Innehållsförteckning för August 2019 från Mini Magazine

The excitement is reaching a crescendo for the Mini 60 celebrations. In the next few weeks, Mini fans from around the world will come together to mark six decades of our favourite car in style. August is packed with major events - starting with the National Metro & Mini Show at the British Motor Museum on the 4th, the IMM kicking off in Bristol on the 8th and our very own Mini In The Park at the Mallory Park Race Circuit on the 18th. It's going to be an exciting month, and we're sure it's going to be fitting tribute to the world's best small car. We'll look forward to meeting many of you at at least one of the events. If you needed reminding of just how diverse and…

Mini In The Park returns on August 18 2019 at an exciting new venue - Mallory Park circuit in Leicestershire. The venue not only affords more space and facilties for the UK’s premier Mini-only event, but visitors will now be given the chance to take their own Mini out onto the circuit. Classic, racer or everyday commuter, driving on a circuit is unique experience and not to be missed. For just £35, you can enjoy a 20 minute Mini-only session on Mallory Park’s 1.35 mile circuit – featuring the tightest hairpin in the UK! There are no special requirements for your Mini, all you need is a helmet (a limited supply are available to hire on the day). To check the requirements, visit the website. Clubs are always central to…

• MINI has announced what is, by some measure, the most powerful models in the brand’s sixty year history. The 306 bhp 4-cylinder turbo engine in the new MINI John Cooper Works Clubman and Countryman pack some serious punch, and will be able to get all that power down to the road thanks to a standard all new 8-speed Steptronic sports transmission and an ALL4 all-wheel drive system. The new models boast 75 bhp maximum output over the previous models, with maximum torque increased by 100Nm to 450Nm, and acceleration 0 to 62mph in 4.9 seconds for the Clubman, 5.1 seconds for the Countryman. Prices start from £34,250 for the Clubman and £35,550 for the Countryman.…

Returning to Down Ampney for 2019, 14 of our Mini crews were entered to take on the EMCOS Dragon IT Stages. The conditions were particularly brutal on the Minis as the hot, dry day caused issues with overheating. A notable absence from the EMCOS entry was Clive King freeing up Anton Bird to team up with Peter Ellerby for the event. Forced to retire with holed pistons, it was a disappointing end to the rally for Peter and Anton. Contact with a chicane caused a puncture for Nigel Hart and Shaun Lovegrove on the opening loop of Stages, the pair decided to carry on with the flat, rather than stop to change to a spare! Without enough traction to turn, they hit the front end of their Mini into a…

WELCOME British Mini Club welcome all Mini enthusiasts to Stanford Hall on 15th September, a unique 17th Century house and grounds through which the River Avon flows, the perfect setting to embrace all Minis from 1959 to the present day. BMC have proven time and time again that they know how to put on a cracking show, and as proud organisers they continue to bring all the features that you would expect with a full Mini Concours, club displays and all the best Mini traders from around the country. Mini Show & Shine Why hide your car away when you can show it off to the Mini loving public without the pressure of concours judging? Pre-booking is a must! Live Arena Find out who has the loudest exhaust, most powerful…

RITZ CRACKER Name: Terence Manley Car: 1985 Mini Ritz with VTec Location: Mansfield, Notts • Terence’s 1985 Mini Ritz comes with a twist - a 1.8 Honda Integra Type-R 225 bhp engine. It has just gone through a two year bare metal restoration from silver to Frozen White. The car is totally stripped with a full rollcage, with the intention being that it could easily look like a rally or track day car and Terence believes it could do both. This Mini has won the loudest exhaust at Utoxettor and Stamford hall, and still holds the record. The car has always drawn a crowd but now Terence feels it’s even more eye catching. Terence decided to paint the car white as he has never seen a white Honda conversion before.…

Back in 1979 I had an Austin 1300GT,” recalls Gerry Stevens fondly. “It was my first car. Great fun too. Following this, I switched from BL to Ford, having bought a MkII 2-litre Capri Ghia. Then I had company cars, mostly Fords. This situation lasted until the late ‘90s. “To be honest, I’ve had a bit of a thing for Fords. I’ve owned Sierras, Escorts, and I currently have a Mondeo run-around. But, in 2007, a female work colleague turned up in an RSP Cooper. As a result, and over a period of time, I was gently persuaded to buy a classic Mini!” CHANGING DIRECTION The RSP appealed, as did other classic Minis, but what really piqued Gerry’s interest was the Clubman 1275GT. “I prefer the Clubman frontal styling, and…

We’d started to notice that changing gear in the Elf, particularly down the gearbox, was getting difficult. You don’t want to think the worst in this situation - images of worn synchros and bent selector rods came to mind - and a quick check under the bonnet to rule out failing clutch hydraulics wasn’t conclusive. There was fluid in the master cylinder, and there was no signs of leaks or damage on the pipework or slave cylinder. In an attempt to improve matters, we attempted to bleed the system and then realized that all was not well. Even with the bleed nipple fully open, the master cylinder was not pushing nearly enough fluid through, and the fluid that was being pumped out was black, usually a good indicator of failing…

AEROFLOW PERFORMANCE MALE-TO-MALE ADAPTOR £11.99 The Aeroflow BSPP-to-AN Male Flare Adaptor provides the means to quickly and easily make a connection between an 1/8” BSPP and an AN -03 pipe fitting. It has been produced from stainless steel and precision machined for leak-free performance. It is ideal for adapting the 1/8” fittings on various brake calipers, such as Wilwood, to an AN sized hose and fittings. • 01268 764 411 • www.b-gdirect.com MINI SPARES FUSE BOX £6.30 This is the latest model fuse box as used on all Minis after 1976 and all MG Midget/Sprites with the 1275cc engine. It is simple and easy to replace or upgrade from the earlier version. This box has the advantage of having four fuses in place of the earlier version that only had…

Growing up with a brother who raced Minis in Autograss, became National Champion in a Mini and who still competes, and wins in a Mini, it was inevitable that Lee Gascoigne would not only be bitten by the bug, he’d become a Mini owner too. “Mark, my brother, who works as a mechanic, races in Autograss. He started in Class 1, which is for sub-1000cc front-wheel-drive cars such as the Mini,” Lee elaborates. “He’s now racing in Class 5 and runs a space-framed, rear-wheel-drive Mini. I’ve been around Minis for most of my life. When Mark was Class 1 British Autograss Champion back in 2003, we started talking about building a Mini for me. A fast road Mini with racecar looks and performance, to have fun in at the weekends.”…

• Hagerty Insurance are joining Mini Sport in supporting the Mini Cooper register.. “We are thrilled to be working with the Mini Cooper Register as their members embody everything Hagerty stands for in preserving, driving and enjoying their cars” said Hagerty UK marketing director Marcus Atkinson. Mini Cooper Register was set up in 1986 with the twin objectives of preserving the name of the Mini Cooper and stimulating interest in the car and its history. The Register has grown over the years and now has over 2,000 members in the UK and around the world.…

• Following on from the ITV televised Thruxton rounds supporting the British Touring Car Championship, the Mini 7 Racing Club is set to feature in another high-profile race weekend. Mini Se7en and Miglia races will take place at the German DTM race event at Brands Hatch on 10-11 August. It seems there’s huge appetite for racing Minis in the 60th anniversary, and the longer Grand Prix circuit will provide a fantastic setting for the mid-season rounds. The championship double-header will replace the previously cancelled rounds at MG Live, Silverstone. The club last raced at the Grand Prix circuit in 2016, and it proved immensely popular with drivers and race fans alike.…

The event took place the weekend of 7th-9th June. After the great success of the first year, a second year was inevitable and it certainly more than lived up to expectations. Many people decided to camp over to enjoy the quiz night and drinks on the Friday night. A very impressive convoy of cars made the trip to the waterfront in Ipswich for the Classics On The Quay run, although the conditions were less than ideal. The sun returned on Saturday and everyone headed to the barn for our infamous party night which involved the screening of two special films - Mr Bean’s Holiday and the Italian job of course, followed by two live bands. On Sunday, we were delighted with the turn out which was double the size of…

The International Mini Meeting is one of the most anticipated and highly awaited annual Mini events and only visits the UK every 5 years. Those of you who have been before will know that the celebrations are second to none. At midday on Thursday 8th August, the gates will open at Washingpool Farm, Easter Compton, Bristol, welcoming Mini and MINI owners from all over the World to the first ever South West IMM. To celebrate the Mini’s 60th anniversary, there will be a huge birthday party on the Sunday of the IMM, which will welcome day visitors as well as weekenders. What to expect... On Thursday, the trade stands will open but the atmosphere will be pretty calm as people arrive and set up for the weekend ahead. There will…

Martin Mullan inherited his late grandfather’s 1992 Mayfair and restored it to show car standard. It was his first Mini project but it was much more than that, it was a piece of family history. Frank died at the age of 96 and, until shortly before he passed away, he was still adding 6,000 miles per year to the odometer count on his Flame Red favourite. It’s restoration was a tribute to the life of one of Northern Ireland’s great motoring characters. For many people, the admiration of fellow Mini fans and a feature in Mini Magazine (see issue 281, Sept 2018, for Martin’s other Mini Story) would be a good reason to sit back and take it easy but Martin had caught the Mini bug. When he was in…

You don’t have to spend much time talking to Adam Parker before you discover he has a couple of things he really needs in his life. He admits he’s pretty much addicted to Minis - his Dad bought him his first one when he was barely into his teens and ever since, he’s either been behind the wheel of one or been dreaming and scheming up ways to buy his next project. And the other thing that Adam needs in his life is boost, and we’re not talking about the chocolate bar. His ambition was to combine the two, and build a turbo Mini... FIRST STEPS “I got into Minis when I was about 14 or 15 when Dad bought me a little blue 998,” Adam explains. “I was working…

If you’ve been around Minis for any length of time, you will have no doubt at some point found cause to delve into the intricacies of the front suspension. Whether this was down to an MoT fail -worn knuckle joints, perished bushes or even failing bearings on the top arm - or you were in the process of chasing the ultimate handling set up by fitting adjustable bottom arms and tie rods, and the almost obligatory adjustable suspension trumpets... “The processes described would apply equally to dry or wet, twin or single bolt” Age, road dirt, underseal and paint - even years’ worth of grease - can form an impressive disguise to what components are actually there, and perhaps more importantly, how it should all fit together. With the chance…

Transforming the Elf from a lifeless hulk to a driving, stopping, fully functioning car was one thing, but to be able to actually drive it required one more quite simple, but really crucial, item - somewhere to sit. The great thing about the Elf is that it’s a really original car, and this is true of the interior. As far as I can make out, the trim is as it left the factory. If you’ve been following our story with the car, you’ll know that the carpets had rotted away to nothing and have been replaced with a rather fetching dark blue set - not exactly original I know, but I wanted to lighten the all black cabin just a touch, and as the Riley badge is a fetching blue,…

Problem; Two baulk rings gave up on my racer at Goodwood. One actually snapped and the other had worn out (after two hours running, and one on first gear). Answer: I sent off for some of the most expensive ones that can be had. We then find that they are not even spot-on as regards how they sit on the gear. So I was left in a slight quandary as to what to do. I started talking to folk and I learnt that several actually do what we thought was a bit of a peasant’s bodge; machine the bottom off old ones and they will go again as it stops them bottoming out. I reminded myself of my peasant approach but the same time I remembered being told that original…

• Quentin Willson has put his December 1959 Austin Seven DeLuxe, 900FRL, up for sale. You may remember this very car featuring on the cover of our March 2013 issue. The 33,000-mile Speedwell Blue car was fully restored to concours condition by Derek’s Mini Centre, which included dipping and E-coating the original bodyshell. A matching numbers example, it still features its original engine, gearbox, registration number and all correct period early Mini parts. Period tweaks include Cooper front discs, twin carbs, a three-branch manifold and a Cooper exhaust. There are a couple of reasons for the sale. Firstly, Quentin is moving house and has fewer garages. Secondly, the car was built on December 10, which just happens to be the same date as his daughter Mini’s birthday (yes, that is…

MINI Plant Oxford spokesman Steve Wrelton said “It was fantastic to welcome more than 30 classic cars on to our site as part of a charity fundraising day for our house charity, the Alzheimer’s Society. To bring back the first classic Mini built here back in 1959 was just brilliant and it was great for our staff to see it up close and personal in this, our 60th birthday year.” The car in question is Morris Mini 850 Chassis number M/A2S4L-13. Built as one of six on 15th May 1959 at Cowley, it is the 29th Morris Mini built, and the 27th LHD Morris built. The body number is 131 making the body shell the 30th Morris shell built and the engine number of 129 making it the 29th Morris…

On Sunday16th of June the annual classic vehicle show took place at the Vaynol estates near Bangor North Wales. The show is organised by The Automobile Club of North Wales. This year, things were even more special as the club made plans to celebrate the Mini’s 60th anniversary. The show had an array of vehicles on display from cars to motorcycles to commercial vehicles but the real highlight of the event, was the collection of Minis. The earliest example on display was an Austin Se7en from 1961. This stunning car is proudly owned by the club chairman Berwyn Jones. The youngest Mini on show was a 2000 Cooper Sport, owned by Ger Roberts who has been an integral part of the Mini scene in North Wales for many years and…

20-21st July Brands Hatch Mini Festival There will be plenty to see at this exciting festival. On the track there will be a packed programme exclusively made up of Mini racing featuring both classic and modern iterations. Off track there will be plenty of entertainment surrounded by every kind of Mini imaginable with club displays, trade stands, a track parade, live music and more! http://www.brandshatch.co.uk/ 2nd August Under the Mini Moon 2019 prequel to IMM 2019 Bristol Under the Mini Moon Charity event will be the weekend before IMM 2019 in Bristol, which is just half an hour from their site on Old Pawlett Road, Highbridge. Come and join in for the weekend and then convoy to IMM 2019. Tickets available now through Eventbrite, find them on facebook for more…

The glorious Cooper featured here is owned by Peter Hobby. Peter, a former industrial chemist who worked in R&D (and who lists his hobbies/interests as Formula One, gardening and DIY), has been a Mini man since his youth. “My first Mini was an 850, which I owned for several years,” he recalls fondly. “It started life as a standard car, but because I wanted it to go much faster it ended up being fitted with a 998cc Cooper engine, 731 camshaft and twin 1.5 inch SU carbs. It went like a bat out of hell. Mind you, because I didn’t uprate the standard drum brakes, stopping was a absolute nightmare!” Having cut his Mini teeth on the ‘Cooper-esque’ MkI, Peter, who had now been married for quite some time by…

Anthony Hill was a lecturer in Furniture Design at the Loughborough College of Art and Design. He was also responsible for a number of everyday designs – from classroom furniture to demountable stages and even a locomotive cab. He’d also worked as a designer at Ford in Dagenham in the 1960s, specialising in instrumentation. So perhaps his plan to come up with a car of his own design wasn’t so strange. This was in the late 1960s to a background of the sounds of traffic congestion, petrol sources drying up and an impending doom through congestion about to befall mankind. No wonder that Hill’s car design turned out to be something cheerful, economic and small, or more specifically, diminutive. Hill had been playing with the idea of a tiny city…

QUIET PLEASE Q I’m putting the finishing touches to my 1984 Mayfair and I would like to make it as comfortable as a modern car. Ideally, I’d like it to be warm, dry and quiet but before I stripped it down for restoration it was not only noisy, but cold and damp in winter and had some particularly bad condensation problems. I have wondered about the use of soundproofing inside the doors, under the roof lining, and under the carpets but I’m concerned that it may just act as a damp trap. Any advice? Martin “They use specialist materials like Dynamat to completely control sound levels...” A The biggest reason for condensation inside a Mini is perished or poorly fitting weather seals around windows and doors, and rotten body panels,…

The pace of the Downton GT rebuild has stepped up recently and at this rate I may get to drive it again before I have to renew my driver's licence. The original car was fitted with single point fuel injection and a modified ECU - state of the art in the mid 90s, but never a happy set-up. It was a step backwards in throttle responsiveness and had an irritating flat spot at 3000 rpm. So while the block and head have been treated to no more than a coat of BMC green paint, we decided that a return to SU carburettors was called for. We're no carb-tuning experts in the shed, but we know the basics of how they work and they respond more or less to our spanner…

I’ve been pretty busy trying to get Neggy ready for the IMM in August. My original deadline was for London to Brighton, but that has been and gone. It’s been hard finding the time to work on Neggy, but I feel like I’m making steady progress. However, I will be first to admit that I’m not a natural mechanic. My wife has nicknamed me Frank Spencer when I work on cars, for those of you who are old enough to remember the 1970’s comedy series ‘Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em’ you will have some idea of my hapless attempts! Frank’s wife once exclaimed “It will take a week to fix, and another two weeks to fix the parts that you fixed.” As Neggy had been sat for a while, the…