Innehållsförteckning för April 2020 från Mini Magazine

We may well still be in the depths of winter, but we've had a great time this month catching some exceptional Minis on camera. Some you'll find in this issue, others will be appearing soon. It's easy to feel that the whole scene goes into hibernation over the winter months, with the only respite being shows like the NEC Classic Car Show and the British Mini Club's Minifair (see page 30 for our report). Thankfully, this just isn't true and Mini owners are just as busy, just maybe not so visible... We travelled down to Southwest Wales to meet Luke Billing and his incredible turbo'd Mini. Take a look at the pictures of this car and you'll see that, obviously, it's never going to be in daily use. The omission…

• Mini Sport have launched a brand new ‘R’ range including brake kits, monoblock 4-piston callipers and competition driveshafts. The ‘R’ range is all about competition performance. The Mini brake kit comes in both fast road and competition kits. With its ultra lightweight construction and pioneering technology, it delivers super car stopping power time. Thanks to the two-piece rotor and bell assembly construction and DNA taken directly from motorsport, the lightweight assembly delivers greater acceleration, braking and handling, whilst heat is controlled in the most extreme conditions. The rigid monoblock 4-piston calliper is formed in aluminium and has been engineered without compromise to deliver undiluted feedback, with exceptional consistency to withstand extremely high braking forces. The driveshafts use knowledge gained from WRC and other disciplines within top level motorsport, the…

RARE BEAST Name: Peter Smith Car: 1969 1275 GT in Antelope Location: Chester • Peter’s first car was a Java Green 1275 GT and he’s been a Mini fan ever since. He’s had over 30 in his time and currently has 11 in his collection. He bought the ‘69 GT as an abandoned project in summer 2017. Everything had to be refurbed or renewed but the car was complete and included the rare elements of original shell, engine, hydrolastic suspension, correct clocks, rostyle wheels, GT steering wheel and basketweave interior. It also has nice history including a picture of the actual car being built at Longbridge, it was the only Antelope car built on that day, verified by the heritage certificate and 1275 GT Register. The rebuild took Peter 18…

If you want to really appreciate the level of detail that’s gone into Jeff Delve’s Mini, you need to go over it panel by panel and inch by inch. A first glance may not give much away. True, that blue paint is eyecatching but it will take a while and a much closer look before you really start to understand what’s been achieved here. The Mini didn’t arrive in the Delve household as part of some master plan to build a show stopper, rather some fond memories of a Mini Clubman owned by Jeff’s wife, Jo, when they first met. “I’ve always wanted a Mini – it was the only car I didn’t get round to owning really. My mates had them and we mosied around in my wife’s one…

The lower suspension arm on the Mini’s front suspension is fitted with rubber bushes to help provide a comfortable yet relatively precise ride. Unfortunately over time these rubber bushes can and will deteriorate resulting in free play in the suspension arm, this will in turn result in a loss of handling, strange knocking noises and an MoT failure if not sorted. Even for a novice home mechanic, replacement of the bushes themselves is very simple and shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours with the only specialist tool required being a ball joint splitter. The new bushes are inexpensive at a few quid each and if you have to replace the pin itself due to corrosion then these are around a tenner each. If you wish you can replace…

VETECHBUSA CASTOR-CAMBER SETTING KIT £150 Adjustable front suspension setup simplified! Set castor, camber accurately, quickly using this kit. Replace a wheel with the quadrant to access the suspension at normal ride height. The base freely floats on captive ball bearings. Unbolt the calliper and secure the measuring platform. Requires a low cost digital level (not provided). • 01298 213810 • info@vetechbusa.co.uk CONNECT WORKSHOP CONSUMABLES VEHICLE HOSE REPAIR KIT £139.95 This professional hose repair kit features a comprehensive selection of straight hoses, right-angled hoses, pipe connectors and hose clips. A heavy duty pipe cutter is also included. The ideal solution when original replacements are not quickly available and essential for breakdown recovery operators and general vehicle workshops. • 01926 815888 • www.connect-consumables.co.uk MINI SPARES PUSH FIT WINDSCREEN WASHER JET £4.85 If…

Even when you think you’ve figured out Marcus Hubbard’s Cub, I guarantee that it will still have a surprise or two that you’ve yet to notice. The immediate statement is Mad Max meets Desert Storm. It looks rough and ready, it’s got the biggest rally ready tyres you could imagine fitting under the arches, but then there’s the supercharger, the hydraulics, the PA system… Marcus’ Mini owning habit goes right back to his earliest days of driving. When he first passed his test he drove a Beetle but he says ‘it felt antique’, and he very quickly moved on to Minis. Several have come and gone over the years but one of them, a 1972 Cooper S replica, has been with him since 1989. This has been on the road…

• Cornish Mini Club would like you to join them for an action-packed Riviera Run from 1st-3rd May 2020 at Pentewan Sands Holiday Park, St Austell to help celebrate 25 years of the Riviera Run. Day visitors are £10 per car per day but if you are visiting Saturday and Sunday it's just £15. This year the chosen charities are Cornwall Blood Bikes and Children’s Hospice South West. On Friday there will be an inter club Wipeout game and glow show that will replace the usual drive-in movie. The action-packed Saturday programme includes rocker cover racing and a fire brigade display as well as the local cruise. Evening entertainment includes a fancy dress competition with live band Strawdogs. The fun continues on to the Sunday with ‘The Sound Off’ loudest…

You’d be forgiven for thinking the 2020 Mini Fair was going to be a little subdued after the big 60th year. However, there were still freshly finished restos to be revealed, new product to get excited about and a steady stream of visitors throughout the day. Proving that this essential event in the Mini calendar is still going strong in its 21st year. The Pride of Ownership was full of top quality examples (and a steady supply of enthusiasts drooling over them), the trade stands were busy all day and as ever the show featured arguably the best - or at least the most anticipated - autojumble of the year. Everyone we ran into had found something of interest for their next project. Rallying legend Clive King drew quite a…

Pete Hunter has been around Minis his whole life, and has owned his fair share over the years. He loves being part of the Mini scene and was even a founding member of Hilltop Minis. Pete lives on a working farm in Herefordshire with his wife, two children and his father-in-law, who runs the farm with help from Pete and his wife, Poppy. The family love of interesting cars is evident, but nothing beats their enthusiasm for Minis. His Mum had a couple before she met his Dad and even raced a few times. His Dad always had Minis too, and even on his lunchbreaks as a BL mechanic would be doing engine swaps and making the most of the time to work on his own projects. That love of…

During the 17 years that the Billing family have owned it, this 1989 Mini, which left Longbridge as a humble City E, has been the subject of a number of impeccably wrought transformations. Transformations that have seen it move ever further away from its rather unassuming beginnings. Even so, Luke, and his father have always ensured that this car remains loyal to its classic Mini roots, and that it retains a number of its period-important aesthetics and design cues. PHASE ONE “Dad bought this Mini back in 2003,” explains Luke. “It was a local car, and the first Mini he’d owned. It had been painted a Rover Pageant Blue... it had originally been a pastel blue, and the previous owner had also fitted Sports Pack arches. Prior to buying the…

BODY 1994 Mini 35, sports pack arches, Safety Devices roll cage, 7 gallon Concept fuel tank. Austin wavy grille insert. All brightwork finished in 2K black. Paint: one off mix metallic blue with black roof. ENGINE Bill Richards 1330cc Stage 4 Fast Road engine. 10.8:1 comp. Centre main strap. Lightened and balanced bottom end, 7cc+60 AE pistons. 1.5 Titan roller rockers, 35.7mm race inlet valves, 31mm race exhaust valves, 526 double springs. Kent 286 rally cam. Lightened followers with oil hole. KAD oil pump. Billet catch can. Kent duplex rota slide timing chain kit with DSN ally timing cover. Ultra light flywheel, AP clutch plate, orange diaphragm, steel back plate. High torque starter motor. Aldon yellow distributor with Lumenition. Webber 45DCOE carburettor with 4 inch inlet manifold. K&N air filter.…

“You don’t want to risk damaging them while painting the engine bay or floors” Once you start a full respray on a bodyshell, you realise how time consuming it is. The actual painting, when undertaken by someone who knows what they’re doing, takes very little time. The rest of the process – the prep, rubbing down, filling and masking takes huge amounts of time. Especially when you consider that each of these processes will be repeated for each coat of paint. The Downton GT needed to be painted inside and out, including the underside. The outer panels are the last to be painted which makes sense – these require the best possible finish and you don’t want to risk damaging them while painting the engine bay or floors. The Downton’s…

The Monte project started in late 2018. The car is owned by Hans-Ake Soderqvist, a very experienced Mini man who has competed since the ‘60s - mostly in the rally scene. I was approached by Hans-Ake to help him build a MkII Cooper S to compete in modern day rallying but to take on the appearance of the 1968 BMC Works Monte Carlo rally winning car ORX 7F driven by rally supremo Rauno Aaltonen. In Dec 2018 the car was completed ready to take part in the 2019 Swedish Rally piloted by Rauno. Throughout that year the car was campaigned by Hans-Ake at various events, serving as a long test for the grand event that is the Monte Carlo Historique 2020, again to be driven by Rauno. As the 2019…

22nd March Brooklands Mini Day This annual event will see hundreds of Minis, from the oldest to the newest, parked up around the historic site. With Clubs from around the country taking part, Test Hill action, a trade village and the new Auto Test demonstration area. www.brooklandsmuseum.com 4th April Spring Action Day The official kick-start to the performance car season. Expect drifting demonstrations, public track time and white-knuckle passenger laps on the circuit itself, whilst vast static club stands, trade villages and Show and Shine competitions ensure the outer display areas are equally as unmissable throughout the day. www.castlecombecircuit.co.uk 10th-13th April Silly Mini Weekend Silly Minis returns with a ‘Beside The Seaside’ theme. Expect sports, fancy dress, evening entertainment, a charity raffle and an auction on this family friendly Silly…

Words Holly Daffurn Father and son team, Glenn and Lee Hazelden both share a genuine love of classic cars with a particular soft spot for Minis. If something unusual is up for grabs, the Hazeldens are always the first on the scene. “Our friend has an Outspan Orange Mini, when he went to pick it up he noticed there was a Unipower GT in the weeds that the guy was going to bin. It’s an ex-works one and I couldn’t bear the thought of it going to ruin, so we went over and rescued it. It was only a bare shell… and a rough one at that. There wasn’t much of it left. We quickly realised that we couldn’t realistically do it up, so we put it up on eBay…

Despite a sluggish start following its launch in 1959, the Mini was undoubtedly one of the big British success stories of the 1960s. Equally at home in the city centre as it was giant killing on race circuits and the world rally stage, here was a revolutionary car that appealed to everyone from blue-collar workers to film stars. Having achieved a million sales by 1965 and two million just four years later, the idea of a replacement for the all-conquering Mini must have seemed like madness. But its new-fangled design elements meant the Mini wasn’t one for making a profit, and was reportedly being sold at a loss well into the following decade. So, as the 1960s progressed, plans for a small car that was cheaper and less labour intensive…

STAY SQUARE Q I’m currently working through a full body restoration of my 1973 Mini, and I’m replacing all the panels that most people seem to fit. My issue is that I realised that the sills and floor were rotten when I bought the Mini, but I’ve now discovered that both the boot floor and the rear heelboard have enough rust in them to warrant replacement. My issue is that with the whole bottom of the car cut away, how do I know that the rear subframe mounting points will be in the correct position when I weld in the new panels? And how do I double check that the car is ‘square’ before I do the final welding? Tony A This is a tricky question to deal with. We…

The last time I went to work on the GTM Rossa, as I pushed the car out of its corner I found I was standing in a pool of oil, roughly equal to the half litre I’d previously added to the sump – the driveshaft and gearbox rod change oil seals were clearly shot. If you’re going to start replacing seals, it’s a good idea that you don’t introduce muck and grit into the engine when you fit the new ones. The underside of the GTM’s gearbox (and pretty much everything else under the rear of the car) had been coated with a thin film of engine oil mixed with anything that could be drawn up off the road. There’s no nice way to deal with this – Swarfega degreaser,…

In the olden days, when Minis were ten a penny, everyone used to scrap them as you might scrap a Fiesta now. I used to have a Mini-back end as a trailer; a Woody Estate as it turned out. Someone asked if I would sell it but I agreed that the next Woody that became available, I would let him know and he could make his own. One did appear and we cut it up, stood it on its end to stop it filling with water and stuff and waited for him to re-appear. It started a conversation piece that turned in to a side line cum hobby. I started to think we could have one of each model - Mini Henge. Well, they used to go back out to…