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than ever before... have two events!

So, for 2014, it is not only Mini owners in the South of England who will be looking to attend MSV’s Mini Festival, as a second, larger event is to be hosted at the Cheshire circuit of Oulton Park.

The welcome announcement brings a big event to the North, and will hope to attract crowds from the South as well as from as far north as Scotland and even Ireland, just across the water.

With these types of events it’s hard to anticipate what other

entertainment is up the sleeves of the organisers, but from previous events and looking at the calendar, it certainly seems like one not to miss, especially on a special Birthday year. There’s bound to be some secret treats.

The Brands Hatch date sadly clashes with the British Mini Club show at Himley Hall, but with one event in Staffordshire and the other in Kent, hopefully it won’t affect attendance at either show too badly despite the Brands Hatch Festival offering free tickets to Mini drivers.

Upcoming events

VIEW

Dates for your diary MAY

MAY 2-5 Northumberland Mini Splash Dash www.minisplashdash.webeden.co.uk www.cumbriaminicruisers.co.uk MAY 2-5 Riviera Run www.rivierarun.co.uk MAY 3 Back to Downton Brian Whitehead Sports Ground, Wick Lane, Downton SP5 3NS www.dewsc.org.uk MAY 3-5 Minis on the Prom Aberystwyth www.newportminiowners.co.uk MAY 11 British Mini Day Himley Hall, Staffordshire, DY3 4DF www.britishminiclub.co.uk MAY 11 Brands Hatch Mini Festival www.mini-festival.co.uk MAY 17-18 London to Brighton Crystal Palace, London to Madeira Drive, Brighton www.london-to-brighton.co.uk MAY 25 Durham Mini and Classic Car Show North East Restoration Club, 1 Wilden Terrace, Pattinson Ind. Est., Washington, www.facebook.com/durham.miniclub www.durhamminiclub.com MAY 25-26 Motorsport at the Palace www.motorsportatthepalace.co.uk MAY 26 The 3rd Mini & VW Show www.classicshows.org MAY 31 - JUNE 1 Classic & Performance Car Spectacular Cheshire Tatton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire. www.cheshireautopromotions.co.uk

JUNE

JUNE 8 MCR Mini Cooper Day Beaulieu Motor Museum, Hampshire www.minicooper.org JUNE 14-15 Under Milk Wood Run / National Transport Festival of Wales Bracelet Bay car park, Mumbles, Swansea www.ntfwswansea.co.uk JUNE 15 - CANCELLED Normanby Hall Mini Day 07749 536407 www.trentvalleymoc.co.uk JUNE ??

Bristol Mini Day Washpool Farm, Easter Compton Bristol www.bristolminiday.co.uk JUNE 15 Knebworth Father’s Day Festival of Transport Knebworth Park, Herts. SG3 6PY www.classicshows.org JUNE 15 Gainsborough Mini Day www.trentvalleymoc.co.uk JUNE 22 Mega Mini Meet 2014 Lytham Hall, Lytham St Annes, Lancashire Megaminimeet2014@aol.com www.facebook.com/even ts/730934063600928/730963550264646 JUNE 21 - 28 Lands End to John O’Groats (LEJOG) www.smallcarsbighearts.co.uk JUNE 29 Colchester Mini Show 2014 www.colchesterminiclub.co.uk

Event s g n i JULY 6 t s i L k Gaydon BMC & Leyland Show (Previously Gaydon Mini Festival) Gaydon, Warwickshire www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk

clic

JULY 12 Oulton Park Mini Festival www.mini-festival.co.uk JULY 12-13 Scottish Vintage Vehicle Transport Extravaganda www.glamis-castle.co.uk JULY 14 Thames Valley Festival of Transport Stubbings Estate, Maidenhead www.classicshows.org JULY 19-20 Manx Mini Meet www.manxminiregister.com JULY 20 Minis on the Wreck www.brightonminiclub.co.uk JULY 25-27 Cambridge Mini Chill Marley Eternity Social Club , Meldreth, Herts.

07852198529 knowles.madhouse@virgin.net JULY 27 Cheshire Classic Weekend Capesthorne Hall, Cheshire www.classicshows.orgJULY 20 JULY 27 Cotswold Mini Classic Tour www.minifixers.co.uk JULY 31 - AUGUST 3 IMM 2014 Kent showground www.imm2014.co.uk

JULY

JULY 5-6 Retro Run 01458 851591 www.retrofundraising.co.uk

Visit www.love-mini.co.uk for more information on each event and a full list of the year’s events

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MINI Challenge team profile

Oakfield Motorsport THE TEAM

The team is run by Neil Newstead and Steve Cocker from their base in St Leonards and has the benefits of a full workshop facility. They have also recruited MINI race legend Bill Solis as Race Engineer and Coach, supported by Darren Tapp and Chris Lee. Oakfield Motorsport is fully committed to its racing, with an emphasis on being professional and dynamic in everything it carries out. The team has a ‘can do’ attitude, and delivers a service second-to-none.

The team is looking to expand and wish to support other people who wish to race but do not have the knowledge or time to support a competitive car.

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Contact

www.facebook.com/oakfieldmotorsport www.oakfield-property.co.uk

We s

tarted racing in 2011 in the MSVR Track and Team Trophy where we had a successful season driving a BMW 328i. Then in 2012 and 2013 we raced in the BMW Kumho Championship racing an E36 M3 again with excellent success.

2014 sees an exciting new challenge for us as we enter a two car assault on the Maxed Power Mini Challenge Championship.

Although it is a huge change from the heavy rear-wheel drive of the BMWs to the lightweight MINIs it is a great learning experience.

The MINIs are fast and fun and have a great cornering speed and we are excited to get started racing.

This year we are pleased to

have secured sponsorship from main MINI dealership, Chandlers of Hailsam, Oakfield Estate Agents and SDS Builders and Decorators.

It was imperative that we recruited a successful coach and race engineer to work with us, and to ensure we got to grips with all the changes of driving front-wheel drive cars with turbos and slicks, and who better than Mini legend Bill Solis. We have been working closely with Bill to ensure the cars and our driving are as competitive as they can be.

Our first shakedown of the cars was at Snetterton at the end of November, a wet and slippery track but both cars ran absolutely faultlessly, for which our thanks must go to ExcelR8 who built the

THE CARS

Oakfield Motorsport are pleased to be launching two fully prepared racing JCW MINI Coopers into this year’s Maxed MINI Challenge Championship. The MINI Challenge JCW Class is the top class with cars sporting the following features: • 220 BHP 1.6 Turbo Engine • 2 Way Adjustable KW Dampers • Adjustable toe, ride height and camber • Powerful brakes with racing discs and bells • Torque Biasing Limited Slip Differential • Aero kit • Team Dynamics 17 Inch Rims • Pirelli Slick & Wet Tyres The above combine to deliver very high performance with sufficient set up flexibility to allow handling to be tailored to driver preferences.

cars for us. Although the day was, for the majority, wet, we gained some great experience from the cars and what a difference driving a front-wheel drive car in the rain, compared to a lively rear-wheel drive M3.

We hit our local track at the beginning of December and put the cars through their paces, and we managed to obtain some invaluable data. It became very obvious from this that the cars where down on power, and further investigation was required.

Both cars were taken to San Speed at Bexley and put on the rolling road, from that day car #77 engine was removed and had a full rebuild, along with a new turbo from Owen Developments, car #66 had a new turbo fitted as well.

We did more testing at Brands Hatch

in March with the cars, drivers and team hitting targets and car #77 into the 53 seconds. The media day at Brands on the 5 March gave us a chance to get some good testing in after doing some passenger hot laps for the media. As the weekend approached we got the cars all prepared and ready for the launch of the third generation MINI, supported our partners and sponsors Chandlers of Hailsham with #77 in their showroom for the weekend.

A few days later and we were back at Brands Hatch testing. It was a great day, learning more every time the MINIs are out.

We love the new Alcon Brakes.

In late March we took a road trip to Donington, all

set up and ready for the next day.

We absolutely love this track, what a buzz once you are flat through Craner curves, and 100% commitment through the Old Hairpin.

We are all set for our first race at Donington Park on Saturday 25th April, two days of pre testing as well.

Read about how we get on in the next issue of love:mini.

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39

on the PULSE

redesign

CLUBman concept The first of the 3rd-Generation MINI variants to get a makeover.

IMAGES: Courtesy of MINI

Hot

off the heels of the launch of the 3rd Generation MINI Hatch (F56), comes the first of a wave of next generation variants.

It’s inevitable that the launch of a new platform for the next generation of MINIs will slowly see the variants brought up-to-date to align with the new range, and the first of these is the estate model in the range - the Clubman.

These concept pictures were released in March shortly before a hard-copy version was shown off at the Geneva Motor Show - as seen on the next page.

As with the Hatch model, the Clubman has undergone a complete redesign from top to bottom and the transformation looks a lot less boxy, and more rounded than its predecessor, although we’re still not won over by the front end of the 3rd Gen MINIs yet.

The Hatch model grew in considerable

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size in its latest redesign and so has the Clubman - adding an extra 26 centimetres in length and 17 centimetres in width. This of course has given extra space to work with and sit four proper doors to the car.

While the images look rather flashy and eye-catching, and there are still obvious style elements that make it obviously MINI, the evolutionary step this time, in our opinion, makes the MINI less distinctive, and more samey as other modern cars.

Fair enough the previous Clubman wasn’t exactly the prettiest

painting but it was radical, distinctive and quirky - even with that silly halfdoor for backseat passengers.

The split rear doors remain, with a lot of remodelling that sees the vertical edged finish replaced with more rounded doors, bulging lights jutting out from their seating position and a

large plasticky rear bumper increasing the MINI’s overhang yet again.

Head of MINI Design Anders Warming explains: “With the MINI Clubman Concept we are presenting a car with space, flair and style in a segment where the focus is mainly on function and utility. With clever ideas, emotional design and a cool blend of colours and materials, it offers an overall experience which remains unique in this segment to date.”

The split rear doors remain, with a lot of remodelling MINI says: • Four doors and five seats offer plenty of utility space, thereby supporting an active lifestyle.

• Classic MINI design features such as the hexagonal radiator grille, Side Scuttles, the Black Band, short overhangs and elliptical front and rear headlights ensure high recognition value from every angle.

• Length: 4223 mm, width: 1844 mm (not incl. mirror), height: 1450 mm.

• Integrated aerodynamics as an essential part of the exterior design.

• The interior design interprets typical MINI shapes and colours, presenting an effortless and elegant combination of high-end quality and functionality.

• An elaborate colour and material concept in the interior with exclusive materials and unexpected details.

• The Centre Instrument with newly conceived user interface creates an event-controlled interaction space with touch operation.

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4 1 0 2 W O H S R O T O M GENEVA

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First sighting of the new MINI One.

PHOTOS: Newsp

ress

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Showtime launch

bowker mini f56 launch love:mini visits the Blackburn MINI dealership for a VIP unveiling of the new car.

It w

as March 14, one month after Valentines Day, shrouded in darkness, the evening glow of the moonlight was all that lit the quiet parking area surrounding Bowker MINI’s Showroom in Blackburn.

Reflections of the twilight bounced off the gleaming roofs of the polished MINIs all tucked up fast asleep. Was this the right place? Where is everyone? This was meant to be the big launch of the new F56 MINI. Suddenly the blackened door to the showroom opened and walking out

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through a cloud of dry ice we saw a smartly dressed host appear. Walking in there was a flute of champagne on offer and a charming smile before we set eyes on the showroom display.

Hidden away were the desks and variant models, leaving a large open space for two brand new F56 MINIs to stand proudly, dominating the grandstand. Although covered up, the ring of the headlamps glowed through the cloth, and into the smokey atmosphere.

An American retro cocktail bar had been setup as part of a special ‘50s theme. Dealership staff lead the way with their Grease-style costumes of T-Birds and Pink Ladies which certainly caught the attention of some guests. Cheese and pineapple sticks and other finger food had been creatively put on display, with old skool sweets available too. Yum!

A Paul Smith LE was one of two classics.

It was no surprise to see two beautiful classic Minis also on show. One was an immaculate Paul Smith LE owned by a member of staff at the showroom, whilst the other was a tasty yellow number we will be featuring soon. We kept a keen eye on the interest in the Minis, and there was a lot of interest in they yellow classic, with many having a sit behind the wheel.

MINI has always worked creatively with incorporating the classic Mini’s history into its own, and tonight

was no different.

As well as showing the current MINI ‘Dominos’advert, the special introduction video for the F56 went through the timeline of the Mini in each year, and picking out highlights, before the final countdown to the unveiling.

The covers were whipped off and the dry ice bellowed out with lights flashing and a round of applause went round as the host said a little word before guests could get all touchy-feely with the new cars, a yellow Cooper S and white Cooper D. Our first impressions are of mixed feelings, but we don’t want to say too much without properly examining all

Tributes to the classic Mini were evident.

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y dr e th d an f of d pe ip h w e er w s er ov The c ice bellowed out ...

The introduction video looked at the timeline of the Mini.

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... with lights flashing and a round of applause went round

aspects of it. But it certainly looks more ‘grown up’ - and we don’t know how to feel about that, when really Mini owners are just big kids at heart.

Star of BBC’s The Voice, Kiki de Ville was a special guest and put on a live display of her vocal talents covering a range of classics from the ‘50s until the present day. She was very impressive.

Speaking to one guest he was telling me both his wife and his daughter were thinking of getting one, and that he used to own a classic Mini Clubman back in the ’70s. Great stuff.

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guests could get all touchy-feely with the new cars 48

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LEFT: Staff get into the ‘50s theme by dressing up as the Pink Ladies and T-Birds from Grease. BELOW: Jonathan Hedley-Barrett’s classic Mini drew a lot of interest from thr younger guests.

RIGHT: The Voice’s Kiki De Ville sang a beautiful set of tunes.

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Keeping up the Pace

A 600-mile round trip to get to know the MINI Paceman.

The

MINI Paceman has been on sale now for just over a year, but even so, we had never had the chance to drive one until now. With an epic 300-mile journey to Brands Hatch coming up, we thought this would be the ideal opportunity.

The Paceman has always been the misfit of the MINI stable. Ever since it was announced, a question was posed over its purpose. You don’t see many of them about, do you? The Countryman may be considered the ugliest of the MINIs, but it can be argued that it at least has purpose and function, something that is a bit lost on the Paceman.

It’s on the same platform as the Countryman, raised off the ground, with only two doors though and a sloping Evoque-like body and roofline. At over £2,000 ($3329) dearer

than the MINI Countryman, with less practicality you can see why it’s struggling to find a market.

We suspect the market is, those well-off middle-aged women who doesn’t have young kids and want a luxury-type car, but something that is more tailored to their individual preferences and not a ‘man’s’ car - such as the Evoque. They don’t need four seats, but want them in case they take friends out, and the Hatch model is not an option because it’s too small and low. The raised driving position in this case, does give an advantageous selling point.

Drive time

Bowker MINI in Blackburn, kindly lent us their demo car for a couple of days and we warned them we would be clocking around 600 miles on the unsold car. Our loaner was a Silver and Black Cooper SD model.

Looking at the car, we do find it rather stylish despite it not being particularly mini/small. Inside there is plenty of legroom in the front, and as long as the seats aren’t pushed all the way back, there is adequate legroom in the rear too.

The seats are comfy and with a long journey ahead they

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needed to be, whilst the rest of the interior was standard MINI fare with the central speedo, dash and switches. One change that can also be found in the Countryman is the, what we consider, odd handbrake. Coupled with the fact it would butt up against the central armrest made it just seem out of place.

The boot was, as expected, larger than in the Hatch models, and probably just about the right size for a stereotypical Paceman owner. A few bags from Marks & Spencer or Waitrose will fit nicely in the back here, although as with all MINIs, we do question where all the space has gone when the car is opened up. There always seems to be

too much ‘padding’ and plastic body coverings which end up reducing the actual physical space inside the car.

Nevertheless, it was comfy and spacious and I was looking forward to eating up the motorway miles now, instead of dreading them. I filled the tank with £60 of fuel which gave us a nice 400-mile range. Of course this was speculative optimism and the MINI Paceman had not yet learnt about my lead-footed driving style.

Once on the motorway it became clear why these ‘raised’ driving positions are so popular. With the rolling efficiency on new cars at their maximum, it is easy to approach cars in an intimidating manner and once they finally get the message the engine is responsive enough to move you swiftly past by whilst they curse you for their own ignorance of other drivers.

There’s no denying the influence of BMW in the

£60 filled the tank and gave us a nice 400-mile range

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BOWKER MINI Bowker Blackburn Trident Park, Off Whitebirk Drive, Blackburn. BB1 3NU 01254 274333

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ts a e s e h t r e v o d e b im l c y the with their dirty feet engineering quality of the engine and the materials used in the interior. The powerplant certainly has a kick to it that should be enough for all but the speediest of speed freaks, and the smattering of chrome and circles in the cabin gives reference to the extensive chrome parts found on the classic, but that said, we’ve never particularly been fans of the plasticky bits of the body or excessive bulges that most modern cars seem to be constructed from, fortunately the Paceman is sleek and lacking these ‘bulges’ most noticeable on the Countryman.

Practicality-wise, and being the owner of two young children, I took them out for a spin, but instead of waiting for me to move the seat forward for them to get in, they just climbed over the seats with their dirty feet. On exit though they came out from behind the seat, but this, awkwardly, meant I would have to reset the seat’s position everytime I let someone in or out. This reinforces the reasoning for more people opting for the cheaper four-door MINI Countryman, and just occassional rear seat use.

However, I would be travelling alone, and for that purpose it was a great car to use. I had a huge selection of digital radio channels to choose from and could have even put on the cruise control. In fact there were so many options it was all too easy to fiddle too much! There was mood lighting,

data displays with information about fuel consumption, average speed and more. We were clocking a respectable 40mpg whilst travelling at a generous speed along the motorway, and so we were impressed by the consumption considering our driving style.

Cut to the chase

At love:mini we always analyse each MINI model on the what we deem the original and essential Mini characteristics; fun, innovation and space-maximising.

On the fun side of things, we cannot deny it is fun... to a point. It has to be said, that along with the MINI Countryman, the raised platform of both models has reduced the ‘go-kart’ effect that is so commonly associated with Minis, and this very detraction is a critical error in brand continuity. Minis must have that ‘go-kart’ feeling, it’s one of the defining characteristics, but we have found both the Countryman and the Paceman too ‘wobbly’ to give us that reassurance to take corners at speed as most Mini owners do. That is a disappointment.

Innovation-wise, there is little here that hasn’t already been produced on previous models, and aside from the stylish design it lacks the innovation to make it a ‘must-have’ MINI when there are other more practical MINIs on offer.

Finally it is hardly space-maximising, but anyone who is looking for a car like this, isn’t looking for space anyway.

The MINI Paceman is a pure luxury toy car, and its only real redeeming feature is its looks.

It’s sad to say, because it is a lovely car to drive, but it just doesn’t have the Mini character to wear the name. For those with grown-up, or no kids, a lump of £20k and after something a bit exclusive (after all no-one else is buying them), then the Paceman is perfect. And for all the negative sentiment, it has to be said it’s not a bad car, it just lacks the Mini personality.

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High fibre d Lee and Luke Billing got so fed up looking for that special Mini to buy, they ended up building one themselves.

PHOTOS: Laurence Parcens

We’v

e all had those moment whilst working on a project when interest in it dies down, and the enthusiasm to go and get back in to the garage is at a low ebb. It’s not uncommon, but it is at this crucial crossroads that dream projects can be realised or written off as another eBay part-complete.

Father and son, Lee and Luke Billing, reached this decisive moment after being messed around by a local service provider, as Lee explains: “We bought this Mini in 2009 as a 1989 Mini City E, to complete as a father and son project with my son Luke.

The Mini needed a lot more work than we first anticipated so we asked a local Mini expert who basically did nothing in the eight months he had the Mini.

After a while of nothing happening we got a bit fed up, and so started looking at completed Minis to buy instead of building one for ourselves. But we just couldn’t find one that we liked so decided to bite the bullet and find somebody who could complete the project.

We eventually found Endaf Owens at Owen’s Motorsport Fabrication and the Mini was trailered to Endaf’s workshop in deepest, darkest Wales, to start the stripdown. From Wales we had to drive to Kent - which is a

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diet

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the wheels are the only ones in the world

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a colour - this was one of the hardest decisions. We just wanted a grey that had never been seen on a Mini before, so we had a custom mix made.

I then gave KAD a call for the new KAD K4 callipers in gold. We chose Minifins for the rear brakes, a Miglia front end, before painting the rear subframe the same colour as the car.

The engine was next. I wanted to keep the old A-Series but also wanted the sound and speed of my old Escort Something special RS Turbo, so the only choice was to Next were the wheels; we searched everywhere for a different set of wheels have a turbo’d A-Series.

The spec is a 1293 Morspeed engine, for the project but we just couldn’t Morspeed Phase 3 cam, modified T3 find any. turbo, Omega forged turbo pistons, steel Finally, we came across a company rods, high pressure oil pump, updated called Compomotive Motorsport Wheels and they custom-made us a set fuel pump, AP Racing six-paddle clutch, lightened and balanced flywheel, of 7x13 wheels in graphite. Since then, hardened crank, Quaife straight-cut Compomotive has gone bankrupt, so gearbox, KAD quickshifter, Metro turbo the wheels are the only ones in manifold, Maniflow 2.5-inch stainless the world! exhaust, Owens Fabrication engine Endaf then made a custom single steadies, Stage 5 super squish head, wiper conversion. Once Endaf had sorted all the welding we had to choose HIF44 carb, Fiesta RS Turbo intercooler, six-hour journey each way to Curley Specialised Mouldings to collect a carbon-fibre roof, carbon-fibre rear bumper, carbon-fibre flat boot floor, carbon-fibre doors, carbon-fibre onepiece front end, carbon-fibre smooth bootlid, carbon-fibre Miglia arches, carbon-fibre parcel shelf and carbonfibre dash and pod. As you can tell, we went for a carbon-fibre theme.

Avonbar dump valve, Avonbar actuator, MED four-core full race radiator, lightweight alternator, high torque starter motor and K&N cone airfilter.

The end result was 181bhp and 170lb. ft torque @ Jamsport rolling road day.

Once the engine was built up, Endaf fabricated a turbo bulkhead so the engine would fit. Around June 2013, the shell was back from paintshop and the car could finally start to be reassembled. We had aimed to get it ready for British Mini Club’s Mini Fair 2 in September 2013, so we had to crack on.

Polycarbonate windows were installed, then all the carbon-fibre was fitted. We used Force Racing hinges on the doors and F1-style mirrors. We then opted for Recaro Evo8 bucket seats inside and a pair of KAD rear arms fitted to the freshly painted rear subframe. Lightweight rear hubs were next along with lightweight uprights fitted on the front. By this time it was August 20, and we were worried we

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wouldn’t make Mini Fair 2.

As the days passed by we worked hard to get the carbonfibre dashboard fitted with its Race Technology digital dash, suede steering wheel with quick release boss and TRS race harnesses. The suspension consisted of GAZ adjustable dampers along with rear camber brackets and fully rose-jointed on the front. Endaf then made a custom, lightweight 4.5-gallon fuel tank, and fitted it along with a Owen’s Fabrication oil catch tank and washer bottle. In such a lightweight and fast Mini, a Safety Devices six-point cage was a must and it was one of the last things we did before

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the MOT which was the day before Mini Fair 2! If the car failed we would have to wait until January 2014 to show it off. Luckily it passed first time with no advisories, so we both had a 250-mile trip to Stonleigh Park for Mini Fair 2 stopping to fill up eight times each way due to the small fuel tank, Haha!

When we finally arrived we entered the Mini in the Show ‘n’ Shine and the amount of attention the Mini got really was amazing. But when our name got called for the winner of the ‘80s class I just couldn’t believe it! All the time, effort, sleepless nights and money was really worth it.”

the m.o.t. was the day before the mini fair 2 deadline!

Force Racing www.force-racing.co.uk Owens Fabrications www.owensfabrication.com Race Technology www.race-technology.com Curley Mouldings www.curleyuk.com

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I wanted to keep the old A-Series but also wanted the sound and speed of my old Escort RS Turbo

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GeT your mini feaTureD Unlike other magazines, we’re not just looking for the shiniest, most perfect Minis.

We want to hear the stories of all types of Minis, from the dilapidated workhorses of the world to your latest creation - and everything inbetween. But most importantly we want to hear about you - the people and your experiences and most heartfelt moments. Those unforgettable occassions in a Mini that made your heart beat a thousand times faster and bring the biggest smile ever to your face.

That’s what love:mini is all about...

email: editor@love-mini.co.uk

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my mini & me Neal Barden has been through a lot with his MINI, but now that he can afford an upgrade, he’s not sure if he wants to lose that bond and shared history.

I bo

ught my Cooper S John Cooper Works in June 2006, having previously owned an R50 Cooper, followed by a Cooper S. I wasn’t keen on what I’d seen of the forthcoming second generation MINI at that point, so wanted one of the last supercharged R53 JCWs. By this stage of production, the JCW tuning kit was available as a factory-fitted option, together with the JCW brakes.

For the colour scheme, I chose Chili Red with a White roof, as I’d loved this combination on my first Cooper.

To keep the cost vaguely sensible, most of the options chosen were performance-related or cosmetic. I didn’t bother with expensive satnav, gadgets or stereo upgrades; I’d found with my previous Cooper S I spent more time enjoying the sound of the car rather than the stereo, and guessed correctly that this would be even more the case with the JCW! From the factory, I went for the Chili pack, plus body-coloured dash and door rings, red/black cloth and leather seats, and the chrome line interior and exterior. I’d heard good

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things about the JCW suspension, so had this fitted as a dealer extra.

After three months of eager anticipation, the car was delivered just before the 2006 World Cup; as a non-football fan that suited me perfectly, as I could get out and enjoy him on some wonderfully deserted Sussex roads whenever England were playing!

Health problems followed by a redundancy scare at work meant that I didn’t get to enjoy my MINI very much in 2007, but I did get to an event organised by one of the MINI forums at the Top Gear track at Dunsfold - the car still wears his “I was the Stig” stickers from this event.

Fifty Years

The year 2009 marked the 50th anniversary of the Mini, of course, and I wanted to go to as many of the celebratory events as possible.

Following on from MINI United at Silverstone, Beaulieu was particularly special as my MINI was picked by the Mini Cooper Register to represent 2006 in the Fifty Years of Mini display. Once again, he still wears the commemorative sticker for this with pride!

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i could get out on the deserted roads whenever england were playing

Representing 2006 at Beaulieu.

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In 2010 I reached the end of the original finance period. I couldn’t afford to replace my JCW with the Gen 2 equivalent at this point, so decided to keep him and extend the finance for another couple of years.

By this time the original R98 web spoke wheels were in a bad way, the design is prone to corrosion around the polished rims, plus I had some damage caused by a careless tyre fitter. So I started browsing for MINI wheels on eBay, and early in 2011 found exactly what I wanted - a set of freshly refurbished genuine Minilites, fitted with brand new non-runflat tyres.

No one else bid on them, so I got them for a bargain price, and had them shipped down from Scotland.

Once fitted to the car, they proved a revelation - the

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ride quality was so much better on 16” wheels and normal tyres compared to the original 17” wheels with runflats.

In 2012 the finance was paid off, and he was finally all mine. I also got brave enough to take him for some track action, with fast pace car laps at Castle Combe being followed by the MINI to the Max track day at Goodwood.

Facebook Win

I’d won a place on the latter in a Facebook competition, and although most of the day was spent driving cars provided by MINI UK, I did sneak out in mine for one session. I had hoped to do some more in 2013, though my plans to do the Santa Pod drag strip at Mini in the Park, and the LSMOC track day back at Goodwood, failed to come off for reasons I’ll go into later.

He even appeared on TV twice in 2012, firstly as part of the coverage of the Brands Hatch Mini Festival on Motors TV as well as appearing on the official DVD of the event. Then I was invited, along with a few other classic and new Mini owners, to appear on BBC South East Today as part of a promotional feature for the Minis at the Pavilion event at the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill. This involved being filmed driving around the car park beneath the replica Italian Job coach artwork installed on the roof of the Pavilion, and was great fun.

I’ve made a few minor cosmetic modifications to my MINI over the years. For the interior, a carbon-fibre and leather JCW gearknob, bought from John Cooper Garages closing down sale, and a set of red carpet mats from Newton Commercial, for summer use only. On the exterior, Union Jack mirror caps and chrome scuttle vents complete the look. At the moment I have a pair of aero kit side skirts awaiting refurbishment and fitting, plus a JCW strut brace ready to go on.

Keeping the car fairly standardlooking paid off last year. The R53 Cooper S was chosen by Auto Trader magazine as their car of the decade for the 2000s, and they picked mine to take part in a photoshoot for the final

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De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill

the ride quality was so much better on 16-inch wheels and normal tyres

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d n e d i’ g in l e e f y k a e n s a I have o g im h g in t t e l g in t t e up regr

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Posing for Auto Trader.

print edition of the magazine. We made the trip up to Wimbledon for the shoot, where he posed both on his own, and with a lovely young lady called Daisy. As well as the resulting photos published in the magazine, he also made an appearance on the pull-out souvenir poster, and in a video on the Auto Trader website.

Future thoughts

Ironically now I’ve finished paying for the car, I could afford a few more mods, but find that first generation JCW bits and pieces are quite hard to come by these days. Things do occasionally turn up on eBay, but everyone else wants them too...

I’d love a set of red/black JCW Sparco seats, or even GP Recaros, but these go for silly money when they do appear.

On his rear windows, the car wears a collection of stickers commemorating the clubs I belong to and events I’ve been to during the years I’ve owned him. I have thought about taking these off to clean up the look, but so far have decided not to do it as they’re part of my history with him.

At the beginning of August 2013, disaster struck. I was on my way west to Castle Combe for the MINI Challenge, when a deer ran out, straight into the front of my MINI. The car was just about driveable, and I was able to limp home, but I felt sick at the extent of the damage. A few sleepless nights followed, I was so worried that my MINI was going to be written off.

It was a huge relief when I got confirmation from the insurers that he was going to be repaired. I missed all the Mini events in August as a result, including Mini in the Park and my planned Goodwood track day, but after three MINI-less weeks, and £4000 worth of repairs, it was a joy being reunited with him.

In February 2014 I finally got my first proper full track day at Goodwood, thanks to Surrey New MINI. It was great to be able to drive my MINI at speed, and to hear his supercharger screaming around the classic circuit was just wonderful.

I have had thoughts in the last few months about changing my MINI for a newer one, but the problem is, it would take something rather special to replace him, such as a JCW Coupe or a GP2, and both are beyond my budget at the moment. I also have a lot of history with this car, and feel such a bond with him, that I have a sneaking feeling that I’d end up regretting it if I let him go.

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~ Anders Warming ~ Head of MINI Design January 2011 - Present

“I think it’s a wonderful challenge to design a car.”

MINI Space (MS): MINI has made a name for itself as a car its drivers can fully personalise.

We’re curious how you maintain the balance of making MINI at once for so many people and personalities, and yet so universally iconic.

Anders Warming - Head of MINI Design (AW): Well, the issue of customising is exactly that personal relationship that people have with a car. Of course it is a means of transportation, but you can choose it in the colour that really fits your lifestyle, and you can choose the kind of materials that also fit your lifestyle. I think the strength is that we have an array of variants in the car so we make sure that we can have

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the right colour, fitting the right interior. You can have a very lively colour combination or you can have a very subdued maybe blackon-black combination and you still have the same level of high quality design either way.

Mini-60.jpg Adrian van Hooydonk (left) and Anders Warming (right)

MINI’s job is to offer more colour than any other brand.

MS: A lot of people say that MINI has a face, literally - that it looks human, almost with a happy expression. How do you arrive there in the design process? Is that something that’s even thought about consciously?

MS: So, given the variety of colour combinations, how did you arrive at Volcanic Orange and Blazing Red to introduce The New MINI?

AW: That’s a very important issue. Every car has a face but I think MINI has this personal relationship based on a couple of very elementary graphics.

AW: Well actually both of those The round front headlights are a colours were developed with one MINI heritage element that we specific target - to add the very have been developing over the intense colour to the palette. We years, but especially now with the have a lot of very valuable darker headlight having LED technology colours but we needed these two inside of it - [it’s] something even to really stand out, and the orange more special. On the one hand colour really has a reference to a it’s a reference to the past, but heritage of racing - not MINI per also it’s a clear reference to the se - but the feeling of racing a car, technology that goes inside of a and it’s a new colour to the line. headlight. The shape of the grille The Blazing Red is a unique red is also very important to us, so that has a sparkle in it, so in the all-in-all the grille and front right lighting it gives you not just headlights makes up for a MINI the red colour, but also the shape iconic face. as it changes between light and shadow.

MS: Speaking of the shape of the grille, we know that there were Adrian van Hooydonk - Senior quite a few design restrictions Vice President BMW Group Design this time around - for example, (AvH): [MINI is] a car for people US pedestrian law dictates that that enjoy life and like to show it. the bonnet has to be a bit longer.

So among all car brands I think Were there any other restrictions

Courtesy of MINI Space

Havi

ng debuted at Plant Oxford before setting off on an epic world tour through three world capitals, The New MINI. The New Original. proved it knows how to make an entrance.

MINI Space stole a few minutes with Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design and Anders Warming Head of MINI Design, to get the low-down on picking a palette, Britishness and what goes into creating that iconic MINI face.

Every car has a face but I think MINI has this personal relationship based on a couple of very elementary graphics.

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you encountered in designing The New MINI? AW: I wouldn’t say ‘restrictions.’ I think the thing is when you design a car you have actually thousands of parameters you have to work around; ergonomics, acoustics, aerodynamics, how the car sits on its wheels, the balance of the car - all these factors go into proportioning a car and it goes beyond the crash impact as well. All of that is one big composition of elements and that is the true challenge of car design. That being said, at the end of the day there has to be a beautiful car that sits well on its wheels and that’s our main goal.

Black just before - I’m going through several Clubmans right now. The fact is the Clubman is the perfect car for me because on the one hand you have the flexibility in the back of the car, and on the other hand I’m still a fan of the club door on the other side of the car for the kids getting in and out, it’s just perfect for me.

MS: MINI drivers have existed since the ‘50s. How do you think that they’re changing in this decade?

MS: Anders, we know you’re known for driving a variety of MINI. Which are you driving right now and why?

AW: I’m driving a MINI Clubman John Cooper Works right now and I really enjoy it.

MS: What colour is it?

AW: I have it in Eclipse Grey. I had a

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design happening here at the same time. So Britain deals with its history I think very well, and at the same time allows very new things to happen.

For us that is a source of inspiration for every new generation of MINI and that’s exactly what we are trying to do with the MINI brand. Of course you will be able to trace back MINI’s history, but in each new generation - now the third generation - of new MINI, we will add some innovative elements that will make the car very recognisable and modern as the latest version of the brand.

MS: And how does each of you tap into Britishness in recreating the iconic MINI? AvH: Well I think London as a city encapsulates what British design stands for. There is still Saville Row, and there is also some very modern fashion

AvH: Somehow I don’t think that they have changed, and that to me is a strong point of the MINI brand. The original MINI appealed to people young and old, across gender, across generations, across society you would say. The Queen drove one, Enzo Ferrari drove one, Twiggy drove one, and I think that’s still the case. Even with the New MINI I think that the appeal is universal and that’s what we like to move forward with, I think the New MINI does that as well.

A passion for power, or just crazy about classics? Then check out Classic, Performance & Retro!

Get It FREE Every Month At:

www.cprmag.co.uk love:mini

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50TH ANNIVERSARY GALA

Huge celebrations and the key to the City for the Belfast boy that won the Monte Carlo 50 years ago.

Words & Photos: Jon Alexander

It’s

been 50 years since Paddy Hopkirk first won the Monte Carlo rally and turned him into a Mini legend and a rally icon. The anniversary celebrations have been in the making for some time now, and the all culminated with the Paddy Hopkirk Gala, held in Paddy’s hometown of Belfast. love:mini sent along our intrepid reporter, Jon Alexander, to be part of the celebrations and absorb the historical atmosphere.

The day started with an early drive to meet at the Parliament Buildings in Stormont to line up, check-in and put plaques on the cars. If you didn’t have a plaque on the car you weren’t in the

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cavalcade, and you also got a goody bag sponsored by MINI, which included a peaked cap and a MINI bottle. As we were lined-up, waiting to move off in convoy, Paddy Hopkirk turned up, to lead the cavalcade in a replica of his 1964 Monte Carlo-winning Mini.

It was kinda of funny as soon as he was spotted he was swamped with people. I overheard someone say: “Look it’s Paddy,” then suddenly there was a crowd of people around him - it was like watching Obama and his security men. Anyway Paddy got in the Mini to start the cavalcade and you heard over 200 engines start up. It was a great feeling to be a part of it.

Three special cars led the way from Stormont: Replica of Paddy Hopkirk’s 1964 Monte Carlo winning Mini with Paddy driving this; The Shawcross/ Hopkirk Art Mini donated by the Donnelly Group; Chassis number 20 the oldest known 1275 Cooper S driven by Rosemary Smith in the events Ireland from 1965 to 1970.

Other notable cars included: 570 FMO which finished 7th overall in the Monte Carlo Rally driven by Rauno Aaltonen; ORX 707F driven by Tony

Fall Mike into 4th Monte Carlo rally;

and Wood in the 1968 and many others.

As we headed out of Stormont in convoy we had a police escort stopping the Belfast traffic at every junction, so we could flow through the streets.

At Belfast City Hall we all stopped to watch Paddy receive the freedom of the city scroll, from the Lord Mayor of Belfast. As you can imagine 200 cars parking up outside City Hall was some sight to see and as we travelled through the city we saw people’s jaws dropping at the sight of the cars.

After the City Hall ceremony

we had to get back to ours cars and follow Paddy to the Titanic quarter, but there was a treat first for all the cars.

As Paddy left City Hall he had to drive

33 EJB out of the gates, in one way and out the other gates passing the City Hall doors. The Shawcross/Hopkirk Art Mini and the 1275 Cooper S driven by

Rosemary Smith followed Paddy in hot pursuit. so off we rolled in pursuit of Paddy who was being directed by police to

n e h t ,” y d d a P ’s it k o o “L : someone said e l p o e p f o d w o r c a s a w suddenly there around him

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50TH ANNIVERSARY GALA

the Titanic quarter for the final stop.

At the Titanic museum all the cars parked up, and it was quite a sight.

On hand was an auto test display them guys can sure drive their cars!

There was also a massive marque tent up where there were some MINIS on display and Mini Sport had a very nice display there selling Paddy Hopkirk memorablia.

When lunch had finished, Paddy sat

down with friends to autograph items for the public. I was in the queue with a plaque from the car, one of my sunvisors and I bought the Paddy Hopkirk Story book for £30 - it was worth buying it just to get it signed and the money went to two charities SKIDZ and IEF (integrated education fund).

They must have been signing for about two hours solid, and they still

had the evening VIP Gala Dinner to host. It was a great day for me and I think all that went to it enjoyed it as I don’t think you will see that again in Belfast or the likes of it.

e iv r d e r u s n a c s y u g e s e “Th their cars!”

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MSV Media Day MINI Heading to Brands Hatch to get close to the MINI Challenge team.

Challenge

www.minichallenge.co.uk www.mini-festival.co.uk

As t

he start of the racing season draws near, love:mini was invited to track owner, Motorsport Vision’s racing Media Day at Brands Hatch to find out what they have in store for 2014.

Arriving for a 9am start we made our way to the media centre which is situated track-side above the paddock.

The sun was out and we could smell the petrol fumes in the air and hear the cars roaring around the track.

After signing in at Race Control, we wondered down the pit lane to see what was on offer. Our main focus was to be the MINI Challenge cars and to see what treats we can expect in the forthcoming season, but there were also other monsters of motorsport to enjoy too.

But first we needed to eat. Motorsport Vision had put on a prime spread for the gathering journalists with both

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bacon and sausage sarnies on offer, and plenty more. After a long drive to the track, navigating the M25 at rush hour, it was a well-earned breakfast.

The morning presentation began

with MSV Chief Executive Jonathan Palmer welcoming the guests before interviewing representatives from each of the Championships MSV would be hosting. Antony Williams, Organiser of

MSV put on a prime spread for breakfast - bacon and sausages sarnies!

the MINI Challenge and driver Hamish Brandon.

The pair spoke about the growing support for the series and the announcement of a new sponsor with Power Maxed cleaning products. There was also news that MINI Challenge racing will be headlining both the Brands Hatch and Oulton Park Mini Festivals as well as the introduction of the F56 MINI for next year’s (2015) championship.

Back in the paddock it was time for photographs

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and passenger rides. We bumped into classic Mini racing legend, Bill Sollis, who is advising the Oakfield Racing team, and felt the need for a shameless selfie with the lads before going for a spin. Oakfield driver Neil Newstead offered up his passenger seat, and I

was strapped in to the stripped out MINI and we lined up in front of the marshall in the pitlane waiting for the go-ahead.

When it came Neil nailed the accelerator straight in to Paddock Hill bend, up the steep Hailwood Hill

before cutting into Druids Bend, before heading back downhill, quickly onto Cooper’s Straight and fast around Clark Curve and back onto the fast fast fast Brabham Straight and across the line. We took another couple of flying laps around the Indy circuit with Neil speaking through the speeds and gears needed for each turn, before we finished up and pulled into the pits.

As an owner of a classic Mini, I found the drive quite refined considering the speeds we were clocking, and fear was an emotion that never registered, but it was thrilling and certainly had me itching to have a go behind the wheel.

After a light buffet lunch we took time to chat to the drivers and find out more about them and their backgrounds. There is an air of excitement surrounding this season’s MINI Challenge Championship, the drivers can sense it, the organisers can sense it and I can sense it from them.

mini challenge will be headlining both mini festivals

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PHOTO: David Young ABOVE & BELOW: A selection of MINI Challenge cars line-up for press shots and passenger rides. RIGHT: Shameless selfie with Bill Sollis and the Oakfield Team..

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With two Mini Festivals to headline and plenty of ‘rubbing’ to be had, make sure you don’t miss it!

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MINI CHALLENGE

www.minichallenge.co.uk APRIL 26-27 Donington Park Brands Hatch Indy MAY 10-11 Snetterton 300 JUNE 21-22 Oulton Park JULY 12 AUGUST 2 Castle Combe AUGUST 16-17 Silverstone GP SEPTEMBER 13-14 Brands Hatch GP

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Showtime

Brooklands Mini Show Historic race track hosts the first outdoor Mini show as Spring rolls in.

The

UK

DATE March 22, 2014

Location Brooklands Museum, Surrey

Website www. brooklands museum.com

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historic Brooklands Museum in Weybridge, Surrey, became home to almost 1000 classic and new Minis on Saturday, March 22.

Models from 1959 right up to the brand new 2014 MINI Hatch; coded as the F56, were sat amongst each other. Thankfully the weather this year was a lot warmer and brighter than last year which saw windchills of -5 degrees C! Both my Minis were on show with the Portsmouth and Southampton Mini Owners’ Club. My daily driver; Stripes the Indi Blue R50 MINI and my red ‘95 classic Mini Sprite named WinnieP. The club had around 25 Minis on display near to the famous remains of the banked racecourse with a variety of old and new amongst each other.

The brand new F56, third

generation MINI attended courtesy of Barons Farnborough MINI. They brought along a Cooper D and a Cooper S for people to take a look at and to help them get to know the new Hatch. It was interesting to see a dealership amongst a show environment but I personally believe that this is a good idea as it means they are aware of the lifestyle that comes with owning a MINI. It’s great to see the F56 amongst a show environment as they are the next generation of MINI that we are going to see more and more of on the road, but the real test for these will be what

PHOTOS: Mini Madness WORDS: Sammiie Watts

the owners make of how they feel to drive and whether that ‘Mini-ness’ is back.

Driving skills can be tested at this show if owners decide to take part in one of the two Test Hill events. The 352-feet long famous Test Hill is made up of three sections, starting with a gradient of 1 in 8, then 1 in 5 and the top third has a gradient of 1 in 4. Minis of all ages are invited to try and make the climb in front of a large

audience. If this challenge doesn’t appeal then you can experience a part of history by walking along the remains of the banked racecourse which is always swarmed by Minis.

One MINI that caught my attention and left me almost drooling was Richard Davies’ modified R56 Cooper S. The grey and black combination gets me every time as I personally find it such a hot look. Richard has lowered his MINI on Vmaxx coilovers, stretched tyres on 17” Dare RS’ 7.5j front and 8.5j at the rear with 10mm spacers, added a power

flow exhaust cat back, de chromed belt line handles, a JCW carbonfibre bonnet scoop, tinted windows along with the front and rear lights and a Luke tow strap in a pale blue to match the two stickers, to name just a few of his modifications. He has owned this little gem for three years and still has more plans.

These include going even lower and removing the rear seats.

A classic Mini near to the East Coast Mini Club caught my eye, it looked like it had just stepped out a showroom. The owner Carl George

the banked racecourse is always swamped with minis love:mini

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Showtime had displayed the invoice for the vehicle across the back which you could see in the rear window. I loved the fact that he had taken the time to leave this on display as it really did get everyone talking and made us all realise what a fantastic history the Mini has.

To finish off my day, I decided to take WinnieP and Stripes over to Concorde to snap a few shots of them below. We were

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joined by ‘RJ’ who is an R50 in Pure Silver owned by Keith Burton. This MINI has a subtle black and silver styling and packs a punch under the bonnet as it’s been remapped by Lohen with a Pipercross induction kit added too. I’m extremely pleased with the results of this mission as the three of them look good together which is all due to their colouration.

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Showtime

Mini Thunder V Training Mini owners how to handle their cars on the oval track... and then letting them loose.

The

USA

DATE February 16, 2014

Location Thunderhill Raceway, CA

Website www. thunderhill.com

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fifth and increasingly popular Mini Thunder event took place again this March at Thunderhill Raceway in Willows, California, where MINI drivers from across the States (and across the border) came to enjoy some high-speed driving around the twisty circuit. love:mini contributor, Norm Nelson, organises this event which allows drivers of varying degrees of skill to go out on

the track and be tutored by a professional instructor about how to drive with spirit on the tarmac, through the corners and on the straights. With 50 tutors and over 130 participants, Norm says this event has grown to become the largest High Performance Driving Event in the US. It was another bright shiny, sunny day in northern California for Mini Thunder. Considering the track day is in February, considered as the middle of winter and it had been pouring with rain before the event, attendees had been lucky. So far each year the show has been blessed with awesome weather.

With sponsoring from O2 Motorsports in Redding and Niello MINI in Sacramento, the group were able to host a Casino night with dinner and gaming, followed by plenty of prizes the

Photo courtesy of Dito Milian of GotBlueMilk.com PHOTOS: George Marsh WORDS: Norm Nelson, Craig McBeth

previous evening.

The 50 coaches on hand were more than enough to cover the beginner classes and which left some over for those in intermediate and advanced groups to get the coaching they wished. In addition, spectators were given hot lap rides

throughout the day. I’m sure they got a thrill from that with great big smiles on their faces.

Each group got their five each – 20 minutes of on-track action, with no accidents or even any bumps. After each 20-minute session particpants attended classroom sessions for critique and further instruction.

Also on show was the twin-engined MINI - the TWINI - which was on-hand for display and demo drives. This is the twin engine, R53 with 520+ bhp that has been built for the running of the 25 hours of Thunderhill in Dec 2014.

As the event has matured, organisation and limiting group numbers has helped to ensure it has become more easily manageable, which in the end leads to a better experience for those taking part.

50 coaches were on hand to help mini owners master track driving

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Showtime

The sun itself was just waking up.

Indo Mini Club 2nd Anniversary indonesia

Partying Jakarta with stunning Minis.

PHOTOS: Rieza Alvarez WORDS: Stefanus Albert

DATE March 10, 2014

Location Plaza Senayan, Jakarta

Website

www.gettinlow.com

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On a

bright Sunday in March, the Indonesian Mini Club celebrated their second anniversary with a get-together which attracted a large number of Minis, a couple of Jags and lots of interested passers-bys.

The club family bond is strong and with the Minis lined up in age order, Chairman of the club, Mr Indo Mini, or Enril, gathered members in the Plaza Senayan, Jakarta, to start the celebrations with the cutting of the amazing birthday cake.

Around noon, the Minis set off for a convoy before returning to the Plaza to enjoy lunch with inflatable ceremonial candles.

wide and low was the order of the day

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A beautiful range of new and old minis were on show

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follow love:mini Keep in touch WEBSITE

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The love:mini website is a one-stop resource for useful information; such as event dates, upcoming motorsport, Minis for sale, useful articles and other helpful and informative links and tools.

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We welcome any contributions, suggestions and ideas that you think would help improve the magazine for other Mini enthusiasts, so please, get in touch.

editor@love-mini.co.uk love:mini

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Showtime

41st NZ Concours d’elegance new zealand

The Premier car event for classic cars all over the world hosts an exquisite show in Auckland.

Febr DATE February 8-9, 2014

Location Ellerslie Racecourse, Auckland

Website

www.concours.org.nz

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uary 8th and 9th saw the 41st annual NZ Concours d’elegance Inter-club and NZ Classic Car Show held in the picturesque grounds of the Ellerslie Racecourse of Auckland City.

In recent years, the Mini Car Club of Auckland has won the “Best Club display” title, with their imaginative displays, and also members’ driving prowess

in the Gymkhana - known for revving engines, smoking and squealing tyres.

This year clubMINI NZ combined with the Mini Cooper of NZ Register in a display of Mini Cooper and MINI Cooper cars from the past to the future.

Amongst the clubMINI NZ display cars was a 1961 Cooper T56 Formula Junior 1 litre racing car of Ian Garmey, one of two 2010 MINI John Cooper Works F1 WC50 special edition cars sold in NZ owned by Blair Sowden, a 2008 MINI John Cooper Works Clubman of Aaron Martin, an R56 MINI JCW GP car (imported privately as none of this model were sold new in NZ), and guest appearance of “MINI DOWN UNDER” book author Donn Anderson, who was reunited with his previously owned car, a 1964 Morris Cooper S now fully restored and owned by Graham Wing.

WORDS & PHOTOS: Greg Wenzlick

The clubMINI NZ display included a retro-restored 10.5 ft caravan, painted in Cooper colours of BR green and white with 17 inch Cooper S 8-spoke wheels, for the members’ convenience. Other early Mini Cooper and Cooper S models were shown by members from Auckland and Tauranga clubs.

Social life

Valentines Bash sri lanka

DATE February 13, 2014

Location

Sri Jayewardenepura

Website

www.mightymini.lk

Sharing the love with members of the Mighty Mini Club Sri Lanka on Valentines Eve.

The

Mighty Mini Club of Sri Lanka organized a Valentines Bash on February 13, Valentines Eve, for its members at a hotel in the Capital, Sri Jayewardenepura.

It was an event where all Mini fans of Sri Lanka got together for a different reason from the typical Mini get-togethers with conversations on Minis, driving

around in Minis and playing games related to Minis. It was a night filed with love and romance. Giving some extra attention towards the spouses and families of the Mighty Mini Club members, a change of attention from the much-loved small cars.

A live band and DJ kept the attendees entertained throughout the night with a mix of music

PHOTOS & WORDS:

Malinda Sirisena, Mighty Mini Club Sri Lanka

to cater to all age groups. Some of the members children took to the stage to show their talents by singing. Quite a few prizes and surprises were dished out throughout the event which gave an existing element to the night.

A big scrumcaps buffet was also enjoyed my all attendees.

All in all, the Mighty Mini Club members had a very good time!

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Mini run

April Mini Run A charity Mini run to the beautiful Goodwood Circuit attracts huge numbers.

Uk

DATE April 12, 2014

Location Goodwood, Chichester

Website

www.goodwood.co.uk

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A ch

arity run set up by Rob Hadley to raise money for his mum who has cancer, was well received with a good turnout of around 90 Minis.

The road trip started at Goodwood Motor Circuit in

Chichester, with the Minis enjoying two parade laps around the famous track before heading off for a drive to the Royal Oak pub in Midhurst for a raffle and quiz, with over ÂŁ600 raised!

It was two years ago that Rob’s mum was diagnosed with

PHOTOS: Mini Madness

a rare form of bone cancer. She had her femour removed and replaced with a metal rod and a knee replacement. She bravely overcame this but last year she was then diagnosed with lung cancer - which is terminal.

Recently she underwent a major op to remove one of the lumps.

Showtime

Uk

DATE April 12, 2014

Location NEC, Birmingham

Website www.necrestorationshow.com

The

Resto & Rust Show

PHOTOS Chris Wynne Imaging

Practical Classics show gives a masterclass on how to look after your cherished vehicle.

inaugural Practical Classics Restoration Show, held at Birmingham’s NEC on April 12-13, proved to be a hit as just shy of 12,000 enthusiasts attended the first outing which included live demonstrations, celebrity seminars and fantastic restoration displays.

With over 300 cars in various states of repair – from pristine and roadworthy to barn find and project – the two halls were buzzing with the sounds of the 30 clubs working on their cars, with the Triumph Dolomite Club welding and the Jowett Car Club actually building a car over the twodays.

The Practical Classics Live Stage saw celebrity appearances from Wheeler Dealers Mike Brewer and Edd China, motoring journalist and presenter Quentin Willson, Red Dwarf star Chris Barrie, Car SOS presenter Fuzz Townshend and Fifth Gear’s Vicki ButlerHenderson.

The special guests also hosted a myriad of seminars on the Footman James Classic

Car ER stage offering expert advice on buying and selling project cars, planning a restoration and preparing for MoTs. One of the busiest areas was the Heritage Insurance Barn Find display where 25 barn finds from all over the UK had been gathered. The cars ranged from a 1960 Aston Martin DB4 to a Morris Oxford that was barely in one piece!

The team from Leeds City College worked non-stop in the Workshop as they were besieged

with visitors asking advice and getting their hands dirty as they go hands-on tuition.

Dan Nwaokolo, Show Director, said: “The response has been completely overwhelming.”

The next Practical Classics Restoration Show will take place on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th March 2015. www.necrestorationshow.com

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Motorsport Rally:Circuit:Hillclimb:Autograss:Sprint

Russian duo battle hard in the Italian Baja Three-day event sees the X-raid teams secure more top results in the MINI ALL4 Racing Countryman.

In t

he Baja Italy, the second round of the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup, X-raid succeeded in once again securing a top result. With their MINI ALL4 Racing, Russian pairing Vladimir Vasilyev / Konstatin Zhiltsov finished fourth, in the three-day event, while Poland’s Martin Kaczmarski and his

www.italianbaja.it/en

Portuguese co-driver Filipe Palmeiro in the second MINI ALL4 Racing came sixth.

In the 10 generally very short special stages that featured distances of 18.77 or 44.29 kilometres, every second counted. In the end, Vasilyev crossed the finish line just 2:10 minutes behind the winner, Yazeed Al Rajhi,

www.x-raid.de

with Kaczmarski’s gap to the winner amounting to 3:19 minutes, in the end.

“The result is okay for us,” said X-raid Team Manager Sven Quandt. “Both MINI ALL4 Racing vehicles completed the event without encountering any problems whatsoever. Nonetheless, the two Bajas raced so far demonstrated that the Toyotas are very competitive.”

Overall result Baja Italy: 1.

2.

3.

4. ...

6.

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Y. Al Rahji / T. Gottschalk B. Gadasin / A. Kuzmich M. Dabrowski / J. Czachor V. Vasilyev / K. Zhiltsov

Toyota G-Force Proto Toyota MINI ALL4 racing

3h 17m 15s 3h 17m 59s 3h 19m 07s 3h 19m 25s

M. Kaczmarski / F. Palmeiro MINI ALL4 Racing

3h 21m 04s

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Motorsport

MINI domination in the Abu Dhabi Desert

Russian duo leave the competition buried in the sand as the X-Raid MINI team takes home another win. http://abudhabidesertchallenge.com

Russ

www.x-raid.de

ian pairing Vladimir Vasilyev / Konstantin Zhiltsov secured the win in the third FIA Cross County Rally World Cup, with their MINI ALL4 Racing. Furthermore, all the stage wins also were secured by the Trebur based team and four of its

love:mini

five MINI ALL4 Racing vehicles made it to the top 10. Nani Roma and Michel Périn had to retire early as the Spaniard couldn’t continue due to stomach problems.

Vasilyev delivered in extremely competitive and consistent style, over the course of the past days. The

Russian made it to the top four in every single stage and celebrated three stage wins. At the end of the day, he won the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge with a 47-minute lead over Poland’s Adam Malysz in a Toyota. With this success, Vasilyev also leaped to the lead in the FIA World Cup. With 60 points on his tally, he now is tied for the first position in the World Cup standings with Al Rahji.

German pairing Stephan Schott / Andreas Schulz also were delighted with their achievements. They took their MINI ALL4 Racing to fifth position in the overall rankings. The Germans made it to the top 10 on every day and contested the event in Abu Dhabi’s desert without encountering any major problems. Erik van Loon and Wouter Rosegaar, also delivered in fine style to finish sixth, in their first rally with the MINI ALL4 Racing. Only on day two, the pairing that made it to the top 10 in every other stage, was temporarily stopped by a broken accelerator cable.

Kazakhstan’s Aidyn Rakhimbayev, also succeeded in convincing, with his

Final result Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge: 1. V. Vasilyev / K. Zhiltsov MINI ALL4 Racing 17h 10m 19s 2. A. Malysz / R. Marton Toyota 17h 58m 14s 3. M. Zapletal / M. Marton H3 18h 29m 58s ...

5. S. Schott / A. Schulz MINI ALL4 Racing 18h 43m 56s 6. E. Van Loon / W. Rosegaar MINI ALL4 Racing 19h 07m 51s ...

10. A. Rakhimbayev / A. Nikolaev MINI ALL4 Racing 21h 05m 42s

MINI ALL4 Racing. Together with his Russian navigator, Anton Nikolaev, he came tenth in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge – and even won the second last stage.

“We may be really delighted with our achievements in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge,” said Team Manager Sven Quandt. “Vladimir delivered in great style and raced the entire event without making a single mistake. And I’m particularly happy about the fact that “Schotti” succeeded in finishing fifth. He and Andi proved to be extremely competitive. It’s a pity that Nani was that sick so early. He certainly would have been a factor in the battle for the win.”

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Motorsport Aldon Automotive Mini and Imp Cup

Round 2: Mid Wales

Irish pride for Ray Cunningham

Bumper crowds defy the dreary weather to support the classic rally teams in Wales. www.racrallychamp.org

Iris

hman Ray Cunningham made it two wins from two starts in the Aldon Automotive Mini and Imp Cup, which runs within the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship, during the Mid Wales Stages (Sunday 2 March).

love:mini

Words & Photos: Paul Lawrence

Once again, Cunningham and Gary McElhinney (Mini Cooper) were the stars of Category 1 as they saw off a very strong field to take the spoils and maximum points in the Aldon Automotive Mini and Imp Cup. Their pace beat off a gaggle of Porsche 911s, Lotus Cortinas and Volvos.

With 75 registered contenders starting the rally, the Newtown-based event set a new record for the R.A.C. Rally Championship and fans packed the stages to watch the action despite poor weather. The classic Welsh forest stages were made slippery and extremely challenging by steady rain.

The higher than usual entry fee for this event had an effect on the Mini entries and four crews elected not to

contest the rally. That left Ray and his brother Frank Cunningham and Clive King to do battle over 52 miles of forest roads in the area between Llanidloes and Aberystwyth.

Once again, one of the drives of the rally came from Ray Cunningham who had a perfect day in his Mini Cooper S to finish the rally with three

minutes in hand over Clive King and Russell Joseph.

“Absolutely brilliant,” said the Galway driver. “The Pikes Peak stage was something else, particularly on the second run when we came down the side of the mountain: I loved it!”

However, things did not end so well for Frank Cunningham and Arron Forde after they slid off the road in the Hafren stage. Until that point, Frank had loved the experience of driving the Mini on gravel.

For Clive King, just seeing the finish of the rally was good news after his retirement from the Red Kite Stages. He’d pulled together a replacement engine and, though a bit smokey to begin with, it got him round for second in the Mini Cup. “It was lovely to get some miles in,” said King. “We took the air filters off for the last stage and that made it run cleaner.”

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Motorsport Aldon Automotive Mini and Imp Cup

Round 3: Tour of Hamsterley

Cunningham shafted by Mini failure Galway’s second Mini takes the points after Cunningham’s car spits out its driveshaft.

Iris

hman Ray Cunningham maintained his lead in the Aldon Automotive Mini and Imp Cup, which runs within the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship, during round three, the Tour of Hamsterley (Saturday 26 April).

With 65 registered contenders starting the rally, the Shildon-based event was another strong event for the WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship and also marked the opening round of the championship’s Northern Challenge.

However, this time around Cunningham and Gary McElhinney (Mini Cooper) were denied a hat-trick of Category 1 wins with an early off followed by a driveshaft coming out

love:mini

on the startline of Raby Castle. The off-track excursion came at a notorious bend in Hamsterley, but willing hands had the Mini back on track just as Graham Waite’s Volvo Amazon arrived a minute later. Then, on the startline at Raby Castle, the driveshaft pulled out and Ray had to jump out and do a quick repair before starting the stage.

Unfortunately, the clock was ticking and he lost more time.

“We’ve had a disaster,” said Ray at the main service halt. “I managed to push the driveshaft back in and we carried on. I could probably have got back the minute we lost when we went off, but not the time we lost with the driveshaft problem.”

www.racrallychamp.org

Words & Photos: Paul Lawrence

Instead, team mates Ross and Arron Forde duly took maximum points in the Aldon Automotive Mini and Imp Cup for the Galway Mini Centre, using the car regularly driven by Frank Cunningham.

The only scare for the Forde brothers came when the car got beached on the penultimate stage and they dropped 25s while willing spectators manhandled the Mini back onto the track.

The third Mini home was the car of Paul Kendrick and Anton Bird, who were just pleased to make the finish with a steady run avoiding the worst of the pot holes that developed on the second run through Hamsterley.

Motorsport

Mintex MSA British Historic Rally Championship

Round 1: Mid Wales

King on form for HRCR opener www.hrcr.co.uk

In C

at 1 a topsy-turvy day saw Graham Waite and Gill Cotton lead the way with a resounding win over BHRC regulars Dessie Nutt/Geraldine McBride and Clive King/Bob Ward, although the result does not quite tell the full story of a dramatic day’s rallying.

It was actually Rikki Proffitt who led the way for the early stages despite a misfire and a puncture. He

however would retire with a blown head gasket, paving the way for Nutt to take over. However Nutt was also in dire straits reporting, “The whole rear left suspension had given up on us.” Nutt soldiered on, but the everconsistent Volvo pair of Waite/Cotton were quick to capitalize, stretching out a commanding lead over the final three stages. Waite’s day was not without trouble though, “The car developed a

misfire about halfway through stage three, we thought we’d be having yet more bad luck, but then it seemed to cure itself!” Clive King and Bob Ward scored another podium position with an impressive job in their Mini.

Running what King had called an “engine made with bits of this and that” didn’t hamper the reigning Mini Cup winner on his way to yet another solid performance.

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Motorsport

Round 1: Barcelona

Minis miss out in Masters first round www.themastersseries.com

Leo

Voyazides/Simon Hadfield stamped their mark on the Catalan Classic Festival by securing a third category win, this time in the opening Masters Pre-66 Touring Car Championship race of the weekend.

Minis made up the bulk of the Masters Pre-66 Touring Car Championship field but sadly the field lost Greg Thornton's Ford Mustang on Friday when its engine detonated in testing.

Despite the popularity of the Mini, there was no substitute for power as the

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Ford Falcons of Mike Gardiner and Leo Voyazides argued over the lead.

Gardiner led early on until Voyazides powered past him, Leo relaying Simon Hadfield for the second stint who managed to fend off Phil Keen in Gardiner's Falcon.

Behind the Yank Tanks, the Lotus Cortina of Graham Wilson/ Andy Wolfe bagged third ahead of the similar Cortinas of Andrew Beaumont and Nigel Greensall, while Ron Maydon's Mini, hustled along by Rob Hall, secured sixth place and a class win.

WORDS & PHOTOS: Masters Historic Racing

c o L u m n

Clive King Rally Pro

Clive is a long-time Mini owner and veteran of the rally stages, bagging an impressive haul of trophies he is considered one of the best Mini rally drivers around.

PRE-RACE

over, the oil pressure dropped to 5psi. This was r the engine failed on worrying but I needed the first round last a finish so choose to month I have been continue. busy putting an engine together for this Russell was getting the weekends Mid Wales Rally. pace notes spot on, we The 8-port engine had broken three continued over the next pistons, which must have been caused two stages pushing but by detonation, so it`s back to the keeping a eye on the oil drawing board for this engine. pressure.

I had an old 1293cc engine that I had We went into service started to replace the valve guides, and checked the oil which so this was finished and built onto the was right at the bottom of the dipstick, gearbox from the 8-port unit. I have nothing for it but to push on to the finish. fitted twin H4 1.5 SU carbs on a special The rest of the stages went well but long manifold to try and improve the midI was desperately short of power which range power of the engine, this seems to the stages showed up as they were work on the road, time will tell when we muddy, and seemed to sap the power get to the stages if it is any better than even more. At the finish we had won the twin 1.75 SUs. our Class and were 3rd overall I am competing with in the BHRC, but lost out to Ray Russell again for this rally as Cunningham to finish 2nd in Class his normal driver was unable in the RAC championship. to compete, and we did not I need to spend some money on complete many miles on a new engine but cannot afford it the last rally, so I’m looking yet. What I’ve done over the last forward to getting back into few years is recycled the bits the car together. that I had, but I need to find some performance from somewhere.

POST-RACE I still had last year’s engine and We had entered the second round ’box. The ’box needed rebuilding which of the championship the Mid Wales was the first job when I got home. The Rally, this was not only a round of the engine is only a standard bottom end RAC championship but also the British with a race cam fitted, topped off with Historic Championship (BHRC). With an eBay fast road head. This always felt both these championships having their lethargic, so I decided to fit a new cam own TV coverage I registered for the and was offered a Piper 300, I fitted this BHRC after attracting Ashmoors Press and mated it onto the gearbox.

Brake tools to help with the registration Everyone was telling me that I needed fee. This would give us extra TV to change from the SU carbs and on to coverage. a Weber/Dellorto. With this in mind I The first stage was Pikes Peak which purchased a 45 Dellorto complete with is a fast uphill stage and as we started manifold - the only trouble was I needed the stage, the replacement engine felt to cut the bulkhead to fit it. poor, with an oil trail following us. At John Brooks who rallies a quick Mini, the end of the stage, as the car ticked offered me the loan of his split Webers

Afte

to try, as he had completed some testing with a super short manifold for a single 45 Weber, and currently had that fitted on his car. This set up had shown the same horsepower with both setups.

I fitted the splits and fired the engine up and took it for a run. The new cam had nothing under 3000rpm, I couldn’t drive it on the road without dropping the clutch at over 4000rpm. When on the cam the car flew, but was undrivable.

Back home I fitted the SUs back on to see if there was any improvement, sadly not, but after changing the dizzy I felt I could cope with it on a rally, just.

I had entered the second round of the BHRC the Rally North Wales which was due to run at the beginning of April which would had been a good test for the engine, but sadly was cancelled. The next round for both championships are both on the Scottish borders and I was not planning to compete on these.

I need to sort the car first and have ordered a single 45 manifold, hopefully I will test all the different setups to find the best.

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Round 1: Castle Combe

Reigning champ Deviny still top

WORDS: Mark Chandler PHOTOS: www.mbracephotography.co.uk

Howard’s Day welcomed the Mini7 Club to Castle Combe for Rounds 1 and 2 of the 2014 Dunlop Mini 7 Championship supported by Mini Sport. www.mini7.co.uk

Andr

ew Deviny took the first win in a 17-car grid, with Spencer Wanstall and Matthew Gleave joining the grid for the first time and Jabez Dyer returning to the Se7ens after a two year break.

Gareth Hunt took pole with a 0.172 second lead from Andrew Deviny and Ashley Davies 0.634 seconds behind that.

A speedy start from Hunt saw Deviny brake late into Quarry in hot pursuit.

Darren Thomas makes an impressive five place jump to take second, with Hunt pulling off after his engine ‘grenades itself’ allowing Deviny to take the lead at the end of lap one. The race is an impressive four car train with lots of swapping of places.

Darren Thomas makes inroads on Deviny who puts himself on the grass at Camp allowing Thomas to take the lead and pull away at Bobbies. Deviny then finds himself under pressure from Ashley Davies and Graeme Davis but a

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lap later Deviny catches up and retakes the lead from Thomas into Camp.

Thomas remains determined and stays right with Deviny. Elsewhere, Jabez Dyer, Shaun Tarlton and Malcolm Keat all pull off, while Ian Deviny and Ross Billison battle over fifth with Kieren McDonald getting involved too.

Lap seven sees Darren Thomas take the lead out of Quarry, Deviny looks for a way back through but out brakes himself at Tower allowing Thomas to increase his lead. Deviny hammers the Mini and is quicker up Avon Rise and slips up to, and past, Darren to retake the lead.

Outbraking himself at Bobbies on lap eight Darren Thomas loses two places shuffling the pack to allow Andrew Deviny to lead, with Davis and Davies following. Thomas sounds like he might have done some damage falling right back before eventually pulling off.

Thomas’ exit really allowed Ashley Davies to put the pressure on leader Deviny at Tower before going side-by-

side at Avon Rise but he couldn’t quite make it stick dropping into second and finishing 0.119-seconds behind Andrew Deviny with Graeme Davis 2.134-seconds behind for third.

Ross Billison was winning the battle for fourth ahead of Ian Deviny and Kieren McDonald.

Ian Deviny had a great race coming first in the S class race also getting fastest lap with a 1.28.242, with Kevin O’Shea coming second.

Darren Thomas can take some comfort in taking the fastest lap on lap two with a 1.26.226.

RACE 1 RESULT – 10 LAPS 1 1 Andrew Deviny 2 5 Ashley Davies 3 22 Graeme Davis 4 49 Ross Billison 5 90 Ian Deviny 6 88 Kieren McDonald

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Round 1: Castle Combe

Wheeler of fortune as Smith breaks

WORDS: Roy Sisley PHOTOS: www.mbracephotography.co.uk

Dan Wheeler marked his Miglia return with a hard earned victory as he fended off the www.mini7.co.uk racelong pressure being applied by his pursuers.

A he

althy twenty two car entry assembled for the opening round, which included six entries in the Mini-7 Classic class, most notable of which were past champions Ian Curley and Bill Sollis. Aaron Smith captured pole with a 1.18.858 lap, despite only managing to complete four laps, before a gearbox failure prompted him to pull off and become a notable non-starter, leaving Dan Wheeler as the sole occupant of the front row in Peter Baldwin’s title-winning car.

Wheeler was quickest off the line to lead Kane Astin and Richard Casey into Folly, Niven Burge briefly held third before Casey regained the place, as Tony Le May and Dave Drew tagged themselves on to the six-car train disputing the lead. Astin went ahead of Wheeler along Farm Straight on the third lap, only for Wheeler to regain the lead yards later at Old Paddock Bend.

Ian Curley was heading the Classic class from Steve Jones, with the lone Invitation class entry Gary Warburton close behind. Burge dropped back into the grasp of Colin Peacock and Rupert Deeth prior to retiring at the end of lap three. Astin once again snatched the lead with his inside line into Tower Corner on the fifth lap, which was quickly reversed as Wheeler fought back to hold on to his advantage. Further back, Paul Simmonds had his hands full defending ninth from the pursing trio of James Coulson, Rob Howard and Phil Harvey. Drew found a way past Astin into second a lap later as the lead scrap reverted to being a sextet with the arrival of Deeth, who after only qualifying fifteenth, was charging up to a more normal race position. Le May and Casey were both demoted as Deeth rose to fourth on the seventh lap. The lead of the Classic class was still in the capable hands of Curley,

who now had Tim Stanbridge as his nearest challenger. Sam Summerhayes’ race came to an end at The Esses, prompting the use of the yellow flag to enable his car to be moved to safety.

The closely bunched quartet disputing third saw their order rejigged following the passing of this section on the penultimate lap, as Deeth now held third from Le May, Astin and Casey.

Deeth climbed to second on the final lap, with Wheeler’s winning margin being a slender 0.287 of a second at the chequered flag, as Deeth also claimed the fastest lap as he rose up the order.

RACE 1 RESULT – 10 LAPS 88 Dan Wheeler 1 2 23 Rupert Deeth 29 Dave Drew 3 4 69 Tony Le May 5 11 Kane Astin 37 Richard Casey 6

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Round 2: Castle Combe

FINAL CORNER, FINAL TUSSLE

WORDS: Roy Sisley PHOTOS: www.mbracephotography.co.uk

Another racelong dice was finally resolved at the final corner, as Darren Thomas overcame his race long pursuers Andrew Deviny and Ashley Davies. www.mini7.co.uk

Thre

e drivers were unable to take up their places on the grid, Gareth Hunt was absent from his front row slot, along with Malcolm Keat and Matthew Gleave.

Andrew Deviny led off the line with Darren Thomas closely tracking him as they ascended Avon Rise, before racing side by side into Quarry, where Deviny’s inside line ensured that he remained in the lead. Ross Billison, Graeme Davis, Ian Deviny and Ashley Davies were right on the tail of the lead duo. Davis rose to third, as Davies and Billison went side by side into Quarry on the second lap. Ian Deviny’s attempts to remain in touch with the leading group led to him running wide exiting Tower Corner and hitting the barriers, which left his car in an exposed position, and requiring a safety car intervention.

Andrew Deviny appeared to have made a break as the race resumed, but his pursuers were quickly on his tail again. Thomas produced an outside

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swoop at Bobbies to grab the lead, with Davies also slipping past Deviny, relegating him down to third on the eighth lap. Davies then used the outside line through Camp Corner a lap later to propel himself past Thomas into the lead. Deviny had his mirrors full of an advancing Davis, and Billison held a narrow advantage over the dicing duo of Spencer Wanstall and Kieren McDonald.

Following Ian Deviny’s demise, Shaun Tarlton headed the S-Class ahead of Kevin O'Shea, who was recovering from a grassy moment at Quarry on his seventh lap.

Thomas and Davies were virtually side by side as they raced down Westway towards Camp Corner on the final lap, where slight contact sent both cars sideways; Thomas kept his momentum and continued to take the chequered flag still sideways, Davies’ car had stalled in the middle of the corner, enabling Deviny to sail past and claim second.

Davis opted for the outside line

around Davies, which gave the quickly closing Wanstall the opportunity to take the clear inside line to pip him to the chequered flag and secure the final podium position. Billison’s premature retirement on the penultimate lap allowed McDonald and Leon Wightman to claim the remaining top six positions.

Davies got his car fired up to cross the line in tenth, just behind S-Class winner Tarlton. Thomas recounted those dramatic final laps on the mic, together with Andrew Deviny, whilst Wanstall was delighted to have secured his first podium finish in only his fourth race. A cracking start to what already has the makings of another thrilling season.

RACE 2 RESULT – 10 LAPS 1 4 Darren Thomas 2 1 Andrew Deviny 3 73 Spencer Wanstall 22 Graeme Davis 4 88 Kieren McDonald 5 10 Leon Wightman 6

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Round 2: Castle Combe

DISCIPLINED KANE TAKES CHARGE

Kane Astin led from the front to secure victory in a restarted second round of the challenge.

Aaro

n Smith had resolved his gearbox problems to take his place on the front row of the grid. Bill Sollis took over from Nick Paddy in their classic Cooper S, which they were sharing. Rob Howard and Steve Jones were initially non-starters after experiencing problems in the opening round.

Aaron Smith led off the line ahead of Dan Wheeler, as the field surged into Quarry, where a coming together between Wheeler and Niven Burge on the exit of the corner led to Burge’s car spearing off into the barriers, bringing out a safety car intervention, which lasted for one lap, before the race was red flagged at the conclusion of the second lap to enable Burge’s car to be moved to safety.

Rupert Deeth and Paul Simmonds both non-started the restarted race which would be over the full ten laps.

The additional time allowed both

Howard and Jones to repair their cars and take their place on the grid.

Wheeler was quickest off the line from Kane Astin, with Aaron Smith pulling off immediately after the start into retirement. Astin went ahead at Quarry on lap two before Wheeler regained the advantage at Folly a lap later, which he only managed to keep for a few hundred yards before Richard Casey slipped past at Quarry.

On the same lap Bill Sollis overtook Ian Curley to lead the Mini-7 Classic class, although he was unable to draw away, as Curley kept in close contact for the remainder of the race.

Astin returned to the head of the field at Quarry on the fourth lap, with the lead dice now consisting of seven cars involving Astin, Casey, Wheeler, Dave Drew, Tony Le May, James Coulson and Colin Peacock.

Drew and Le May both made upward progress, passing Wheeler and putting pressure on Casey’s hold on second.

WORDS: Roy Sisley PHOTOS: www.mbracephotography.co.uk www.mini7.co.uk

Astin had opened up a slim lead which he was able to maintain. Sollis was still heading the Classic class, with Gary Warburton (Invitation class) now ahead of Curley, as the three of them continued to circulate in close company.

The second place scrap became even more fraught after Wheeler and Casey touched at The Esses on the penultimate lap, enabling Le May and Drew to establish themselves to the remaining podium positions.

Astin took the chequered flag by a 1.7 second margin from Le May and Drew, with Wheeler, Coulson and Casey completing the top six finishers.

RACE 2 RESULT – 10 LAPS 1 11 Kane Astin 2 69 Tony Le May 29 Dave Drew 3 4 88 Dan Wheeler 5 47 James Coulson 6 37 Richard Casey

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Motorsport

MINI Challenge

Round 1: Donington Park

Donington delight as Caudle and Stoney shine Luke Caudle and Shane Stoney stamped their authority on the opening rounds of the Power Maxed MINI Challenge at Donington Park.

WORDS: MINI Challenge PHOTOS: David Young www.minichallenge.co.uk

Luke

Caudle ended his year-long wait for a Power Maxed MINI Challenge victory by coming out on top of a frantic first outing at Donington Park. Shane Stoney picked up where he left off last year with a dominant victory in the Cooper Class.

Qualifying took place on a largely dry track, but an early morning shower left anywhere off the racing line treacherously greasy. That led to an interesting range of approaches for the R56 JCW field.

Perhaps happiest of the grid was returning champion Chris Knox.

He’d only driven his R56 for the first time the day before the first race and was lacking mileage against the competition. He banged in a time good enough for pole on just his third

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flying lap before traffic came into play.

“The balance is all over the place,” said Knox. “I’m surprised I got pole as we’ve had not time to fine-tune any setup or anything. I’m actually not that confident for the race was we haven’t done a long run yet.”

MINI debutante Simon Quinn was the surprise of the session. The exrallycross racer thrived in the tricky conditions and lined up second in the ex-Chris Smiley title-winning car.

Behind him Caudle started third. He tried a new handling balance and wasn’t happy with it and knew there was extra pace to come… and he wasn’t lying.

That extra pace arrived just as scheduled for the opening race. When the lights went out Quinn got a bad getaway, getting too much wheel spin

as he tried to power away. It opened the door for Caudle to dive behind Knox into Redgate as Lawrence Davey, who had started fourth after qualifying on a “not quite wet, not quite dry” setup, followed him through.

Knox’s predictions about his unknown race pace also came true. The Scotsman struggled to ward off Caudle and Davey and soon the top four ran as one down the Craner Curves. Knox lost boost out of the Old Hairpin on lap three, opening the door for Caudle and Davey to skip past into McLeans. “I just had no power, there’s no boost,” he said. “It would come and go intermittently. It was like the car was on it one lap and then not the next. It didn’t seem to have any go on the straights.”

Things got worse when Quinn attacked a few laps later into Redgate.

some changes to settle the handling down and it felt perfect all race. The front tyres were maybe struggling a bit at the end as I was pushing so hard at the start, but they stayed with me. It’s been over a year since I last won a race so this is the best possible start.”

The Cooper Class produced some stunning battles up and down the order, but nobody could get close to overall Challenge champion Stoney.

Gideon Cresswell starred in qualifying. He’s had a new car built after struggling with mechanical issues with his 2013 steed, and made the most of it to secure pole. Stoney was second, but felt his best laps were hindered by traffic. The weekend didn’t start so smoothly for Josh Gollin. A brake issue into Roberts meant he clipped the sausage kerb before bouncing into the wall. The resulting damage left him starting fourth.

When the lights went out Stoney got the better launch and ran around the outside of Cresswell into Redgate. “I saw Shane coming and gave him room, but it probably was a mistake as it compromised my exit,” said Cresswell, who could only watch the Coastal car tow clear as Stoney got better traction.

Stoney pushed hard, forging a five-second gap while Cresswell concentrated on an intense fight with Gollin. A brake fluid change fixed his earlier issue and he was on allout attack. He and Cresswell traded second place repeatedly all race. Twice they ran side-by-side into the Roberts chicane, once when Gollin was forced to bounce over the kerb again to avoid was nothing I could do, and it may Knox saw him coming and closed the clipping the ExcelR8 car. On the final door, just as Quinn’s brake pedal went have cost me a podium.” Brandon held on to fourth as Newstead cruised to the lap Cresswell drafted up to Gollin’s to the floor. bumper and dived inside, but went in final podium spot.

“I couldn’t slow the car down, there too hot, allowing Gollin to drag ahead was nothing there,” said Quinn. “I tried Ahead, Caudle was gradually easing to the line by just 0.050s. to avoid Chris, but had nowhere to go.” clear from Davey, and was handed “What a race that was, it was such The pair collided at the apex, with Knox a larger gap when Davey lost boost hard work,” said Gollin. “I was lacking beaching in the gravel. Quinn continued momentarily out of Coppice. “The some straight-line speed as my engine engine just blipped and Luke got with bodywork dragging behind him. is a bit tired in this car. The fight with The demise of those two put the fight probably half-a-second on me,” said Gideon was intense and it was heartfor third between Hamish Brandon, Neil Davey. “I’ll check the turbo pipe to in-mouth stuff into the chicane for the Newstead and Mark Steward. The three see if we’re losing any pressure. It’s final time.” lapped within inches of each other until a shame as the car was coming on A terrific four-car fight for fourth Newstead found a slender gap to depose towards the end and I had more grip place was settled in the favour of Mark Brandon. The Scot then had a run-in than ever.”

Wakefield after he emerged from a scrap Davey managed to erode the gap with a Cooper into Roberts, which put with Simon Walton, Adrian Norman and down, until pushing too hard at Steward all over his bumper. “I though Grace Williams. Series debutante Matt the Cooper had seen me coming and Redgate and a grassy moment sealed Hammond had impressed by qualifying the win for Caudle. “It’s been a long was giving me space,” said Brandon, third but was forced to retire with “so I went inside but he turned in. I feel wait for one of these trophies,” he really bad for what happened but there smiled. “The car was brilliant. We made a smoking car and oil sump problem.

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Motorsport

MINI Challenge

Round 2: Donington Park

Davey duels with Caudle for the win

Stoney outclasses the pack for a second Cooper Class triumph.

Caud

le and Stoney both doubled up in round two at Donington, but both were made to work extremely hard in a race decided by fractions of a second.

Caudle’s victory in race one handed him pole for the second outing, with rival Davey alongside. And if the fans were denied an epic fight by Davey’s engine blip earlier, the pair’s scrap for honours more than made up for it this time around.

Caudle got a good start to head Davey into Redgate for the rolling start as Newstead held off early pressure from Brandon and Mark Steward. Caudle

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tried desperately to pull an early gap but Davey wouldn’t give him more than a few inches and repeatedly latched onto the leader’s bumper after grabbing a tow down the pit straight. Caudle was given a brief reprieve by a mid-race safety car called to clear the beached cars of Chris Stoney at the Old Hairpin and Martin Poole at Roberts.

Caudle got a good restart to forge a gap but things again got close when the pair hit traffic. “There are so many extra Coopers now that it make handling the traffic a big difficulty in the races,” said Caudle, who managed to keep a hold of his lead as he picked off the lapped cars. But one small delay

WORDS: MINI Challenge PHOTOS: David Young www.minichallenge.co.uk

into McLeans put Davey right back on his tail with just seconds to go. Davey bided his time and made a dive inside Caudle at McLeans on what he thought was the last lap, but he led across the start line with just three-seconds remaining.

“I was ticking the laps off in my head and thought I’d wait until the last as I was faster than Luke in the tow,” he said. “Turns out I went a few seconds too early…”

Davey led over the line but Caudle’s strong exit from Roberts put him inches behind and he made a dive inside at Redgate as Davey tried to defend. “I was two wheels on the white line on

the inside, hardly the best racing line for that corner but I knew I had to make it stick,” said Caudle after scraping back ahead and taking his second win of the weekend. “It was such a tight race and credit to Lawrence he was incredibly fast. That was one of the best and cleanest races I’ve had for ages.”

Newstead was a lonely third after battles raged behind him. Brandon’s early pressure faded when he mysteriously began to lose power down the straights. “The engine was getting pretty hot so whether it’s temperature related we’ll have to look at it,” he said.

That made him a sitting duck for both Quinn and Knox. Knox’s engineers

changed some settings for race two but he still complained of a lack of grunt in a straight line and was forced to settle for fifth behind race one rival Quinn. The Irishman was having his own adapting to do: “We changed to a different spec of brake calliper after race one and these ones use a different pressure,” he said. “I was stamping on the old brakes to get the car slowed but if you do that with these they tend to snatch. I was learning every lap.”

Brandon was sixth ahead of Steward, Henry Duprey, Chris Russell and Steve Cocker.

Two strange incidents settled a much tighter Cooper Class race in the favour

of Shane Stoney.

Gollin led the chase from the start and was never more than a second away from the leading Coastal Racing car, until a strange engine issue cropped up. “The car started fine and I was faster than Shane on the straights, then he began inching away from me every lap,” he said. “I noticed the engine temperature rising so I switched on the fan and it went down. Then it crept up again and eventually died completely on the start-finish straight. I switched it off and on again and it re-fired, but by that time everyone had passed me.”

Gollin wound up sixth at the flag. Gideon Cresswell should have inherited the runner’s up spot, but for his own odd moment after the safety car restart. “I thought I’d kept enough heat in my tyres but clearly not as I lost it when I booted the throttle into Roberts for the restart,” said Cresswell after spinning to the back of the pack.

“The car had no grip for almost a lap, but came back to me after that.”

With Stoney out on his own, Ricky Page produced a stunning drive to finish second. Page didn’t drive in race one. Originally he was ruled out with an Achilles injury but got doctors’ permission to take part for race two – albeit with a plastic cast on his left foot. “It’s a bit cumbersome but I’m not in any pain when I’m on the clutch,” he said. “I arrived at 1am last night after watching live timing at home on Saturday. I want to win this championship so I just had to race and the car was perfect.”

Page’s run up to second place was remarkable. Hammond recovered from his engine issue in race one to claim a maiden podium place after deposing Simon Walton late on. “It’s a dream to be on the podium in my first weekend, and especially after all the hard work the team had after the problem yesterday,” he said. Cresswell fought back to fifth behind William Phillips, who survived his own grassy moment after running wide at Roberts. Gollin was sixth ahead of Walton, Wakefield and Grace Williams, who finished the race with front-end damage after an early tangle.

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Motorsport

MINI Challenge

Round 3: Donington Park

Knox steals the show in round 3

Cooper Class hat-trick for Shane Stoney puts him top of the pile.

Knox

managed to salvage a silver lining from an otherwise cloudy weekend by triumphing in the final outing, but Caudle’s second place gives him a superb start to the campaign. Even better, however, was Stoney who completed his dominant Cooper Class weekend.

Knox’s team traced his lack of pace to a fuel flow sensor after race two.

The squad mended the problem, but perhaps what was more beneficial for the Scotsman was the weather. The

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heavens opened just before the race and soaked the circuit, which masked most of Knox’s mechanical issues.

Caudle picked ball number eight out of the bag after race two, placing Henry Duprey on pole ahead of Steward, Knox and Brandon. When the lights went out Duprey couldn’t find any traction and was demoted into third before the field got to Redgate. Steward was first through, followed by Brandon. Steward couldn’t keep pace and gradually slipped back to sixth.

Brandon fought hard to get past Steward but the leader’s defence

WORDS: MINI Challenge PHOTOS: David Young www.minichallenge.co.uk

bunched up the grid and Knox took advantage by breezing up the inside of both into Redgate on lap two to assume the lead. Caudle was doing his best to follow him, as was Davey. The ex-Legends racer loves the slippery conditions and managed to run around the outside of McLeans to nab second.

He tried it again at Coppice but contact with Knox left him skipping over the grass and dropped him to ninth.

Knox gradually pulled clear as Caudle fought his way into second by lap four.

But by the time Caudle had managed to slip past Brandon, Knox had a four-

second gap and was comfortable. His win was cemented when Chris Russell, who had run a fine third early on, beached at Roberts. The safety car was called but with just four minutes to go, the race was red flagged and the result declared.

“The car handled spot on for the first time this weekend,” Knox smiled. “The wetreally helped as it masked a lot of our problems. The car isn’t quite right.

The changes helped but it still feels a bit sluggish under acceleration. It’s great to get a win and we’ll see what we can do if we come back for the next

“It’s amazing to get my first podium, even if Lawrence got to collect the trophy!” said Brandon. “I’m gutted to lose third on count back, but it’s still been a top weekend and we’ve shown our pace,” added Davey. “Things look good for the rest of the year.”

Newstead took fifth ahead of Steward, Kevin O’Connor, Keith Issatt and Alan Taylor. Duprey wound up tenth. Quinn was in the fight for the top five, until a big off at the Craner Curves caught him out. “I was running wet tyres on a dry setup as we only changed in the collecting area,” he said. “The car was sliding so badly but I held it every time, except that one. It was a biggie.” Quinn was forced to pit after losing half of his front bumper skipping over the grass.

He finished 11th Stoney completed his clean sweep of the Cooper Class with ease, despite the testing conditions.

Stoney started eighth but was up into third by the time the pack ran into Redgate. He then chased down early leader Cresswell and Simon Walton, snatching the lead with a neat cutback into Redgate. “I got on the slippery kerb at Roberts and lost some speed,” said Cresswell, “Shane had too good a run on me, I tried to defend but he was past.”

Once he was in front, Stoney soared clear to take his third win by a clear five seconds. “It’s been a perfect weekend,” he said. “Last year we really struggled in the wet, mainly with knowledge of what to change and how to get the best of the tyres. We know that now so our big weakness is sorted.”

Cresswell was left to stave off Gollin for second, which he did by five seconds. “The race was pretty eventful, it was just about hanging on. Second is still a good result,” he said. “It’s a long season and I’ve banked some good round.” points this weekend.”

“This has been an awesome Gollin added: “I think we ran our weekend,” said Caudle. “I waited a year for a single win, now I’ve got two and a tyre pressures a bit high as the car was mega at the start but we really second place. I couldn’t have hoped for struggled toward the end when it a better start. started to dry and I was quite hard on It’s all down to the team. We’ve the fronts.” worked so hard to get the car perfect Grace Williams took a fantastic fourth and it was flying.” place, her best ever result in the MINI Brandon managed to hold on to third place, despite a massive slide at the Old Challenge. Hammond was fifth ahead of Page, who struggled more in the wet.

Hairpin. Davey did manage to wriggle Walton was seventh after a five-second into third briefly at the end, but the order was reversed at the red flag with penalty for overtaking under yellow flags. results being done from a lap earlier.

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motorsport Track action

MIGHTY & SUPER MIGHTY MINIS www.mightyminis.co.uk

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APRIL 5-6 Silverstone Int. MAY 10-11 Brands Hatch JUNE 7-8 Zolder JULY 5

Oulton Park AUGUST 25 Castle Combe SEPTEMBER 20 Cadwell Park OCTOBER 18-19 Donington Park

FEBRUARY 2 Red Kite Stages MARCH 2 Mid Wales Stages APRIL 26 Tour of Hamsterley MAY 31 Severn Valley Stages JUNE 21 Carlisle Stages AUGUST 9 Neath Valley Stages SEPTEMBER 26-27 Trackrod Historic Cup

MINI CHALLENGE www.minichallenge.co.uk

HSCC By Box Historic Touring Car Championship www.hscc.org.uk

APRIL 26-27 Donington Park rands Hatch Indy MAY 10-11 Snetterton 300 JUNE 21-22 JULY 12 Oulton Park AUGUST 2 Castle Combe AUGUST 16-17 Silverstone GP SEPTEMBER 13-14 Brands Hatch GP

MINI MIGLIA AND MINI SE7EN CHALLENGES www.mini7.co.uk APRIL 21 Castle Combe MAY 10/11 Brands Hatch MAY 31 - JUNE 1 Cadwell Park Thruxton JUNE 14/15 JULY 12

Oulton Park AUGUST 23/24 Donington Park SEPTEMBER 20/21 Croft

CLASSIC TOURING CHAMPIONSHIP www.csccgb.co.uk MARCH 22 Donington APRIL 26-27 Croft May 10-11 Snetterton 300 JUNE 7-8 Silverstone Intl.

JULY 26-27 Cadwell Park SEPTEMBER 6-7 Brands Hatch OCTOBER 3-5 Spa Francorchamp

BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross Championship www.btrda.com/Rallycross MARCH 9 Blyton Circuit JUNE 7-8 Pembrey Circuit AUGUST 17 Pembrey Circuit NOVEMBER 16 Croft Circuit NOVEMBER 30 Blyton Circuit

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APRIL 8 Donington APRIL 19-20 Thruxton MAY 17-18 Silverstone Intl.

JUNE 7-8 Snetterton JUNE 21-22 Cadwell Park JULY 12-13 Brands Hatch Superprix AUGUST 2-3 Croft AUGUST 23-25 Oulton Park (GoldCup) SEPTEMBER 27-28 Brands Hatch Indy OCTOBER 18 Silverstone Finals

HRCR - Mintex MSA BHRC Championship www.hrcr.co.uk MARCH 2 Mid Wales Stages (Newtown) APRIL 5 Rally North Wales (Welshpool) MAY 3 Pirelli Historic Rally (Carlisle) JUNE 28 RSAC Scottish (Dumfries) JULY 27 Harry Flanders Rally (Epynt) AUGUST 15-16 Ulster Historic Rally (Enniskillen) SEPTEMBER 11-13 Rallee Classicagh (Isle of Man) OCTOBER 17-18 Rallye Sunseeker (Poole)

GURSTON DOWN HILLCLIMB www.gurstondown.org APRIL 26-27 MAY 24-25 JUNE 21-22 JULY 19-20 AUGUST 23-24 SEPTEMBER 7

HeLP US - HeLP OTHeRS - HeLP US - HeLP OTHeRS

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Diagnostic 1991 Carb’d Mini PROBLEM Ind icators have stopped worki ng TOOLs none TiME TO fix 30 mi nutes DifficuLTy 1/10 cOsT £5-£6 ALTERnATivE METhOD use a mu ltimeter and follow the cur rent wit h the il ind icators on unt you find the fau lt

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is really done. tor edi the Mi ni’s ind ica the fau lt and rem how we diagnosed hed ‘on’ position. here’s single bul b not flas e then we would hav igation Ch eCk beg un our invest the there - checki ng th e fuse 35a mp , socket and bul b. ing wir Up In our case the gr ade your early spec tors, fuse for the ind ica MINI door checkhAs An ythI ng and also the bra ke straps .

by Andy Simpson lights, had blown and Ch Anged? roughly After replacing it icators, recent ly we had s new models get act ivating the ind to the updated wit h ed wn fitt imparovste edreo check stra components you it blew aga in. A blo mig ht find obv iou slyps with later ones. you wan able, and ‘old’ model spr uce ept t youhad ni, acc Mi r is e Remova leof the doo onc e d up wit h some new fus r panel is also req h som erpla too. Here we look bits ying wit blem n uired for pro cha a bee ngi ng door handles is at ice rep tw laci but ng early style doo and front speake e it wa s cas s r g. thi tin rs. iga wires. In hAzA rd that needs invest if see to g s kin tor loo ht worth Obj ectirn Because the ind ica ve Ing LIg d WA ose exp any re use we there Replace earlthi s csw itch in and bra ke llights g y spe You need to remove s flipI pin en we MIN the door checkivated all wires or con nection the same fuse, wh door panel. Holdin e act our a stra ps cas g the with we e late fus r tly. that were cau sing door panel to the rec cor ts ligh tes ted each new item ng fram rni s es re wa are icators fou r T30 Torx scre short. We fou nd the that all ws and some act ivated the ind this establ ished possibleclips. as either WHY were a couple of tor bul bs were and bra ke lights ica d ind ere the cov cau sing Smoother door so the bul bs culprits and duly cou ld have been ng. opewo ting ningrki Usi ng a sma ll flat acti on and -head them wit h insula fau lt. had a the problem. morwe not e attr reacti screwd rive ve at

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blown. For to see if they have Check your fuses wn, which deals blo had e fus top my model, the and brake lights. with the indicators

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r, remove the door handle sur rou nd by pry ing it off where the two circles meet, or in the mid dle of the long side of the sur rou nd.

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Diagnostic Had trouble diagnosing a niggling issue? We will go through the steps of sourcing the problem and how to rectify it with you.

DifficultY 2/10 AlternAtive met HOD N/A cOst About £20 each side

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Moulded carpet fitting guide

by Newton Commercial

Objective Fit a Newton Commercial carpet to a classic Mini Tools Scissors Punch Spray adhesive Brown paper/ newspaper Chalk Time 90 minutes Difficulty 4/10

A step by step guide to fiting a classic Mini Moulded Carpet set into your classic Mini.

O

ur moulded carpet sets are one of our top selling products.

They are fairly simple to fit because, being moulded, the mats hold their shape and quite clearly follow the floorpan. The front and rear mats therefore will fit with only minimal trimming and with a few holes needing to be made, such as for the steering column or gear lever. The rest of the carpet set needs to be thoroughly glued and positioned in place as desired.

Many original Minis were

or hair dryer, a pair of sharp scissors, a bradawl (spike), a small hammer, a circle punch of about 1 ½� diameter, some chalk for marking out, and a selection of screw drivers for replacing any fittings specific to your car such as the gaiter retainer. A small ink roller may also prove to be of advantage for pressing the glued pieces firmly into the car, and a good foam cushion/ kneeling pad with a clean and hard wearing cover will save your knees!

never fitted with a great deal of carpet beyond a pair of mats covering the front and rear floor pans, but our set includes pattern shaped pieces to completely cover the front wheel-arches, sills and crossmember. Fitting the whole kit if done thoroughly and properly, should be planned as a leisurely and satisfying days work for one person. You will get through at least two cans of glue, so the job is best done in a well ventilated area or even outside on a good warm day. You will need a heat gun

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Preparation and sound deadening under-felt.

Our sample car had a very nice floor pan which had been welded and then stone chipped in black, so it was all really well prepped, clean and shiny. Good practice for the long term future of the car, and it made quite an unpleasantly cramped working environment that much easier to bear.

We recommend that anybody investing time and money in a new carpet set, first surveys and considers any work that should be done to the notoriously patchy Mini floor!

Sound deadening felt should be used to cover the bulkhead and fill the drain wells in the front floor pan. This smoothes out the floor and also reduces the drumming present in the car, particularly on the bulkhead just inches

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1. away from the noisy little A-Series motor.

Some trimming will be needed to cut the pieces to shape depending on equipment fitted to the car (ICE cables etc.), but generally all can be applied with an appropriate spray contact adhesive such as Evo-stick. A small roller used firmly, or a light tap with a blunt hammer all over the felt pieces does help the glue do its job once in position. We made good use of our self adhesive bitumen pads (PT 4008), very easily positioned with the aid of a heat gun to soften them up first.

These are ideal for insulating the front and rear floor pans against drumming.

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Fitting the flat carpet pieces into the car.

Wheel-arch, sill, bulkhead and crossmember covering carpet pieces are included in all of our kits. These all need to be trimmed to fit and glued into place, so again all you should need is a pair of sharp scissors and a quantity of spray adhesive for the majority of the work there.

The trickiest piece to fit is probably the bulkhead (again depending upon how cluttered your Mini is under the dash area- no two are the same!), although the

cut outs in the felt piece are a good guide to the trimming needed for this. The wheel-arch carpets need to be arranged correctly, so be sure you have got them lined up to the right edges as it isn’t always so obvious straight from the bag.

We suggest a dry-fit is trialled first, before spraying along the inside back edge of the A-panel and the straight back edge of the wheel-arch carpet, and lining up so that about an inch flange can be glued flat to the floor all around the bottom to sit under the main floor mats once these are dropped in.

The cross-member needs to be located and then weighted on one side before

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Finishing and fitting the main mats.

Both the front and rear mat are supplied trimmed to the correct shape and with heel-mats and seat bearing plates already fixed on. The most difficult part of fitting these then is the making of holes in the right place for the gearlever and/ or gaiter (depending on model) and for the floor mounted seat belt gear which can differ but will be present on the vast majority of cars. If you have the original carpets, these are ideal for making a comparison of holes and openings, but otherwise the carpets are best marked out for fitting by careful measurement and a certain amount of careful trial.

Remember to make small holes first, to be confident that your location is correct- small holes can always be steadily opened up. An opening for the steering column is quite easily made with the column taken out; once the front mat fits in around the gaiter and is very nearly sitting in its finished position, feel for the base of the column and mark with

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gluing up the other- don’t attempt to glue the piece in one go as this will be very tricky to get right. The ends of the cross-member piece will need to be trimmed and slit before then gluing any flaps down onto the body. The seat bracket holes can be difficult to find- this is where a bradawl or similar spike comes in really handy.

With some trial and error the threads for the bolts can be found, and then your scissors can be used to snip the openings slightly bigger. The sill pieces should be fitted last off, again trial fitting, trimming and then gluing. At all times be aware that you are working in a confined space, and be very careful not to get glue onto the face of the carpet- we used a sheet of old brown paper to mask any areas where we were spraying up.

3.

chalk on the carpet. The front corner of the mat can then be folded back, and by firmly twisting the punch into the foam carpet backing onto a piece of spare timber, the correct hole can be made. The front mats

should then drop into place easily with no visible gaps all round.

The gear lever gaiter (where fitted) can be a fiddly thing to fit back on- make sure the rubber seal is sandwiched between the carpet and the body, not vice-versa. This will make for a more weather proof seal on top of the gear selectors and stop your new carpet from getting damp. The bradawl or spike will then come into play again as the holes for the self tapping screws will need to be found, although these are to a degree given by the necessary holes in the retaining steel ring.

The same punch can be used to create the right apertures for the seat belt bracket mounting to fit the rear matsthese have to be made by removing all of the belt gear from the handbrake tunnel, and then by placing the carpet into the rear of the car fitting it up tightly to the rear bulkhead and around

3. the rear pockets. When you are happy with the fit of the rear carpet mat, use the bradawl to work a largish hole in the carpet or mark with chalk directly in the threads for the seat belt bolts, before resorting again to the punch to

make the final hole. The seat belt bolts are normally quite large and the thread sometimes difficult to find through the thick carpet, so make sure you help yourself by making them big enough to pass the bolt through!

4.

Stand back and admire your work.

4.

We are proud of our carpet sets; they look extremely smart when fitted correctly. Take a break with each stage and you will quite clearly see good progress which is a big help when you are working in small and uncomfortable cars! We are chuffed with the finished product every time we fit a carpet for a customer. So there you have it- none of the individual jobs can be considered rocket science but, patience in approach and attention to detail will pay dividends.

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