Innehållsförteckning för May 2020 från Mini Magazine

Spring feels like it's getting close. We don't judge this by the temperature nudging up a couple of degrees, or even by growing number of daylight hours. Rather, we go by the number of Mini projects we see and the level of activity associated with them. We love our 'On The Job' section. The chance to go out and have a good nose in someone's garage, to see how their Mini is coming together, and pick up a few hints or tips for our own projects while we're at it. In reality, it's no different to what groups of Mini owners do up and down the country on a regular basis - other than the fact that we record everything on camera and put the full story in the magazine...…

• ‘Mini Madness’ returns to the British Motor Museum this Easter from 4 – 26 April with a host of Mini themed family activities. Visitors can join the Mini Factory costumed characters on a family tour, design and make a Mini, or explore the Museum with the Fix It Family Trail. On Thursday 9 and 16 April, visitors can also join the STEM ambassadors to take part in a Mini Egg Rover Challenge. Then, over the Easter Weekend from 10 - 13 April, children can enjoy a traditional Easter Egg hunt with a Mini twist! For more information visit www.britishmotormuseum.co. uk/whats-on/easter or call 01926 927823.…

• MINI has announced a partnership with OVO Energy, providing an offer of 5,000 free, green miles to new MINI Electric owners in the UK. Customers of the brand’s first fully-electric vehicle, who choose to make a simple switch from their current home energy supply to OVO’s EV Everywhere package, will get the electricity for their first 5,000 miles charged at home for free. The EV Everywhere bundle uses 100 per cent renewable electricity, supporting customers on their journey to zero-carbon living. Including free Polar Plus membership, which provides unlimited access to the UK’s largest EV charging network of over 7,000 public charging points, the offer ensures MINI Electric drivers will have peace of mind when charging on the move, in addition to the free miles from home charging. Once…

Europe’s no 1 historic motorshow is always a hit with rallying enthusiasts and this year was no different. The 2020 show at Stoneleigh Park, Coventry brought together more than 24,000 motorsport fans across the course of the weekend. Every discipline was covered including formula and circuit racing, rallying, hill climbs, touring cars, single marque series, GT cars and so much more. The displays of cars across the halls were impressive too including Andy ‘Ace’ Harrison’s Whizzo tribute Mini which featured alongside a helmet in Barrie’s racing colours. Until his death in 2018, Barrie ‘Whizzo’ Williams appeared at Stoneleigh Park each year since the show’s inception. Nick Swift’s 1966 Marcos turned heads and The Motoring Books and Shelsley Walsh stands both featured Minis as part of their display. The Saturday was…

REBEL REBEL Name: Clint Ford Car: 1980 Clubman Estate Location: Haslemere, Kent • Clint’s 1980 Clubman Estate looks stunning in Volvo Rebel Blue, but it hasn’t always been that way. Clint remembers the Estate on the show scene from 2007 when it was painted military green with fake bullet holes, a camo net interior and was called Sarge. He spotted it up for sale on Facebook. When he went to view it it was sat in a hedge but was complete. It needed a lot of work on the brakes and sorting electrical problems, and with a bit of welding passed an MoT just days before the London to Brighton 2016. It has since been taken off the road for a complete rebuild. Pretty much every panel has been replaced…

The Mini was special right from the start. Sir Alec Issigonis, the father of the Mini, recognised the shortcomings of mainstream cars which were plodding around the roads of Britain in the 1950s. He discarded conventional design and used his talent to create something new, something exceptional, a motoring masterpiece. During the next decade the Mini was bought by celebrities and royalty, the works Department made motorsport headlines and world-wide sales pushed production to over two million – the Mini was a true legend with a special place in the nation’s heart. By the end of the next decade, despite the arrival of the MkIII and the Clubman, the Mini’s popularity was starting to wane. Economy motoring had moved on with the appearance of hatchbacks like the Ford Fiesta and…

Ever since the Mini was first mooted, plans were put into place to include a number of light commercial variants in the line up. After all, this made perfect marketing sense. The company had already garnered a lot of success with its range of Austin A30/A35 vans (and even a small batch of A35 pickups), and would go on to sell over 210,000 by the time production ended in 1968. The ubiquitous, characterful and hardworking Morris Minor vans and pickups (and Austin-badged versions from 1968) proved to be even more successful, with more than 325,000 being sold between 1953 and 1973. And, following in their commercial tyre tracks, the Minivan (plus, to a lesser extent, the Pickup) would become another fleet favourite. Small but perfectly-formed and extremely practical, these ‘light…

FRAME UP Q I want to replace the rear subframe of my 1980 Mini and need to decide between a traditional subframe and a beam axle with coilovers. Could you give me the pros and cons of each and, if I choose the beam axle, should I use coilovers all round or would a traditional set-up at the front work? What are the pros and cons of Spax, Koni and Gaz adjustable gas shocks? Is there a better make? I am considering using 6x12 Minilights and Yokohama A048R tyres with my suspension set-up. Ben A The beam axle has a lot to recommend it. They’re a lot lighter than the standard subframe and they’re also a lot more rot resistant. They can be fitted without a great deal of hassle…

MINI LIFE Been into Minis for as long as I can remember. Worked on the first issues of Mini Magazine in 1996, and was editor from 1997 to 2001. Never been too far away from Minis, the scene or the magazine. MINI SPEC Standard 1969 Riley Elf with lots of rust, split seats and mostly functioning mechanicals. GTM Rossa with MG Metro 1275cc engine. Been in long term storage so will need lots of work if we’re to take it out on the track this summer. MINIS OWNED Quite a few over the years including a MkI 1275GT, van, several estates, Status 365 and many cheap and cheerful saloons.…

Edward Leaker grew up around Minis and some of his happiest childhood memories revolve around Mini shows. His Dad had his fair share over the years and worked alongside Leo Jack of Cooper Cars Southwest for around 12 years. However, it took until he was in his thirties before Edward got a proper taste for Mini ownership and restoration. “At some point I said I’d really like to get a Frogeye Sprite and I eventually bought one from Denmark. The only good thing about it was that it was painted well, but everything else was horrendous - I had basically bought a bodyshell. I started on that one and quickly realised I just needed to practise which then led me on to finding a complete and utter pile of rust…

• One of the joys of owning a classic car is taking them on a tour or a weekend away. If you've ever planned a road trip with stop-overs, you've probably had to make arrangements to help you decide if the places you want to stay are suitable for your car. Does it have a safe car park? Is the surface smooth and free of the dreaded speed bumps? Is the proprietor a true petrolhead? It's been challenging to find that information in one place...until now. Petrolheadswelcome.com is a free web portal designed to help petrolheads find venues that both they and their cars can enjoy. It's a site that has been built by car lovers for car lovers. The idea is a simple one: the website lists hotels, B&Bs…

• This year is the 60th anniversary of the first flight of the mighty V bomber, the Vulcan. The RAFMC invites you to the Easter 2020 Vulcan Vortex, a commemorative Mini Run visiting the locations of four surviving Avro Vulcans at both current and ex-RAF sites starting in Lincoln and ending at the birthplace of the iconic aircraft. Limited to just 50 Minis, the crews involved are required to raise a minimum of £30 to the chosen charity. This year they are raising funds to donate to Scampton Church RAF Memorial Window. www.rafmc.co.uk…

The Mini 7 Racing Club’s recent awards night celebrated an action-packed 2019 season and crowned the four individual series champions with a glamorous black tie dinner dance. It was a season to remember, with the Mini’s 60th anniversary appeal attracting support race invites from both the British Touring Car Championship and the German DTM - high profile stuff for modest club-level motorsport. Aaron Smith collected his second Miglia championship trophy, Jeff Smith’s first season in the 1000cc Se7en class was also his first championship title, while Scott Kendall took the S-Class and Phil Harvey the Mini Libre trophy. There was also a table-full of prestigious trophies for various special achievements over the season, such as most pole positions, most entertaining drive and best presented Mini. The drinks and fun flowed…

Steve grew up in a family with Morris Minors, one was even concours. His parents had had it since 1979 – longer than he’d been around – so he went to all the shows with them and loved every minute. As he grew up, his love for cars and car shows never faded, but he eventually graduated towards something a little bit cooler… the Mini! He can’t even remember how many he’s had over the years, but assures us that the numbers have been huge. For Steve it is all about the driving experience, so he tries to do all of his cars as rolling projects. He gets them on the road with minimal work and then likes to slowly improve them over the years. Steve and his good mate…

Records held by the Unipower GT Owners Club & Register show that out of the 72 Unipower GTs made (38 by Universal Power Drives, 34 by Unger Weld Forrester), there are 47 known survivors. Interestingly, the records also reveal that almost 50 per cent of Unipower production was exported. Indeed the majority are still spread around the globe with Japan, which has a predilection for classic Minis and Mini-based cars, being home to sixteen. Here in the UK however, there are just 12 remaining, including the feature car which belongs to long-time Unipower enthusiast Mark Butler. Not that Mark was actively seeking a Unipower – his association with this mid-engined marvel began quite by chance. CHANCE FIND “I wasn’t actually looking for a Unipower I was just contemplating a new…

If you are unlucky enough to have to replace a thermostat that’s not been done for a long time, then you may well come across a broken or seized stud that will make replacement a nightmare. In this feature we show you the best way to overcome the problem and ensure that your Mini gets back on the road in double quick time with the least amount of hassle. The thermostat helps control the flow of the coolant around the engine and into the radiator and its job is to restrict flow into the radiator until the coolant level reaches a set temperature. This way the engine will warm up far quicker and reduce the risk of damage and wear to the engine as well as being more fuel efficient.…

Long time no column! Some readers may remember me from my previous diary columns, my last being in 2017 when I was racing in the Mighty Mini Championship. Well, a lot has certainly happened since then. I had always planned for 2017 to be my last year racing. My first child was due to be born in January 2018 and I couldn’t see racing and family life mixing well, not for a few years at least anyway. So with that in mind, I put my Mighty Mini and all my racing equipment up for sale towards the end of the season. The final race of the year was held at Pembrey and whilst getting ready to go out for a practice session I was approached by another driver and did…

The 2020 championships are now underway, and Mighty Minis is excited for the coming season. The championships opened up last year after a change in regs meant that cars can now run on SU carburettors. This has caused a resurgence in interest in people who were previously put off by the complex injection system on the SPi. Racing is getting more affordable, so it’s the ideal time to get out on track. You’d be in good company as Moss Europe Bradford branch manager and Neil Fearnley commitment award winning racing driver Laura Harris is returning to the track this season. If you follow racing, you may recall the horrific crash at Pembrey at the last meeting of 2017. During a practice session, Laura Harris was coming up to the first…

4th April Spring Action Day The official kick-start to the performance car season. Expect drifting demos, public track time and white-knuckle passenger laps on the circuit itself, plus vast static club stands, trade villages and Show and Shine competitions. 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 Mini Weekend in Devon. www.sillyminis.com 19th April Lincoln BIG Mini Day With over 200 Minis making an appearance each year, this free event is now in its 12th year. The show attracts classic and modern Mini lovers from all over the UK. Contact: Mike Bilton mjbilko@tiscali.co.uk www.trentvalleymoc.co.uk/ lincolnbig-mini-day 1st-3rd May CMC Riviera Run Featuring a drive in movie, rolling…

To a certain group of Mini owners, there is one car that has a particular magic about it. At the close of the ‘60s and as the Mini reached its tenth birthday, the paymasters at Longbridge had realised that there was a desperate need to rationalise model ranges and make the vehicles they produced more profitable. With the Mini, this meant the range topping Riley Elf/Wolseley Hornet needed to be replaced with something that was cheaper to make. The result, the work of a team headed up by Roy Haynes and including Harris Mann and Paul Hughes, was the Clubman. Initially proposed as both a front and rear end restyle to include a hatchback, the car which broke cover in 1969 simply made do with all new front end panelwork…

“If you’ve not sprayed a car before, you may be surprised at how physical it is” It can almost feel like an anticlimax. After months and months of rubbing down and body preparation, when you finally come to lay on the final colour coats you can’t believe you’ve actually reached that stage. And when it goes well, the actual painting process is over in no time at all. We had been very careful with the Downton due to its construction – part steel, part fibreglass – to make sure everything was absolutely 100 per cent right before we even considered laying on the final paint. Body man, Gav Parrish, has had lots of experience spraying Minis and knows all the pitfalls. He also knew that the slightest imperfection in the…

I was trying to take a technical pic recently of automatic gearchanges and one of our cats decided this was the moment to feature. I have spent the last 40-odd years juggling animals and Minis. Even before I moved to our farm, we had pets and animals that would just – get involved. We had swallows nest in my workshop at one stage which meant I couldn’t close the door for three months until they hatched. Our pet rabbits got out one day and we realised that they couldn’t go far if the yard gate stayed shut so they had free run for the rest of their lives. As regards transporting animals in Minis, when we had the Woodies on the road they did such a great job that I…

Work on the GTM Rossa has been frustratingly slow. Each job has felt like one step forward and two steps back. Last month I had tried to split the balljoints so I could replace leaking driveshaft oil seals. The net result was a lot of frustration caused by poor quality tools, a damaged track rod end and oil still steadily leaking from the gearbox... A reluctant eBay shopping trip saw another balljoint splitter and track rod end remover on its way, along with a pair of Quinton Hazell track rod ends. Preserving the correct track is often not just noting the position of the lock nut and winding the new track rod end on to that point – even if it’s only a couple of millimetres, track road end dimensions…