Innehållsförteckning för Summer 2018 från Mini Magazine

It's report overload this month with all the details and pictures from the British Mini Day, London to Brighton and the International Mini Meet in Portugal. Kevin Webb’s Maroon B-coloured Mini Minor leads on quite nicely from these, as if you were at the London to Brighton prize giving, you might have witnessed Kevin’s shock at winning the ‘Best in Show’. We can’t see why he was so shocked, as this is a beautifully restored early Mini Minor De Luxe, with an interesting story to go with it. Another perfectly restored original Mini comes in the form of Paul Billington’s Clubman, finished in the oh-so-’70s shade of Antelope with a distinctive red vinyl interior. Restored to concours condition, on top of the originality what really impresses is the level of…

Former Mini owner and celebrated DJ, ‘Diddy’ David Hamilton, flagged off owners and guests at Dunsfold Aerodrome, home of the Top Gear test track, where they enjoyed some fast parade laps of the circuit behind a safety car, whilst being bathed in glorious summer sunshine. Called ‘Minis at Dunsfold’ the event is organised and hosted by Mini owner and enthusiast, Jon Spriggs, and is part of his fundraising activities for The Italian Job, the annual touring event to Italy which, this year, will raise money Buttle UK. David was on hand to encourage owners taking part to take up the last few places in this year’s run. Now in its 29th year, The Italian Job, like Jon’s event, is open to Minis of all ages, shapes and sizes. The event…

Acornerstone of the Mini event calendar, the London to Brighton Run sees Minis of all shapes and sizes leave Crystal Palace in South London and wind down the A23 to regroup at Madeira Drive in Brighton. From a land speed record sofa, driven by TV’s Edd China, to sparkling MkIs. The London and Surrey Mini Owners Club puts a huge amount of effort into this event and making sure participants have a great time at both the start and end locations. In Brighton, arrivals were greeted with a wide range of trade stands which came in handy for those who needed replacement parts for their return journey. The Italian Job charity had a good display, including organiser Freddie St George’s white Innocenti. The show ’n’ shine always attracts a good…

HARD TOP JOB Name: Mick Bromley Car: 1000 City E Location: Bradford, West Yorkshire • Mick’s love of Minis started when he was a lad of 10, driving around his uncle’s pig farm! Once an adult, Mick decided to build his own Mini to his own spec, and the result was this 1991 Mini that he bought for just £200 five-years ago, although it came as a shell and boxes. A total body rebuild followed, but Mick wanted a Convertible with a hard top and not canvas. It took 18 months of hard graft and modifications, but he managed to get it to work. Painted in Old English White with an interior from the Mary Quant limited edition, everything has been rebuilt except the engine, which will be detailed later,…

COST MED Cambelt conversion - £350 Spare seal kit - £10 Replacement timing belt - £45 CONTACT www.med-engineering.co.uk01455 618464 DIFFICULTY When it comes to the variety of camshaft timing setups, we’re fortunate with the Mini’s A-Series engine. From the standard simplex chain to super-lightweight adjustable race designs and gear drives, choosing a suitable method to link the camshaft and crankshaft comes down to two factors - application and budget. The first upgrade to the cam timing would be a high quality chain like the German Iwis types; an investment that will save money in the long-term as they are far less prone to stretching than budget types. A stretched chain will do performance no favours, with inaccurate cam timing meaning the valves open and close at the wrong moment. From…

“How much the head has been faced by to increase the compression ratio after modification can be an issue” BLOWING GASKETS Q My tuned Mini City keeps blowing the head gasket between the bores and the push-rod holes. Both head and block have been checked to ensure they are flat, and I have new Mini Spares head studs fitted. Any advice? Alex A What you haven’t stated is what type of head gaskets you have been using, the size of the engine, or the actual spec, so we will try to cover all bases. Firstly, there are a number of gaskets on the market now, particularly for small-bore, and not all of them good. People use them because they are cheaper than the genuine original type. We have seen some…

You may remember that last year I teamed up with Seventies Car Restoration in Yorkshire to fully restore and paint the Mini Marcos shell. I couldn’t afford to pay the full price so we made a deal, but they ended up running behind on other (budgeted) projects so there was no time for the Marcos any time soon. I decided it might be better to pick it up and arrange something more local, so I booked a night crossing from Rotterdam to Hull and got back on the same ferry the next night, with the Marcos in my trailer behind me. Meanwhile, I’d made arrangements with somebody else to repair the body, fit the roll-cage and prepare it for painting. And so, after many months, the fibreglass work finally commenced.…

Antelope is one of those gloriously period British Leyland colours that seems to resist common definition. Some say it’s beige; some say brown and others liken it to all sorts of things – some more pleasant than others. The one thing we can say with certainty is that it’s very cool, especially when it graces a beautiful early Clubman like Paul Billington’s superb restored 1970 example. In this case, West Midlander Paul and his wife Francesca went for the name ‘Putty’ as soon as the car arrived – a two-fold reference not only to that rare Antelope hue, but the rather time-worn bodywork as well. Fittingly, however, Putty has since been remodelled and reshaped into what is surely one of the finest examples on the scene, while still remaining true…

• British Motor Heritage (BMH), which produces brand-new MkI body shells, has been stunned at the scale of orders since first displaying its prototype shell at the 2016 NEC Classic Motor Show. Priced at £9,950 incl. VAT, buyers get an all-new body shell crafted on the original British Leyland tooling. It’s a popular solution for people restoring these coveted early cars. BMH has also revealed that dedicated motorsport Mini shells could be on the cards, after running a Heritage-shelled MGB in historic racing for 12 years. This year the MGB, plus the team’s Farina A40, will be joined by an FIAspec MkI Mini-Cooper S. Like the MGB, it has been constructed around a Heritage replacement shell, with its own roll-cage — a superbly crafted item courtesy of Endaf Owen of…

The Mini Se7ens kicked off the race action with former Metro champion Tom Sanderson converting pole position into a first series victory. Having blown an engine in qualifying, Darren Thomas’ replacement was a flyer to give him second ahead of points leader Max Hunter and quickest-over-a-lap, Daniel Budd in fourth. Dom Burger took fifth ahead of S-Class winner Scott Kendall, once initial leader Nick Croydon-Fowler had dropped out. Humid conditions caused overheating issues, but of note James Bull still managed to set a new S-Class lap record, and Julian Proctor stormed into the top 10. A mid-morning Sunday start for the Miglias opening race was shaping up to be a belter when yellow flags at the chicane initiated the first of two accidents. With both emerging okay, Dave Drew came…

Mini fans headed for warmer climes in May for the annual IMM pilgrimage, this year taking place on the coast in the Portuguese town of Praia de Mira. I was lucky enough to be a guest of MINI UK, and along with the German HQ, they had devised a MINI road trip that me and two other journalists would undertake. As we converged on the Municipal Park, we heard the charismatic sound of screaming A-Series engines, then saw more enthusiastically driven, foreign-registered Classic Minis. The IMM is very well-organised and we were in awe of the sheer volume and variety of Classic Minis parked around the site. It was pleasing that so many Classic Mini owners and enthusiasts from England, France, Ireland and Spain to name but a few, had…

“Whilst on a trip to Whitby the exhaust fell off, and I decided it was time to take it off the road” This 1991 Studio 2 is Sarah Thomas’s first Mini. In fact, it was bought as a project back in July 2011 by her dad for her youngest brother Alex, the idea being they would work on it together. The Mini was roadworthy, but needed a few repairs. However, Alex wasn’t really interested, so the Mini was left in the garage, rather neglected, until 2013 when Sarah’s dad decided to tidy it up and sell it. When it was ready to sell, Sarah and her other brother, Robert, decided to buy it. Sadly (or thankfully, depending how you look at it), Robert didn’t like driving it. But Sarah fell…

Most feature owners blame a first ride in their parents’ Mini for their interest. This isn’t quite the same for Kevin Webb, owner of the beautiful Maroon B Morris Mini-Minor that we have here. Instead, his interest started with the car’s big brother, the Austin 1100. “Just before I was born, my dad bought a nearly new one that had been rolled and written off. He bought a new shell (easy to purchase in 1971!) and transferred all the components from the wreck to the new shell. My mum took me and my brother to and from primary school in that car for years and I will always remember the smell of BMC vinyl trim as a result!” The Classic Mini influence carried on later, as Kevin remembers rare Minis…

TIME Allow two hours per side COST Bearing kit for one wheel from around £13 DIFFICULTY If the recent IMM in Portugal has taught us anything, it’s that front wheel bearing failure is common! And with this is mind, we thought it would be a good time to look at how to do the job properly on an 8.4-inch disc brake-equipped Mini. The first thing you will probably notice when your bearings are on the way out is a knocking noise whilst cornering, or a droning noise. If you suspect them to be at fault, then jack your car up and support it safely on axle stands. Then grasp the wheel top and bottom to feel for any play, observing the ball joints to ensure they are free from play.…

Q I’ve recently joined the Mini fraternity with an awesome ex-racer that has been converted to go on the road yet still be used for track days. I’ve seen quite a few Minis with rear disc brake conversions featured online recently. Seeing as I’ve got vented discs and ally multi-pot callipers at the front, is there any advantage in fitting discs at the rear too? Luke B A The rear brakes on a Mini provide very little braking effect, as too much braking effect at the rear will have the car swapping ends alarmingly quickly, especially in wet conditions. Most racers have next to no braking effect at the rear. The only advantage of fitting disc brakes at the rear of a Mini is weight loss. The only other reason…

• With over a million views of his new web programme pilot, former Wheeler Dealers host Edd China has asked the public for new projects with which to continue the series. Called Edd China’s Garage Revival, applicants should send Edd’s team a short ‘distress video’ detailing why they want help with their Classic Mini project and why their project is perfect for an episode of the new show. The casting call is open to owners now at this upload address: http://upload.rentarage.com. The lucky owners will be informed of the team’s decision in due course.…

It was thankfully a lovely sunny day when I left my home in Herts to travel to the British Mini Club’s British Mini Day at Himley Hall in Staffordshire. And the fine weather saw a very large turnout in Premier Concours and Show ’n’ Shine, with over 100 Minis of all ages entered. A wonderful sight, it shows that the Classic Mini scene is as strong as ever. It was great to see David and Colin Ashton for the first time in many years. They were there with their home-restored and very clean Old English White Cooper S. They have won the Premier Concours trophy an incredible three-times! Overall winner of Best Mini In Show was Ian Whitticase and Diane Issac with their Morris Mini, 287 MOX, that has a…

Dan Ingles was lucky to have had a 1999 Rover Mini Cooper Sportpack as his first car. “I loved that thing to death, but it was a real bone-shaker. It was as low as I could get it and on shortened and super stiff Gaz shocks,” explains Dan. Unfortunately, it met an untimely end as he was hit at 30mph from behind whilst stationary and then pushed into the back of a BMW X5! “Unsurprisingly it was written off, but even at that time values were increasing and I ended up being paid out more then I’d bought it for, and I’d done 60,000 of the 85,000 miles it had travelled, and had been through three gearboxes!” “I’ve now owned this Mini for over two years and got the bug…

Like most Mini Magazine feature car owners, Tom Read got into Classic Minis via his dad, who has owned them on and off since the 1980s. So maybe Mini ownership is hereditary in his family? Why? Well, along came Tom’s first Mini in 2014, a red 1994 Mini Mayfair, and he admits he’s pretty much had the Mini bug ever since! So what the hell made Tom decide to put a Yamaha R1 bike engine into a Wolseley Hornet? “Well, I’ve built offroaders and fixed up cheap Minis like my dad’s Cooper, but I’ve never taken on a project this in-depth! The Hornet was too far gone to be made into a nice original example and my uncle had a Yamaha R1 bike, that he had owned from new, up…

Q I’ve got a 1987 Park Lane that’s got really low mileage, but appears to have a bit of positive camber on the rear offside. I’m considering fitting adjustable brackets, but was wondering if there is any way I can modify the standard bracket to fix the problem? If so, can you explain how I would go about this? I’ve also just bought some new adjustable tie-rods for the front. Can you tell me what the factory length is and where the measurements are taken from? Roland A This is a common issue on a Mini. To reduce the positive camber, the outer end of the radius arm pin needs moving upwards in its bracket. The way to do that is to simply remove the outer bracket from the right-hand…

“It is good to have a little toe as it puts all the bushes and joints under some tension” Tracking the front suspension is the easiest suspension change you can make to your Mini, and I’m sure you’ve all had the tracking set at some point in the past. Four-wheel alignment on a standard Mini is okay, but with standard radius arm brackets or even those which let you change the camber, you can’t alter the tracking on the rear of a Mini. You can however get camber brackets which also let you alter the tracking. At the front, you wind the end of the steering rack in and out of the track rod ends. Winding the steering rack ends (steering rack tie-rods) into the track rod end effectively reduces…

It was quite a risk when I bought a Mini to go racing. I never really clicked with karting, probably as I’m too tall for a kart and too thin to fit in the seats. However, I always had a fascination for rallying and I felt that racing was a much more accessible sport, especially as I thought I’d be doing it all myself. The Mini Shop stepped up to support me from my first year competing. This led to the distinctive colour scheme which made for a memorable Corgi model! We ended up entering a rally in it, the first time a Mighty Mini had entered a rally, and I’m not sure this has been attempted again. Co-driven by fellow racer Paul Clark, we did surprisingly well. Our success…