Innehållsförteckning för June 2017 från Mini Magazine

An updated version of the classic Mini has been announced by a small British coachbuilding firm. Called the Mini Remastered, it’s the latest model from David Brown Automotive, and was unveiled on April 6 in Shoreditch. In essence it’s a classic Mini retro-fitted with refurbished and improved mechanicals, a deseamed exterior and plenty of mod cons. It’s the second model to be launched by the firm (which has no connection to David Brown of Aston Martin fame) following its £600,000 Speedback GT in 2014, which combines DB5-inspired looks with a Jaguar platform. Designed to be the ultimate classic Mini, the cars will blend retro styling with the latest modern technology and an attractive, hand-crafted leather interior. The power unit will be a 1275cc A-series rebuilt to produce around 78bhp, but…

MINI RUMBLE There has been no Mini drag event at Shakespeare Country Raceway for several years now, so to fill the void, the 16-valve Mini Club and TurboMinis are hosting their Classic Mini Rumble. This is an unofficial Mini shoot-out to complement the venue’s public Run What Ya Brung weekend on September 30/ October 1, open to all marques. All classic Minis are invited to take part, with trophies on offer for various different categories. Search for the Classic Mini rumble page on Facebook for more details. UKMINIS ROLLING ROAD UKMinis will host a rolling road day at Hi-Tech Motorsport in Kidderminster on June 25 from 9am to 4pm. Admission is free for spectators, with power runs charged at £30 each. Runners will be provided with a full print out…

• Anticipation is gathering ahead of the next Mini in the Park event, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway on April 13. A number of activities have already been announced, offering show-goers plenty of opportunity to get involved. New for 2017 is a Pride of Ownership display. This replaces the concours, and is designed to be more laid back. It’s simply about displaying your Mini in a way that shows how proud you are of it. Make sure that it is clean and well-presented, and include any related accessories, memorabilia, resto albums and the like. If you are a dab hand in the kitchen, then there’s also the new Mini Bake Off contest, where Mini-related cakes go head-to-head for cash prizes. Naturally, all the usual MITP features will still…

Not as busy or glitzy as Festival of Speed or Revival but playing a very important role in the Goodwood calender, The 75th Members’ Meeting took place on 18-19 March. Ostensibly for the members of the Goodwood Road and Racing Club and their guests, tickets are made available for the general public, and once again they were snapped up with gusto. Minis once again made several appearances, on and off the track. Swiftune brought along its Longman replica and ex-Jon Mowatt 1275 GTs to compete in the two Gerry Marshall trophy races, and wowed the crowds. The first race saw Nick Swift and BTCC champion Andrew Jordan edge out much more powerful machinery on their way to fifth place, while Sunday’s 15-minute reverse-grid encounter saw Nick finish sixth after starting…

BODY 1976 Mini Clubman 1100, media blasted to bare metal, restored with new wings, front panel, A-panels, sills, rear valance and numerous other localised repairs, stone-chip painted underneath, front wings trimmed by approx 1.5 inches to clear wheel lock, Mini Sport Group 5 arches, four Cibie Oscar lamps, raised-digit numberplates, red towing eye, 1275 GT boot badge, separate reversing light, GT grille badge. Paint BL Bronze Yellow. ENGINE Innocenti 120 1275 block bored to 1330 with plus-0.060-inch Omega pistons, Calver ST RE13 PP camshaft, Specialist Components billet aluminium seven-port head with 36/31 valves, 11.5:1 compression ratio, Mini Spares 1.5-ratio roller tip rockers, SC throttle bodies with trumpets and ITG foam filter, SC Storm ECU, MPi fuel tank and engine bay-mounted regulator valve, silicone coolant hoses, Mini Spares super two-core radiator,…

BODY 1972 Mini saloon, extended to 3.5 metres with extra saloon rear section, steel ladder-type structure rearwards from floor crossmember, modified rear end with Mini light clusters, steel trailer coupling, aluminium panelling, A-panel seams removed, bespoke cab rear section, custom-made 6-metre trailer. Paint: metallic blue with red, white and blue grille design. Overall length: 9 metres. Overall weight: 1900kg (Mini 900kg, Trailer 1000kg). Payload: Mini 1500kg, trailer 200kg (limited by regulations). ENGINE 1380 A-plus A-Series, Specialist Components BMW 16-valve K head conversion, BMW throttle bodies, Thermex aluminium radiator, auxiliary fan, oil cooler, custom-made twin exhaust system. TRANSMISSION Jack Knight five-speed gearbox, Quaife ATB differential. SUSPENSION Two rear subframe set-up, Citroën Activa Hydropneumatic self-levelling system adapted to suit with spheres in place of rubber springs. Anti-roll stabiliser bars front and rear…

The first rule of working on cars and using tools of any kind is don’t be stupid. Make sure personal protective gear – goggles, gloves, ear defenders, masks and a set of overalls - are hanging on a hook in your garage and use them wisely. If you’re working with power tools, protective gear is essential. Never attempt to work under a car without supporting it securely using suitably strong axle stands. If you haven’t got a fire extinguisher, buy one and keep it near to hand. The bottom line? If you’re not completely confident of your own ability to complete any task safely, don’t even start it. Leave it to the experts.…

Keith Calver Minimag Tech Expert MINI LIFE Started out as ‘a hand with the spanners’ to my cousin Peter who’d just started racing in Mini Miglias. Spent fortunes at Mini Spares Centre building a couple of Miglias before joining the company for 5 years. During my ‘Mini Life’ I’ve had everything on the road from bog standard 850s to Monstrous 1600s and every conceivable variation in between. MINI SPEC Clubman shell undergoing a serious diet. Latest engine spec will be 1330cc with Marine Engineering crankshaft, billet steel con-rods, bespoke made one-off forged pistons. Cam will be a Graham Russell 308 full-race item, with large diameter cam followers. New venturi-spec cylinder head, 1.4:1-ratio solid steel CST rockers, MSC competition push rods and Weber 45DCOE on Maniflow five-inch inlet manifold. MSC Clubman…

• The worldwide Mini and motorsport community has been hugely saddened by the news that Swiftune founder and Mini racer Glyn Swift passed away on April 2 after a short battle with cancer. The Mini had been in production for just six years when he started Swiftune 52 years ago. Born in Essex in 1943, Glyn’s passion for tuning and motorsport began with motorcycles. However, after a couple of accidents, he decided it would be safer to switch to four wheels and race a Mini in autograss. The wins soon started, leading to him building engines for others and the foundation of Swiftune in ‘65. At certain points he would build Mini motors on the quiet while working at the Ford plant on night shifts! The Minis would soon take…

The new season of Mighty and Super Mighty Racing got underway on March 26-27, with Silverstone the venue for a double-header of action. The opening Mightys would see history made as debutante Agouti Motorsport-backed drivers Alice Hughes and Sarah Moore shared the front row, becoming the first ever women to occupy the front row of a British motorsport qualifying session! Meanwhile Ade Tuckley took pole for the Supers, alongside Louise Inch. The opening Mighty battle saw seven cars take turns to lead, including Hughes and Moore. The ladies were joined in battle by Stuart Coombes, Damien Harrington and Mick Grover, but unfortunately Grover and Moore ended up in the gravel trap at Luffield. In the end, Harrington pipped Hughes to win by a mere 0.059 seconds. In the Supers, Tuckley’s…

THE PREMIER MINI EVENT IN THE UK British Mini Club’s Mini Day is regarded as an established opener to the summer show season, and there’s no better place to enjoy a great day out with your Mini than Himley Hall and Park on May 7. This is the complete Mini enthusiast’s event, set in a stunning stately home venue. The main show will be located between the backdrop of the Hall and the great lake, but the real stars will be - as always - the cars! We start off our another year of our Premier Class Concours competition, with 11 different classes catering for every model of Mini and MINI. Running alongside we have our very popular Show ‘n’ Shine display, which gives people the chance to display their…

BODY Morris Mini Cooper 1071 S, restored with new boot floor and rear seat base, floor crossmember, door steps, A-panels, complete front end including M-Machine full-skirt front panel and inner wings modified by The Mini Works to correct MkI spec. Heelboard, bulkhead and floor repairs, Lucas type 700 headlights, twin tanks, original washer jets. Paint: Tartan Red black roof. ENGINE Original 1070 Cooper S block, 163 cylinder head, early radiator, Champion spark plug caps, HA12 coil, steel fan blades, AEG148 camshaft, C40 dynamo, M35G starter and 2ST starter solenoid, twin HS2 carbs, Cooper airbox with rubber pipe from air filter to rocker cover on left-hand-side, original wiring loom and water pump. SUSPENSION Dry set-up with new rubber springs, Hi-Los, Spax Krypton adjustable gas dampers, Subframes powder-coated. TRANSMISSION four-speed threesynchromesh remote-change…

Stephen Colbran Contributor MINI LIFE My Mini life began aged 13 with a SEGTO Junior race Mini, followed by the usual path of learning to drive in a Mini, joining a local club and getting involved in the shows. 17 years later, I've driven, photographed and written about some of the best cars on the scene. I've now got two project cars – a stripped-out trackday warrior and a supercharged MINI Cooper S daily drive. Both have their merits, but only one works... MINI SPEC My project is a more traditional style Mini with a tuned 1330cc A-Series, whilst this latest build from my dad is anything but normal. It features a Vauxhall Astra VXR turbo engine, 5.5-inch roof chop and a ‘70s custom style. It’s a home-brew retirement project…

BODY 1998 Rover Mini Cooper Monza LE, all original apart from front panel repairs, factory Sportpack arches, single silver coachlines with Monza crossed-flag decals, green winged badges, Union Jack A-panel badges, two fog lamps and two spot lamps, original numberplates. Paint: Tahiti Blue with colour-coded mirrors and arches. ENGINE MPi A-series bored to 1380cc, Omega D-dish pistons modified with extra oil return holes, rotating components individually balanced, Swiftune SW5 billet camshaft, MED Engineering cylinder head with 36/30 valves and bronze guides, MED 1.5-ratio roller-tip rockers, aluminium radiator, oil cooler, 52mm throttle body, K&N induction kit, port matched MPi inlet manifold, Maniflow Stage 2 LCB, stainless cat link pipe, New 100-cell sports catalyst, RC40 Millennium twin-box exhaust painted black, Cooper sump guard, re-mapped Rover MEMS ECU. SUSPENSION Dry set-up with Hi-Los,…

ANGLIA CAR AUCTIONS CLASSIC AUCTION, APRIL 8 • A healthy selection of Minis were offered at the latest Anglia Car Auctions classic sale on April 8, held in Kings Lynn. MkIIs seemed to be the order of the day, with three examples going under the hammer. A ‘68 ‘Woody’ Austin Countryman rebuilt with some subtle concealed upgrades sold for £9870 including premium, almost halfway between its £9-11,000 estimate. A MkII Cooper S, unfinished but seemingly restored to a high standard, sold for £26,250 against a £25-28,000 estimate, while very original-looking Morris MkII 850, curiously late-registered on a J-suffix, more than doubled its £2-3000 prediction to reach £6300. Several Rover Minis were also offered, the oldest an ‘89 Thirty with only 1856 miles on the clock, which sold for £10,185, A…

BODY 1963 South African-built MkI Mini, full restoration including extensive repairs to offside, new floors and new front end, bullet mirrors on Swiftune brackets, twin filler necks (dummy on right) with Aston-style filler caps, new bumpers with overriders and corner badges, Austin Cooper-style grille, Austin Cooper badges, Cooper Car Co stripes in Old English White, matching door and bonnet roundels, leather bonnet and bootlid straps. Paint: Custom-mix blue with OEW roof. ENGINE 998cc A-plus engine bored plus 0.040-inch, flat-top pistons, reground and balanced crankshaft, Swiftune SW5 camshaft, Swiftune timing gears, Calver ST modified cylinder head, twin HS2 carburettors with aluminium trumpets, CSI/Swiftune electric distributor, new wiring loom, two-core radiator with Stant cap, DSN heater outlet, Maniflow LCB and centre-exit exhaust system. SUSPENSION Refurbished and lightened powder-coated front subframe, Mondosport lightened…

BATTERY MONITORING SYSTEM £29.95 This new battery charge monitoring system hooks up to an app via Bluetooth on most new phones. It’s compatible with IOS, Android and Windows 10 devices, transmitting the battery’s voltage level when in range of your handset. The handy little device would be useful on Minis in storage or regular use, meaning you won’t have a nasty surprise from a poorly battery or charging system fault. • 01707 607700 • www.minispares.com DIGITAL SPEEDO From £183 Digital Speedos now stocks the all-in-one Acewell 85mm gauge. This compact unit includes a digital speedometer, white or black face options, a multitude of warning lamps and an odometer/trip meter. There’s also a built-in voltmeter, clock and a digital temperature gauge display. Additional sensors may be required depending on your current…

Jeroen Booij Maximum Mini writer MINI LIFE My first car was a Mini, and many more followed, but the focus became more and more on kit cars and specials, and more and more on researching them rather then owning them. I’ve tracked down several long-lost obscurities and wrote three books on Mini-based vehicles so far, known as the Maximum Mini trilogy of terrors. MINI SPEC 1966 Le Mans Mini Marcos. This car came with a 1289cc Cooper ‘S’ engine, AEA649 camshaft, AEG480 crank, AEG163 head, AEG333 gearbox casing with straight- cut close-ratio gears, SU H4 carburettors, double radiators and much more but is now a bare shell! MINIS OWNED 1966 Le Mans Mini Marcos To do list 1. Rub down the old paint layers. 2. Bring it over to Blyton…