vuayxTyn7e magzus.org

A s we s t a r t a n ew yea r i t ’s c u s to m a r y to l o o k to t h e l a s t W i t h t r e p i d a t i o n d u e to t h e p a n d e m i c of t h e p ro ce e din g ye a r s , we b e ga n 2022 w i t h h o p e of a f u l l U K M i n i sh ow s ch e d u l e a n d t h a t ’s , t h a n k f ul l y, w h a t we e nj oye d S o m e of o u r ove r s e a s f r i e n d s we re n o t s o l u ck y b u t h o p e f ul l y we c a n a l l n ow l o o k fo r wa r d to a f ull - o n 202 3 of e nj oy in g o u r Mi ni s O u r Eve nt D ia r y o n p a g e 5 3 i s ce r t a i n l y f i l l i n g up n i ce l y a n d T h e re sh o u l d b e p l e n t y to ce l e b r a te a s i t w i l l b e t h e 6 0 t h a n ni ve r s a r y of t h e M in i Co o p e r S Pe o p l e of te n a sk m e h ow we co n t i n u e to f i n d e xce l l e n t fe a t u re c a r s fo r M i n iWo rl d A p a r t f ro m a few M in is we f in d a t sh ow s , i t ’s m a i n l y d ow n to yo u l ove l y l o t s e n d i n g in p h o to s o f yo u r a m azi n g M i n i s , a n d l o n g m ay yo u co n t i n u e to d o s o Sh a r i n g i s c a r i n g af te r a l l , a n d i t ’s g re a t to p a s s o n i n fo r m a t i o n a b o u t re s to r a t i o n a n d m o d i f i c a t i o n p roje c t s to o t h e r s a s i t of te n h e l p s s o m e o n e i n a si m i la r si t ua t i o n o r, b e t te r s t il l , in sp ire s s o m e o n e to s t a r t a p r oj e c t t h a t re s u l t s i n o n e l e s s M i n i b e i n g s c r a p p e d

T h is is su e ha s a v a ri e t y of f in e fe a t ure M in is . We’ve s e e n Pa ul M o ra n' s M i n i s w i n t r o p h i e s a t Mi n i sh ow s s o i t ’s g r e a t to s e e h i s wo n d e r f ul Pi ck- up in M i n iWo rl d ’s p a ge s M i n iWo rl d ha s p rev io usl y fea t ure d a B ria n B ircha ll M in i s o i t ' s s o i t ’s grea t to in cl u d e h is su p e rb Au s t in S eve n C l i ve A l e x a n d e r ’s v a n i s a f u n f u si o n of E s t a te, Va n a n d H o r n e t wh i ch is su re to b ri ng a sm il e to yo u r f a ce Ra m o n M o n te b e ll o’s s a l o o n h a s b e e n m a ny ye a r s i n t h e m a k i n g a s h e w a s f i r s t i n s p i r e d to b uild a M ini w i t h a rally light p o d in 19 97 A lain Wa k s enb o im has fo u n d a g e m of a ve r y - l ow - m i l e a g e Eu ro - sp e c Co o p e r w h i ch n ow re si de s in t h e US A a n d h e' s b e e n k in d e n o u gh to sh ow i t of f to u s

If yo u h ave a M in i t h a t yo u'd like to s e e in M i n iWo rl d t h e n fe e l f re e to d ro p u s a n e m a i l to mw e d @ ke l s ey co u k w i t h s o m e b r i e f i n fo a n d a few ph o to s I h o p e yo u e njoy t h e is su e.

Editor

Karen Drury

Paul Moran's trophywinning Pick-up is a joy to behold. See pages 14 -21

W hat ’ s happening in the wonderf ul world of Mini?

Co ntact us

Send club, trade, motorsport and all other Mini news to: Email: mw ed@kelsey co uk

Post: Mini Scene, MiniWorld, Kelsey Publishing Ltd, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent, ME18 6AL UK

West Sussex MOC charity fundraising

In September 2022 Wes t Sussex Mini Owner s Club held it s annual free -toenter Mini event which raises funds for local hospices St Barnabas and Ches tnut Tree House. On Wednesday 7 December club member s handed over a cheque for the generous amount of £2,000 which was raised by visitor s to the show situated at Steyne Gardens on Wor thing’s seafront Money was raised from charit y bucket s , a raffle and an auc tion.

WSMOC spokesper son Mar tin Black told

MiniWorld: " The club would like to thank all the clubs and visitor s who suppor ted our show and helped us raise this amount We were ver y pleased with the amount raised, bearing in mind the financial difficulties that a lot of people find themselves in at the moment due to the pandemic and the energy crisis We have never

charged for entr y to the show and are not able to have catering facilities run by our selves which would undoubtedly result in a larger sum being raised ”

The club has a provisional date for MBTS 2023 of 3 September Find out more about WSMOC online at: https://wsmoc .weebly.com

Bookings now open for Riviera Run 2023

Cornish Mini Club is looking for ward to welcoming Mini owner s to it s annual Riviera Run event at Pentewan Sands Holiday Park in St Aus tell, Cornwall

The event takes place Friday 28 April to Monday 1 May and there are ex tra Mini cruises arranged for those s t aying the res t of the week

Showgoer s have the option to s t ay in the ver y nice s t atic caravans or you can book a camping pitch right on the seafront Those s t aying off-site can buy day ticket s to the show days (no dogs allowed) A s well as the Mini shows on the S aturday and Sunday there will be a multi- marque car show on the Monday

There will be plent y to do and see for all the family including a Sunday afternoon Mini cruise plus evening enter t ainment which includes a live band on the S aturday night Plus , there are the many attrac tions of the seaside Holiday Park such as water spor t s , kids’ enter t ainment and res t aurant s See w w w.cmcrivierarun.co.uk

WSMOC presenting a cheque to the hospices.

Cornish Mini Club works tirelessly to ensure that Riviera Run is a highlight of the year for Mini owners

The Riviera Run takes place at Pentewan Sands Holiday Park which is on the scenic Cornish coast

The annual Minis By The Sea event takes place at Wor thing seafront , close to the historic pier.

Don't miss Mini Fair at Bingley Hall on 29 January

The door s to Himley Hall will open at 9 30 on Sunday 29 Januar y This annual event at the St affordshire Count y Showground is one not to miss as it ’s the fir s t chance to look at the show car s which have been finished since the previous year’s event s The show is well-known as a source of those hardto -find par t s in the large autojumble and shopping for projec t par t s with the many Mini-specialis t trader s who attend.

Show organiser, Dave Hollis of British Mini Club said: “There will be over 100 trader s and Mini autojumbler s in attendance We have use of the bes t showground facilities in the countr y for s t aging our event whatever the weather plus excellent indoor facilities including a 200 -seater res taurant and bar s There are t wo levels of exhibition space, ample free parking and easy access from the M6 ”

Minis will compete in the Pride O f Owner ship awards Proud owner s will be in with a chance of winning trophies and produc t s from show sponsor Autoglym The event will also showcase British Mini Club’s Premier Mini Concour s Finals with winner s from the 2022 British Mini Club event s going head to head

Sporting Bears raise £3million for charity

Spor ting Bear s Motor Club repor t s that it has raised over £ 3 million for children’s charities since it s t ar ted in 1989 The money has been largely raised thank s to Dream Rides which are passenger- ride experiences on public roads las ting 20 minutes , or 10 miles , in the car s of your dreams The tot al is largely thank s to classic car owner volunteer s allowing people to pay to experience a ride in their pride and joy and even paying for fuel Alan Moss , Chairman, said, “In 1989

Chris and Pat Glasbey formed the Spor ting Bear s with the aim of raising money for charit y In 1992 we appeared at the NEC Classic Car Show for the fir s t time, and the concept of ‘ Dream Rides’ was introduced. Throughout this time we have continued to suppor t children’s charities at this and many more event s across the UK ”

Spor ting Bear s continues to offer this ser vice at the NEC Classic Motor Show and is committed to raising even more money in the future

The top three Minis seleced by the club's fas tidious judges will win a subs t antial cash prize

There will also be prizes for club s t and displays following the theme of Res toration /Garage Forecour t and there will also be a separate display of Ultimate Modified Minis

Ticket s cos t £15 per per son Those under 16 can attend the show for free when accompanied by an adult . Find out more at: w w w britishminiclub co uk

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Mini Fair is at Bingley Hall at the Staf fordshire County Showground

MY OTHER CAR’S A FERRARI

Serial Mini owner and classic car connoisseur Paul Moran found this Pick-up decomposing quietly on a farm. He has brought it back to life with MG Metro power and a show-winning specification.

Words: Mont y Watkins Photos: Andy St arkey

Once a Mini has had 12 owner s , none of whom have t aken any real trouble to maint ain i t , i t ’s likely that i t will be beyond rep air Mini comm ercial vehicle s , Van and Pick- up, were usually owned by companies and wri t ten of f economically when rep air bills exce e de d t heir replacement value, which was ver y low for a VAT- re gis tered comp any Vans sold nearly 10 times b et ter than Pickups in the UK O ver half a million Mini Vans were made bu t jus t over 5 8 ,000 Pick- ups , mak ing Pick- ups ver y rare indeed. B oth m odels in the UK were

produced from 1961 to 1983 and ver y few are lef t bu t their price s , ref lec ting high demand , now cer t ainly mean that they are well wor th s aving and re s toring Paul Moran is a professional HGV Clas s 1 driver wi th a b ackground in quali t y engineering He has an eye for a landmark sp or t s c ar de sign and his per sonal fleet includes Minis , a ver y rare early 1930s MG J2 Ro ads ter and, yes , a F errari 328 GT Spyder The y uppie s of t he 1980 s , driving their mandator y whalet ailed 911 Turbo Spor t s , dreame d of owning the F errari 328 GTS b u t i t s t ayed t ant alisingly out of reach for mos t . Mini

Burr walnut accessories add to the warm green and cream of the interior. It's a very English ambience

Pick- up qualif ies as an iconic design and this one caught Paul’s eye b ack in 2009

“ I purchase d i t f rom a f arme r in Shef f ield , af ter i t was adver t ise d in Autotrader It was in ver y p o or condition , in need of a f ull re s toration

The original engine was an 850, which I s t ill have in bi t s somewhere I have toye d wi t h the idea of one day reb uilding i t to high - p er formance sp e c and pu t t ing i t b ack in the c ar ” The rebuild s t ar ted the s ame year Nice to se e an 850 engine b eing s aved for p o s teri t y ; they are rare indeed now

B a r n f i n d s a r e a l w a y s o u t t h e r e a n d s o m e M i n i s a l o o n s c a n b e f o u n d i n p r e t t y g o o d s t r u c t u r a l co n d i t i o n b u t t h i s i s r a r e l y t h e c a s e f o r Pi c k- u p s M a ny l i v e d o u t t h e i r l a s t d a y s c a r r y i n g h a y b a l e s , a n i m a l f e e d , co n c r e t e a n d w o r s e a r o u n d m u d d y f a r m y a r d s Pa u l w a s n’ t g o i n g t o t a ke a s a b b a t i c a l f r o m wo r k t o r e p a i r t h i s b o d y s h e l l s o h e s e n t i t o f f t o r e n o w n e d M i n i s p e c i a l i s t s O l d S ko o l M i n i s o f Wa l s a l l , We s t M i d l a n d s .

He has the advant age of having his own garage at home “Old Skool Minis did all the fabrication work I carried out all the assembly, engine ins t allation and interior The replacement panels came mos tly from M - Machine ” When the pris tine shell was complete it was sent of f to a paint shop for a special green “ The paint s y s tem is complicated It was painted black fir s t , to gain depth in the finish This was a solid colour The green top coat is a water- based paint The company that painted the car did it to demons trate what they could achieve with the many t alented people they had work ing for t h e m S a d l y t h e y n o l o n g e r e x i s t ” T h e p a i n t i s t o a s h ow s t a n d a r d a n d co n t r a s t s v e r y n i ce l y w i t h t h e c u s t o m t o n n e a u co v e r h e h a s h a d m a d e f o r t h e l o a d b a y “ T h e t o n n e a u co v e r i s m o h a i r. T h e m a t e r i a l i s f r o m s t o c k

u s e d f o r P o r s c h e co n v e r t i b l e r o o f s T h e co m p a ny t h a t m a d e a n d f i t t e d i t i s A l d r i d g e Tr i m m i n g , Wo l v e r h a m p t o n T h e y h a v e c a r r i e d o u t s e v e r a l j o b s f o r m e , i n c l u d i n g t h e s e a t s f o r m y C o o p e r a n d a co m p l e t e i n t e r i o r f o r m y M G J2 T h e y a r e s i m p l y t h e b e s t I w o u l d n’ t g o a ny w h e r e e l s e ”

A p a r t f r o m t h e c a r b s , h i s w o r s t r e a s s e m b l y p r o b l e m w a s d ow n t o t h e r e p l a ce m e n t e x t e r n a l f u e l t a n k “ T h e f u e l t a n k f i l l e r n e c k w o u l d n’ t f i t t h e h o l e i n t h e l o a d b e d f l o o r T h e s o l u t i o n w a s t o r e m o v e t h e n e c k f r o m t h e t a n k a n d r e - w e l d i t i n t h e r i g h t p o s i t i o n ”

H i s p l a n f o r t h i s Pi c k- u p w a s t o m a ke i t i n t o a G r a n Tu r i s m o v e r s i o n i n s p i r e d b y a r e t r o i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t h e S p o r t s P a c k M Pi M i n i s : 13 ” a l l oy s , b i g a r c h e s , f u l l w a l n u t d a s h , d e e p m e t a l l i c p a i n t a n d co m f o r t a b l e , co n t r a s t i n g i n t e r i o r w i t h Co b r a b u c ke t

s e a t s a t i t s h e a

a t p l a n d i d n’ t r e a l l y i n c l u d e t h e o r i g i n a l 8 4 8 cc e n g i n e b u t a n M Pi a r r a n g e m e n t w o u l d h a v e b e e n a b i t m o d e r n - l o o k i n g

H e t o o k t h e t i m e - s a v i n g r o u t e a n d we n t t o J a n s p e e d f o r a co m p l e t e l y r e f u r b i s h e d 19 8 3 M G M e t r o 127 5 e n g i n e a n d m a n u a l t r a n s m i s s i o n N o r m a l l y t h e M G M i n s t a l l a t i o n w o u l d f e a t u r e a s i n g l e S U H I F4 4 c a r b u r e t t o r b u t t h i s e n g i n e b a y w a s g o i n g t o b e a r e t r o d e s i g n s o h e g o t a p a i r o f Co o p e r- s p e c S U H S 2 c a r b s a n d t h e f a m i l i a r ‘ Co o p e r s ’ b l a c k t i n a i r f i l t e r h o u s i n g f r o m t h e o r i g i n a l Co o p e r l i n e - u p A d d i n g t o t h e r e t r o l o o k

i s a co nv e r s i o n t o d i a p h r a g m c l u t c h w i t h i t s d i s t i n c t i v e h o r i zo n t a l s l a v e c y l i n d e r N o r m a l l y t h i s 19 8 3 e n g i n e wo u l d h a v e h a d a Ve r t o c l u t c h s y s t e m “ T h e b r e a t h i n g s y s t e m w a s a l t e r e d t o e n a b l e t h e u s e o f t w i n 1¼” S U c a r b s w h i c h , i n m y o p i n i o n , r u n j u s t a s g o o d a s t h e s i n g l e H I F 4 4 s y s t e m w i t h t h e a d d e d b o n u s o f t h e b e t t e r l o o k s a d d i n g t o t h e o v e r a l l co n ce p t o f t h e c a r ’s d e s i g n I f I r e m e m b e r co r r e c t l y, we h a d t o u s e a n i n l e t m a n i f o l d f r o m a n M G M i d g e t a n d a l t e r t h e a cce l e r a t o r c a b l e l o c a t i o n t o g e t i t a l l t o wo r k T h e b r e a t h i n g s y s t e m n o w co m e s f r o m t h e f l y w h e e l c a s e , t i m i n g c h a i n cov e r a n d t h e r o c ke r cove r o i l r e f i l l c a p I h a v e n e v e r u s e d d y n o o r r o l l i n g r o a d t u n i n g j u s t n o t a g r e a t f a n o f i t I p r e f e r t o d o i t t h e o l d - f a s h i o n e d w a y : a s c r e w d r i v e r a n d a g o o d e a r t h e n a b l a s t u p t h e r o a d t o co n f i r m a l l i s w e l l . ”

1275cc MG Metro motor Chromed details include the alternator casing. Twin HS2s replace single HIF44 from MG Metro.

r t T h

He has re - used the elec t ronic igni tion dis t ribu tor from the MG Metro bu t many owner s have found that the se uni t s do not b ear t he te s t of time and need a helping hand “A goo d f riend , Le e, a commercial f i t ter, helped wi th the elec tronic igni tion , using an elec t ronic module from a DAF t r uck to get i t all to work ”

Engine p aint was perhaps Ley land / Rover ’s mos t durable p aint f inish and the notoriously dif f icult-to - remove original re d hue of the MGM p ower plant had to be change d for this b uild Not an eas y t ask b u t he is modes t abou t i t “ We prep ared the engine for paint by s anding the old p aint . We then

used a heat- resis t ant primer followed by t wo - pack black p aint , followe d by s anding and then several coat s of clear high - glos s lacquer We use d the s ame pro ce s s for the silver gearbox ”

O nce the engine and engine b ay are p ainted to a high gloss , t he other p ar t s have to be jus t as good A ny thing le ss than per fec t s t ands o ut horribly patina ain’ t in i t It ’s jus t the right time to add some bling in the form of chrome and s t ainle s s p ar t s If you have the old s t yle brass-top radiator then that also rewards the owner for polishing the top t ank “A ll the chrome p ar t s were done by Howells of Wals all; a quali t y comp any that produces some good s t uf f.”

Wi th some help from his wife, Paul really went to town creat ing his own Pick- up interior It ’s a ver y small sp ace to work in , and the cab is ac t ually too small for any driver much over 5’ 10”, but his trimming and dash work make this a much nicer of f ice sp ace that the original, ver y spar se, Pick- up interior Mos t of the interior p ar t s c ame from Mini Spor t and Hudder s f ield Sp ares bu t he has used plent y of ingenui t y to o “ The cent re console and arm re s t I made my self, from a drawing plan I obt ained on the internet The front sp eaker s are original from my 328 GT S; the F ocal grille s are from the door sp eaker s that are now in the F errari . ”

His reb uild proje c t was completed in 2011, pret t y fas t for such an ex tensive build , and the Mini is now well k nown to concour s judges . He has collec ted some major silver ware: “ several local show awards and t wo British Mini Club Premier wins in 2012 and 2014 ”

We had to ask which c ar is bet ter: Mini or Ferrari? “ The drive of a classic Mini and a Ferrari 328 GTS c an’ t be compared apar t from the fac t they both go round corner s like they are on rails and they both pu t a che e s y grin on

yo ur fa ce If I had to cho ose be t ween the t wo? Well , that one is jus t for me Yo u will jus t ne e d to t ake a wild gue ss ”

Paul M oran would like to thank: “O ld Skool Minis , Hudder s f ield Sp ares and Mini Spor t ” M i n iWo rl d wo uld like to thank: New Hall Water Mill Preser vation Trus t and Ruber y Owen Holdings Ltd for the photo location at the res tored and f unc tioning New Hall Water Mill, Walmley, Su t ton Coldf ield (w w w newhallmill org uk)

Modified 1978 Austin Mini Pick-up

Engine: 1275cc 1983 MG Metro A+ refurbished by Janspeed re-finished in black two-pack, high-gloss lacquered braided oil filter hose, capillary pressure gauge hose, fuel hoses twin SU HS2 1¼” carbs Cooper S Coopers air filter housing in-line ceramic fuel filter OE mechanical fuel pump Maniflow stainless LCB, stainless twin-silencer system, side-exit polished brass-top radiator, two-core Lucas electronic ignition vacuum distributor Magnecor leads Champion plugs chrome alternator body, fan pulley by ACF Howell, Walsall stainless accessories free-to-air breather system negative earth Gearbox: OE A+ MG Metro four-speed, four-synchro manual gearbox final drive 3 4 4:1 rod-shif t converted to diaphragm-type clutch system Lockheed hydraulic clutch master cylinder copper pipe braided hose

gearbox, transmission casings painted two-pack silver Brakes: Lockheed GMC227 dual-circuit yellow-tag master cylinder, non-servo bulkhead-mounted PDWA rear brake limiter copper pipes OE hoses S/GT-spec 7 5” front discs twin-pot calipers rear spacer drums

Suspension: Mini dry-type rubber cone suspension front subframe refurbished new rear subframe

OE telescopic dampers Hi-Los

Wheels/ Tyres: Ultralite modular-look 6x13” alloys Yokohama A539 175/50R13 72V radials

I n t e r i o r : Co b r a b u c ket s e a t s , h e a d r e s t s , c r e a m f a u x lea th er m a tc h i ng da sh ra il t r im , d o o r c a rds , g ea r l ever b o ot , h a n d b r a ke b o ot re p la ce m e n t h e a d lin in g M i n i Sp o r t w a l n u t ve n e e r f u l l -w i d t h d a s h M i n i Sp o r t

J o h n Co o p e r i n s t r u m e nt s M oto - L i t a b u r r wa l n u t g e a r k n o b wa l n u t d o o r t r i m c l o s u r e s , ce n t r e co n s o l e d e t a i li n g ce n t r e co n s o l e m a d e by Pa u l M o r a n f r o m o n li n e b l u e p r i n t s M oto - L i t a wo o d - r i m s te e r i n g w h e el B l a u p u n k t h e a d u n i t F e r r a r i O E s p e a ker s ( b a d g e d F o c a l ) S -t y p e d o o r lever s Cove rda le g re e n c a r p et s , m a t s E x t e r i o r : 1978 B L M i n i Pi c k- u p b o d y s h ell , re s to re d r e p l a ce m e n t r e a r q u a r ter s , lo a d d e c k , t a i l g a te, f ro n t w i n g s , i n n e r w i n g s , f u e l t a n k re p a i r e d f r o n t g r i l l e, d o o r s , c a b f r a m e b o d y s h e l l f a b r i c a t i o n by O l d S ko o l M i n i s o n e - of f p rofe s sio na ll y- a p p lie d p a i n t co l o u r, wa terb a s e d , g r e e n m e t a l li c o n b la c k b a s e S p o r t s Pa c k a r c h e s Lu c a s h a l o g e n h e a d l i g h t s Te x d o o r m i r r o r s m o h a i r to n n e a u cove r by A l d r i d g e Tr i m m i n g , Wo l v e r h a m p to n

T E C H N I C A L S P E C I F I C A T I O N

Sports Pack arches and 6x13 alloys do not overwhelm the longwheelbase bodyshell

Right: Paul Moran.

Mini Spares EVO baulk rings

Mini Spares s ay

that it s sintered baulk r ings a

C-

isi o

- m a c h i n e d for concentricit y to obtain the cor rec t shape as they a re manufac tured using the original drawings A ‘competition’ alter native to this sintered t ype, b ased o n the original 19 6 0 s Co o p e r s , c a n a ls o b e s u p p lie d , C N C p a r t- m a c h i n e d in s te el (C-2 2 A1741) £ 15 .6 6 ea c h ( Re f : 2 2G 203 3 E VO) +4 4 (0)1707 6 07 700 w w w. m i n i s p a r e s .co m

Adjusta-Ride suspension kit

Available f rom M ini Spor t is this a djustableco ne suspension k it, with c ast alloy tr umpet s fi tted with grease nipples to f acilitate lubric ation It is deal for getting the de sired r i d e h e igh t o n yo u r M i n i C a n b e s u p p lie d a s individual f ront o r rear k it s It was d elveloped in co njunc tion with D r A lex M oulton who d e sig n e d b ot h t y p e s of M i n i O E s u s p e n s i o n £ 118 4 0 ( R e f : s u s k i t 5) +4 4 (0)12 8 2 7 7 8 7 3 1 w w w m i n i s p o r t co m

Brian Birchall says that he likes all cars but Minis clearly hold a special place in his heart as he’s owned quite a few over the years. His latest Mini project is this fine, early Mk1 but will it be the last one he restores?

Brian's plan was to restore the Mini to standard specification but he couldn' t resist fitting the c heek y auxiliar y lamps.

Words: Karen Drur y Photos: Jim Jupp

Brian Birchall tells us: “ I ’ve owne d Minis for a long t im e I ’ve owned and re s tored them all I had a Mk 2 Co op er S , a Traveller that was in MiniWorld and a Mini Pick- up, bu t I had never done an Aus t in S even ” He had to get i t ou t of his s y s tem and , in June 2007, found a per fec t candidate: a r us t y 1961 Aus t in S even D e - luxe which mos t would have walked away f rom O ver the nex t 12 year s he sp ent around five year s work ing on it , on and of f b et ween other car projec t s “ It failed an MOT and they chucke d i t in the wo o ds , where I fo und i t It was rot ten There were a lo ad of S erie s 1 L and Rover s rot t ing to bi t s as well and r us ting Mk 1 Midget s all line d up The owner didn’ t do any thing wi th them He s aid he wanted money for the Mini so I gave him £ 500 which I tho ught was a lot of money then I m us t have b e en mad b u t the reason I bo ught i t was for the colour, because it ’s dif ferent You don’ t se e many Fie s t a Yellow Minis ”

Brian ordered a Herit age Cer tificate for the Mini which conf irmed that

i t was originally Fies t a Yellow, an unpopular choice at the t ime, with grey and blue interior t rim and a fac tor yf i t te d heater. It had be en b uil t on 14 S eptember 1961 and sent to dealer Ans tey ’s Limite d of Tonbridge, Kent , on 18 September Brian b ought i t from it s second owner who gave him a photo of i t t aken b efore i t failed the MOT and was p u t o u t to p as t ure A s he does wi th ever y c ar projec t ,

Brian made a jig to move the Mini around to make i t easier to c arr y o u t body work and p aint “ I do do b o dy work , ” he explains . “ I ’m doing a L ancia Bet a Spider at the moment ” However, he t asked his friend Frank wi th rep airing the Mini’s body work “ He replaced the wings , inner wings , door sk ins , rear valance and f loor s I think the b oot was alright It needed a new bonnet too ” Once the rep air s were made he got i t ready for

"The reason I bought it was for the colour... You don't see many Fiesta Yellow Minis."

paint “ My friend Jason paint s all my c ar s I got i t all the way up to primer and all he had to do was pu t f iller primer and the p aint on He use d water- b ase d p aint ”

Brian used many new replacement p ar t s b u t ref urbished what he could

The original 3 5x 10” s te el whe els were powder- co ate d whi te “ There are a few li t t le bi t s that are original , like the h ub c aps They are a bi t dente d bu t yo u c annot f ind the really early one s wi th the oblong cu t s The hole s are really roughly cu t and they are a bi t dented bu t I ’d rather have them than nothing at all You can’ t have it per fec t all the time ” He s alvaged what bright work he could “ It all needed cleaning up and things had a bi t of pi t t ing bu t at the end of the day yo u’ve got to have something that ’s old on i t ”

The bumper s are new “ S ome people s ay i t sho uld have overrider s You lo ok at some pic t ures and some Aus t in S evens have jus t a bumper wi tho u t overrider s on really early c ar s ” The photo that c ame wi th the car showe d no overrider s so he didn’ t f i t any. “ I

Brian Birchall

had the au xiliar y light s k ick ing around and they are period to the t ime so I thought I ’d s t ick them on . I think they look qui te good They are qui te small so would have be en f i t te d to a Mini ”

The Mini would originally have had an 8 4 8cc engine b u t c ame to Brian wi t h a 998 “ S o I had to h unt for an engine I looked and then I bought t wo because I wasn’ t happy with them because they were a bi t to o new A nd then there was an adver t isement for one for s ale in Birmingham I drove all the way there and the chap s aid that i t was his nan’s engine as she had a 1960 Mini which rot te d bu t he couldn’ t b ear to let the engine go He jus t had the engine, wi th the gearbox , and the spe e do lef t It is a 1960 engine which is only a year older than the c ar, which is nice I use d the sp e e do which c ame wi th the engine, which showe d 37,000 mile s A ll I ’ve done is pu t an unleaded head on i t , change d the oil and f i t te d a new clu tch

I s t ar ted it up and it went really well; sweet as a nu t ” Brian f i t ted a new wiring loom wi th a p eriod - s t yle cloth f inish . The rear subframe was re - used and new damper s and brake component s were f i t te d where available In 2010 his focus t urned to the interior “A ll the seat s were there b ut they were all rot ten . The new t rim is from New ton Commercial I took the seat s up to them and they showed me round the fac tor y It was amazing to se e all the

Above: Brian sourced an 848cc Mini engine which was only a year older than his Mini's OE unit . It had only covered 37,000 miles It also came with the speedometer from the engine's original Mini

people work ing on the sewing machines I didn’ t fanc y doing the headlining my self so I took the frame up for the headlining and they trimmed that too.

I ref urb e d the s teering whe el The p as senger side s t ill has i t s original s t ring door pull inside bu t a p eriod mod was made by a previous owner, who f i t te d an aluminium door release lever for the driver which I re -f i t te d."

The Mini was b ack on the ro ad in 2019 bu t Brian is not ver y likely to enter i t into a concour s conte s t “ I don’ t show c ar s as I ’m not really an anorak You get p eople s aying: ‘ that nu t ’s not right ’ and I ’m not into that It ’s not per fec t , such as on the

"It runs lovely and, even though it's only got a little engine,

Replacement interior was manufac tured by New ton Commerc ial.

The resto

I'll drive it anywhere."

sp e e do there are t wo silver bi t s that sho uld go round i t and i t hasn’ t got that ”

Brian is qui te right ly pleased that he s aved this early Mini from the ravages of nature and is , under s t andably, proud of how well i t t urne d o u t “ I qui te like the blue with the Fies t a Yellow, even though I ’m not into green or yellow c ar s It ’s a bi t f unk y and pe ople love i t now It ’s ac t ually qui te modern - look ing for a Mini ”

He enjoy s driving i t to o “ It r uns lovely and , even though i t ’s only got a li t tle engine, I ’ll drive i t any where ” Brian do e s have a problem , though , that means

he hasn’ t be en to any Mini event s for some year s “ My grandchildren like Japanese car s ‘ We don’ t wanna go in that old thing , ’ they s ay ‘ It ’s to o slow, we wanna t ake the Sk yline to Brands’

At 300bhp driving i t sc ares the life ou t of you b u t I s t ill enjoy driving the Mini because it ’s not all about speed ”

We can under s t and his dilemma b u t hop ef ully his grandchildren will come round event ually “ Whether or not I ke ep it I don’ t k now I want to ke ep i t My daughter s want me to ke ep i t I don’ t ne e d to sell i t b u t I ’ve got to o

many car s and you jus t cannot use them all I like res toring them and then I get b ore d wi t h them once I ’ve done them I nearly sold i t at the b e ginning of 2022 to send i t to online auc tion , The Market by Bonhams , b u t I co uldn’ t b ear to sell i t so I c ancelle d i t all

We hop e Brian at leas t get s to enjoy driving this fant as t ic Mini for a while even if he does decide to sell i t on in t he f u t ure

Brian Birchall would like to thank: “ Frank , for doing the Mini’s body work ”

The previous owner gave Brian a photo of the Mini before it went into the woodland.

As k m

Problems with your Mini? Tim Mundy helps you get them sorted...

rims offer with drums and you will get even more of a Cooper S look . All 4 . 5” steel wheels mentioned here are designed to take 145x10 t yres although 165/ 70x10 can also be used I ac tually prefer the look of the wider t yre Reverse rim wheels have been out of produc tion for many years and are only available second- hand Many were used in competition or for ver y hard road use hence the poor condition of some of the remaining wheels . I think it unlikely that reverse rims will be reproduced as most people modif ying Minis conver t from drums or 7 ” front discs to 7 5” front discs

Reverse rims

I own a 1982 9 98cc Mini which i s c u r r e n t l y fi tte d w i t h 12 ” s te e l wh e e l s a n d f r o n t d i s c s f ro m a la te r M in i I wo ul d like to g o b a ck to 10 ” wh e e l s b u t I d o n’ t w a n t to g o fo r s t a n d a rdw i d t h s te e l s M y ch o i ce i s to g o fo r 4 5x 10 reve r s e rim s a s I like t h e d e e p e r dish ove r 3 5” whe e l s O u t of in te re s t why a re t h ey c a ll e d ‘reve r s e rim s? ’ I t s e e m s t h o u gh t h a t t h e s e wh e e l s a r e n o l o n g e r av a i l a b l e n ew a n d t h e o n l y o p t i o n i s a s e co n d - h a n d s e t T h e p rob l e m I a m fi n din g i s t h a t m o s t of t h e w h e e l s I h ave s e e n a d ve r t i s e d a re i n ve r y p o o r co n di t i o n , s o m e n ot eve n u s e a b l e, a n d t h ey a re n o t ch e a p e i t h e r D o yo u k n ow i f t h e s e wh e e l s a r e eve r like l y to b e re p ro d u ce d ?

John McFarlane

Reverse rim wheels (4 5x10”) do look good as they create a more purposeful stance and also provide a Cooper S look . They are, however, intended to be fitted to Minis with drum brakes or Cooper 997/8 with 7 ” discs Both of these OE brake set- ups result in a narrower track than either the Cooper S , 1275GT or Minis with later 8 4” front disc brakes They are called ‘reverse rims’ because they are Cooper S wheels with the centre fitted in to the rim the other way round so that the deeper dish is on the outboard side of the wheel rather than on the inside This means that they will not protrude inwards or foul the inner rear arch , which is the case if S rims are fitted to standard, drum-braked Minis without spacers . You will have to conver t your front 8 4” discs to S discs/calipers/ drive flanges to fit any 10” wheels Your best bet really is to fit 4 5” reproduc tion S rims as these are ver y good. You will end up with the same track as 4 . 5”-wide reverse

Rev counter mounting

I have a 1975 M in i 10 0 0 to wh i ch I have fi tte d a t u ne d 1275 cc e n gin e, reb u il t ever y t h in g e ls e a n d co nve r te d to S f ro n t dis c s I a m n ow ma k i ng im p rove m e n t s to t h e in te ri o r a n d wo ul d like to fi t a rev co un te r in f ro n t of t h e dri ve r like m a ny p e r fo rm a n ce M in is fe a t ure d b a ck i n t h e 19 6 0 s a n d 1970 s Wh a t is t h e b e s t w ay to m o u n t t h e rev co un te r? Sh o ul d I b u y a p o d a n d fi x i t to t h e p a rce l sh e l f o r is i t b e tte r to ma ke u p a da sh p a n e l a l o n g t h e l i n e s of t h e Wo r k s d a sh b u t sm a l l e r?

Luke Petersen

I would say that this ver y much depends upon whether you are planning to fit any more instruments in the future. You can , as you suggest , buy a mounting pod from Mini Spares or other specialists and this is a ver y neat method for just a rev counter If you want a voltmeter, clock, oil temp gauge, etc then making up a panel and covering it in black vinyl would be the best option. Nippy Cars produces a ver y neat oval centre binnacle with an off set ex tension for a rev counter.

Tim Mundy has worked on Minis since the age of 13 In the 1990s he worked for Oselli Engineering and has been writing for MiniWorld for 26 years He has owned more than 20 Minis and built two from scratch

Email: mw ed@kelsey co uk Post: MiniWorld Q&A, Kelsey Publishing Ltd, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent, ME18 6AL, UK

4.5”-wide reverse rim wheels, pic tured, look good on drum-braked Minis but 4.5” Cooper S steel rims are ideal if you have Cooper S front disc s and rear spacer drums.

A pod is available to mount an 80mm rev counter to the parcel shelf area in front of the driver on Minis with a central speedo.

Air filter change

t andard ap ar t f rom a n LCB a n d im p rove d e x h a u s t s y s te m a n d w a s r u n n in g fin e w i t h t h e o r i g in a l fil te r D o I n e e d to cha n g e t h e n e e d l e i n t h e c a r b?

Jim French

By fitting the Freeflow bolt- on filter, and bearing in mind your LCB and exhaust system , you have basically tuned your Mini to Stage 1. Stage 1 kits for carb Minis always contain a replacement carb needle which needs to be fitted and then the engine needs to be set up, ideally on a Mini-friendly rolling road. I suggest you do invest in a rolling road tune as many Stage 1 kits need a different needle to the one supplied for optimum running but only a session on the rolling road will determine this

Some Stage 1 kits, and any similar tuning, will require a different SU carburettor needle.

Mix ture adjustment alone will not suffice.

VON RYAN’S EXPRESS

Von Ryan’s E xpress is , in this case, the title of a feature in Car s and Car Conver sions mag in December 1974 , as well as being the title of a well - k nown Frank Sinatra film in 1965 The car featured in CCC was a heavily- modified rally Mini built and driven by Pat R yan, who later went on to be a Work s

rally driver for BL , driving Marinas , Allegros and Triumph Dolomites

Pat ’s Mini had the rear seat back removed and the rear of the shell was held together s truc turally by the rollcage Underneath, at the rear, was a beam axle and coil - over s , while the front ret ained s t andard

S dr y suspension with Hi - Los fi tted. Brakes were s t andard S front disc s with Minifin rear drums It also ran on 13” wheels which was unusual for a rally car in 1974 The 8 - por t engine was fuelled by t win Weber s It had a BL Super Sprint cam and was ‘approximately 14 85cc’ According to the feature this capacit y was achieved by boring, rather than s trok ing

It would be interes ting to k now how this was done and what pis tons were used as , even with 74 .7mm diameter Triumph 2 5 pis tons , the highes t capacit y achievable with a s t andard s troke is 1426cc The closes t to 14 85cc that could be achieved with any real degree of reliabilit y would be to use 74mm pis tons with the s troke increased from 81 3 to 86mm The engine cer t ainly worked, though; his Mini was ex tremely quick and had a 14 - gallon t ank mounted in the rear, which it would cer t ainly have needed.

At the end of the feature it s ay s that the projec t was being put up for s ale as Pat did not have the funds to continue with it Does anyone k now what became of J279?

There were a lot of privateers rallying Minis in the 1970s. Some even went on to be Work s drivers.

Dampers do not alter the ride height of a Mini with a rubber-cone suspension system. Only adjustments to the spring or trumpet length will ac hieve this.

Uneven ride

T h e ri de h e i gh t o n t h e dri ve r ’s side of my 1980 Mini is around 1” lowe r t ha n o n t h e p a s s e n g er si de We have fi tte d a s e t of n ew Sp a x sho ck a bsorb er s , which n e e d e d doi n g a ny w ay, b u t t h e p r o b l e m re m a i n s Co u l d yo u p o i n t m e i n t h e r i g h t di r e c t i o n a s to w h a t to ch e ck o r re p l a ce n e x t?

Phil Braverman

The shock absorbers , correc tly known as dampers , do not have any effec t upon the ride height of the car and it is quite a common misconception that they do. A suspension height difference of around an inch between the sides at the front of a Mini, with the RHD driver’s side being lower, is ac tually quite common It was a problem with many dr y-suspended Minis from brand new and is ex tremely annoying If it is a recentlydeveloped problem it could be down to wear, so tr y replacing the trumpet knuckle joint on the low side. If this makes little or no difference you may have a worn or damaged rubber spring If the springs are all good then a set of correc tly adjusted Hi- Los , or similar, is the best way to make sure that your Mini sits exac tly level. It is well wor th the investment .

Wet seat

I have n ot ice d t ha t , un d e r t h e rea r s ea t b e n ch of my 1970 s M in i , t h e re is co nsi de rab le r us t in g a n d a few r us t h ol e s wh i ch w ill p rob ab l y n e e d we l d i n g re p a i r s In ot h e r a re a s t h e re a re sma ll p o o ls of wa te r a n d a p rev i o u s ow n e r h a s p u t p o l y t h e n e u n d e r t h e s e a t c u shi o n to p reve n t t h e wa te r f ro m b e i n g s o a ke d up I t h i n k t h e wa te r i s b e i n g s p l a sh e d u p f r o m un de rn ea t h , a s i t is q ui te dir t y, b u t i t a ls o s e e m s wo r s e a fte r t h e c a r ha s b e e n s t a n d i n g in the rain Is there a usual p oint of ent r y?

Colin Rawlins

Unless the rust holes are ver y bad it is unlikely that the water is coming from underneath , especially as you say it is coming in when the Mini stand s in rain The water could be coming in through the boot so check for water at the back of the boot floor and then look at the rear windscreen seal all round and especially at the bottom in the middle by the join and check the boot lid seal It is also wor th checking the tightness of the boot lid fit . You also need to check the fuel filler neck seal and the rear side window seals .

Sur face rust on a Mini rear seat pan can be caused by water leaking into the cabin. Rust holes are usually due to corrosion forming underneath.

Replacement of seals and/or dealing with any corrosion under them is going to be the cure

Sometimes it helps to dr y the affec ted interior areas thoroughly and have an assistant gently direc t a hose at the suspec t areas of the Mini , star ting at the bottom and moving slowly upwards while you watch from inside If, or when , water star ts

to come in you know that you have found the problem area .

In the boot , use paper towel to catch the water and test a small area at a time before inspec ting Any rust holes in the seat pan that are rear ward of the heelboard will need welding repairs as they are close to the rear subframe mountings , which is a struc tural area

When c hanging gearboxes, it is ver y impor tant to set the idler gear clearance carefully.

Idler problems

I have a 1275 - e n gin e d M in i w h i ch I have ow n e d fo r m a ny ye a r s a n d d r i ve n fo r we l l ove r 10 0,0 0 0 m il e s Re ce n t l y t h e g e a r b ox b e c a m e n o i s y a n d w a s c r a sh i n g w h e n ch a n g i n g g e a r s; d ow nw a r d s i n to s e co n d i n p a r t i c u l a r A n ew g e a r b ox w a s s o u rce d a n d fi tte d by a f r i e n d a n d t h e g e a rch a n g e cr a sh i n g a n d n o i s e h ave d i s a p p e a r e d A r a tt l e ha s n ow a p p e a re d a t t h e cl u tch e n d of t h e e n g i n e a n d i s p a r t i c u l a r l y n o t i ce a b l e a t i d l e a n d i m m e d i a te l y wh e n rev v i n g g e n t l y f r o m i d l e D o yo u t h i n k i t i s l i ke l y to b e t h e t r a n s f e r g e a r s? I f s o, i f t h e fl y w h e e l a n d h o u si n g a re re m ove d , i s i t p o s si b l e to r e p l a ce t h e i d l e r w i t h t h e e n g i n e in - si t u?

Rob Harris

Without hearing the rattle it is

difficult to be absolutely sure but transfer gears are the most likely culprit from that end of the power unit If any different gears , bearings or casings are being fitted, it is necessar y to set up the primar y gear and idler gear carefully to the correc t tolerances so check to see if this was done Even fitting a new fly wheel housing gasket can change the clearance as different makes of gasket are different thicknesses . The end float is measured with feeler gauges and should be 0 0035” to 0 0065” for the primar y gear and 0 003” to 0 008” for the idler gear with the gasket fitted . Adjustment is carried out by fitting different-sized shims until the measurements are correc t It is not possible to do this with the engine in situ as the engine needs to be removed from the gearbox to access the idler gear.

Tim Mundy has come up with 25 tips to help you and your Mini make it through the current economic crisis.

Mini money-saving tips

We fi n d o u r s e l v e s i n a n e c o n o m i c r e c e s s i o n w i t h p r i c e s , e s p e c i a l l y e n e r g y, m o r t g a g e a n d fo o d p r i c e s , r o c k e t i n g We h a v e t o b at t l e t h r o u g h s o m e h o w a n d e n s u r e t h at w e c a n c o n t i n u e t o o w n a n d e n j o y o u r M i n i s a n d a n y o t h e r c a r s t h at w e o w n T h e r e a r e , o f c o u r s e , a l o t o f w a y s t o s a v e m o n e y, m a k e l i f e a l i t t l e m o r e b e a r a b l e a n d a l s o k e e p o u r h o b b y g o i n g s t r o n g P roject prog ress m ay h ave to slow dow n or be put on hold for a wh ile unt il t h ings star t to look up Muc h h as been w r it ten about sav ing money in t he press a nd on social media a nd t here h as been a lot of adv ice h a nded out on telev ision prog ra m mes Most of t he ideas, a nd t here are some ver y sensible suggest ion s, are ver y general a nd w ill go into areas suc h a s cla i m i ng benefits a nd ot her ways to improve income or cut costs

Here are a few suggest ion s directed at M i n i ow ners wh ic h m ay go some way to m a ke it easier to st ill enjoy your M in i a nd, perh aps most impor ta ntly of all, to h a ng on to it Most t ips a re car-related, some do move into ot her areas but all h ave been t r ied a nd tested at one t ime or a not her If a ny readers h ave f ur t her money

1973 Mini 850 British Leyland press car, NOJ 911M, seen here on the cover of a 70s SP Workshop Manual It was used in a Penny-a-Mile Motoring ar ticle in Autocar. At the time of writing this MiniWorld ar ticle, super unleaded petrol (4 -star equivalent) was 16 times more expensive than 4 -star leaded petrol was in 1973.

sav ing t ips, please send t hem in a nd we ca n include t hem in t he Q&A sect ion in f ut ure issues If you aren ' t too a ffected by t he recession , do keep buy ing f rom t he Mini specialists a nd do buy qualit y par ts

as c heap par ts rarely work out c heaper i n t he long ter m We M i n i ow ners are ver y luc k y to have some br illiant suppliers of par ts and ser v ices a nd we all need to come t h rough t h is toget her

One of t he ea sie st w ays to c ut t he cost of cl a s sic a nd ever yday motor ing i s to find a bet ter in surance deal Shop a round all t he companies, including t hose supp or ting MiniWorld, a s rates var y a lot and, when you f ind t he best, negotiate and t hen negotiate more I h ave found Cher ished Vehicle Insurance Ser v ices (A-P lan) to be ver y good T he staff are car ent husiasts wh ic h helps a lot

Veh icle Excise D ut y, or road t a x, i s not applicable to all Min is , a s t hose cl a s s e d a s h i s tor ic a re not eligible to pay it If you r Min i i s under 40 years old , t a x it for t he f ull yea r a nd con sider decl ar ing it SOR N over w inter, ga in ing a ref und for all rem a i n i ng mont h s If you t a x you r M i n i for ju s t si x mont h s , or pay in in st alment s , it work s out quite a bit more ex p en sive

Words and photos: Tim Mundy

A 1 3-i s sue subscr iption to MiniWorld cost s £ 5 8 wh ic h works out at £ 4 46 a n issue, sav ing £1 3 52 over buy ing t hem indiv idu ally at a shop You w ill al so s ave time and any f uel costs needed to pic k up a n is sue a s it w ill b e delivere d to your home L ook out for even b et ter deal s too !

atc he d; a fellow memb er

ay h ave just t he par t you

ed going spare in t heir

t You could car-sh are to Min i event s by t a king

in t ur n s to t a ke your Mini P lanning a head and booking a club stand

n of ten s ave money on

idu al tic kets

Ever

On t he subjec t of Min i clubs , sometimes , when several memb ers require par ts , t he order ca n b e combine d into a bul k order and a discount obt aine d Compan ies wor t h cont ac ting by phone or em a il include, in no par tic ul ar order: M in i Spares, S omer ford Mini, Mini Sp or t a nd Vint age Ty res O t her compan ies m ay b e interested in doing you a g roup deal too

Dr ive les s , bot h in your Mini and your ever yd ay c ar where p os sible Combin ing shor t jour neys is a goo d way, a s t he eng ine rem ain s at op erating temp erat ure longer a nd f uel con sumption w ill b e re duce d

A rolling road t une at a Min i-f r iendly dy no w ill of ten g ive a sig nificant improvement in ef f icienc y, allow ing f ur t her t un ing to wait It cer t a inly worke d t h i s way when we did a St age 1 feat ure for Keeping Your Mini Alive We almost ac h ieve d St age 1 fig ures w it h t he st a nd a rd eng ine wh ic h , incident ally, se eme d to b e r unning well b eforeh and Alt hough not cheap, a good rolling road session w ill ma ke your Mini r un more efficiently and s ave on f uel

Wit

Store

If you are car r y ing out m ajor restoration work , con sider DI Ypa inting t he inter ior, t he under-bon net area and boot inter ior It w ill be significantly cheaper and increa ses person al input to t he restoration , whic h is incre dibly satisf y ing, but you must m a ke sure you h ave suff icient PPE a nd ventil ation for suc h t a sks P lea se note t h at we do not encourage our readers to use i soc yan ate paints on an am ateur ba sis a s t hey a re p oisonou s

T h in k about when you work on your Min i If you are p opping out to t he garage for a couple of hours it ca n b e ver y cold in t he w inter mont h s A n elec tr ic fan heater u se d to be t he a n s wer but now i s proh ibitively ex p en sive to r un We ekend working dur ing t he d ay time, on war mer d ays , m ay b e t he a n s wer or buy a h alogen heater T hey a re not ex p en sive to buy, a re safe for u se in workshops a nd are sig nificantly c heaper to r un t h an a fan heater

If you h ave covere d no m iles , or ver y few m iles , you ca n t hen p ost p one your M i n i’s a n nu al oil a nd f ilter c h a nge for a year a nd no h ar m w ill b e done T h is w ill s ave you t he cost of a ca n of oil a nd a n oil f ilter

Sell your sur plu s spare par ts Ever yone h a s M in i par ts around t h at t hey are not going to u se You m ay h ave just wh at a not her M in i ent hu si a s t ne e d s a nd t hey m ay h ave somet h i ng you ne e d t uc ke d away too, s av ing you b ot h money A ny money receive d ca n t hen be invested in par ts t h at are neede d You can do t he same w it h ot her non-car item s f rom around t he hou se too If you are still doing well p erh aps you could don ate unwante d par ts to a fellow ent husiast who is f inding times h ard , rat her t h an dumping t hem A numb er of Min i event s h ave autojumble st ands

Cost-c ut ting a nd econom ising are g reat but you mu st never skimp on e s sential m ainten a nce T his applies to d aily cars a nd cl a s sic c a r s t h at are on t he road

On t he subjec t of skimping, never comprom ise on t y res A ny car you a re u sing mu st h ave goo d t y res If t he M in i i s not b eing use d muc h , or not at all , ke ep t he t y res in f l ate d to 40psi when st anding, rot ate t he t y res reg ul a rly or move t he car now a nd t hen so t h at f l at-sp ot s w ill not occ ur in t he t y res Always ret ur n to cor rec t pres sures before dr iv ing t he car

If you a re not u sing your M in i you should at lea st cra n k t he engine over ever y couple of mont h s W hen you r un t he engine, m a ke sure it i s r un to f ull op erating temp erat ure If you h ave a M in i f it te d w it h air condition ing I recommend r unning t he engine a nd al so t he a ir condition ing ever y mont h or so

If t h ings a re really tight it m ay be neces s a r y to lay your Min i up for a p er io d T h is i s of ten preferable to h av ing to sell it Ideally, store it in a garage and use some of t he tips above to keep it in goo d sh ap e Buy of f-road in surance cover but rememb er t h at t h i s i s u su ally only p os sible when t he car is kept in a loc ke d garage If it is not, buy road-use cover It i s e s senti al to h ave some in surance cover a s , dur ing h ard times , more t hieves are about If you do not h ave a garage, or h ave to g ive one up, invest in a qu alit y car cover Cheap covers generally work OK but a re not t ailore d to t he M in i and nee d to b e well strapp e d on in w indy weat her Buy a breat h able cover a s somet hing c heap, suc h a s a t ar paulin , w ill cau se d a mp sp ot s t h at could lead to r u st pit ting in t he pa int We would , however, only recom mend a car cover a s a temp orar y solution If you don' t h ave s a fe or dr y storage ava il able, t hen p erh aps you would b e b et ter of f selling your M in i a s it m ay get r ust y whic h w ill de-value it or m a ke it uneconom ical to repair in t he f ut ure

Che c k i ng b ac k over my note s I fi nd it c r a z y t h at it ’ s b e e n a yea r si nce my l a s t rep or t on S T E l f, my M k I I I R ile y E l f S ome m ight fi nd t h at f r u s t r at i ng, wh ic h I h ave i n p a r t , but it ’ s b e en wor t h it s o I could l i ne up e x ac tly wh at I w a nt for t he c a r S ome ke y m ile s tone s h ave b e e n reac he d i n t he p a s t 1 2 mont h s Fi r s tly, I h ave a repl ace ment for t he alloy Joh n A le y R ac i ng roll ho op t h at D on , t he pre v iou s ow ner, fit te d A l ight we ight roll ho op s ou nd s nut s , a nd it i s , but it ’ s a r a re, ge nu i ne

pie ce of h i s tor y a nd I ’ m gl ad t h at it h a s now gone to a go o d home

I s t ill w a nte d a rollc age for S T E l f a s I hop e to t a ke p a r t i n t r ac k d ay s I opte d for a n off-t he-s hel f S a fet y D e v ice s rea r b olt-i n c age, wh ic h i s t he s a me we fit te d to t he B o g u s 2 proje c t t h at we d id i n conju nc t ion w it h M i n i Sp or t i n 2 010 It h a s a c ro s s-br ace/ h a r ne s s b a r t h at mou nt s to t he cent r al s eatb elt mou nt s I w a nt to ke ep t he headl i n i ng s o toye d w it h lower i ng t he c age sl ightly but , a f ter i nve s t igat i ng, I ’ m goi ng to s t ic k w it h t he s t a nd a rd s et-up a nd ju s t fit

H i s t o r y : C SM A t a r m a c ra lly c a r

S p e c : 127 5 cc , t wi n 1¼ - i n c h S U c a r b s , Co o p e r S r u n n i n g g e a r a n d t wi n t a n k s

It wasn’t used in action, thank fully, but the aluminium John Aley Racing hoop cer tainly had period charm

Red door rubbers might be a challenge to replace.

t he headl i n i ng a rou nd it du r i ng a hot d ay Eve n t hough S T E l f i s a 1 9 67 c a r, E l fs were a head of t he i r t i me whe n it c a me to one-pie ce headl i n i ng s

T he c age w ill b e p a i nte d D a m a s k Re d , to m atc h t he b o dy work , w it h s ome add it ion s I a m t h i n k i ng of but more on t h at once con fi r me d I w a nt to ke ep t he rea r s eat s to o but t h at do e s mea n rework i ng t he rea r f r a me, a s t he E l f s eat b ac k cover s p a r t of t he whe el a rc h a nd t h at ' s where t he c age w ill mou nt At t he moment I ’ m toy i ng w it h mo d i f y i ng t he f r a me to b e l i ke a M k 3 M i n i s alo on t y p e, h av i ng t r i al-fit te d t he c age w it h t he help of a r atc het s t r ap s to s que eze it i n

T he s hell i s ready to b e t a ke n aw ay for b o dy work A f ter a ver y f r u s t r at i ng del ay, w a it i ng for my t u r n , I ’ ve fou nd a not her re s torer to do t he work but , weat her-p er m it t i ng, t he roll i ng s hell w ill b e off to t he b o dy s hop s o on My p a nel l i s t i s e x te n sive a nd , i n t he m a i n , BM H p a nel s h ave b e e n b ought for t he work , s ou rce d f rom a Br it i s h Motor Her it age l ice n s e d s uppl ier I ’ ll h ave to s e e i f all t he p a nel s w ill i n fac t »

The modified loom will be kept for reference STElf has more filler than an ageing film star

I replaced the remote servo a few years ago but it’s not going back in

The dynamo controller will not be re-used

I know some think I’m mad but I won’t be re-fitting the original Hydrolastic suspension system

Paint peel in the roof gutter.

b e ne e de d a s I ’ m hopi ng t he f ront p a nel , once s t r ipp e d , c a n b e re-u s e d T he i n ner w i ng s a re s c r ap a s t he y h ave b e e n butc here d by wh at lo ok s l i ke c r a s h d a m age i n t he p a s t whe n S T E l f w a s a C SM A t a r m ac r ally c a r I t hin k t here are t wo options: cut up t hrough t he A-panel to release t he front end or, if t he old outer w ings t ur n out not to be any good, t hen it w ill require complete w ings and A-panels Going by t he state of t he in ner w ings, t he outers can’t be or iginal I suspect t he front panel is an af ter-market item too but I do have an or iginal one t hat could be an option T here a re a fe w s p e c i al i s t p a nel s t h at BM H do e sn ’ t m a ke for t he E l f/ Hor net but t h a n k f ully M-M ac h i ne do e s T he y s uppl ie d me w it h t he b o ot flo or rep a i r p a nel s , wh ic h a re d i ffere nt to t ho s e on a M i n i , along w it h s ome f ront flo or s e c t ion s cor re c t for t he M k I I I E l f I ’ ve d ropp e d b ot h f ront a nd rea r

Thank fully, the rear subframe bolts were easily removed With the subframe removed I could scrape off some of the underseal.

Removing the subframe gave me a bet ter idea of the panels needed

The radius arm, back in position and held in with a temporary piece of wood

The SU fuel pump might get re-located or upgraded.

s

I ’ m plea s e d to s ay t h at b ot h f ront a nd rea r wet s ubf r a me s c a me out ver y ea sily, e ve n t he b olt s t h at go i nto t he proble m at ic he elb o a rd T he Hyd rol a s t ic h a s now b e en re move d a nd repl ace d w it h te mp or a r y bit s of wo o d , to ke ep t he c a r moveable O nce it ’ s on a jig, I ’ ll colle c t t he s ubf r a me s to work on t he m I ’ m pl a n n i ng on fit t i ng d r y s u s p e n sion du r i ng t he bu ild-up

I ’ ve fou nd s ome Hor net a i r ve nt s wh ic h I hop e to re-pu r p o s e a s t he old

one s a re s hot where t he y p a s s t h rough t he bul k head Eve n t hough t he ge ner al pl a n i sn ’ t to c h a nge muc h on S T E l f, it ’ s not ju s t t he alloy c age t h at h a s gone

I ’ ve de c ide d not to re-fit t he re mote br a ke s er vo, wh ic h w a s mou nte d i n t he p a s s e nger fo ot well I w a s ver y h appy w it h t he non-s er vo d i s c br a ke s I fit te d to Subby, ou r C lubm a n E s t ate proje c t , plu s not fit t i ng a s er vo re move s a not her p ote nt i al fa ilu re p oi nt

T he lo om c a me out , e ve nt u ally, a nd , h av i ng al ready conver te d S T E l f to a n alter n ator, I t h i n k a more mo der ns p e c lo om w ill repl ace t he or ig i n al I ’ ll prob ably s ou rce it f rom Auto s p a rk s I ’ ll

b e ke epi ng t he old one t hough , pu rely for re fere nce at t he mome nt T h i s al s o mea n s I c a n d itc h t he re du nd a nt dy n a mo cont rol b ox f rom t he lo om , wh ic h w a s mou nte d on t he i n ner w i ng

I ’ m really plea s e d w it h pro g re s s on b ot h t he gea rb ox , s hor t e ng i ne a nd head; more on t ho s e ne x t t i me

Jim’s contacts

w w w bmh-ltd com w w w m-machine-metals co uk w w w safetydevices com

The Safety Devices rear cage will be fitted for additional safety during track days

Ratchet straps help ease the cage into the shell, to pull the legs in

Sheldon’s rear seat fitted, to demonstrate my quandary about fitting the rear seat with the cage in-situ

Here you can see the original Elf seat (red) and Sheldon’s later type.

Paul Moran's modified 1978 Mini Pick-up from the Febr uar y 2023 issue of MiniWorld Photo: Andy Starkey

2023 January

12-15 Autospor t International Annual multi-marque event celebrating ever y thing motor spor t at Bimingham's NEC Trader s, clubs, displays and a live-ac tion arena. w w w.autospor tinternational. com

29 Wirral to Llandudno Mini Run

Annual Mini event organised by Wirral Minis Star t s at Bromborough, Wirral and travels to the spec tacular scener y of the Great Orme and ends at Llandudno Prom where Minis are displayed for the afternoon Non-club-member s are ver y welcome to join in w w w wirralminis com

29 British Mini Fair

Fantastic event at Bingley Hall, Staffordshire Count y Showground Per fec t shopping day out for Mini fans due to the large amount of Mini-specific trader s and autojumbler s plus club stands, British Mini Club's Show 'n' Shine and the Premier Concour s final +4 4 (0)1384 897 7 79 w w w britishminiclub co uk

March

12 Mile of Minis

Fundraising event for Buttle

UK Star t s at MINI Plant UK , Oxon and finishes at Silver stone Interac tive Museum £ 35 per t wo-per son team includes break fast Ex tra people £14 w w w italianjob com

24 -26 Classic Car & Restoration Show

Multi-marque event at Birmingham's NEC Demonstrations, food outlet s, live restorations, club, trade and autojumble stands +4 4 (0)7500 695 531 w w w necrestorationshow com

26 Brooklands Mini Day

Annual event at the excellent Brooklands Museum, Weybridge, Surrey Club stands, trader s, food outlet s and café Run your Mini up the legendar y Test Hill. Ticket includes entr y to all the museum's attrac tions +4 4 (0)1932 857 381 w w w brooklandsmuseum com

April 21-24 Cotswolds

Charity Classic

Classic car tour raising funds for Ovarian Cancer Ac tion Based at Puckrup Hall Hotel, Tewkesbur y, par ticipants will visit Highnam Cour t, The Classic Motor Hub, Broadway Tower and Barn and Chavenage

The tour finishes near Tetbur y £610 per crew, including some food, plus accommodation w w w bognor-regis-mc co uk

29-1 May Riviera Run

Excellent Mini weekender at stunning seaside location of Pentewan Sands Holiday Park in St Austell, Cornwall Enter tainment, rocker cover racing, fancy dress contest, show 'n' shine, glow show, kids' enter tainment, displays, local craft s, Mini trader s, scenic Mini cruises Static caravans and camping pitches available on-site plus restaurant s and water spor t facilities Day visitor s are welcome to attend the show and cruises No dogs are allowed on site w w w cmcrivierarun co uk

30 Mk 1 Action Day

Original Mini track day at Bly ton Park , Lincolnshire Suppor ts Macmillan Cancer Suppor t w w w mk 1-per formanceconver sions co uk

May

7 British Marque Day

Multi-marque event at Brooklands Museum, Weybridge, Surrey Clubs, trader s, food outlet s and café

Ticket includes entr y to all the museum's attrac tions w w w brooklandsmuseum com

21 London to Brighton Mini Run

Mini run organised by L SMOC from London to Brighton's Madeira Drive Star t s at Cheam Recreation Ground, Sutton, Surrey Camping

available on Saturday night, with enter tainment and food stands Trader s, displays, club stands and show 'n' shine on Madeira Drive Individual tickets available online from 15 Januar y at £ 45 per Mini w w w london-to -brighton co uk

25-29 International Mini Meeting

Ever y year the IMM is hosted in a different countr y In 202 3 it will be organised and hosted by Mini Owner s Club Italy and will be based at Norcenni Girasole Village which is a campsite near Florence, Tuscany, Italy E xpec t Mini runs, and visits to local attrac tions w w w.imm202 1.it

June

4 National Metro & Mini Show

At the British Motor Museum, Gaydon, Wark s Club stands, displays and trade stands Entr y to the museum is included in the ticket price of £14 50 Camping available the night before at £ 35 per pitch w w w britishmotormuseum co uk

July

9 BMC & Leyland Show

Multi-marque event covering BMC, British Leyland, BL, Leyland, BMC and Rover vehicles at the British Motor Museum, Gaydon, Wark s Trade stands, club stands,

displays Entr y to the excellent museum is included in the ticket price of £14 50 +4 4 (0)1926 895300 w w w britishmotormuseum co uk

15-16 Italian Job Re- enactment

600 Minis will gather in in Stoke Aldermoor, Coventr y, to drive the sewer tunnels originally used by stunt driver Rémy Julienne in The Italian Job Club stands and trader s w w w coventr yitalianjob com

August

24

-27 Mini Beer&Bretzel

Classic Mini camping event at Kembs Campsite, Alsace, France € 50 per per son includes welcome pack with T-shir t Free for under 12s minibeerbretzel@gmail com

25-27 Silver stone Festival

Multi-marque historic racing festival at Silver stone Circuit, Nor thants Track ac tion, displays, food stands, stunt shows, live music, trader s. w w w silver stone co uk

October

9 The Italian Job

Fantastic annual touring event to raise funds for Buttle UK kids' charit y Star t s in Imola and finishes in Turin. w w w italianjob com

British Mini Fair takes place on 29 January.

TIME CAPSULE

Alain Waksenboim from Connecticut, USA , is proud to be the custodian of this very low-mileage 1967 Mini Cooper.

Words and photos: Alain Wak senboin

I'

ve b e en a Bri t ish c ar guy since I bought a 197 3 Triumph TR6 while in college in 1988 I later went on to own numerous Bri t ish car s , from several MGs to a T VR to a 1970 Jaguar XK- E in British Racing G reen which , to me, is the epitome of Bri tish classic c ar s I did an amateur res toration on the Jag in my p arent s’ garage in New York Ci t y and kept the c ar for over 11 year s I even got to enjoy driving i t when my wife and I moved to Connec ticu t , the per fec t place to enjoy classic Bri t ish car s in the US F or me, i t was the close s t thing to driving the scenic countr y roads in the UK; on the wrong side of the road, of cour se

I b o u g h t m y f i r s t c l a s s i c M i n i i n 20 18 . I h a d c a s u a l l y l o o ke d f o r o n e d u r i n g t r i p s t o L o n d o n a n d P a r i s o v e r t h e y e a r s I t w a s a 1970 M o r r i s M i n i 10 0 0, i n B r o n ze Ye l l ow, w h i c h h a d b e e n r e s t o r e d i n t h e N e t h e r l a n d s a n d b r o u g h t t o t h e US . I t w a s a r e b u i l t , m o d i f i e d c a r w h i c h w a s g r e a t t o d r i v e I s o l d i t a co u p l e o f y e a r s l a t e r a n d r e g r e t t e d i t a l m o s t i m m e d i a t e l y I w a s t h e n o n t h e h u n t f o r a n o t h e r M i n i A s I ’ v e g o t t e n o l d e r, I h a v e b e co m e m o r e i n t e r e s t e d i n u n i q u e c a r s , r e g a r d l e s s o f m a r k o r t h e co n d i t i o n , a n d a M i n i w a s o n t h e t o p o f t h e l i s t

Mini enthusiast Alain is enjoying taking his Mini to events but tries not add too many miles to the odometer

Fas t for ward to O c tober 2021 when I drove my 1971 TR6 to what I believe to be the be s t c ar show in New England: C af feine and C arburetor s It ’s held at Waveney Park in New C anaan , Connec ticu t The owner of the Connec ticu t Classic C ar Galler y, Steve L andau , found me at the show He k new I was look ing for a Mini and told me he had jus t acquired the lowe s tmileage, unre s tored Aus t in Cooper in the world It belonge d to a ret ire d 86 -year- old at torney and car collec tor who was downsizing his collec t ion Steve s aid the c ar was purchased new in G ermany in 1967, was shipp ed to Bos ton , Mass achuset t s , later that year where it was s tored for 55 year s This was b acked by all original paper work and shipping document s

The nex t day I went to the shop where the Mini was being ‘gone over ’ to be made ro adwor thy When I arrived , i t was on a lif t and I co uld see the undercarriage had mint original paint as nice as the paint on the b ody It was unbelievable to se e It had a 160 k ph sp eedometer with 7,700 original k ilomet res on the clock , which was

The spotless interior looks brand new. Note the rev counter on the dashrail

backed up with i t s document s That is ab o u t 4 , 800 mile s Is my Mini the lowe s t- mileage Mini which is regis tered and on the ro ad in the world?

The Classic C ar Galler y ref urbished the f uel s y s tem and rebuil t the original carburet tor s The original gas t ank had rot te d from the inside o u t due to condens ation c aused by being s tored wi th ver y li t t le f uel in i t for 50 year s It was not s alvageable so they sourced an OEM t ank from Mini Mania They checked the brake s and fo und no issues The Hydrolas tic suspension was p umpe d up and a f ull t une - up and fluid change were p er formed

I was told that the c ar was s t ar te d yearly and driven a couple of miles The Mass achuset t s ti tle showe d that i t had covered fewer than 500 mile s since the 1990 s . While i t hadn’ t be en re s tore d, i t had b e en maint ained by the original owner A ny rep air s needed had be en done From my re search , i t look s like the al ternator was rebuil t and , b ase d on the date code, new t y res were p u t on ab o u t 30 year s ago. Hoses and rubber par t s were replace d as needed The rubber hoses , tire s and b a t ter y are not original , nor are the grille quick- release k nobs , an af termarket t achometer and an up grade d Smi ths water temperat ure gauge in Fahrenhei t .

What is grea t to me abo u t this Mini is all the original things Fir s t , i t 's a rus t-free Mini and has the original to ol roll and owner ’s manual O ther than a

Alain has been luck y to find a Mini in such original condition

The 998 engine has covered fewer than 8,000km

The documents

Alain’s Mk 1 Cooper c ame to him wi th plent y of document s including the original purchase order and receipt from Frank f ur t , Germany, a receipt for ex t ra i tems ordered, German regis t rat ion information , det ails of shipping to Bos ton and then it s t itle when regis tered in Mass achuset t s , USA

few chips , the paint and interior are in near- new condi t ion German - market c ar s had lo ck ing s teering columns and I have the original key s wi th a lea ther fob. The key has serial number s which match the igni tion and are shown on the Herit age Cer tificate which I acquired to verif y all serial number s

Other cool details include the door hinges which still have fac tor y pen markings which helped the fac tor y

installers identif y upper and lower hinges and whether they are the lef t or right side

If you tilt the seat s, they still have evidence of the plastic wrap the seat s were delivered with All fac tor y stamps and tags are present and match the Heritage Cer tificate Even options like the amber turn signal lens and 4Kw heater are correc t All glass and the wiper motor and boot latch are date code correc t What I'm slightly stumped by is the boot board which is for a Cooper S and leaves room to add a second tank I don' t know if the original owner ordered it that way or the fac tor y just threw it in because they had one ready at the time

According to the purchase order the original owner had ordered a red c ar wi th a black roof bu t to ok Twe e d G rey wi th an Old English Whi te roof upon deliver y He t rade d in a 1961 Sunbeam

A lpine for US$ 4 00 towards the US$1, 515 p urchase price of the new Mini Co op er The b uild date verif ie s i t was a late Mk 1 Mini, buil t mid -Januar y 1967.

Alain is a classic car enthusiast through and through so the Cooper is clearly in good hands

Alain wonders why the Cooper has a boot board for a twin-tanked Mini.

Af ter p urchasing the c ar, all I have done is cover the original c arp et s and add period - correc t lap belt s Now I use i t for lo c al ‘c ar s and cof fe e’ event s and c ar show s I b elieve that , wi th a c ar like this , there ne e ds to b e a b alance bet ween being driven and preser ving th e low mileage It 's amazing to drive an almos t new fac tor y Mini and fe el how t ight and fre sh the c ar fe els Having driven a few other classic Minis , the f ir s t t ime I drove i t I tho ught : “ Wow, this is what a new 1967 Mini fe els like” Ever y t ime I se e i t in the garage or t ake i t for a drive, I s t ill think to my self that this c ar sho uld b e in a museum S o now I am the curator of the world’s smalle s t Mini museum in Connec ticu t .

The Cooper has travelled a long way from Germany to its current home in the USA .

POWERED BY

THE LONG GAME

Ramon Montebello, from Malta, literally has ‘Monte’ in his name so a long-term obsession with the 1997 Monte Carlo rally Mini is no great surprise. It spurred him on to modify his Mini many years later.

Words: Ramon Montebello. Photos: DLP Automotive

Igrew up in a Mini culture which led me to love and live with these pocket rocket jewels Many people say that I am too tall to drive a Mini but I always say that sit ting in a Mini feels like sit ting in a big sofa to me. How did I get into Minis? My father, Emmanuel, owns a Mk 3 which he bought new from a dealer in 1976 It is in Alfa Romeo green and was built in Malta with par t s sent over from England (a system known as Complete Knock Down) as well as having some local par t s. It even had a Maltese Cross badge on the A-panels

In our garage there were alway s nu t s , b ol t s , gearboxes , engine block s and many other p ar t s related to Minis I grew up helping my father and ask ing many que s tions until I also k new ab o u t Minis My dad’s t wo brother s were also into Minis They

were involved in a t ype of s t reet and drag racing wi th which we Mal te se were obsessed at the t ime We also enjoyed challenging English enthusias t s living here The Mini was one of the mos t common c ar s in Mal t a and i t was vir t ually imp os sible to never own one

When I was 18 , passing my driving tes t and get ting my driving licence was a ver y exciting time Obviously we s t ar ted looking for a Mini from the classifieds pages in the newspaper and found a white one Me and my father s t ar ted looking around it and checking floor panels , gut ter s , rus t point s , the engine and other things you need to check on a Mini He noticed something s trange that we couldn’ t explain . He told me to s t and aside and s ay nothing while he t alked to the seller It seemed

to be a Mk 2 made to look like a Mk4 as it had rever se light lenses and had it s ex ternal door hinges removed The seller s aid that he bought it like that Af ter they agre e d a price (4 80 Maltese Lira, at that time around £1,000). my father seemed happy and took the car to his garage He notice d t hat t he rear window s were smaller wi th the larger gap under the ro of gu t ter This Mini had disc brake s at the f ront , t win SU c arburet tor s , 3 - in -1 S exhaus t and many other bi t s that a t win -t anke d Cooper S had b u t the se cond f iller hole had b e en welded up My father, with a big smile in his f ace, told me: “Congrat ulations you own what was once a Co op er S ” My Mini was deseamed , including the gu t ter s , and had wind - up window s from a Mk4 S o on af ter, I s t ar ted reading

MiniWorld

Montebello Minis. Lef t to right: Charles’ Cooper S, Ramon’s Mini, Tony`s turbo’d Mk4 and Emmanuel ’s modified Mk3.

How Ramon's current Mini looked on the day he bought it.

Ramon's second Mini was inspired by the 1997 Monte Mini on the ST broc hure (right).

"I grew up in a 'Mini culture' which led me to love and live with these pocket rocket jewels."

Ex tra gauges and a tac tile MOMO steering wheel.

Magazine and i t was p ublishe d for a reason: to ke ep the love of the Mini alive A 1997 MiniWorld magazine came ou t wi th a Special Tuning c at alogue This was when the Mini again comp eted in the Monte C arlo Rally It was love at fir s t sight when I s aw the rally Mini, posing wi th those four fog light s on the b onnet I then up grade d my Mini to a Mk 5 example Af ter three year s in the garage i t was f inally ready for the light pods on the b onnet b u t i t was hard to impor t them at that time as there was no internet to search for and b uy them , so I de cide d not to do i t . I was li terally obsessed with this Monte - C arlo Mini Af ter some s t atic show s , Mini club meet ups and club sprint s , my Mini was complete We usually to ok i t on a t railer to event s Af ter six more months work ing

on the Mini I was driving back home from an event and my father was towing my Mini wi t h a small van He c alled me on the cell phone half way home, telling me that the t railer had broken free from the van and accident ally went into a lamp pos t Believe me, my hear t s topped when I s aw i t and , even tho ugh t he Mini was well fas tened to the trailer, i t to o hi t the pos t The damage was so ex tensive that I co uldn’ t rep air i t so l had to make do with going out in my father s Mini

I then got marrie d , b ec am e a homeowner and my 15 -year- old daughter fell in love with V W Beetles . It made me not ice ever y cool Mini I s aw passing by It was frus t rating to love Minis and be unable to af ford to build another one L as t year, I was look ing online to buy some s t uf f for my new garage

and up popped a for s ale adver t for a 1981 Aus t in Rover Mk4 Mini in UKsp ecification It was black with a white roof, 10” St armags , a 1275 engine and classic plates The price was decent and I c alle d by to se e if there was any chance I co uld do a deal and t rade in my damaged Mini's body shell The seller agreed and the p aper work was complete d Finally I had a Mini again I phoned my father with the news and we went to drive i t home O f cour se, I had the Monte - C arlo Mini in my mind and ye s i t 's s t yling was inspired by my dream Mini wi tho u t changing the colour.

O ne year p as se d and here i t is in all i t s glor y! It ’s jus t as I alway s wante d i t to b e, al tho ugh in black My friends and rela t ives had many sugge s t ions b u t I wanted to make i t unique It has 13 ” DTM

whe els , which were a gif t from my f ather They were a game - changer and ever yone loved i t af ter the change s were c arried ou t I replaced the disc brakes and f i t te d a fo g lamp which is re ce sse d into the bo ot lid , t here’s a sump guard, Minif ins at the rear, a rear screen lo u vre and , of cour se, t he four- light po d on the b onnet

A s for the engine, my father sugges te d many mo dific a tions to up grade the 1275cc 1300GT engine From o ur early day s we had accumulate d p ar t s and engines , including an MG Metro Turb o engine which I may f i t in the f u t ure F or t he moment I want i t to s t ar t withou t any problems with a half an inch of choke and t ake i t for a Sunday ride wi th other Mini owner s S adly, my father recently passed away I am so gratef ul to him for p as sing on his p as sion for the Mini to me

Ramon Montebello would like to thank: “ My family for tolerating my absence while work ing on my Mini; DLP Au tomot ive for the photos; Mal t a Fre epor t for the photo location; Jake B ar tolo for c aref ully det ailing my Mini . ”

Ramon likes the reliable 1275 engine but is tempted to fit an MG Metro Turbo unit.

Ramon Montebello

MAKING ENDS MEET

BL’s extended Clubman front end always looked best on the long wheelbase Estate but a bodyshop used a Hornet front end to send this Mini back in time. Clive Alexander has moved the concept forwards during his ownership.

Words: Mont y Watkins Photos: Andy St arkey

BMC ’s original long wheelb ase Minis were launched in 1960: round - nose Mk 1 E s t ate s , Van and Pick- up Their upwardlymobile s aloons , dubbed Hornet and Elf, appeared in 1961 whereas the Clubman -fronted E s t ate, at £763 in the UK , appeared in 1969 and s t ayed in produc tion all the way through to 1982 In the UK , nei ther Van nor Pick- up got the Clubman front end and they sur vived , wi th ver y few change s , right thro ugh to 1983

This p ar t icular Clubman E s t ate was f ir s t regis tered in 1975 which make s i t one of the las t to be produced in the UK with the 998cc A- series engine and manual t ransmission L ater the s ame year the manual E s t ates got the 1098cc long - s t roke engine and the 998cc was used for the Au tomat ic E s t ate s By coincidence, 1975 also s aw the las t Wolseley- branded car buil t , a Ley land Wolseley S aloon with 2 2- litre E-series , six- c ylinder engine The brand now belongs to SAIC in China so we will see if the

The Estate resr side window apertures were closed with Mini Van panels.

illuminated Wolseley b adge reappear s on an E V some t ime in the f u t ure No - one seems to remember much abou t the Wolseley name these day s

It was a brainchild of one Mr Herber t Aus tin who, at the t ime, was more interes ted in mak ing sheep shearing machines for expor t to the antipodes The Wolseley vehicle brand was sold to Vicker s and be c ame a hi t It was the UK ’s bigges t c ar manufac t urer from ab o u t 1905 thro ugh to the mid -1920 s They did also make some commercial vehicles and Wolseley s were widely built abroad, as far af ield as It aly, C anada and Japan By t he t ime Mini c ame along , Wolseley was jus t another BMC brand name used for i t s posher models

Clive A lexander has b e en the owner of this Mini since 2019 and much of i t s ver y interes t ing his tor y has b e en los t in the mis t s of time He told us what he think s happened “ The Hornet f ront conver sion originate d following a front al collision The damage was suf f icient to render the vehicle to be an uneconomic rep air, so the insurance wrote i t of f, b u t the Clubman was s t ruc t urally so und , only requiring new front body work and windscreen . A scrapyard Hornet

with a good front became a donor for mo s t of the subs ti t u t ion work

“ The original side window s were in a poor s t ate and full replacement s were not readily available so the p anelled - in ‘ Van lo ok ’ was chosen This also seeme d a go o d plan due to the increasing rari t y of good Mini Vans , as well as adding to the unique s t yle The Mini was bare met al respraye d during the ini tial conver sion , before my owner ship, so I am not aware of the ac t ual colour or paint code

“ The major conver sion work to ok place around seven year s ago bu t has be en a ‘ work in pro gre s s’ ever since The original body work , paint and t rimming were carried ou t by a re s torat ion company which owned the Mini at that time Their plan seemed to be to use i t as a demons t rator to showcase their renovation t alent s

“ B u t the engine and me chanic als had not be en enhance d It sp ent a p eriod languishing in a corner of their work shop, having p ar t s sc avenge d f rom i t , to use on other repair jobs , until they decided to sell i t on That ’s when I purchased i t , having se en i t on eB ay in 2018 ”

It was delivered to his door b u t , by that time, i t had jus t abou t had enough .

Sweet 998 A is now +0.020" and the t ypical Mini horn has been replaced by friendly 'aooogah' hooter.

“ It was a bi t dus t y bu t the body work and interior were excellent Mechanic ally i t was not so good When i t arrived, i t was running b adly and wouldn' t fire up to be driven of f the trailer That was the s t ar t of the re commissioning Fir s t job was to drain the s t ale petrol ou t That made s t ar ting easier bu t i t was s t ill running ver y roughly O n -theroad per formance was hopeless ”

Clive had b een t raine d in the 1960 s at the National Co al Board as a mechanical and elec tric al engineer His b ack cat alogue of c ar s owned reveals that he is a genuine connoisseur with an eye for the more intere s t ing niche designs and, look ing at the lis t , it means that he mus t have done a fair amount of his own spannering along the way: 1275 GT, E scor t R S2000, Spi t f ire, T VR 1600M , Lot us Éclat , 911 Targa and even a br u t ish 1967 C amaro R S . Well , you have to t r y

an A meric an V8 jus t to see what they ’re like These day s his spor t ing needs are t aken c are of by a ver y English Wes t f ield SE Zetec t wo -seater Get ting the Hornet Van into top notch condi tion became his mission and many work shop manuals were minu tely inspe c te d for det ails

“ It was running ex tremely rich , even for a Mini It also se eme d to b e overheat ing However, the overheating is sue was false It t urne d o u t that a lot of wiring was incomplete and a vol t age s t abilizer was completely missing, c ausing incorrec t ins t r ument readings I t hen discovered that the vacuum advance t ub e had been fixed so close to the exhaus t manifold that i t had melted and sealed i t self up, so the au to advance was not work ing at all That f ixe d , I f i t te d a replacement up grade inlet manifold and reb uil t the carb

“ The engine is def ini tely an A - series

998 , which could well be the original Clubman uni t b u t , at some time, the engine number t ag has been removed It has def ini tely been reb uil t at some p oint as the pis tons are +20 -thou ” Intent on doing his own engine t uning , he did not send i t to a dy no for set- up.

The bucket seats and sof t furnishings make this environment much more plush than a regular Mini Van

The diamond stitc hing on the seats has been ec hoed on the new trim and headlining.

“ Much t ime was then spent experimenting with dif ferent needles and springs , assis ted by a G unson ColorTune kit and a mul titude of plug che ck s I fo und i t was dif f icul t to b alance the mix t ure for good per formance wi th accept able, modern emission readings I was determined to get good per formance and get i t through a volunt ar y MOT Event ually, I worked on a couple of t urns ‘up’ on the jet nu t b efore the te s t , then adjus ting it richer for

opt imum per formance again af ter wards That worked well and the required emission levels were temporarily achieved D uring this work , I change d plugs , dis t rib u tor c ap, plug leads and f ine -tuned the igni t ion timing wi th a s t robe Now the engine s t ar t s f ir s t tr y and the overall p er formance is excellent , even in modern t raf f ic si t uations ”

He soon got the engine bay, block and head look ing tip -top “ Engine cleaning and p aint ing is b e s t done wi th

the engine ou t A s wi th all p ainting, preparat ion is the key A ll oil, grease and general grime mus t be cleaned of f Gunk , Jizer or one of the modern e quivalent liquids are great , unle ss you have acce ss to a s team cleaner If yo u have got the engine ou t , then spraypainting i t is simple once i t ’s clean and dr y It can b e done wi th the engine in - si t u and cleaning is s t ill the mos t impor t ant t ask Then remove ever y acce ssor y you can and brush - paint ever y visible par t , except the exhaus t manifold of cour se I use original green colour MOWO G engine p aint , which is good for spray ing or brush - p ainting ”

However, he did f all vic tim to some poor engineering work done (presumably) by the previous engine b uilder “ The head had b e en ret rof i t te d wi t h ha rdene d v alve sea t ins e r t s bu t ei ther bad machining or jus t b ad luck re sul ted in an exhaus t valve seat dropping ou t and jamming the valve open Luck ily there was no cont ac t wi th the pis ton The rec t ification was to obt ain a replacement , reb uil t head wi th fac tor y-f i t ted hardened valve seat s ” He did his own head por t ing and polishing , added double valve springs and made an exhaus t s y s tem

“ The exhaus t manifold was originally par t of a complete Manif low Freef low s y s tem , which I removed mos t of, jus t

leaving the mild s te el tubular 3 - into1 large - b ore manifold in place I then made up my own exhaus t from 2 " s t ainless tube and pre -formed bends , wi th a cent rally- loc ated Cherr y Bomb silencer The re sul t is a ver y ‘ s t raight through’ sy s tem , giving that familiar, loud , Mini ‘ song’ we all love to hear ” Thank f ully, there was far less work to do indoor s “ The seat s are unbranded, race - s t yle bucket s , f i t ted to the original runner s The t rim was closely matched to the seat s to give a uniform interior The majori t y of the t rimming was done by the comp any who owne d i t previo usly The t rim material is mainly quil te d , p olyes tert ype fabric with diamond s t itching The cab and rear wheel arches are fit ted with cus tom - made A xmins ter c arpet The sp are wheel compar tment is lined with shor t- pile au tomobile carpet The rear f lo or de ck is covered wi t h lea ther- lo ok viny l material and the headlining is jus t a cont in uat ion of the re s t of the inside, door cards , etc Because of the simple, oblong , f lat shape of the roof, fabric at ing

styling tweaks

a new headlining was eas y : 1" insulat ion was f ir s t s t uck onto the inside of the roof then , in t urn , the trim f abric was s t uck s traight onto that The f ull -wid th dash had b e en f i t te d by the previous owner bu t similar i tems are available f rom the major clas sic Mini spe cialis t s ”

The Wolseley/ Riley front end , like that of the Clubman range, is in the Marmi te cate gor y as far as t as tes go Love it or hate it but few are indif ferent Because Wolseley was used by BMC and Leyland as a ‘po sh’ brand, i t is unlikely that they would have pu t that name or f ront end on one of their UK Mini Vans From a coachbuilding per sp ec tive, though , we c an se e why yo u might go Wolseley on a cus tom Van wi th a f ully k i t te d ou t E s t ate interior It may not be as prac tic al for maintenance as the roomy Clubman front bu t the Wolseley design does of fer f ar bet ter acce ss to the dis trib u tor and ‘ front of engine’ par t s than the original Van front In this c ase, many b anged heads resul ted in wing - nu t fas tener s b eing f i t te d to the bonnet hinge mountings .

This allow s quick removal of the entire bonnet for repair or ser vice work

Leykor of Sou t h Africa did produc tionise their unique 1967 Wolseley 1000 which was a Mini s aloon wi th a Hornet front end Clive’s Van , given a period pale pas tel colour, might have be en p ar t of that range, had i t per sis te d The Leykor Wolseley 1000 evolve d into the 1969 S o u t h African Mk 3, which was a ro und - nose Mini Mk 3 s aloon wi th a Wolseley/ Riley booted t ail end

Clive has t aken on a ne glec te d bu t so und projec t Mini wi th a ver y solid bodyshell, good paint job and complete interior Tidying the elec t rical s y s tem , engine and s t yling t weak s have been his mission , side - s tepping the huge commitment that a f ull re s to wo uld demand Now he has a tot ally reliable cus tom Mini Van which is , qui te prob ably, one of a k ind

Clive Alexander would like to thank: “ Ever yone who has provided helpf ul advice and of fere d f riendship.”

"Engine and

have been his mission..."

Clive Alexander

F R O N T - R O W S E A T

Af ter complet ing a five-year apprent icesh ip w it h Mor r is Com mercial Ca rs, Bill P r ice joined t he ar my to under ta ke h is t wo yea rs of Nat ion al Ser v ice in t he R E M E (Royal E lect r ical a nd Mec h a n ical Eng ineers) Upon leav ing t he m ilitar y he joined BMC ’ s Compet ition s Depar t ment, based at t he MG Car Compa ny in Abingdon “ I already h ad ex per ience of t he big factor ies in Bir mingham f rom my apprent icesh ip Never t heless, wal k ing in t h rough t he gates of t he

in fa mous MG Car Company on my fi rst day was a new world I remember going i n to t he Compet it ion s office where Secretar y Jay ne Der r ing ton gave me a pile of let ters to a n swer f rom customers w a nt i ng in for m at ion as d iverse as prepar ing t heir car for compet it ion, a nd even requests for a Works dr ive ” T he 8 4 8cc M i n i ra nge h ad been lau nc hed just 1 2 mont h s ea rl ier w it h si x bei ng entered i n t he Monte Ca rlo R ally of Ja nua r y 1960 One fi n ished 2 3rd overall , d r iven by Peter R iley a nd T he

Reverend Ruper t Jones “ T here wa s also a n off-t he-produc t ion-l i ne ex a mple i n t he Comp et it ion s work shops a nd it wa s clea r to ever yone t h at it went rou nd comers l i ke a roller sk ate,” cont i nues Bill “ W h at m ade t he M i n i ’ s desig n so i n herently r ight for compet it ion wa s t h at desig ner Alec Issigon is h ad put a wheel at eac h cor ner wh ile t he power t ra i n for med a tower at t he f ront w it h t he eng i ne at t he top, a nd t he gea rbox below T h is also foc used t he weight d ist r ibut ion over t he d r iv i ng wheels w it h m i n i m al overh a ng at t he f ront a nd bac k , t hus m a k i ng t he d r iv i ng tec h n ique qu ite d i fferent to a ny ot her BMC ca r w it h it s tendenc y to st rong oversteer ”

Wit h in days of Bill ’ s ar r ival, Compet it ion s boss M a rcus Ch a mbers asked h im to ta ke over ma n ag ing t he homologat ion docu ment ation T he F I A introduced a new ident i ficat ion system for product ion Tour ing a nd Gra nd Tour ing cars in 1960, w it h a For m of Recog n it ion compr ising 1 1 pages " In addition t here was prov ision for 17 photos ident if y ing var ious par ts of t he car, ” Bill ex pla in s T he ‘ homologat ion’ for m rem a ined valid for four years a f ter product ion of a model ceased “ Homologate, wh ich comes f rom t he Frenc h verb homolog uer, mea n ing to recog n ise or ag ree, was a word I’ d never heard before T he FI A fi rst introduced t h is met hod of ident if y ing cars for motorspor t events in t he 1950s w it h general reg ulat ion s listed in Appendi x J of t he Inter n at ion al Spor t ing Code of P ract ice ” In Bill ’ s files were homologat ion for m s for a 1955 Aust in Healey 10 0S a nd a not her for a n MGA dated 1959 “Called in it ially a For m of Recog n it ion t hey were simple t wopage documents to wh ich a mendment pages could be added l ist i ng opt ion al ex t ras In t he U K t he orga n isat ion respon sible for inter facing bet ween car m a nufact urers who entered motorspor t events, such as BMC a nd t he FI A , was

Former BMC Works Competitions Department Assistant Manager, Bill Price, provides a fascinating insight into those actionpacked days in the 1960s, via a selection of amazing photos, documents and anecdotes from his BMC contemporaries.

Words compiled by: Mike Taylor Photos: Bill Price and MiniWorld 's archive

Bill Price is a keen suppor ter of the Mini and the achievements of the BMC Competitions Depar tment

t he R AC Compet ition s Depar t ment where I dealt w it h a ver y helpf ul representat ive called Neil Eason-Gibson ” Homologat ion as it applied to BMC ’ s compet it ion cars was div ided into t h ree g roups: Group 1 Ser ies Tour ing Cars; Group 2 Improved Tour i ng Cars; Group 3 Gra nd Tour ing Cars “ T he m a nufact urer, li ke BMC , h ad to prov ide a cer t i ficate to con fi r m t he requisite number of ident ical cars h ad been m a nufact ured in 1 2 consecut ive mont h s, ” recalls Bill “ T h is was 5,00 0 un its for Group 1 , 1 ,0 0 0 for Group 2 a nd 50 0 for Group 3 ”

At t he t ime t he general reg ulat ion s for tour ing a nd g ra nd tour ing cars applied to all inter n at ion al speed a nd reg ular it y events, or t hose on t he n at ion al calendar w it h foreig n par ticipation T h is en sured t hat, unless a car was homologated, it could not enter a n F I Aapproved inter n at ion al race or rally “ In it ially, t he in for m at ion listed in t he homologat ion documents was ver y general, compr ising t he sor t of facts

t h at could be found in a m a nufact urer ’ s sales brochure,” ex plains Bill “ T hen, just before 1960, t he FI A int roduced a new ‘Appendi x J ’ for t he recog n it ion of Tour ing and Gra nd Tour ing Cars [wh ic h would last unt il 1965] wh ic h fell into four sect ion s Under t he Tour ing Car categor y t here was Group 1 , w it h a m in imum build of 1 ,00 0 un its per a n num , a nd Group 2 , wh ic h catered for improved version s w it h t he sa me bu ild qua nt it y T he Gra nd Tour ing class invoked a m in imum an nual build number of

10 0 un its wh ile Group 4 was for cars comply ing w it h Appendi x C A sevenpage addendum was also introduced w it h 1 1 bla n k boxes for photog raph s of var ious par ts a nd assemblies of t he car Moreover, t h is homologat ion for m called for con siderably more tec h n ical in for m at ion on t h ings li ke eng ine bore/st roke dimen sion s a nd g round cleara nce for cars in t he GT categor y ” Wit hout doubt, Bill ’ s per iod w it h BMC ’ s Compet it ion s Depa r t ment wa s bot h dem a nding a nd exciting Sadly, t he depar tment was closed in October 1970 when Lord Stokes w it hdrew t he budget for BL’s Compet it ion Depar tment At t h is point Bill lef t BL A f ter working for a BL Dealersh ip he ret ur ned to Abingdon , to Leyla nd Special Tun ing, in 1974 It was later ren a med BL Motorspor t “ I lef t in 1981 , ” says Bill “ Var ious jobs followed includi ng Autodata , wh ic h published self-help car ha ndbooks ” Bill fi n ally ret ired in 20 0 4 a nd rem a i n s a n act ive suppor ter of t he M in i a nd motorspor t

Homologation documents

“Ma n ag ing t he homologat ion documents was pivotal to BMC ’ s compet ition cars suc h as t he MGA [soon to be replaced by t he MGB], t he ‘ Big ’ Aust in Healey 30 0 0 a nd t he M in i being quali fied to enter motorspor t worldw ide,” says Bill It was a job wh ic h suited h is passion for detail a nd accurac y Moreover, t he t im ing couldn’t h ave been more appropr iate because new homologat ion for m s were about to be introduced a nd Comps Dept Ma n ager Marcus Ch a mbers ex pla ined how it all worked and t he lin k bet ween BMC , t he R AC Motorspor t Div ision a nd t he Federat ion Inter n at ion al de l ’Automobile, or FI A

“At t he star t of each event, t he team had a copy of t he Homologation for m available for t he event scr utineers to read if requested,” continues Bill “ Significantly, on t he Monte Carlo Rally in 1966 t he per for mance of t he Group 1 ‘show room specification’ Cooper Ss was so outstanding t hat t he scr utinisers were conv inced t hat t he dy namic lit tle cars had been built to a higher level of t une t han specified in t he build sheets T hey weren’t and t he scr utineers had to agree t hat t he cars were assembled to t he Homologation Group 1 specification ”

Bill, lef t , with Stuar t Turner and fellow team members

tomobile,

Competitions team

Suppor t i ng Bill ’ s job of m a n ag i ng t he docu ment at ion was t he indefatigable Compet it ions Depar t ment Secretar y “ In t he years before computer isat ion a nd t he i nter net t he Compet it ion s Depa r t ment ’ s secretar y h ad to rely on her t y pew r iter, telephones, facsim ile a nd telex m ac h ines D ur ing t he per iod of t he M i n i t he Compet ition s M a n ager c h a nged from Marcus Chambers to St uar t Tur ner and later to Peter Brow n ing in 1967 Beh ind t he scenes was t he c h a nge of Secretar y f rom Jay ne Der r ing ton to Dia n a K irkby, Mar y Sm it h a nd Sa ndy L awson ”

A large propor t ion of t he Secretar y ’ s t ime would h ave been ta ken up m a k ing ar ra ngements for t he BMC tea m ’ s hotel accom modat ion on i nter n at ion al rallies suc h as t he Monte Carlo a nd t he Alpine “ T h is involved book i ng ar ra ngements, usually by let ter a nd con fi r m at ion by a n i nter nat ion al telephone call,” ex pla in s Bill “ T hen t here was t he paper work for t he compet ition cars t hem selves wh ich ca me f rom t he respect ive Aust in a nd Mor r is factor ies T hey would lia ise w it h t he MG Tra n spor t Depar t ment to obtain registration numbers a nd documents ”

Build sheets for mechanics

Cr it ical to t he reliabilit y, per for m a nce a nd h a ndling of BMC cars suc h as t he M in i were build sheets produced by sen ior Comps workshop sta ff Doug Wat ts a nd Tom my Wellm a n “ T hese sheets covered assembly deta ils of eac h aspect of t he car includi ng power tra i n , suspen sion a nd elect r ics Under t he eng ine sect ion would be t he size of inlet a nd ex h aust valves plus compression rat io A not her sect ion listed gearbox deta ils a nd fi n al dr ive rat ios wh ile a separate categor y was included for dressing t he ex ter ior a nd inter ior of t he car w it h item s suc h as addition al lighting, sump g uard, t w i n tan ks a nd Perspex side a nd rear w indows wh ile inter ior adaptat ion s included a fly-off h a ndbra ke, elect r ic rev counter a nd supplementar y gauges, a woodr im steer ing wheel a nd M icrocell-t y pe rally seats ” Eac h car was allocated a mec h a n ic and a build sheet wh ic h was used to assemble it Once completed, t he power out put was measured on t he Cr y pton dy n a mometer by t un ing w izard Cl i ff Humph r ies T he fi n al par t of eac h build involved Cli ff or Doug ta king t he car for a road test to assess per for m a nce again st t he build sheet speci ficat ion s before approval to rally

O t her secretar ial tasks involved t y ping out let ters of con fi r m at ion for t he dr ivers a nd co-dr ivers ta king par t in a rally, travel ar ra ngement notes, t he indiv idual build sheets for t he mec h a n ics assembli ng eac h car [suc h a s Paddy Hopk irk ’ s Monte Carlo Rally-w in n i ng M i n i Cooper S of 196 4, built by t he sk illed Gerald Wi ffen] a nd t he homologat ion pages, as well as producing t he rally ice notes on t heir t y pew r iter wh ile en sconced in t he rally HQ hotel in Monte Carlo ”

g g

Diana Kirkby

Gerald Wiffen, left, with Paddy Hopkirk

Competitions mechanics

n a nd w a s put i nto t he S er v ice D ep a r t me nt , ” re c alle d Br i a n du r i ng a n i nter v iew s ome ye a r s ago Wit h i n a fe w s hor t yea r s of Br i a n joi n i ng MG , t h i ng s b e g a n to c h a nge D e sig n re s p on s ibil it y w a s h a nde d b ac k to A bi ngdon , Joh n T hor nle y w a s m ade G e ner al M a n ager a nd a R ac i ng D ep a r t me nt w a s op e ne d i n 1 9 5 5 S adly, t wo hor r i fic acc ide nt s , at L e M a n s a nd D u nd ro d , re s ulte d i n t he dep a r t ment b e i ng i n s t r uc te d to fo c u s pu rely on r ally i ng “ I joi ne d on t he ver y d ay t h at t he MG A s were b e i ng prep a re d to leave for L e M a n s , ” s a id Br i a n “ I w a s s u r rou nde d by me n of e nor mou s e x p er ie nce a nd t ale nt , s uc h a s He n r y S tone, D oug Wat t s , Tom my Well m a n , C l i ff Br ay, G er ald Wi ffe n , Ji m my C ox a nd m a ny ot her s ” It w a s Au s t i n ’ s ‘ Big ’ Heale y wh ic h w a s to b e g ive n t he m ajor it y of

t he tea m ’ s at te nt ion u nt il t he adve nt of t he M i n i C o op er i n 1 9 61 “ We me c h a n ic s worke d clo s ely w it h d r iver s s uc h a s t he Morle y t w i n s , D av id S e igle-Mor r i s a nd P at Mo s s P at could b e qu ite i r a s c ible, a nd l i ke d ever y t h i ng ju s t r ight , but s he could al s o b e g reat f u n A nd of cou r s e, e ver yone love d her n av ig ator A n n Wi s dom ” T he d r iver s would complete a rep or t a f ter eac h r ally i nclud i ng v it al i n for m at ion on wh at we nt w rong a nd wh at broke s o D oug Wat t s a nd we me c h a n ic s could u s e t he i n for m at ion to i mprove t he c a r ’ s rel i abil it y for t he f ut u re ” W he n S t u a r t Tu r ner to ok over f rom M a rc u s C h a mb er s i n 1 9 61 t he dep a r t ment qu ic kly b e c a me muc h more bu si ne s sl i ke, re c alle d Br i a n “ B e fore a s s u m i ng t he role of C omp et it ion s M a n ager, S t u a r t c a me w it h M a rc u s a nd me on t he L iè ge–S ofi a-L iè ge R ally We s t a r te d f rom P a r i s i n t he mor n i ng a nd , i n t he e ve n i ng, M a rc u s fou nd a hotel T he follow i ng mor n i ng we qu ietly d rove dow n to B ud ap e s t W he n we a r r ive d , S t u a r t wh i s p ere d i n my ea r: ’ T here a re goi ng to b e s ome c h a nge s whe n I t a ke over I c a n ’ t s t a nd b e i ng c ut off f rom t he r ally for all t h i s t i me ’ ”

Abingdon Competitions workshop and tools

“

To ta ke par t in a n inter n at ion al rally it was nor m al practice to ta ke up ever y spare inch of space in t he M i n i ’ s boot w it h a ca n of oil , t wo spare wheels, a fi re ex t ing uisher a nd a select ion of h a nd tools should a car ex per ience a brea kdow n m id-rally stage,” says Bill “ T h is collect ion of equipment was supplemented by t he larger tools suc h as t rolley jac ks a nd welding equipment, toget her w it h a Hydrolastic suspension pump when t he latest system was introduced in 196 4 It was all car r ied aboard t he rally ‘ barge’, usually a Wolseley 6/99 saloon It was not unusual for t he tea m s to travel m a ny t housa nds of m iles, put t ing considerable strains on t he rally cars t hem selves ” Bac k at headquar ters t here was always t he occasion al outbrea k of h igh jin ks w it h a ‘ m issile’ fly ing across t he workshops; no da m age or injur y was ever done but it did g ive a n obser

a measure of t he con siderable pressure t he mec h a n ics were under to h ave t he ca rs completed a nd ready for t he nex t inter n at ion al

Tommy Wellman

Doug Watts

The BMC rally team transporter

D u r i ng t he 1 9 5 0 s , BMC op er ate d 2 5 mobile ‘cl a s sro om s ’ u si ng s p e c i ally-prep a re d ‘ bu s e s ’ for prov id i ng accom mo d at ion for e duc at ion al cou r s e s for de aler s t a ff t r a i ne e s tou r i ng a rou nd t he cou nt r y “ W he n t he s c he me w a s fi n ally c u r t a ile d , one of t he ve h icle s w a s offere d to t he C omp et it ion s D ep a r t ment who qu ic kly de c ide d t h at , i f it w a s e x te nde d by 2 f t at t he rea r, t he ve h icle could b e conver te d i nto a t r a n s p or ter wh ic h could accom mo d ate eit her one Work s MGB or t wo M i n i s , ” e x pl a i n s Bill Luc k ily, it w a s le f t-h a nd d r ive, t hu s m a k i ng it s u it able for cont i ne nt al d r iv i ng, a nd w a s p a i nte d i n C omp et it ion s D ep a r t ment colou r s

of r ic h re d a nd wh ite, a nd fit te d out to t a ke to ol s a nd s p a re s a s well a s c ater i ng f ac il it ie s ” O ne novel u s e of t he t r a n s p or ter w a s to t a ke t he s u itc a s e s , w it h s p a re clot h i ng b elong i ng to t he r ally tea m s , to t he hotel s for c h a ng i ng i nto l ater T he fi r s t t r ip i n t he t r a n s p or ter w a s i n 1 9 69 to Br a nd s H atc h , w it h t wo r ac i ng M i n i s Bill w a s d r iv i ng a nd goi ng up t he s te ep h ill out of He nle y-on-T h a me s whe n t he clutc h f a ile d “ Ne ver t hele s s , T he M i n i s e ve nt u ally a r r ive d at t he r ace t r ac k on a fl at-b e d MG lor r y, wh ic h w a s r at her e mb a r r a s si ng, ” re c all s Bill “ It t he n got wor s e whe n t he lor r y got s t uc k on s ome s of t g rou nd leav i ng t he c i rc u it ”

T yre testing

Ty re c hoice a nd spi ke pat ter n s were a n impor ta nt component in t he h a ndli ng a nd p er for m a nce of t he BMC rally M in is on t he Monte Carlo Rally a nd bega n w it h t he M in i Cooper in t he early 1960s At t he outset t he st udded t y res used D unlop D uraba nd w it h indiv idual w idely spaced st uds T he Weat her m aster pat ter n ca me w it h var ious st ud desig n s a nd r ubber compounds Special t y res were m ade to cope w it h t he m ild weat her on t he 1965 Monte Sta ndard SP t y res were sent to Finland, bu ffed dow n , a nd a remould fit ted conta i n i ng spr ing steel spiral spi kes by Kel hu (n ic k n a med Porc upines) A sim ilar process was used by Rengas Ala, fit t ing long c h isel sh aped spi kes (n ic k n a med Ch isels) for deeper snow

“ In ea rly December 1966, in preparat ion for t he Monte rally of 1967, I took a rally car out for t y re/st ud evaluat ion to assess t he var ious compounds w it h t he most effect ive st ud retent ion fi x ings for dr y road sur faces,” ex pla in s Bill “ Sig n i fica ntly, t he dr y road test ing was car r ied out at rally speeds ” T hen , using Weat her m aster t y res prov ided by D unlop, Ti mo M a k i nen a nd Rauno A altonen under took t he act ual test i ng T he special test t y res w it h var ious compounds a nd st ud-t y pe t y re carcass compounds were t hen fi n ally ag reed upon w it h D unlop

“

For t he 1967 Monte Carlo Rally t he compet itors could use any number of t y res but w it h a 1 2% h a nd icap St uar t Tur ner t hought it would be adva ntageous to enter t he lim ited t y re categor y (using eight m arked t y res for eac h of t he t wo compet it ive rally sect ion s ) Add it ion ally, t here was a weight pen alt y for car r y ing t wo ex tra spare wheels, wh ic h was compen sated for by t he use of M i n il ite m ag nesium alloy wheels used for t he fi rst time by BMC on a rally ” Almost f rom t he beg in n i ng t here was l it tle snow m a k i ng t he t y re st ud prog ra m me almost nugator y T h at was unt il t he star t when it bega n to snow, t hus giv ing Rauno h is Monte w in

A sig n i fica nt rally in t he M i n i ’ s emergent career was t he 1959 M in i M iglia Nat ion al in wh ic h Pat Moss, w it h St uar t Tur ner as n av igator, gave t he lit tle car its fi rst w in “ It was fit ted w it h h arder bra ke shoes a nd compet ition-t y pe shoc k absorbers, w it h addit ion al dr iv ing lights a nd a Halda Speed P ilot nav igat ion a id,” sa id fellow Compet it ion s tea m member, Den Green , to MiniWorld “ Nex t , t h ree [8 48cc] M in is were prepared for t he R AC Rally i n late November Sadly, it revealed a ser ious wea k ness in t he power t ra i n desig n as it beca me not iced t h at oil was seeping past t he pr i m a r y gear oil seal a nd causing severe clutc h slip; t he problem being exacerbated by t he r igours of rally speeds a nd h igh revs All t h ree M in is fa iled to fi n ish T he solut ion developed by t he eng ineer ing tea m involved fit t ing a non-lubr icated bush to t he pr im ar y gear assembly ” T he Por t ug uese Rally of December

Ser vicing mid rally

1959 saw t wo M i n is being entered, dr iven by Na nc y M itc hell and Peter R iley Den a nd h is mec h a n ic colleag ues prepared t he t wo M in is toget her w it h a ‘ big’ Aust in Healey dr iven by Pat Moss “ However, t he rally r ules precluded a ny mec h a n ical assista nce f rom mobile rally barges except f rom local workshops or ot her compet itors so I was entered as a co-dr iver w it h Marcus Chambers in a Wolseley 6/99,” recalled Den

En-route to t he star t, Pat a nd codr iver A n n Wisdom were involved in a n accident wh ich severely dam aged t he radiator a nd required Den hav ing to work all n ight to repa ir t he car so t he women could m a ke it to t he star t t he follow ing mor n ing “A not her lit tle task," sa id Den , " was when I h ad to bind Er ic Carlsson into h is seat a f ter he’ d injured h is bac k i n a n earlier rally ” Despite m a k i ng a m ap-read i ng m i sta ke, Pat a nd A n n won t he L adies’ pr ize

T hey t h a n ked Den for h is h ard work repair ing t heir car before t he rally Interest ingly, a not her event wh ic h didn’t allow help f rom a mechan ic was t he Vi king Rally in Nor way, in September t he follow ing year Marcus used t he sa me tact ic and Den rode w it h h im osten sibly as h is co-dr iver in t he big Wolseley However, a potent ially da ngerous detour off t he road, along a treac herous mou nta in stretc h , almost h ad t hem t umbling dow n to t he rav ine floor far below when , luc k ily, a large roc k t h rew t hem bac k on course, t he car succumbing to a badly da m aged door sill a nd cont inuing to scrape noisily along t he opposite roc k wall T he nearside rear door sk i n was badly tor n , ex posing t he inter ior Even so, Den a nd Marcus m ade it to t he fi n ish to fi nd t h at Pat a nd A n n h ad ta ken t he L adies pr ize, aga i n , t h is t ime in t heir Aust in A40 T hey gave Den t heir awards a f ter t he rally in appreciat ion

Not s u r pr i si ngly, S t u a r t Tu r ner ’ s mete or ic r i s e to s t a rdom a s n av ig ator du r i ng t he 1 95 0 s pl ace d h i m i n a s t rong p o sit ion to s h a re h i s s k ill s w it h well-re s p e c te d d r iver s of t he d ay, n av igat i ng for t he l i ke s of Joh n Spr i n zel (“a m a s terly e nt repreneu r ” ) a nd P at Mo s s I n fac t , S t u a r t ’ s l i n k w it h P at c a me t h rough M a rc u s C h a mb er s , t he n head i ng up BMC ’ s C omp et it ion s D ep a r t me nt at A bi ngdon a nd t a k i ng p a r t i n s e ver al e ve nt s w it h her i n a Mor r i s M i nor b e fore e nter i ng t he M i n i M igl i a of 1 959 T h at w a s i n one of t he fi r s t 8 5 0 M i n i s i n wh ic h t he y c a me home v ic tor iou s , de s pite S t u a r t fi n i s h i ng t he r ally w it h h i s fe et a n kle-de ep i n w ater

A ll t he wh ile St u a r t w a s notc h i ng up v alu able r ally cont ac t s; a c a s e i n p oi nt w a s whe n he w a s luc k y e nough to b e p a i re d w it h E r i k C a rl s s on i n a S a ab 9 6 on t he tough R AC R ally of 1 9 6 0 D e s pite E r i k s u ffer i ng f rom broke n r ib s a nd d r iv i ng a c a r w it h a t h re es p e e d gea r b ox , d r u m br a ke s a nd ju s t 6 0 -70 bhp, t he y won

B y now St u a r t a nd w i fe M a rg a ret were l iv i ng i n L ondon , S t u a r t work i ng for We sle y Te e on

Motor ing New s, s et t i ng up t he m ag a z i ne ’ s R ally C h a mpion s h ip pro g r a m me, a nd work i ng i n t he s a me bu ild i ng a s t he le ge nd a r y Bill B o ddy a nd D e n i s Je n k i n s on of si s ter publ ic at ion Motor Sp or t

T he job allowe d S t u a r t to go r ally i ng a nd to b e p a id for it B et ter yet , it e n h a nce d S t u a r t ’ s c i rcle of world-cl a s s d r iver s n av ig at i ng i n fac tor y c a r s for Au s t i n Heale y, MG , Tr iu mph , Merce de s , S a ab a nd Auto Un ion on m a ny of t he m ajor e ve nt s l i ke t he Monte, A lpi ne, L iè ge a nd Tul ip r all ie s For e x a mple, it w a s on t he Pol i s h R ally of 1 9 61 t h at he w a s g ive n a de mon s t r at ion of t he d r iv i ng s k ill s of up-a ndcom i ng Fi n n i s h d r ive r R au no A altone n whe n Euge n B oh r i nger, d r iv i ng a work s Merce de s B e n z , move d over i nto t he p a s s e nger ’ s s eat to allow R au no to t a ke t he whe el on a n e s p e c i ally lo o s e s e c t ion Ever yone w a s s h a ke n by R au no ’ s qu ic k t i me S t u a r t qu ic kly real i s e d R au no w a s a n a me to b e note d a nd , no s o oner h ad he b e come C omp et it ion s M a n ager, t h a n he i nv ite d R au no to joi n t he tea m at A bi ngdon To get her w it h fellow Fi n n T i mo M ä k i ne n , t he y b e g a n to m a ke M i n i h i s tor y

Stuart Turner

MiniWorld would like to thank: Bill Price for his considerable help with this article

Bill Price, lef t of Mini, with former Works rally co -driver Paul Easter.

BMC Competitions Manager Stuart Turner

M O D I F I E D 19 8 0 M I N I

C L U B M A N E S TAT T E

Nick Klee love d t inkering wi th an array of c ar s , of ten f it ting f ull - on ICE s y s tems , b u t ha dn’ t engaged in a rebuild until a 1980 Clubman E s t ate c ame o on his s radar “ I didn’ t go o u t look ing g for a Mini , ” recalled Nick A pparently, the e owner s were moving house and the E s t ate, which had been rot t ing on a driveway for t wo year s , was surplus to re q quirement s . For jus t £ 50 he became the new owner “ I s t ar te d s tripping i t down n and I was lef t wi th an aw f ul lot of body y work ” He sent i t of f to S ou t hern Mini Cent re and i t was at this s p oinnt he realise d that because so m uch work w would b e

replacing, that he might as well go down the show c ar rou te

He chose to p aint i t in Chr y sler Vip er GT S Blue. He also got the rear side window surroundds chrom e d , which looke d ver y smmar t indeed

Nick considered f i t t ing a b o d y k i t bu t ins tead opted for r modif ie d Sp or t Pack arche s and b egan gathering all the new component s re quired. That meant that he had baarely enough room lef t in his garagge for the f re shly re s tored and p ainted shell when i t ret urne d Items like thhe subframes were p o owder- c co ate d He found i t dif f iccul t to source a good - condit t ion replacement

N E R AT T H E T I M E: Nick Klee ■ I S S U E: May 2006

that it too could be powder- co ate d .

Inside the E s t ate a decent t sound s y s tem was at the top of the e lis t and he f i t te d a f ibreglas s dashb o ard d supplied by S o u t hern Mini Cent re “ I wannted ‘modern and comfor t able’ b u t wi th element s of Mini to i t , such as the swi tchhgear and so on ” He had d i t p aintte d boddy colour bu t found it susceptible to scratches and i t produce d glare on a s sunny day He decided to t rim i t in black leather himself, using a conventionaal sewing machine. The re sul t was ver y impre s sive.

Cobra recliner s in blue and d black compleme nted the colour sccheme well and gave Nick a comfor r t able ride However, he tended to trailer the E s t ate to show s rather t than drivve i t as the 1293cc engine was a bi t lumpy

Looking back at feature cars from MiniWorld's archives