Innehållsförteckning för December 2017 från Mini Magazine

After 12 years of working for the magazine, I’m struggling to recall seeing a Mini built with such incredible attention to detail as this month’s cover star. Not only has Neal Hynard produced a 1275 GT with perfect bodywork and a stonker of an engine, he’s even gone as far as polishing every nut and bolt. I’m a big fan of GTs, so it was a natural choice for an issue that will sadly be my last as editor of this great publication. It’s not been an easy decision. Minis mean absolutely everything to me, and have done for as long as I can remember. I started at the mag as the work experience kid in 2005, and I’ve now been involved in 151 issues - more than half of…

Mini owners may have to pay extra to a new levy on older vehicles. The T-Charge, or toxicity charge, came into effect on October 23, putting an extra £10 fee on all vehicles wishing to enter the London Congestion Charge zone that do not meet Euro 4 emissions standards – typically those registered before 2006. The T-Charge will run in the same area and over the same operating times (Monday to Friday 7am-6pm) as the existing London Congestion Charge zone, meaning that pre-Euro 4 vehicles will be liable for a total daily fee of £21.50. Some cars are ‘early adaptors’, meaning they meet Euro 4 standards despite being pre-2006. All classic Minis fall short in theory, but that’s caused confusion as Transport for London’s own online vehicle checker has revealed…

Gloucestershire Mini Owners Club (GMOC) enjoyed a recent club photoshoot on the 24th September at Birdlip, near Cheltenham. The group currently has 57 active members, who pride themselves on the passion for the Minis they own, along with a sense of fun and a willingness to give a helping hand to their community. The club meets meet once a month on the second Friday or Sunday of the month, as well as attending at local, national and international Mini events throughout the season. All Mini and MINIs are welcome, and as you can see, there’s even a Metro that has sneaked in! The club’s aim is to have fun whilst helping to preserve these iconic cars for all to see and admire. Search for ‘Gloucestershire Mini Owners Club’ on Facebook…

The final round of the HRCR Mini Sport Mini Cup took place as part of the Keldine Autos Cheviot Rally on October 22. An impressive 15 Minis made the start line on a damp Northumberland morning, following heavy overnight rain in the midst of Storm Brian. It was all to play for as the top four crews in the Mini Cup standings were all in with a chance of taking the 2017 title. Colin McDowell and Michael Spence pulled out an early six-second lead over Ray Cunningham and Jared Gill over the first loop of four stages, which he then extended to 11 seconds after the re-run of the first loop. It was an epic battle over the slippery Otterburn Ranges with less than five seconds splitting the two Irish…

Mini Passion Campania’s annual Mini gathering took place on Sunday October 1, with the beautiful Amalfi Coast in Italy as the backdrop. Established in 2010 by pals Paolo Canzano, Antonello Cappiello and current president Giuseppe Di Crescenzo, the group was hosting the event for the seventh time. The group’s members are chiefly based around the Naples area, but 16 Minis and their occupants from all over Italy were present, meeting up bright and early at the Angri Sud motorway exit on the Naples-Salerno road before convoying together. Once in Amalfi, participants enjoyed a special breakfast in the Piazza del Duomo, where they could also visit the amazing Roman Catholic cathedral. On what was a beautiful autumn day, the line-up of Minis was admired and photographed by the locals who was…

PUBMAN ESTATE Name: Debi Martin Car: Clubman Estate Location: Berkshire • This is our 1973 Morris Mini Clubman Estate called “Peggy the Pubman”. We got her just as Peggy Mitchell was off on her merry way leaving the ‘Queen Vic’ in EastEnders, and with a numberplate like PUB 829M, it had to be! In 2012 she was written off when at the front of a major pile up, so we saved her and had the whole rear end replaced. Now we are working on replacing the front (the wings were second-hand!), but as is so often the case, things have escalated and more work will be required. We were hoping to get more of it done this year but my partner Jono broke his leg and our intentions had to…

Tuning the Mini’s 850 engine is very much a niche art nowadays. Sure, there’s a plethora of history there and you can make some decent gains, but a bigger capacity motor is still easy enough to come by and offers a whole lot more bang for your buck. The snag is that you’ll lose that originality factor, and with a 1960s Mini, most likely that iconic magic wand gear lever too. It’s quite a dilemma, but one that Ben Bourdaire has solved brilliantly with this 1965 Pick-up. Ben is something of a rising star in the Mini scene. The Parisian is the man behind Department 75, a Cambridge-based Mini restoration business that is fast forging a reputation for top-quality builds. To demonstrate his pedigree, he’s recently been appointed as head…

COST £750 – complete setup £155 – electric water pump kit £300 – competition radiator TIME Two-three hours CONTACT www.med-engineering.co.uk 01455 618464 DIFFICULTY Although it’s aimed primarily at trackday and competition Minis, we thought we’d take a look at MED’s latest coolant kit, as it would be possible to pick and choose certain aspects for a road car too. That and the fact we’ve never covered the installation of a front-mounted radiator and electric water pump before! The kit includes everything required to convert a regular cooling system with a mechanical pump and side-mounted radiator to a super-efficient Davies Craig electric coolant pump and MED Extreme front-mounted radiator. Aside from the additional cooling capabilities, there are two main advantages here – reduced drag from the mechanical pump to give a…

“There is confusion over what type of gearboxes use what gaskets, if any...” Last month’s ‘How to’ on changing the final drive crown wheel and pinion in a late rod-change type gearbox alerted me as to something I have neglected to cover before, and that’s correctly setting the differential bearing pre-load. I have covered it in a general way some long while ago now, but there is a need to be a bit more specific about it because of changes in diff bearings, gaskets and assemblies. Simply following the method laid down in the Haynes or BMC workshop manual is now no longer really relevant because of these changes. The pre-load is measured in tiny increments of an inch, so any variation away from the ancient, original component dimensions will…

The elephant in the room was small, grey and Mini shaped. My car had been sitting unused since I moved, twice, and realistically unless a drastic plan came about, the thing would have just stayed there for another few years. Really it was too much for the road and not enough for competition, and I fancied going racing again. So what to do? I planned a more substantial rollcage install and a more potent engine. It would be based around the current look, just more hardcore. I’d totted-up all the costs, then out of nowhere bought another car, like you do when you’ve got a stacked single garage and no idea where to put another Mini. It may sound crazy, but actually buying a shell that’s had most of the…

BRAD KITCHING’S CUSTOM R53 COOPER S • When Brad Kitching took on this R53 Cooper S, his plan was to create something different. With that extreme, home-made rear wing we reckon he’s succeeded, and the Porsche blue wrap only helps it stand out even more! CLARK CAUGHHEY’S R53 ON AIR • Clark Caughey was a VW man through and through, but a failed Golf project saw him build this stunning R53 following the same principles – those BBS split-rims and the stance really make this MINI. MARK MCKELVEY’S OEM R53 COOPER S • With all the modified R53 Cooper Ss around it’s rare to find a standard car. Mark McKelvey’s is, but with rare first-generation JCW parts to take it to the next level. JOHN HUBBARD’S R50 RETRO COOPER AUTO…

“It was the start of my education into welding and proper maintenance...” However optimistic you may be about a Mini purchase, unexpected rust is just par for the course as you dig deeper. Finding horrors operates a higher frequency a pleasant surprise, but it needn’t all be doom and gloom. Discovering that her seven-year-old Mini Mayfair was spectacularly rotten was the trigger for Gemma Thorogood to get started on her first proper restoration, and it’s fair to say it’s changed her whole career. Having restored and owned countless Minis over the intervening 17 years, Gemma now runs Ratbag Restorations, based in the little town of Deal on the Kent coast. Her portfolio includes work on Bill Richards’ Monte Carlo historic rally car and Mini Spares’ stunning early Morris Traveller, but…

An excellent turn-out of Minis were present at the All British Day in Brisbane on September 17. This charitable event is organised and run by enthusiasts, bringing together all British vehicle owners, encouraging new enthusiasts to join their ranks and allowing the vehicles to be viewed by all. Amongst the Minis were several early MkIs, 1960s Cooper Ss and wild later examples. The subtle model differences would doubtless be fascinating to a UK audience, including an Australian-market Mini 1275 LS up for grabs (just over £6000). Next year’s event is scheduled for September 18 at the St Joseph’s College Sports Ground in Tennyson.…

The 2017 Dunlop Mini Se7en and Mini Miglia challenges concluded at a somewhat damp and cold ‘TruxxFactor’ meeting at Rockingham Speedway in Northamptonshire on September 30-October 1, with the remaining class trophies decided. In a tense Mini Se7en finale weekend, Charlie Budd secured the title with a round to go, taking victory on the last lap when long-time leader Lewis Selby’s engine overheated and lost power, dropping him to second and leaving him unable to overturn the points deficit. Outgoing champion Ashley Davies completed the podium, and in the S Class battle, James Bull came through for victory after early leader Nick Croydon-Fowler dropped out. Selby was unable to fix his engine for the following day’s race, which saw Max Hunter recover from a lowly grid position to repeat his…

The OhSoRetro Show returned for its fourth year on September 24, with a superb turnout of Minis joining over 1400 classic and retro cars at the Margate venue. Enthusiasts travelled the entire country and from as far as Belgium, Holland and Sweden for the one-day show, which is open to pre-1990 cars as a general rule, though all classic Minis are obviously fair game! Over 50 clubs were in attendance, with London and Surrey MOC, SELKent, Southern MOC, Thanet’s Original Minis, Mini Life, Essex MC, Mini Freakz and Waltham Abbey MC amongst the Mini contingent. The event also saw an array of classic motorbikes and scooters, plus a display of Sinclair C5s – one of which was jet-powered! Attractions included live music and entertainment all day, complete with real Margate…

“The plan is to give the Mini a cool retro-themed makeover...” Are you one of those enthusiasts who trawls the autojumble and trade stands at Mini shows, hoping to discover rare bits that you can stash away in readiness for a rainy day? You may well get mocked by your clean-living, ‘buy-it-when-I-need-it peers’, but there will come a time when hoarding loads of bargains will pay off. Just ask Hannah Garlington and her boyfriend Alex Groves. Alex has long collected scarce and potentially useful Mini parts, and following her move to Essex from her native Bath earlier this year, Hannah has bought into the theory too. By raiding Alex’s stocks and picking parts up at reduced prices from shows, the pair will be able to transform a tired 1989 Mayfair…

Few can deny that the Mini Cooper S of the 1960s is a motoring icon. Few will possess a genuine one, and fewer still will own one of the very special examples that took international rallying to a new level. Only the very fewest of the few will ever own more than one. Dermott Simpson is one of these people. He grew up in Northern Ireland, and recalls that his infatuation with Minis probably started when his father, a local doctor, bought his mother a Cooper. During the 1960s the Circuit of Ireland rally started in Dermott’s home town, and his father was invited – together with his impressionable son – to the start each year. Thus began an avid, lifelong interest in the rally scene and, after a successful…

ADDING BOOST Q I’m looking to build a really quick Mini, and fancy going down the forced-induction route. I’ve considered both turbocharged and supercharged engines, but it seems that many of the supercharged conversions do without straight-cut gears, which better suits my budget. Is this because the power delivery is more linear than a turbo and doesn’t put as much strain on the transmission? People also seem to use less fancy engine management with a supercharger than a turbo, but is this just coincidence? Mario A I suspect the main reason for supercharged Minis ‘do without straight-cut gears’ is because the fitting of a supercharger is a whole lot less involved than fitting a turbocharger. Fitting a supercharger using one of the various kits offered does not require the power…

Though my plans to spend more time on my Minis hasn’t seen the lengthy activity I had hoped for, it’s certainly seen a massive up-turn in getting things done. Getting a cylinder head completed for the Clubby has taken quite some time because of diverting partially-done heads to customers in desperate need, but I’m pleased to say I have now completed one for this build, and it is not being sold on! Despite being very much more tortuous and time consuming than doing a large-bore head because of the intricate smallness of everything, or perhaps because of it, I find the end result so much more pleasing. Gotta love a modified small-bore head! I have had discerning comments about going with Hammerite metallic dark blue for the power unit, particularly…

We rejoin my latest Mini Pick-up project just as I’d cut the many meters of box section to size in order to weld brace bars into the shell. I decided to brace not only the cabin but also the rear damper mounting points, as this would give me a good datum to work from when I got round to replacing the rear load panels. I also made a mock-up rear subframe, which bolts to the original captive nut mounts. It is a fraction of the weight of the original and will stop any drop or sag that may occur by using the original subframe to line up the load bed. With all this done and many measurements taken I was ready to get serious – cutting out the complete floor…

A common question asked during the classic Mini’s 41-year production life was how could the iconic Issigonis-styled original ever be replaced? Rover played up to this hype, teasing us with the 1997 Spiritual, Spiritual Too and its Monte Carlo Rally-influenced ACV30 concepts. As it tuned out, these were all designs rejected before the final Frank Stephenson model. That model, or the R50 MINI as we now know it, finally made its debut in prototype form at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September of that same year. However, with Rover’s sale to the Phoenix consortium, and BMW’s decision to keep the MINI brand and move production from Longbridge to Cowley, it would take a further four years for the New MINI to be revealed in production form. On July 7 2001,…

BONHAMS BOND STREET SALE, DECEMBER 2 A modified 1966 Cooper S that once belonged to famed Beatles drummer Ringo Starr (a.k.a. Richard Starkey) is set to go under the hammer at Bonhams’ Bond Street Sale on December 2. Said by Bonhams to have been converted by Radford (though it wears Hooper badges), it features a hatchback conversion and a folding rear seat, allowing space for Ringo’s drum kit! The car was also modified with a tweaked Cooper S engine, electric tinted windows, sunroof, walnut dash and door cappings, alloy wheels and custom VW Beetle rear lights. It was once the star exhibit in Liverpool’s Beatle City Museum, before being restored in the mid-1990s. With Richard Starkey and his former manager Brian Epstein’s names both appearing on the old log book,…

• Mini Club Šibenik’s annual Giro Di Damaltia took place for the sixth time in sunny Croatia from September 8-10. The event saw Mini fans from Hungary, Macedonia, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia join their Croatian hosts for a relaxed weekend based at Žaborić near Šibenik, together with 72-year-old Stephan Toth from Germany and the Mini Moke-driving crew of Judith and Graham Thomas, who had come all the way from England. After a welcome meal on the Friday evening and a group breakfast the following morning, the participants made their way north to Murter Island, where they got permission to park their Minis outside the Lantana restaurant right next to the sea. The food and drink flowed once again on the Saturday night, before Sunday saw the Minis line-up on Šibenik…

Celebrating its 25th anniversary for 2017, the Mini Action Day at Castle Combe has long been a must-visit event on the calendar. Whether you enjoy a spot of paint polishing, chilling with like-minded Mini fans or an adrenaline rush track session, the day has a little something for everyone. The £35 track sessions are a good way to dip your toe into a full trackday, without the fear of menacing hot hatches and budding Pastor Maldonado impressionists. It’s good fun, and thankfully there were only a few ‘offs’ this year. The trade stand area was buzzing, centred around an enormous Mini Sport stand as the show’s main supporter. The legendary Paddy Hopkirk was on hand to meet fans, and there was a 24-strong contingent of display cars too. These included…

November 10-12 Classic Motor Show Superb multi-marque classic car show at the NEC, Birmingham, with live demonstrations, traders, autojumble and more. www.necclassicmotorshow.com 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…

Traditionally standing for grand tourer, the GT badge is usually worn by high performance, luxury vehicles capable of long distances. Back in the late 1960s and 1970s though, this all became a bit of a misnomer. The likes of BL, Vauxhall and Ford thought nothing of using the GT badge to dress up mildly hotted-up versions of their utilitarian models, even if they weren’t exactly the last word in performance and refinement. It worked too; the Mini 1275 GT was often derided as a poor Cooper replacement, but it sold in good numbers and has now firmly achieved cult status. That’s not to say there isn’t room for improvement though – just ask Neal Hynard. The motor vehicle college workshop supervisor from Leicestershire has long been a fan of Minis…

The chances are you’ll have seen MINI’s latest advert featuring the story of Paddy Hopkirk’s 1964 Monte Carlo Rally victory against all the odds, but if you haven’t, get yourself on to YouTube and type ‘The Faith of a Few’ into the search bar before you read on. This brilliant film has wowed viewers with its brilliant footage of 33 EJB working its way up the leaderboard, leading to the inevitable conclusion it must have been painstakingly spliced together from archive material. Well, painstaking it was, but archive material it most certainly is not. Amazingly, the footage was all shot during the summer by Oscar-nominated cinematographer Greig Fraser on period 35mm film. Commissioned by MINI, it was written by Lydia Willie and directed by Daniel Wolfe via Anorak Productions. As…

In my last report, three jobs were on the to-do-list. First up was restoring the fuel tank and pedal box, the second was to find or reproduce another bucket seat and the third was to restore the magnesium wheels. Things didn’t go quite as I expected them to go, but I am happy to conclude I have now actually managed to finish all three of them! Beginning with the petrol tank, I planned to use electrolysis in order to de-rust the inside. I’d had a look at some DIY movies on YouTube and it all seemed pretty straightforward. What you need is a 12-volt power source (I used a battery charger), a piece of slave metal, water, soda and citric acid. The idea is that you fill up the tank…

From March 1994, when it bought Rover, BMW seemed to have identified the Mini as a priceless brand – and was determined to rejuvenate it. It had already worked hard on small-car layouts and city-cars, including the electric-powered E1 four-seater, the larger E2 that followed, the Z13 of 1993 and the definitive E1 hybrid, as well as doing extensive research into front-wheel-drive. BMW Head Bernd Pischetsrieder immediately encouraged his British design staff to start looking at new schemes, so Rover started serious work on a new Mini. Centred at Gaydon, project work got going under Geoff Upex and Dave Saddington, while BMW also began to beaver away in Munich under the guidance of American-born Frank Stephenson. At this time, Rover’s ideas were more radical than those being dreamed up in…

This is an experiment I’ve wanted to try for some time. I’m a passionate classic Mini owner who’s more than happy to drive his pride and joy into the far reaches of Eastern Europe, but I’m also realistic enough to know that the cost of owning and maintaining one is no longer within the reach of everyone. However, with early MINIs, that’s a trend very much in reverse. Thus a cunning plan was hatched. I’d buy the cheapest road-going MINI I could lay my hands on, and see how good or bad it was with an extended road test. Initial searches revealed that finding a cheap MINI is not difficult, but most had fundamental issues requiring major surgery. Most commonly these were a broken Midlands gearbox, head gasket failure or…

The Mini’s incredible success story was in no small part due to its rallying exploits during the 1960s, both on the world stage and closer to home. The car may have faded away from the international scene as the decade drew to a close, but Minis and rallying have remained inextricably linked ever since. Just ask Mini Sport. The Padiham-based specialist has been involved in Mini rallying for every one of its 50 years, but it isn’t ready to stop pushing the boundaries just yet – quite the opposite. To prove the point, we gathered three generations of its flagship rally weapons to see how Minis and rallying has come full circle. GOLDEN AGE Mini Sport’s association with rallying started before the company was even officially born. The car pictured…