Innehållsförteckning för December 2019 från Mini Magazine

We've had an exciting month here at Mini Magazine. Even though the show season has been winding down, there was still Action Day at Castle Combe to enjoy, and despite some typically Autumnal weather, between the downpours we managed to see plenty of track action. You can see our full report starting on page 28. We've also had the opportunity to get behind the wheel ourselves this month, and we were lucky enough to have the track to ourselves, with not a rain cloud in sight. Early in the month, we headed up to Curborough Sprint Course to meet up with the team behind the Vetechbusa and after experiencing the car in both naturally aspirated and forced induction forms, we were completely blown away. Bike engine conversions are not new,…

Right from the start, the classic Mini was a member of high society: royalty, film stars, musicians and celebrities from the world of fashion succumbed to the charm of the British original. To mark the brand's birthday, MINI has unveiled a stunning restored classic Mini in the striped design of the 60 Years Lifestyle Collection. To mark the brand's 60th anniversary furthermore, MINI is commemorating those glorious early years with some exceptional special vehicles. Following the successful market launch of the MINI 60 Years Edition for the current MINI 3-door and MINI 5-door, the classic Mini will once again be at the forefront. A unique, elaborately restored one-off in the colourful striped design of the current MINI 60 Years Lifestyle Collection revives the fashionable panache and lifestyle of the wild…

• As we go to press, the Italian Job is in full swing. It’s cited as a place to make lifelong friends and it’s certainly a great way to meet other Mini enthusiasts. Organiser Freddie St George told us, "The teams of the Italian Job 2019 are an incredible bunch. They're brilliant fun and even more brilliant fundraisers. They make the difficult and testing year long organisational effort so worthwhile." The two week tour starts in Munich before going to Austria and on to Italy via the beautiful Brenner Pass. Accounts say that a few teams have “added” some extra roads to the tulip diagram roadbooks… but all in all a great time is being had. This year the tour is supporting Buttle UK. You can read a full report…

Competing over the course of thirteen stages on the notoriously difficult Otterburn Ranges, our Mini crews had honours to battle for, with pole position in all the classes still up for grabs! Roy Jarvis and Luke Greaves were pushing hard all day, after Roy decided that he needed to take more risks and grow his confidence. It worked, with them finishing 5th Mini overall and 3rd Mini Category 1. It was the first time taking on the Otterburn Ranges for Ken Pryce and Don James, but boy were they on it! Ken’s new, bigger engine was performing flawlessly and the crew were nearing the top of the Minis all day. Ken and Don finished 3rd Mini overall and 2nd Mini Category 1. Jack Hartley and Gary Dawes had a strong…

FROM A JACK TO A KING Name: Jimmy Ryan Car: 1980 1275GT Location: Manchester • Jimmy is a postman in Manchester. He first saw this GT in a garage he was delivering to and asked for first refusal… it took a few years but he finally got it. Since then Jimmy and his brother John have replaced both inner and outer sills, doorsteps, boot floor, valance, heel board and a whole front end. His nephew Matt has painted it Applejack Green - it’s original colour. Engine wise it’s been rebuilt by Jim at R.A.C.E and slightly warmed up to MG Metro spec. It’s breathing through a 1.75 inch Maniflow system and Howley inlet with a K&N air filter. Jimmy is hoping that it’ll be ready for the Wirral to Llandudno…

It’s a proven formula for getting motoring journalists to start churning out clichés. Take a car - preferably light, small and nimble. Add more power than it was ever designed to handle. Refine it a lot more so it drives and handles far better than it has a right to. Warm day sticky tyres empty track… Mini Magazine has joined Vetech Product Design & Development at Curborough Sprint Course in Staffordshire to test drive their incredible Vetechbusa, in both naturally aspirated and supercharged form. And after just one quick taster session in the orange, supercharged car, we’re already re-evaluating what makes a fast Mini. After a quick guided tour of what does what, the company’s director, Andrew Quigley points us in the direction of the track. And that’s the first…

The first chopped Mini came in 1964 when master car craftsman Neville Trickett teamed up with racer Geoff Thomas, who decided to market a seriously modified Mini through his motor accessories shop GT Equipment. With 1.5 inches removed from the Mini’s body above and below the waistline, another 1.5 inches from the pillars, steeply raked front and rear screens and not a seam in sight… this was a seriously good looking Mini. The improved aerodynamics gave it a more streamlined front, making it the perfect sports car. Around 85 were built originally before the project was sold to BMC dealers Stewart & Ardern, who knocked out another dozen. Meanwhile, the idea had caught on and petrolheads started building their own versions in sheds and garages all over the country. The…

HEAD CASE Q I’m restoring a 1987 998cc Mayfair which I plan to drive once I’ve passed my driving test. I want to modify it but anything I do will have to be insurance-friendly for me. Could you tell me what model carb is on it as I would like to fit a K&N or something similar? Also, would I be able to fit a Metro 1300 cylinder head to this engine as I’m told it has bigger valves and if so, will I need to change my existing manifolds? Jaidan A The carb fitted to your Mini as standard would be an HS4 — a 1.5 inch SU. That’s the easy one dealt with. When fitting a 1300 cylinder head onto a small bore engine, the manifolding is going…

With the Anniversary year drawing to a close and the show season over, it’s time to think of how best to use the winter months in the lockup. I’m really pleased we managed to get the Elf up and running in time for at least some of the events during 2019, but I’m also well aware that the car has now reached a bit of a crossroads. It’s brilliant fun to drive, and despite the fact that it was off the road for such a long spell, it’s been surprisingly reliable (if you ignore the self deflating suspension, clutch master failure and brake leaks…). There’s no disguising the fact that the bodywork is scruffy, and even though I have no problem with a car that’s not concours perfect, I do…

Words Holly Daffurn From a young age, I remember being sat in my Uncle’s Mini with the Italian Job soundtrack on the tape deck. You could see the road whizzing past through the holes in the floor!” These precious early memories are where James’ love of all things Mini stemmed from. Then when a lad at his school got a Mini for his first car, James was keen to follow suit and soon bought the car off him. “I had it for a month and knew absolutely nothing about them. Something was always going wrong. It was in the garage every weekend so I had to sell it in the end. Then when I started working at Bosch I decided that I wanted another one… one that actually worked! So…

• On Saturday 19 October, MINI celebrated the launch of the three-year partnership by attending the parkrun event in Oxford, the home of MINI and where its new all-electric model will be built. Over 440 parkrunners took part in the early morning 5km event in Cutteslowe and Sunnymead Park. David George, MD, MINI UK said, “MINI are really excited to support parkrun. For the past 60 years we have made cars that bring smiles to people’s faces and created a real sense of community. Our shared optimistic spirit and desire to bring people together is what makes this such a great partnership.” Parkrun UK supports more than 900 communities around the country to deliver free, weekly, socially focused events. parkrun events are open to everyone, whether you walk, jog, run…

Mull is notoriously one of the most challenging and exciting rallies out there and this year was particularly special as it marked 50 years since the first rally tour of Mull. For Louise Thomas of the Mini Girls Rally Team it was an especially significant event, being her home rally. Louise has lived in Mull for 22 years and it was the rally that brought her family to Mull 50 years ago. The girls started as car 148, and impressively finished car 81. Out of 150 cars, 62 didn't finish so the team is very happy with the result. The rally covers 333 miles, 148 miles of which are competitive stage miles on narrow technical single track roads, which are tackled mostly in the dark! The weather wasn’t on their…

Despite the wet weather and persistent intermittent showers the track action was steady all day with a hot supply of both classics and modern Minis keen to take on the infamous Quarry Corner. Although some took the wet weather to be a warning, spectators still stuck around and there were enough cars giving enough speed to keep things interesting. The stands were packed with trade, autojumble and club displays following the curve of the track. While the schedule was full of track time, prize givings and the parade laps. Proud sponsors Mini Sport, had an impressive display at the heart of the hardstanding with few visitors leaving empty handed and plenty of display cars to get excited about… including the Mini Haha (as featured in our July issue). Mini Sport…

It sounds like the start of a bad Netflix documentary…you gave your car and a bunch of cash to a guy called Shifty who you met on the internet,” Sean laughs. Sean “Shifty” Whitfield has been fascinated with Minis since childhood and is known on the scene as a bit of a Mini expert. He’s admin on The Mini Forum and certainly knows one end of a spanner from the other. When it comes to Aiden’s blind faith in him, he’s certainly got a point… but when you see the state the car was in and how beautifully it is coming together now, it looks like Aiden made the right judgement call. Six months down the line he not only has a solid shell (a huge improvement on the mess…

Unless you’ve been living on the moon or in Norfolk, you’ll have noticed that barn finds seem to be all the rage at the moment. We all dream of opening an abandoned barn or garage with the hope there may be a classic lurking inside that hasn’t seen the light of day for decades. Even rusting heaps fetch top money now, and the chances of coming across a barn find in decent condition are becoming slimmer every day. Yet, occasionally a true gem makes an appearance, the internet forums and social media groups go nuts and gasps can be heard from miles around… along with a hint of jealousy, perhaps. Mini fanatic Allan Binns is the first to admit he was incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to purchase…

When the Mini was finally equipped with fuel injection in 1991, most people thought that the A-series had finally been dragged kicking and screaming into the modern age. Introduced to meet ever tighter emissions regulations, fuel injection brought guaranteed performance, greater fuel economy, and better starting. It was a simple system with a single fuel injector roughly in the same position as the carb it replaced and was referred to within Rover as throttle body injection (TBi) but became universally known as single point injection (SPi). Fuel injection first appeared on the Cooper models, the rest of the range staying with a carburetted but catalysed lower power output unit, until they too were fitted with fuel injection in 1994. Power output from the Cooper was 63 bhp, with the others…

MINI SPORT CLASSIC MINI SALOON CARPET SET £18 A special end of line clearance deal. These Classic Mini Saloon carpets sets are manufactured from good quality automotive carpet that wears extremely well, with two rubber heel pads bound to the front section. Available while stocks last in Black, Grey, Royal Blue, Navy, Red, Beige, Green, Hot Pink and Light Pink. • 01282 778731 • www.minisport.com SEALEY LED190T FLOODLIGHT £59.94 Featuring 112 SMD LED’s and producing up to 1600 lumens, there are three brightness levels. Sealey’s LED190T is powered by a 7.4V 8.8Ah rechargeable Li-ion battery which can last up to 10 hours. Sealey’s foldable floodlight range can be used independently or with the telescopic tripod. • 01284 757500 • www.sealey.co.uk MINI SPARES POWERLITE LIGHTWEIGHT RACE ALTERNATOR £253.18 For classic Mini…

• The Fuchs Lubricants Classic Mini Challenge was held in South Wales in the first weekend of October for the final round of 2019 – Round 8 of the Raintite Metal Coatings Patriot Stages for 61 miles of action over six stages. This rally was based at the Caerwent Military Training Area. Fuchs Lubricants Classic Mini Challenge Results for the Round 8 2019. In first place Jim Brindle and Martin Young, second Martin Melling and Lewis Griffiths, and third place goes to Barry Stenhouse and Suzanna Whalley. This makes the provisional final championship results – Rick Ford in first with 148 points, Martin Melling second with 138 points and Barry Stenhouse in third with 133 points. Well done to everyone who took part!…

The opening Miglia/Libre race may have been missing the provisional champion, Aaron Smith, but that didn’t detract from a pulsating contest to open the afternoon’s action in which ‘local hero’ Sam Summerhayes finally broke his duck with a hard-earned first victory, swapping the lead with Kane Astin before securing the spot as Rupert Deeth also found a way past into second. Behind the Miglia frontrunners, the Libre title was still up for grabs but early leader Rob Davis stopped with a loss of drive, handing the advantage to Phil Harvey although it was another ‘local hero’ Ian Fraser who pulled off a fantastic do-or-die last corner move to snatch the class win on his 2019 debut, with Peter Crewes equally close in third behind Harvey who thus mathematically retained his…

8th -10th November Classic Motor Show Annual multi marque classic car event covering much of Birmingham’s NEC. Displays, live shows, demonstrations, trade stands, autojumble, auction, concours, food and drink. You can expect some exciting involvement from the Mini 60 scene this year with stands from Mini Cooper Register, British Mini Club and more. www.necclassicmotorshow.com/ 1st January 2020 New Year’s Day Classic Gathering Everybody – whether you’re driving a classic or not – is welcome to the largest New Year’s Day Classic Gathering in the UK. With over 1,000 vehicles expected, live music and a winter barbeque and other additional food outlets, there will be something for everybody amongst the vast and diverse displays of classics all descending on Brooklands to kick start 2020 in style. www.brooklandsmuseum.com 11th-12th January The Performance…

We’d been together for about eight years and Wayne jokingly said to me… we can either get married or I’ll buy you a Mini.” Caroline laughs “I said, ‘I’m not going to get married once I reach 50…’ so he opted for the easy option...” Caroline Davies grew up around cars, as her dad was a bit of a car fanatic. He’d get Caroline to mask up for him and after a couple of coats it was down to Caroline and her brothers to get the wet and dry paper on it! Caroline always loved the idea of owning a Mini, but it was only when she met Wayne that she finally got one of her own. “It was more than I was originally planning to do.” Wayne recounts. “I…

“The light roof and dark lower body broke the beautiful lines around the Kamm tail” In the last instalment, the Downton GT had been delivered back to the MM lockup and we’d tried to quickly assess how much damage a lengthy period in pretty poor storage had wreaked on the car. It didn’t look too good – there were some obvious areas of corrosion, some further evidence of corrosion bubbling beneath the surface, a barely running engine and scratched, faded paint. It wasn’t pretty and a long way from its previous cover star looks. It was clear that this wasn’t going to be a quick oil change and a rub over with the machine polisher. The paint had been compromised in enough places to know that a full repaint was…

Between races I did my usual helping at the Action Day at Castle Combe raising money for charity by giving rides in Mighty Minis racers. Happy day for all. I didn’t offer to drive as I was (slightly) saving myself for the following weekend racing at Combe again; The Allstars one at the Castle Combe classic. It’s a lovely event; great atmosphere, great mix of cars from A35s to Cobras in my race but… We had tried to sort the spongy brake pedal after Oulton; changed pads, caliper pistons and seals, new master cylinder. Nothing made sense; originally all that we did was to put brake pads in and they were instantly spongy. Even after we had changed all that, the brakes would bleed up fine but as soon as…

For me, the highlight of this summer's Mini 60 celebrations was Mini Day at Shelsley Walsh. Not only is it a short drive through beautiful countryside from where I live, it's also completely unspoiled, looking very much the same way as it would have in the 1930s when Whitney Straight and Raymond Mays were Kings of the Hill. No felled trees and run-off areas to appease Health & Safety here. There's also a family connection for me, as my Grandfather was part of the team that installed the first phone connection between the Start and Finish lines, for the BBC's inaugural outside broadcast in 1938. August 25th dawned bright and warm. My son Stanley and I set off in our 1965 Austin Cooper, with my wife following in the camper,…