Indholdsfortegnelse for December 2020 i Mini Magazine

As I write this, the clocks are about to change and we're about to slip into the winter. Short days and plummeting temperatures might not sound so good, but the plus side, it gives us all a great excuse to disappear into our sheds and garages, tackle those jobs both big and small that we've been putting off, and know that our cars will be all the better for it when the brighter weather, and the show season, return in Spring. To bring you little inspiration, you need look no further than the feature cars in this month's magazine - from Mike Ockwell's gorgeous race-inspired MkI to the wonderfully thought through and executed Clubman of Will Harris - which you may remember as the subject of an 'On The Job'…

Can you see yourself behind the wheel of a beautiful new build classic Mini? If you’ve got the money to invest in a show stopper, but lack the time or experience then you might want to talk to a man with 25 years experience of racing and building classic Minis. Yorkshire based Acespeed Historic Motorsport have launched their own new builds modern classics for the road, under the name Acespeed R. Each car is built to the client’s individual specifications whether they opt for classic road, race or rally style their car will be defined by their choice of body style, interior trim, lighting, engine tune and paintwork. Andy Harrison, the man behind the company, says “New build Minis have become viable for anyone looking for a great town car…

The pandemic may have seen virtually the entire show calendar fall by the wayside this year, but not the annual Isle of Wight Mini Adventure on September 12. Thanks to some careful management by host club West Country Minis and a secure venue in Sandown Airport, Minis set sail across the Solent for the fourth year running. The event’s roots extend back to 2017, when Red Funnel set up discounted ferry crossings to entice Mini owners over to the island for a day. Since 2018, West Country Minis has taken over the reins to great effect, with Red Funnel continuing to provide the discounts. For 2020, that meant a return crossing from as little as £32, with Minis dominating the 10am Saturday crossing as per previous years. As well as…

Not only has Will Harris owned several Minis, his first car was also a Mini. He even used one as a daily driver for a time. What’s unusual about that I hear you ask? Well, in his spare time, he played in several bands and said Mini was regularly used to transport himself, another band member, a guitar, the amplifier... and Will’s drum kit! Even Issigonis would have been impressed with this remarkable utilization of the Mini’s interior space. Will has since bought a more commodious carry-all so his current Mini – a 1976 Clubman – is now used for high days and holidays. A stunning and meticulously-engineered example, it’s the high-powered Mini that Will wanted to build for quite some time. Not that he’s a stranger to such beasts…

When your Dad restores classic cars for a living, its highly likely you’ll end up with a classic as a first car. For 18-year-old Dylan Hudson, the iconic Mini came top of his list despite repeated advice from Dad, Scott, that a newer Fiesta diesel would prove to be more practical. “My Dad works on old cars all the time and knows most of them inside out,” Dylan tells us. “He’s not a massive fan of Minis though and to begin with, he would have preferred it if I’d bought a newer car – probably with less rust!” Watching and helping his Dad over the years undoubtedly struck a chord for Dylan and it’s easy to see why he has formed such a fondness for classic cars. Scott’s business, SMH…

Gary Pearson is a lifelong Mini owner and a dyed-in-the wool enthusiast, but his introduction to ownership was a little unusual, coming from a very practical point of view on the part of his parents. “I was only 5’ 2” when I was seventeen years old and my Mum and Dad had this great idea that I wouldn’t be driving anything bigger than a Mini. They thought it would be the ideal vehicle – they bought me one, as they thought I could learn mechanics as well. So by the time I’d learnt mechanics, passed my test and got it through the MoT, I was six foot tall…” It was habit that stuck though. “I’ve had Minis all my life – and the longest I didn’t have one was for…

MINI SPORT DRIVE WITH PADDY HOPKIRK BOOK £10.00 Fans of Paddy Hopkirk and the Mini will be delighted to receive this compilation featuring 93 cartoons by Nick Faure - from Paddy’s own archives. Originally appearing weekly in the Sunday Mirror in 1969 to help make people better drivers, they are presented in this book as a collection for the first time! Only available from Mini Sport with a limited print run, these books make the ideal Christmas gift for any Mini enthusiast! • 01282 778 731 • www.minisport.com MINI SPARES CATALYTIC CONVERTERS £54.40 Mini Spares produces replacement catalytic converters to satisfy most regulations. The RV8009 will fit all ‘cat’ equipped Minis and as it is made to original specifications it meets UK MoT requirements. There is also a TUV approved…

It’s all too easy to forget just how much the Mini has changed over the years. True, from its 1959 inception to its swansong in 2000, the fundamental and defining characteristics remained unchanged. Characteristics such as the brilliant use of interior space, class-leading handling, peppy performance and sheer ‘joie de vivre’. Yet, due to the ever-changing dictates of fashion, corporate changes/ amalgamations, refinements and improvements and a proliferation of different variants, it became ever-more distanced from its roots. Back in the Mini’s infancy, during those formative first years, things were, quite literally, much simpler. SIMPLER TIMES In the very early days, if you wanted your Mini saloon-shaped (the Minivan arrived in June 1960, with the Countryman and Traveller following three months later), you could only choose from the Austin Seven…

If you’re interested in Works Minis then you’ll love ‘Works Minis In Detail’ the upcoming hardback book by Robert Young. Available from early November and featuring 840 photos – many of them never seen before. This book is essential reading for any Mini enthusiast, featuring build details of each car and drawn from factory build sheets and information on when cars were reshelled and identities were swapped. After analysing hundreds of contemporary race and rally reports, lifelong Mini enthusiast Young was able to include the details of the events entered and the drivers for each car. The result of years of meticulous research, this is the most in-depth study ever published. As the Mini Cooper Register’s ex-works registrar, club chairman and for many years archivist, Young is well placed to…

Appreciative motorsport fans were treated to another superb weekend of Mini racing action on 19-20 September in sunny East Anglia, with separate double-headers for Rounds 6 and 7 in the National Mini Challenges producing four equally entertaining battles around the longer and challenging 300 Snetterton circuit. The Se7ens and S-Class cars were out together first on Saturday mid-afternoon, reigning champion Jeff Smith taking a narrow victory and new lap record ahead of points leader Spencer Wanstall, with early leader Andrew Deviny right on their tails at the chequered flag. It was the same order on Sunday morning, although Smith only clinched it on a 1-lap slip-streamer restart following a safety car intervention. In the ‘Scholarship’ class which elected to start 10 seconds behind the Se7ens, Connor O’Brien was back to…

Any Minivan driving around these days is always bound to attract attention, but to see one pulling a matching trailer is on a totally different level! “I get a lot of people twisting their necks and giving a double take driving this,” laughs Chris Moss, the lucky owner of this unusual creation. And its not all just about looks either, the combination of Minivan and trailer provides a surprising practical purpose too as we’ll soon find out. Chris first got into Minis when he was just 16. “I was saving income from my paper round and options for saving up for a car were, to say the least, limited,” he recalls, “I was determined to buy a car of some sort and managed to scrape together £100 for a Mini.”…

Welding on a car can seriously damage the electrical system. Most people advise you to simply disconnect the battery but damage can still be done to items such as the alternator and the ECU if fitted. A voltage surge protector is the ideal solution as this will remove any harmful voltage spikes caused by the welding machine. These can be bought from around £25.00 from most good tool shops and are simply attached to the battery terminals so there is no need to disconnect anything.…

Before we’d really got started on the refit of the Downton, we had fitted the wiring loom. It’s one of the elements of the car which is crucial, but at the same time, mostly ignored. It’s only when things go wrong do we remember it as we reach for the multimeter… “The Downton has enough little quirks to make add-ons inevitable” We’d had quite lengthy discussion about the wiring on the car, mostly because the set up the car had before the rebuild was a little problematic. To be fair, some of this was down to poor storage and aftermarket add ons, but mostly, it was just too complicated. A desire to get the car back to its roots had seen us plump for a MkIII Cooper loom from Autosparks…

Upcoming shows for you and your car • After an almost event free 2020, the Covid-19 crisis is still restricting what we can manage as a community, but there’s light at the end of the tunnel… organisers are drawing up plans for the safe return of events next year. MINI FAIR AT BINGLEY HALL Plans are well under way to ensure that everyone’s favourite season opener can go ahead. The BMC are keeping a close eye on developments but are optimistic that they’ll be able to carry off the usual great event. www.britishminiclub.co.uk WIRRAL TO LLANDUDNO RUN Wirral Mini Club hope to stage their annual season opener, the Wirral to Llandudno Run, on Sunday the 10th of January 2021. The run will only go ahead if Covid-19 rules allow. Special…

A much-needed weekend away with MiniRunUK at the first ‘Minis In The Gorge’ event. Mini owners from all over the UK travelled to Cheddar Gorge in Somerset for a chilled-out camping weekend with the MiniRunUK team. Limited to 50 minis the event had sold out within minutes of going on sale. The lucky participants were able to enjoy themselves at a beautiful campsite located just outside of Cheddar surrounded by great driving roads and beautiful scenery. Throughout Saturday, Mini owners were able to kick back and soak up the sun whilst spending quality time with the Mini family. A chilled out vibe was in the air which is something we have all missed during these strange times. The weekend run took place on the Saturday evening to enjoy the evening…

INSPIRATION Name: Ross Harrington Car: 1989 Mini 30 Location: Colchester • Ross has owned ‘Roy’ since passing his driving test in 2013. In this time, it’s gone from being his first car and daily driver to a weekend toy. It started life back in 1989 as a black Mini 30, but the only original bits left are now the seats and badge! So far in his ownership, Ross has rebuilt most of the suspension, changed the arches, fitted Compomotive wheels, refitted the Mini 30 stripes and put an exhaust on. He’s currently rebuilding the engine for the second time (and hopefully the last!) and replacing the front subframe whilst the engine is out. He’s a huge motorsports fan having been brought up around it and is hoping to take the…

COST Expect to spend at least £50.00 on paint products, a lot more if you use a professional spray booth. TOOLS REQUIRED Grinder, small sander, DA sander, drill with wire brush attachment, Mig welder, welding mask, goggles, masking tape/paper, cross head screwdriver, 7/16-inch AF spanner or socket, spray equipment or aerosol cans. TIME TAKEN 2-days DIFFICULTY Rust is the single biggest enemy of the Mini owner and has sent many a classic to an early grave. It will eat away at your steel panels, only showing its ugly head when it manages to break through the paint, by which time it’s normally too late for a simple repair and an entire panel replacement is needed. If you detect the problem early enough however there is a chance you can remove…

PART EXCHANGED I have owned quite a few Minis over the years, from standard to quite heavily modified. I carry out all of my own maintenance and would describe myself as a competent DIY-er. I’ve always wanted to own a Mini with an engine conversion and had planned, when time and money allowed, to build one from scratch. Earlier this year – while browsing everyone’s favourite online auction site – I spotted an unfinished project with a Honda VTEC engine fitted. It clearly needed a lot of work but at first sight, it did look like most of the hard graft had been completed. I ended up buying the car, sight unseen. After a couple of months, I have to admit I’m still not too sure what I’ve bought and…

The Dales Mini Run is an annual event which has been going for the past 23 years it’s held in the Yorkshire Dales for Mini enthusiasts. It’s not organised by a club, we’re simply a group of friends who love Minis. It’s a fantastic driving weekend - in my opinion one of the best in the calendar! Sadly, this year’s event had to be cancelled due to Covid-19 and the fact the camp wasn’t able to accept the normal number of campers and Minis. Once the initial disappointment had passed, we decided to not let this phase us and a few of us from Bomber County Minis in Lincoln (who have been doing the run for the past 4 years) decided to still have our own weekend in the Dales.…

Guess what turned up in the wash this month… a red GTM Rossa! It was bought new as a basic shell in the early ’90s and was on the way to become a rally car. Cage fitted, ally tank made, coilovers to replace the standard Mini front suspension, vented four-pot brakes, hydraulic handbrake etc. But it never got finished. Now, I was dreaming of a rear wheel drive Mini-based kit car so I could do hillclimbing with the engine in the optimum position to get the power down and up it turns. But, grown up boy that I am (and having had a Coupé that never got finished – see pic with my mate’s one that also never got finished) and looking at my forlorn Biota lying untouched for a…