Innehållsförteckning för May 2018 från Mini Magazine

White stuff outside my window as a I write this would suggest that spring has stalled! Not to worry though, as by the time you read this hopefully the weather will have improved somewhat! Still, we’ve got plenty to keep any Mini fan busy this month, and let’s start with the all-important feature cars. I dare any Classic Mini project fans not to be impressed by Aaron Page’s 1071 Cooper S. Found abandoned on a local drive with most of the important Cooper bits removed, Aaron’s gone on to rebuild the car to period-spec, with many tasty Downton performance parts on the now 1275cc engine. Writer Willy Carson seems to have a unique knack for finding early Minis on the Emerald Isle and he’s come up trumps again with Robert…

This year, Mini In The Park takes place at Santa Pod on Sunday 12 August, and the best news if you’re coming, is that tickets are on sale now from www.minishow.co.uk. If you’re not, why not? This year there are the usual attractions at Santa Pod, including Run What Ya Brung, a Mini Magazine display of feature Minis, club displays, and a retail village to buy parts from. And If you’re not part of a club and have a Mini, you can still take part by purchasing an Individual Display add-on (£2 extra). You can even make a weekend of it by camping and staying over on the Saturday night.. More attractions will be announced closer to this event, and we’ll make sure you’re kept up-to-date on your favourite Mini…

Rétromobile is regarded as one of the most important classic car events in Europe with the quality and prestige of the cars on offer unequalled. Last year saw some 120,000 visitors at the Parc des Expositions, and this year exhibition space was increased to cater for more cars and clubs than ever before. Despite the cold and snowy weather, we reached Paris, and the reward was a great show. When a full display of AC and Shelby Cobra cars contains no replicas, you know it’s something special! So how about the Minis? Auctioneer Artcurial held a huge sale, which kicked off with a 1966 Austin Cooper ‘S’ that had just undergone a full restoration after having been stored for 20 years. This was an original Paris-sold car with hydrolastic suspension…

The Mini’s credentials were showcased at Race Retro, Europe’s number one historic motorsport season opener, held at Stoneleigh Park on February 23-25. A total of 23,100 attendees passed through the gates – a 10% increase on 2017 – and as ever there was plenty for the bumper crowds to enjoy. Rally Minis were a real theme of the event, with Bill Richards’ Mini Spares-backed car and early examples like Kingsley Black’s MkI Cooper scattered around the halls. On the Castle Combe circuit display, ‘Diddy’ Dave Thomas was also on hand to showcase the Mini Girls Rally Team Rover Cooper, prepared by Mini Sport and campaigned by Dave’s daughter Louise and co-driver Heidi Woodcock. Outside on the Live Rally Stage, some fantastic machinery was strutting its stuff, including John Partridge’s ex-Mini…

PROJECT PROFILE THE OWNER NAME: Will Pullen AGE: 19 OCCUPATION: Butcher (but joining the Royal Navy) LOCATION: Sherborne, Dorset THE CAR: CAR: Wolseley Hornet MkII START CONDITION: Solid but in need of work CONDITION NOW: Rolling, painted shell TIME TAKEN SO FAR: Four years, on and off ESTIMATED TIME OF COMPLETION: 2-3 months At just 19-years-old, Will Pullen hasn’t got all that much Mini history to talk about. However, he comes from a family that have always had at least one Mini for as long as he can remember (an incredible 15 in total). When he was growing up his family were always out and about, going on club runs and attending shows, and this exposure to all things Mini sparked Will’s enthusiasm! This Hornet is his first Mini, but…

Seldom does the perfect basis for a Mini project fall into your hands. Normally there’s a wave of initial optimism, closely followed by the crushing reality that brings with it reams of welding wire, piles of expensive panels and the need for a full repaint. And that’s just to reach a canvas you can start to get creative with. For German enthusiast Tom Gier though, it all worked out rather differently. He’d already served his rusty Mini ‘ausbildung’ (that’s apprenticeship to us Brits), thanks to his Cooper SPi crumbling to the point of no return after years of loyal service. So, when the opportunity to purchase a smart but unfinished 1979 saloon project arose, Tom wasn’t about to pass it up. Here was an ideal basis for Tom to work…

The film may be nearly 50 years old, but enthusiasm for it and the Mini has not diminished, and this annual tour gives Mini fans a chance to visit those iconic film locations. Steve Edmonds has been organising these tours since 2004 and has a wealth of knowledge about all things Italian Job. The tour always attracts a wide range of Mini fans from all over the world, aged from their early-20s to early-70s – and Steve now has Mini fans who have now come back six times to enjoy the fabulous scenery and Mini camaraderie. For the 2017 tour, 15 crews including 10 Classic Minis, three modern MINIs, a Porsche, and Steve in his Fiat estate, as service and breakdown vehicle, take part. THE TOUR BEGINS The first day…

“Throwing more carbs at an engine isn’t going to make one iota of difference to maximum power output” LONG-STROKE Q For a long time now it’s been an ambition of mine to build a Mini with a long-stroke big-bore engine, as I want to build a smooth long-distance cruiser that I can drive to international events. However, I’m working to a budget, and wondered if going long-stroke is worth it? What’s your opinion? Robert A Throwing more carbs at an engine isn’t going to make one iota of difference to maximum power output unless the engine was drastically under-carbed to start with, in which case a bigger single carb would have the same effect. You’ve not said which carb you have fitted, but we’ll assume it’s a 1.5-inch HS4 as…

Good interviewers have an effortless skill of thinking up the next question while half listening to the current answer, to keep the conversation flowing. And that’s exactly what I’m balancing with this project - keeping an eye on what’s next to keep things progressing. The front end took a fair amount of fettling to get sitting right, as they all do, so that kept me busy for a couple of weekends. I realised early on that the front-mounted radiator will require extensive cutting of the front panel to squeeze in nicely, so ordered a radiator from MED with a custom slim core. All the MED rads come with mounting pins 400mm apart, and the subframe mounts for the previous rad are different, so it’s going to need modifying before it…

HPP 322V, a 1979 Mini Clubman, belongs to Alex Austin, founder and owner of Torques Performance, and was built by company employees Stuart Gibbs and Ryan Jones. Not only is it a fabulous build, but it makes a very persuasive case for a Classic Mini being powered by a much more modern engine. Very persuasive, albeit in an extremely subtle way. For the most part, HPP 322V looks just as humble as it did when it rolled off the production line. Indeed, the only non-standard exterior fitments are the reverse-rim Innocenti wheels and centre-exit rear exhaust. And that’s the beauty of this Pageant Blue delight. It looks all cute and innocent. Well, it’s certainly cute... but innocent? Absolutely not. As the old adage goes, looks can be deceiving. “I’m thrilled…

London’s ExCeL is among the best expo centres in the country, and from 15-18 February it played host to the fourth annual London Classic Car Show, which for the past two years has also incorporated the Historic Motorsport International Event. The main show is focused at the higher end of the classic car spectrum which meant an array of gleaming Aston Martins, Jaguars, Ferraris and Porsches, and though Minis were less numerous than usual, there were still stunning examples. Most notable was British Motor Heritage’s new historic Appendix K race car build, based on one of its new MkI body shells. Resplendent in Heritage’s signature race metallic blue, it showed just how far MkI shells have come. Elsewhere, TV star Phillip Glenister had curated a rogue’s gallery of famous ‘Getaway…

Just when you think that there can’t be any more stories of finding rare, unrestored Classic Minis, you hear another one and the dream of finding your own is kept alive. Aaron Page is one of these lucky owners, as after owning a blue and white modified Mayfair, three Pickups and another MkI Cooper S, he heard about a MkI Mini that was sat abandoned on a local drive, so he went to investigate. “I spoke to the owner and realised it was a genuine 1071 Cooper S from the chassis number,” he reveals. “That 1071 lump was long gone and Aaron came up trumps with a 1275” Aaron agreed a price, then arranged to get the car home and began stripping it prior to restoration. This was going to…

When the Austin Mini first took to the roads it was available as the ‘basic’ Seven or the ‘up-market’ De Luxe model. For an extra £40 the buyer was rewarded with an upgraded interior including two-tone vinyl upholstery on more comfortable seats, a vinyl-covered dash, a chrome-plated switch panel and kick plates on the door bins and plush pile carpets extending over the wheel arches. Standard equipment included ashtrays and lights in the rear companion bins, twin windscreen washers and a heater! External trim levels were improved with chrome-plated window rubber inserts and fuel caps, over-riders on both bumpers, and larger wheel embellishers. Luxury indeed! Robert Lyon’s aunt, Ruth, took delivery of this particlar Austin Seven De Luxe, from R.J. Pattison Nutt’s BMC showroom, in 1960. “I didn’t like the…

COST Mini Spares Heavy Duty helical gearset – C-STN48 - £706.56 Bearings and synchros as required from suppliers – Mini Spares, Mini Sport, Mini Mail etc DIFFICULTY In this month’s instalment in our on-going series of step-by-step gearbox rebuilding, we’ll be looking at reassembling the mainshaft and putting it back into the casing. Yes, some of the steps are pretty much the reverse of the dismantling process, but as we are aiming to have an almost complete explanation and demonstration of the process, it would be remiss of us to start skipping bits. Those of you with Eagle Eyes will notice that the gearset we are working with is neither of the ones featured in the past few issues from our donor gearboxes, it is in fact brand-new. There was…

“I used to buy cars and use the shells as a skip to load scrap in!” In case you thought my life was entirely glamorous, I should perhaps relate about other stuff I have been doing to fill my time - wheeling and dealing, which helps fund the racing habit. But it occurred to me that I’m still a little bit sentimental about it all. Case in point was when I cleared out a workshop recently and there were two banded steel wheels, which I fell on with affection. Not that I want any, and they have yet to become fashionable in the Mini fraternity (unlike the VW mob). I put one next to a standard 10-inch steel and also a novelty item that I’ve had for about 30-years –…

Sponsored by the Galway Mini Centre, Mini Magic is a new Irish event. Held on 25 July, this is more than a static show, as there will also be time to get on track at the Pallas Karting Track, Tynagh, Loughrea, County Galway. An added attraction on the day will be the chance to win a passenger run with track day section sponsor and rally champion, Ray Cunningham. Mini Magic promises to be an excellent event, across both the show and the track. Early entries are encouraged and all age of Minis - and owners - are welcome. Although, if you want to take to the track, advance entry is preferred. Will Promotion Event Director, William Neill, commented: “Mini Magic will be more than a gathering. It will be time…

MINI might not have made an official appearance at the Palexpo Convention Centre this year, but perhaps surprisingly, considering that the last Cooper rolled down the Longbridge production line 18 years ago, there was plenty to whet the appetite of Classic Mini fans, as we found out… DAVID BROWN AUTOMOTIVE First up, Silverstone-based David Brown Automotive wheeled out their remastered Minis, alongside their Jaguar-based Speedback. However, it was the Mini Remastered models on their stand that were getting all the attention. A spokesman told us that they were just weeks away from first deliveries of this almost £100,000 Classic Mini, of which the first two were on the stand. Well, the red right-hand drive car on the stand looked an awful lot like the press car that was doing the…

The annual A’s Night Tour is always a fun event. Organised by A’s of Herts stalwarts, Alec Bayford and Russ Grundon, it lasts two hours and takes in a variety of challenging roads through Hertfordshire and Essex. It’s been running for 11 years and is open to all classic or interesting modern cars. Last year I did the tour in a 986 Porsche Boxster S, which was great fun, but wasn’t the same as being in a Mini. This year I was co-driver as Alec’s Navigator. Alec’s MkI is kitted out with a full roll-cage, bucket seats and a four-point harness... and as you would expect in a 54-year-old Mini, it has little in the way of comfort with no carpets and a passenger seat that didn’t seem to be…

RETRO RESTO Name: Nik Frape Car: 1987 Park Lane Location: London • My 1987 Park Lane had 45,000 miles on the clock and bags of history when I bought it. The original plan was to refresh the body and keep it as a Park Lane, so I booked it in to Retro Restores (where my brother worked alongside Sean) to be tidied and re-sprayed. But as with most Minis, the stripping down unearthed issue after issue! It ended up being a total restoration, and as I was unable to find Park Lane interior parts, I decided just to do what I wanted! I had it painted Porsche Slate Grey (which looks green in some light) and sourced an interior from a later Mini. I also added a three-clock charcoal dash,…

The internal combustion engine is inefficient. As well as generating all that lovely horsepower and torque, it also generates a fair bit of heat and the more you try to get out of the fuel, the more heat you will generate. A certain amount of heat is good and an engine is built to run at a certain temperature. As the temperature increases, metals expand. So when the machining is done on an engine, the gaps between components are set with a certain running temperature in mind. Below that temperature the gaps are too large and above that temperature, the gaps are too small. Oil also has a part to play here as well as it is thicker when it’s cold and thin when it’s hot, to work with these…

Since last month things have moved on quickly. The front wings, top scuttle and bonnet all lined up perfectly, which gives me great peace of mind that all previous panels are in the correct place. Usually any problems from incorrect panel placement come to the fore when joining up from one side to another. So with the front wings/ front panel removed to gain access to the inner wings, I was ready to roll. The front floor/ bulkhead area was the first to be hit with the welders, then the inner wings, A-panels, door steps and top scuttle. Before I could finish off the front I had to sort out the front panel. I wanted to fix the front grille, so whilst apart, I seam-welded the grille in place to…