Indholdsfortegnelse for January 2018 i Mini Magazine

Hello and welcome to a new Mini year and a new Editor for Mini Magazine - me! I know Jeff is a tough act to follow, but I feel truly honoured to be taking over what I believe is the best Classic Mini magazine. It feels quite ironic to be in charge of a magazine that I was staffer on back in 2003 when it was in the hands of A&S Publishing! That was only my second journalist job in the industry and a lot has changed in 14 years, but what hasn’t, is my love of Classic Minis – and I hope that comes across in the pages of this magazine. We have the usual selection of mouthwateringly good features. First up is Elliot Powick’s amazing saloon, owned by…

• Mercia Minis and the Mini Cooper Register Worcestershire region got together over the summer to raffle a Classic Mini. This action was prompted by the sad loss of two of their members, Barb Stephen and Steve Ash, to cancer. A plan was hatched when the husband of one of the members donated the Mini. It was then lovingly and fully restored by club members, with help from Mini Spares, an engine reconditioner and lots more suppliers. The draw was made at the Malvern Mini Show on 8th October and a cheque for an incredible £15,620.46 was presented to St Richards Hospice Worcester on 15th October. The lucky winner lives in the West Midlands.…

There was plenty for Mini fans to enjoy at the 2017 Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show, held at Birmingham’s NEC from November 10-12. This year’s spectacular was the 33rd since the event was founded in 1984, attracting more than 70,000 people over its three days. With 2,500 vehicles on display amongst five packed halls and 257 clubs present, there was something for everyone. This year it was Hall 4 that was the most Mini-centric, with great displays from the British Mini Club and the Mini Cooper Register. The BMC’s line-up included Diane Isaac’s amazing Almond Green MkI, Keith Brownsell’s modified creation, a freshly restored Moke from Old Skool Minis, and a pair of Clubmans owned by Sandra Britton and Richard Hallworth. The Cooper Register Display was first class too, featuring…

RETRO RALLY 1000 Name: Ian Campbell Car: 1987 Mini City-E Location: Northern Ireland • I bought my Mini 1000 as a completely standard ‘one lady owner from new’ City-E with just 17,000 miles on the clock when I was at university. After various retro mods, including converting it to genuine Cooper S 7.5-inch brakes so I could run 10-inch wheels and a MkII Cooper S interior, I decided to turn it into a proper rally car and compete with it. I have been using the car competitively over the past six years on the Targa Rally, Classic Trial and autotest scene here in Northern Ireland, and despite only running a lightly-tuned 998 Cooper spec engine, I have been fairly competitive in my class. STRIPY COOPER Name: George Plant and Sarah…

For a large number of people, buying a new car is simply a case of heading down to the local dealership and selecting the car that best suits their needs. It doesn’t involve a hunt all over Europe, it seldom involves having to turn around and head home when a car is sold before you get to it, and – unless you’re very unlucky – it doesn’t involve the need for an engine rebuild on day one. Go hunting for something rare and specific like a MkI Cooper S though, and all these things seem to be par for the course – just ask Mark Roth. Mark went through all these pitfalls and more in his attempts to locate a genuine example of the Mini he’d always wanted. Now the…

The Mini 7 Racing Club shows is still thriving as we approach the Mini’s 60th anniversary, and it’s easy to see why enthusiasm remains so strong for this one-make series. There’s a family-like friendliness in the paddock, as despite the fierce rivalries on track, most are only there to have a bit of fun. There’s a great balance between the competition and fun factor, so whilst the fastest drivers are all out for the win, they’re just as keen to help a competitor get back on track when things go wrong. And obviously being Minis pushed to the limit, that does happen on a fairly regular basis! After a memorable 52nd season of the Dunlop Mini Se7en championship, it was Charlie Budd who emerged victorious. Long-term Mini racer Charlie was…

DAMAGED THREAD Q I’ve bought a new cone compressor (not the cheap version) and I’m struggling with getting it to thread into the suspension doughnut. It may be that previous work has damaged them, but the last thing I want to do is force the tool in and strip threads completely, if they aren’t already. The car is an ’89, so has the Metric thread. I’m not really sure how to proceed. Alex A The threaded sections can become completely corroded by water incursion. Water collects in the trumpet, filling up to rubber spring internal metal plate. This then rusts the threaded section away over time. If this has happened to yours, even if you did get the cone compressor to screw in, once there is a load on the…

The need to get the Clubby Estate sorted and mobile is becoming ever more pressing. My old MG ZT-T is getting long in the tooth too; requiring more maintenance to keep it going. I’m unimpressed with the staggering amount of electronics in modern cars and have no current desire for a ‘new’ car - I’d be more than happy to whiz around in a Mini again, so to this end I’ve attacked the rusty bits on the front panel-to-subframe mounting areas, rust converted them and sprayed them with Wurth anti-rust treatment. No paint as it seemed pointless bodging it when the rust proofing wax would do just as well. Effort has gone in to rebuilding the refinished hubs too, and the engine is booked to go on the dyno for…

What do the Beatles, Peter Sellers and film producer, Roy Boulting, have in common in Classic Mini circles? Well, they were all owners of Classic Minis de Villes converted by legendary coach builder Harold Radford, based in South Kensington, London. It was the individual customisation of these cars, such as Peter Sellers’ wickerwork example and being a big fan of the Beatles that got owner Luke Hartwell interested in producing his own replica. “I found a single grainy picture of film producer Roy Boulting sat in his Radford and thought it was just the coolest Mini I’d ever seen. Considering how varied the Mini scene is across the world, I couldn’t believe this hadn’t been done again, not as far as I could tell. And I had no idea what’d…

On 27 October, jobbers lined up from across the UK (and one team from Latvia celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary!) to have their Minis scrutineered at the start of the Italian Job 2017. This year’s Italian Job started in the Molino-Rosso Hotel in Imola, and from there jobbers took to their Minis (and a Jaguar XJS) to explore the Emilia-Romagna region. The first day was a short run out to the Imola Circuit to get new jobbers used to the tulip style guide books. We drove a few spirited laps then lined up to leave our cars and visit the Ayrton Senna memorial. A few special stages followed. Day 2 started badly after my 1998 Cooper Sport LE decided to casually dump her coolant into the passenger footwell. Luckily, Gareth…

“The car seems fairly solid, it’s just a bit tatty, so I reckon it’s a great basis for this project” PROJECT PROFILE THE OWNER NAME: Neal Goldspring AGE: 50 OCCUPATION: Classic Mini Restorer LOCATION: Herts THE CAR: CAR: 1995 Mini Cooper 1.3i START CONDITION: Stolen/recovered and crashed CONDITION NOW: Injection system removed TIME TAKEN SO FAR: Three-months ESTIMATED TIME OF COMPLETION: Unknown Neal can blame a recent trip with wife Michaela on the Mini Cooper Register’s Minis to Ireland for his latest Mini project. As after a week spent enjoying amazing but bumpy Irish roads in his previously-featured Honda VTEC-powered Clubman, Neal decided he needed to go back to, as he describes it, “a grass roots Mini”, with a standard track and width, rather than just his hybrid, Japanese-powered monster.…

Launched just a year after the Minivan in 1961, Pick-ups are now a rare sight because, despite their small size, that flat load bed was a surprisingly useful space with a generous 26.75 cubic feet. On top of this, they were affordable, and as a result many were bought, used and, sadly, just simply thrown away. The fact that the Pick-up’s light weight made it attractive to racers as a competition vehicle is sure to have played its part in slimming numbers too, and this could be seen as the inspiration for Jonathan Diggines’ perfect lightlymodded example. Jonathan admits it took him a long time to thoroughly catch the Classic Mini bug, even though he’s owned more than 100 cars to date, and no, just for the record he’s not…

1. Devise a plan If you’ve never driven on track before, book into a trackday to get a flavour of motorsport. Although trackdays are a fantastic starting point, the downside is that overtaking is often restricted to the straights, and you may be bundled in with drivers of far more powerful machinery. Ideally look for a Mini-only session, such as a Mini Spares track evening or the Castle Combe Action Day, where you’ll be joined by likeminded enthusiasts. Go karting can also be a fantastic way of learning the basics of race craft and car control, and for Mini racing it can be especially good to learn about momentum - optimum corner speed and smooth driving to improve lap times. Most circuits hold arrive-and-drive championships, so for around £40-50 you…

The next chapter began like any good project car should - a combination of reckless spending, financial panic and subsequent parts selling. The R53 has gone, the grey Mini will soon be despatched and most of its insides have already been sold. In need of some form of transport, I stopped short of selling the push bike, but otherwise it’s very much out with the old to fund this impulsive racing plan! The first expenditure was an MSA ‘Go Racing’ pack for £100. This includes the first year’s race license fee and a DVD tuition guide, which is somewhat daunting for a newcomer. I then needed to book a £300 ARDs racing test, to make sure I’m not a danger on track, opting for my local Mallory Park venue. Next…

So with a busy time at work at the moment and the pick-up shell tucked away in the corner, I thought it would be a good time to get the doors underway. With the doors stripped of its parts and skins removed I decided to get the frames sand blasted so I could see what I had left to work with. To my surprise what I got back was fairly good. The top drip channels were all good and it was just the bottom of the frames that need replacing. With the new panels offered up, what was left of the original rusty frame was cut away and the new panels welded in place. The next job was to weld the drain channel tubes which is not supplied with the…

I was always a fan of GT5/ GTL Minis. And in September 2017 I made my dream of visiting the USA to see these cars come true. Once in the U.S., I was invited to stay at Pat Kay (of Mini Owners of America in San Francisco (MOASF))’s house. The next morning I was taken to the Sonoma Raceway where I met Rachel and Andy Nelson, owners of a Fortech Mini, and was set to work whilst the cars were unpacked. The paddock filled up with 35 of the finest Minis in a row - many with a racing history. Friday morning started with European guest drivers Endaf Owens in the number 17 Fortech, Jonathan Lewis in car 62 and Rene de Vries in 00, arriving to three free practice…

January 7 2018 Wirral to Llandudno Run Popular annual run from Bromborough on the Wirral to Llandudno in North Wales, including a stop in Rhos-On-Sea and the spectacular climb up the Great Orme headland. Places are limited to 250 cars. www.wirralminis.com January 28 2018 British Mini Fair The largest indoor Mini event in the UK, organised by British Mini Club. Expect over 100 trade and autojumble stands, Pride of Ownership display, Premier Concours Finals, club stands and a charity auction. This is a great event for buying parts to finish off those winter projects! www.britishminiclub.co.uk May 6 2018 MkI Action Day Superb classic Mini track event, encompassing a social evening on the evening of Saturday May 5, with a full day of track action on the Sunday. A full itinerary,…

Few things can beat the feeling of hitting the road for the very first time in your very own car. For Elliot Powick, all that excitement and anticipation culminated in him buying a hotted-up Mini on the day before his 18th birthday and passing his test the day after. And yet, he would have to wait a further 26 years to get his first car out on the road. So what happened? In short, insurance. Even in 1990, getting cover on a modified Mini with a tweaked motor and a full rollcage was way beyond the reach of most teenagers. So Elliot would begin his career in a lowly Morris Marina instead, while his modified Mini went into the garage. But now, more than two decades on, Elliot has more…

Ever since I attended the very first Balkanka Minijada event in 2009, I’ve always toyed with the idea of lengthening my stay with an extended road trip. There are many fascinating places to visit in the southern Balkan area, and it would be easier to get them from Serbia rather than travelling the from my native Hungary. So this year I finally decided to fulfil my ambitions, and together with my pal Levente, head south after another excellent Minijada had finished. Our steed would be my beloved 1975 Bracken Mini 1000, a right-hand-drive Mini bought in Sussex and affectionately known as ‘Toffee’. When we started to plan our trip, however, we found that we only had three days spare, and the temperature in July was scorching in Central Europe, not…

COST £19.32 – sender unit (commercial) £18 – send unit (carb saloon) £1 – gasket 60p each – screws and washers TIME Commercial 1-hour Saloon 15-minutes CONTACT Mini Spares 01707 607700 www.minispares.com Sleaford Mini Centre 01529460049 facebook.com/Sleaford-mini-centre DIFFICULTY Having a faulty fuel gauge can be, at best, a little tiresome and at worst it’s a complete pain in the proverbial when you run out of fuel in the middle of nowhere. Thankfully getting it sorted is a fairly easy process and all the parts required are still readily available, which means you won’t have to drive around with your fingers crossed and an old stick in the boot! Before you go ahead and replace the fuel tank sender unit there are a few simple checks you can make to confirm…

“Economy depended on frequency and depth of ‘pedal-to-the-metal’ activity” KEITH CALVER Keith has been Mini Magazine’s tech expert since we launched in 1996. Keith’s Mini CV speaks for itself: he joined the motorsport scene as a Miglia competitor in 1978, before a five–year stint at the Mini Spares Centre (London) in the early ’80s. Now independent, Keith builds race engines for numerous disciplines. His 1275 GT race car and sharing his vast amount of Mini knowledge are also main focuses. One particular decision that can really alter the driving experience of your Mini concerns the final drive ratio. Choosing a final drive (FD) to suit your application tends to be made when folk have rebuilt an engine for a desired performance envelope, or just to better suit the driver’s needs.…

My last Classic Mini, was probably my dream one - a 1990 RSP Cooper with a John Cooper Garages ’S’ conversion. During the four-years I owned it, it proved to be fun and frustrating in typical Classic Mini fashion, but it is the only car that I’ve sold and couldn’t watch being driven away! Since then I’ve still loved Classic Minis, but changes in circumstance has seen me buy a succession of BMW MINIs, since attending the launch in London back in summer 2001. I’ve owned my dream New MINI, a 2006 R53 Cooper S John Cooper Works GP since 2010. But after some nostalgia about the 2001 launch last year, I was offered Y157OBL, an R50 Cooper which I ended up buying as a project. Built in April 2001,…