Mini Magazine May 2020

Spring feels like it's getting close. We don't judge this by the temperature nudging up a couple of degrees, or even by growing number of daylight hours. Rather, we go by the number of Mini projects we see and the level of activity associated with them. We love our 'On The Job' section. The chance to go out and have a good nose in someone's garage, to see how their Mini is coming together, and pick up a few hints or tips for our own projects while we're at it. In reality, it's no different to what groups of Mini owners do up and down the country on a regular basis - other than the fact that we record everything on camera and put the full story in the magazine...…

Edward Leaker grew up around Minis and some of his happiest childhood memories revolve around Mini shows. His Dad had his fair share over the years and worked alongside Leo Jack of Cooper Cars Southwest for around 12 years. However, it took until he was in his thirties before Edward got a proper taste for Mini ownership and restoration. “At some point I said I’d really like to get a Frogeye Sprite and I eventually bought one from Denmark. The only good thing about it was that it was painted well, but everything else was horrendous - I had basically bought a bodyshell. I started on that one and quickly realised I just needed to practise which then led me on to finding a complete and utter pile of rust…

BODY 1993 Cooper (MkI Cooper S tribute) in Tartan Red with Morris Cooper S MkI bonnet and boot badges, MkI Morris Cooper grille and MkI rear light clusters. ENGINE Full MED fast road/competition A+ block offset bored to 1380cc, machined and fitted with MED centre main bearing cap and adapted for 11 stud application. Omega cast pistons, MED XT cross-drilled billet camshaft. 1.5:1 full roller rockers, MED competition/fast road push rods and cam followers, ARP studs and bolts. SUSPENSION Hi-Lo suspension units, Spax adjustable shock absorbers, 1.5 degree front arms, adjustable tie bars and adjustable rear camber brackets. TRANSMISSION Straight cut set, cross pin diff, 1.1 straight cut drop gears, MED ultra light steel flywheel, back plate, competition bonded clutch plate and orange diaphragm. BRAKES 7.5 inch discs, MkI ‘S’…

Gildred Racing have announced that they are producing a very limited run of 'Type S' Cars. "We are growing due to the demand," says the company's Tyler Gildred, "And will be producing a run of ten 500 wheel horse power RWD Super Cooper Type S cars in addition to our custom order Classic and Sport models. The Type S cars are configured with nearly identical Specs as the Red Super Cooper S with customer selected interior trim and paint themes." The cars feature supercharged Honda Acura V6 engines, 6-speed manual transmissions, 13 inch wheels and tyres, a MkIII Sport Body, performance four wheel disc brakes and fully adjustable coilovers. Supercar performance - 0-60 in under four seconds - comes with a supercar price tag of $150k. The factory 3.2L Acura…

• One of the joys of owning a classic car is taking them on a tour or a weekend away. If you've ever planned a road trip with stop-overs, you've probably had to make arrangements to help you decide if the places you want to stay are suitable for your car. Does it have a safe car park? Is the surface smooth and free of the dreaded speed bumps? Is the proprietor a true petrolhead? It's been challenging to find that information in one place...until now. Petrolheadswelcome.com is a free web portal designed to help petrolheads find venues that both they and their cars can enjoy. It's a site that has been built by car lovers for car lovers. The idea is a simple one: the website lists hotels, B&Bs…

• Motive Culture (AKA automotive illustrator Darren Curtis) creator of individual automotive prints offers an array of impressive limited edition prints including one of the iconic 1959 Morris Mini Minor 621AOK. Darren also has prints of each Italian Job 1969 Cooper S available and can create bespoke graphics of your car too. Motive Culture was founded in October 2017 and launched at the NEC Classic Motor Show a year later, in November 2018. Since then Motive Culture has attended numerous shows including the International Historic Motorsport show Race Retro, Bicester Heritage Sunday Scramble and their first sponsored show Classics at the Clubhouse. “Each piece is created using Adobe Illustrator with a mix of Photoshop too, and takes a good few days to produce a single vehicle. Many of my off-the-shelf…