Indholdsfortegnelse for September 2018 i Mini Magazine

Covering all bases, that’s what the September issue is doing this month. For early Mini fans, we’ve got Kevin Avin’s 1963 turbo’d MkI, which is bang on trend with its retro racer looks. Savvy Kevin’s stayed ahead of the curve too, after all the idea was conceived 15-years ago, with Kevin stockpiling parts to make his perfect Mini. Who’d have thought a Morris-Minor dash would work so well inside? Next up is Ashley Davies' retro-racer-looking 1972 MkII. Previously a feature star along with his dad’s and brother’s MkIIs, Ashley’s Mini has since had another rebuild, another new look and now features 1293cc supercharged power. Willy Carson has come up trumps again, with Frank Cunning’s 1993 Mayfair almost bringing us up-to-date. Now owned by grandson Martin, there’s a great story behind…

Back in 2016, the Mini Cooper Register suffered some very cold camping at the IMM in Belgium. So on the last night, a group decided to book into a B&B in Ypres and take the club over to Belgium for a road run. After a run from Calais to Ypres via St Omer, the 36 teams settled into their hotel, and at 8pm made their way to the Menin Gate for a meal at a local banquet suite and a night cap. On the Sunday, the teams and cars all met up in the square for a photo opportunity followed by a drive out, leaving the city under the Menin Gate to Hill 62 at Sanctuary Wood. A place where the wounded were taken to the shelter of the trees…

There won’t be many who think of changing their car at 87 years of age but that’s just what Irishman Frank Cunning did. His time spent behind the wheel of a Mini stretched back to the ’70s when he drove a 1275GT. Others followed, and in September 1992, he bought a new Flame Red City, registered ODZ 6732. By this time, Frank had retired from working as a tradesman for the local council, and with more time on his hands, he settled into a daily routine, part of which was to go to the newsagent to buy his paper and tobacco and driving on to the nearby beach at Benone where he would light his pipe and read about what was going on in the world. Spending an hour by…

The year 2017 was a good one for team Miniminded’s father and son line-up, with Carst finishing second overall in the championship in his Morris Cooper S, closely followed by his father in third place also in a Morris Cooper S. So, the start of this season promised a lot! With Timo Span’s Mini not quite ready, the season opening started out with five Minis. Qualifying went well with Paul Engel taking top spot with a 2.10. But the other Minis weren’t far away. Roger Ebdon, who travels every race weekend to the mainland to race his Mini, finished just in front of Klaas Span. Whilst last in line was Beranrd Dierick in his Morris Cooper S. The weekend consisted of three races. After qualifying, track conditions changed to slightly…

“It’s definitely possible, as many have demonstrated, but we wouldn’t call it a straightforward job” MICRA POWER Q I love the A-Series, but I’m toying with the idea of fitting my Mini with a Nissan Micra 16-valve engine. I know it’s possible as I’ve seen several cars at shows, and I’m not afraid of getting stuck in with a DIY project. What I am struggling with though, is finding advice and a suitable subframe. Can you help? Gwion A This is a move that we believe gained traction on the Caribbean islands, before becoming more widespread and increasingly popular. We aren’t the experts on this, but most conversions use the CG10 or CG13 engines from the K11 (second generation) Nissan Micra – quite fitting as their respective capacities are 998…

First front: The engine in the Biota decided it only wanted to run on two cylinders and we didn’t spend long seeking a solution as long-term I want to get a 1300 engine in with a rod change gearbox. I know it’s sacrilege as it deprives the car of its oddball heritage, but I want to use it in anger and second gear is kinda useful! The plan is to try it out this year and see how it goes and maybe next year (50th anniversary of launch) put a ’cage in and (deep breath) go racing. Having got the (nicely accessible) lump out, we then couldn’t find anything too much amiss – it looks like it was rebuilt. Second front: I sold my Rover Cooper! I need to cut…

Ashley Davies blames his dad for his love of Minis, or rather his dad’s Mini Clubman: “I remember going to pick it up, and on the way home it would pull to one side under braking, because the drums needed adjusting. I guess this pushed me into getting a Mini for my first car, which also happened to be a 1978 Mini Clubman!” Found one afternoon whilst browsing the internet, Ashley begged his dad to go along and have a look at the Clubman with him that same night, and after negotiating with the seller for some time, it was his! “It ended up overheating on the way home twice and I didn’t manage to get back till late!” So, Ashley’s first day of Mini ownership, was mostly taken up…

They say that the sun shines bright on the righteous, and this year the Mini Moke Club were definitely included in that happy band, as they met for the annual National Event at Cromer in Norfolk. Moke Club HQ was set up in Forest Park on Thursday, ready to welcome over 30 Mokes, their drivers and passengers on Friday for a fish and chip supper. Over the weekend the Mokes visited various coastal resorts including Hoveton on the Broads, museums and other places of interest. On Sunday the adventurous took in a route with over 12-miles of off-tarmac green lanes, where the lush vegetation threatened to overwhelm those cars with the smallest wheels. But all made it through with no significant damage and only a puncture to show for the…

Lytham Hall is a stunning 18th Century Georgian house in the beautiful north-west seaside resort of Lytham - and once again provided a perfect backdrop for the Mega Mini Meet. This year’s turnout had increased again - a great reflection of the hard work put in by organisers, Rachel Harding, Sarah Catherine and Ian Whiteside. There was great mix of both new and Classic Minis in original and custom form. The ‘Best Classic Mini’ award went to Gary Pearson and his lovely white 1275. With Matthew Armstrong a close ‘Runner Up Best Classic’. There was also friendly competition between the club stands, with New Mini Scotland taking home the well-deserved ‘Best Club Stand’ award donned in their kilts! If, after drooling over the cars and taking in the non-stop entertainment,…

BIRTHDAY PRESENT Name: David Anning Car: 1977 saloon Location: Ashford, Kent David Anning is the lucky owner of this 1977 custom saloon, boasting Yamaha R1 bike power. This Mini was originally a birthday present from his wife Jenna, bought in January 2017. Originally, the plan was to tidy it up and drive it. However, after finding so much rot, this Mini ended up having a full custom rebuild which took exactly 12-months. David tells us that he went for the R1 engine mainly for the noise, but the obvious extra performance is welcome too. It is a real head-turner and a Mini you’ll see again in Mini Magazine soon. MIGHTY MAYFAIR Name: David Jellico Cars: 1989 Mayfair Location: North Wales David’s had his Mini for 10 years. Originally a 1989…

It’s a gloomy thing to admit, but there’s a black cloud looming on the horizon for classic cars. Well, technically it’s more grey-brown; a swirling, headless global debate about air quality that’s already starting to ban or charge extra for all except the newest cars to drive into city centres. Even Oxford - the home of MINI - looks set to become a no-go zone for one of its most famous exports. But future motoring doesn’t have to be filled with white goods, and a stone’s throw away from Plant Oxford, I’m getting some idea of how appealing the alternatives can be. Darting through rush-hour traffic and bouncing over the broken tarmac of the city’s backstreets, Moritz Burmester’s Cooper Sport has all s for the Mini the world over. But,…

COST 12G1963 valve guides – £1.62 each (Mini Spares) ADU4905 valve stem oil seal – 62p each (Mini Spares) Fit and ream guides - £40 + VAT (Hamlins 01278 422452) Reface valves - £27.60 + VAT (Hamlins 01278 422452) Cut seats – £31.60 + VAT (Hamlins 01278 422452) Reface head - £54 +VAT (Hamlins 01278 422452) DIFFICULTY Decoking the cylinder head used to be part of a car’s routine maintenance. But as head designs improved and fuel became cleaner and of a consistently higher quality, the need for regular head maintenance reduced. The Haynes manual suggests it may be required on the A-Series engine every 24,000-miles after a compression check, and some engine builders recommend checking and relapping the valves every 10,000-miles. Either way, performance will improve after a head…

7.5-GALLON PETROL TANK FOR MPI MODELS £172.80 Mini Spares is now offering a quality replica of the 7.5-gallon tank used on the Mini MPi. Being a fuel injection tank it comes with holes for both the in-tank pump and the fuel gauge sender unit. This tank can also be used for turbo applications (however, for these applications the thinner neck seal WGG100010 should be used). Part number: WFE106090MS. • 01707 607700 • www.minispares.com DIGITAL MINI WORKSHOP MANUAL £55.96 Original parts books, workshop manuals and handbooks for the Classic Mini remain greatly sought after and extremely hard to source. Now, thanks to Moss Europe, these publications are available digitally in the Moss range of Original Technical Publications. Supplied on a portable USB, the Original Technical Publications have been fully reproduced from…

After an epic 4500 miles in just over a week – despite having been barely driven in a decade beforehand – it’s fair to say that the red Mayfair has earned a bit of a rest and some TLC. Remarkably very little went wrong over my nine-country jaunt, but there’s a fair bit to sort now. The two most pressing issues are a wobbly coolant pump pulley, which should be easy to sort, and the desperate need for a tune-up, which might not. Despite having been set-up on the rollers before departure and running well for the outward journey, the Mini suddenly began to run alarmingly rich in Serbia. I’m not sure if it was the differing standards of the local petrol or something else, but something has gone amiss.…

Following a successful exhibition of their competition wheels at Autosport International earlier this year, the pressure has been on Revolution Wheels to cope with demand. Why? Well, despite a history that goes back over 50 years, most of the wheels that Revolution supply are custom-finished. The manufacture of these wheels is sophisticated, using modern flow-forming casting techniques to give a precisely balanced and durable wheel. The finishing touch being the offset, which is machined to suit each customer’s vehicle requirements, resulting in a product that is not only technically-advanced but also craftsman-finished. “With our building footprint now increased threefold, we will soon be able to offer a vastly reduced turnaround time for our wheels – down to 3-5 days – in addition to improving our storage facility, giving a greater…

First weekend in August and Minis and Mini-based kit cars from as far away as Germany came together at the Eternit Sports and Social Club, in Cambridge, for the annual International Mini Chill, organised again by Trevor and the Knowles family. The show started on the Friday and as predicted it was hot, hot, hot! Still, the heat, didn’t stop attendees from erecting their tents and, as the name suggests, ‘chilling’ with fellow Mini friends. Trevor had arranged live music in the social club and Almost Abba, a local ABBA tribute band, seemed an excellent way to finish the day. Saturday was another scorcher, but the show was all about owners chilling and showing off a vast selection of Classic Minis. Many owners benefitted from the various traders selling Mini…

“I’ve always wanted to build a Mini to my own spec, and buying a shell has given me the perfect opportunity” Perry Jones’s first car was an Austin Mini City E, called Maggie, that he bought back in 2009 for £250. This City E hadn’t been on the road for over 10 years, although it was virtually complete with the previous owner having done most of the work. When Perry bought it, it just needed a paint job and a few small patches welded up. Still, that didn’t stop Perry, as in just six-months his Mini was back on the road! Unfortunately Maggie was getting a bit rotten so Perry was forced to sell her, as he also needed a more practical car. So he went a few years without…

The Mini game has moved on immeasurably over the past decade or so. Body kits and 13-inch wheels have, broadly speaking, been replaced by classic and retro styling, while the price of just about anything that’s even passed within spitting distance of a Mini has shot through the roof and continued to the moon. But let’s suppose you were a bit canny back in the day and got ahead of the curve – now is the time to really reap the rewards. Just look no further than Kevin Avins’ turbocharged MkI. By collecting parts when they were cheap, having pals in the right places and learning along the way, the Londoner has transformed a once-scruffy 1963 Mini-Minor into a retro-look show-stopper. For something so bang on trend, it’s hard to…

Balaton is a 75km lake in the western-central part of Hungary, with picturesque hills on the north banks and small humps on the south. IMM 2012 was held on the north banks in the beautiful city of Balatonfured, but in 2018, the club’s members decided to go back to the lake and enjoy the beach life just about 17km from this a comfy campsite in Balatonszemes. So, over the weekend of 11-14 July, around 100 Minis from Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, Croatia and the Czech Republic spent four sunny days having fun on the beach, riding a Classic Mini pedal boat, catching up with Mini-friends over great food and drink, and driving on the magnificent curvy countryside. The long weekend started on Wednesday evening, with the arrival of the first Minis…

Q My 1275cc Mini is leaking oil quite badly. Originally I thought it was from the timing cover, so I took everything out of the way, removed the cover and changed the gasket. Annoyingly though it’s still leaking. The cover itself was brand-new when the engine was rebuilt a year or so ago, so I’m not sure what to do next. The engine has a Stage 1 kit and a few other bits, but it’s not a high-performance build. Rich Wilder A The level of performance of any A-Series engine has no bearing on whether gaskets and seals leak or not - it is assembly and condition of components that determine this. Timing cover leaks are predominantly caused by one of two things; the crankshaft pulley oil seal, or the…

Dr Moulton created the original ‘dry’ suspension which most Minis run on. This is a fully independent suspension system which uses a rubber spring, controlled by an external hydraulic damper. This system works well, in fact it works very well, but the short wheelbase of the Mini results in a bit of a buck-a-roo ride when you encounter holes and bumps along the road. This is amplified by lower profile tyres which have less give, but let’s stick to 10-inch wheels for now. The standard suspension is called ‘dry’ as the hydrolastic involves a water-based fluid and is ‘wet’. The idea behind the hydrolastic is to even out these lumps and bumps by making the rear of the car work in tandem with the front. With the dry suspension, if…

All was going to plan on the engine build when we found an issue with the crankshaft. ‘Dry’ building the engine the first time around I checked the piston top to block face height and found a difference of 0.005-inch between cylinder one and four. Whilst the crank had been reground to the perfect -0.010-inch size at some point, it hadn’t been stroke corrected. So relative to their centre lines, the big end journals were offset by a minuscule amount. It wouldn’t be noticeable on a road engine, but on a strict regulation race series, everything has to be perfect, and this would cause a marginally different compression ratio between cylinders. Crankshaft two was okay at standard dimensions but on assembly it felt a little too tight in the main…