Innehållsförteckning för March 2021 från Mini Magazine

We've been trying to move our own projects along this month. For me, that's been working out just how much spare cash there will be in the kitty to spend on the Elf once this lockdown finally lifts. But for another one of our regular contributors, it's been a little more immediate and wallet wrenching... We've been enjoying see Will's Downton GT really come together over the last few months, but tension was building as the day to finally stir the engine back into life got ever closer. Well, that day arrived, and let's just say, things didn't go as we had hoped. You can get up to speed on page 82. It brings you up short, and reminds you that putting a top class Mini together is never straightorward…

The 60th anniversary of the Mini Cooper will be celebrated with two showdowns on the ‘Greatest Hits’ line-up of races compiled for The Classic’s postponed 30th birthday party this summer (30 July – 1 August). The addition of the Mini Coopers adds even more excitement to the event’s non-stop track action with the pair of Classic Mini Challenge races building on last year’s success when The Classic marked the Mini’s own 60th birthday in style with a record-breaking entry of 60 racing Mini Cooper S models all dating back to the sixties on the legendary Silverstone Grand Prix circuit! Ensuring all visitors to The Classic share in the celebrations, the Mini Cooper entertainment will be spread over all three days at the world’s biggest historic motor racing festival. Qualifying for…

There have been seldom few grass roots motorsports where Minis haven’t been involved. For decades now, they’ve been a firm favourite as the tool of choice for Autograss Racing. Cheap to buy, straightforward to modify and ease of repairs meant Minis often dominated the pits at any Autograss meet around the country and some still race to this day. It goes without saying they’re not only competitive, but also great fun to drive around a dirt oval track and many of today’s racers cut their teeth piloting an Autograss Mini. Among them was 47-year-old Simon Steggles, who along with his Dad and brother built numerous Mini saloons and Pickups all for one sole purpose, Autograss Racing. “The racing was great fun, but as time went on it evolved more into…

In recent times there has been a noticeable increase in classics from South Africa being imported to the UK including many Minis. It’s easy to see the attraction as the reasonable prices generally can buy an unmolested and often very original car, generally devoid of the Mini’s biggest enemy, rust. Having said that, there are some real dogs on the SA market too, but armed with the right contacts and knowing where to look can produce some real gems. Long time Mini fan, Ben Thompson has now brought into the UK an impressive collection of Minis over the past few years, in fact we recently ran a feature on his bright yellow ‘78 1275GTS, a model we missed out on in blighty. Although the 1275GTS is itself something of a…

You don’t have to look much further than this car’s name – Hornetto – to figure out Alex Kinsman’s approach to its conception and build. It’s unique, it blends a range of tastes and influences, and perhaps most of all, it portrays the owner’s personality and even his sense of humour. If you don’t like it, that’s not his problem, because this is a car that’s been built for him and him alone. Perhaps, that’s not strictly true, because it took something more than Alex’s imagination and ingenuity to finally get the project to come together. A bit of background is required… This isn’t Alex’s first Mini project, neither is it the only Mini currently in his collection. Alex and wife Suzy have been scene stalwarts for decades, and indeed,…

For some, correctly fitting and shimming ball joints, or swivel pins, is right up there with the most frustrating Mini jobs. Debate has long raged on about installation methods, as well as how much tension there should be on the swivel pin. Fortunately, there are now options that can take the guess work out of it. Modern cars have had maintenance-free ball joints for years, including the A-Series “The Japanese market is privy to all sorts of special domestic items” Metro, which screw into the hub as a complete unit. Metro hubs will fit Mini suspension arms if you use the pre-1984-type ball joints, but doing so opens up a suspension geometry can of worms and requires a whole load of realignment work. Another option is to fit aftermarket aluminium…

School proms... pre-Covid of course, have become big news, eclipsing the good old school discos of yore. These celebratory functions, marking significant events, are where pupils let off steam and strut their stuff in sharp suits, glitzy dresses and, crucially, arrive in fancy cars. Indeed it was a school prom that in many ways led Harry Dawes into Mini ownership. His master plan was to buy a Mini as a project which he could rebuild and use as his first car. Importantly, it could also be used to chauffeur him to his end-of-GCSE’s prom. Alas, although Harry was suited and booted in time, his Mini wasn’t. “Even though we’d done our best, it wasn’t quite ready,” he recalls. “My parents were great though. Appreciating how disappointed I was, they looked…

• Rémy Julienne, the precision stunt driver behind The Italian Job chase sequence and six James Bond films, sadly passed away on January 21 at the age of 90. The Frenchman was hospitalised two weeks ago in the town of Montargis after testing positive for Coronavirus, and was taken into intensive care. Born on 17 April 1930 in the French village of Cepoy, Julienne became one of the most prolific stunt drivers in Europe and, over a 40-year career, participated in more than 1400 productions. His spectacular stunts were calculated to eliminate as much risk as possible, with French director, Claude Lelouch, describing him as “a reasonable madman.” Julienne became the French motocross champion in 1957, before beginning his movie career doubling for Jean Marais in the 1964 film Fantômas.…

Even with the best-laid plans, it’s fair to say project cars never really play ball. Take the timescale for example. Almost without exception, the process takes much longer than anticipated. Then there’s the cost. Rarely, do such projects stay within the confines of the original budget. In reality, they typically occupy a huge amount of time... and drain finances. Yet, thankfully, most of us persist and manage to see our projects through from beginning to end. Gary Bentley certainly did. With help from his good friend Dave Forrester, the superb Mini gracing these pages, purchased in 2013, was put back on the road last July. That’s a timescale of almost seven years. “Our intention was a high-quality build,” explains Gary. “Working to this standard, and then having to undertake more…

“After we discovered failing burnt wiring, we stopped running the engine” It will go down as one of the longest rebuilds in history. The Downton GT has been with us for a long time now. For those not up to speed with the saga, the GT is owned by friend of the mag (and creator of our superb comic strip, Rubery & Owen), Will Finn. He bought the car direct from Downton in the late 90s, ran it alongside his other classics for a couple of years and then due to work commitments, put the car into storage. It turned out that the storage wasn’t so great and the car suffered, so in 2009, the car was transported to our lockup, where it began another extended period of hibernation. The…

WORTH THE WAIT Name: Stefan Pace Car: Metro engined Mini cabrio Location: Malta • Stefan’s 1974 Mini has been customised to the max! He bought it around 6 months ago from a man called Joseph Camiller who had devoted 5 years of his life to building this car, only to garage it for 8 years. Stefan couldn’t bear to see his dream car going to waste and was determined to make it his own. His friends Stephen Micallef and Gianni managed to persuade Joseph to sell his car to Stefan, meaning that he was able to finish the project off from his own garage. With its 1.3 MG Metro engine and Dellorto carbs, it’s a nippy little thing. Everything has been fabricated in metal, with not a scrap of fibreglass…

At first glance it may look like a life size version of something from an animated racing movie but built on Suzuki Jimny running gear that had just 600 miles on the clock, the Mini Max from the Czech Republic couldn’t be more real. This build came about fifteen years ago when a friend who had stored an abandoned Mini track car project in Mila Janacek’s garage for a few years told him to scrap it. No true Mini lover would destroy a perfectly good shell though and Mila had an idea about what he could do with it. OFF ROADING With an old Suzuki Samurai chassis collecting dust at the back of his garage, he decided to mount the shell to it. “For no particular reason,” he shrugs. “I…

NO BRAINER Q I’ve been having real trouble with my SPi Mini Cooper, and after changing parts and spending a lot of cash on it with no improvement, I’ve decided to swap the fuel injection for a carb. The mechanical bits I have no trouble working on, it’s the electrical side that’s got me scratching my head. What do I do with the wiring that goes to the injection? Does the ECU need to be modified or can it be removed completely? And if that is the case, what do I do with all the wiring? Adam A The single point injection setup is great when it’s working, and it seems a real shame that you feel the need to remove it. It gives a great combination of economy, reliability…

Well, not much happening on my own stuff so luckily have been given other little challenges by others, which at least keeps brain engaged. We got given an immaculate Clubman Estate that was recently purchased but the engine leaked like a sieve and it was leaning on the suspension. The leaks were the usual offenders: gearchange, driveshafts, timing cover and sump plug done up so tight as to mash its washer which leaked in sympathy with all the other bits. Now this car had been converted to full coilovers at the back and the coil spring conversion to replace the rubber cones at the front. Luckily we had some experience of the little coil springs with problems before and smelt a rat. Last time it was just that they were…

Since my last update I was hoping to get a fair amount done on the Mini in December but having two children and with Christmas rapidly approaching, that didn’t go to plan. I only managed a couple of evenings throughout the whole month. So a New Year and hopefully, a fresh start on the Mini again... Once I was happy with the way the boot floor lined up, I finished doing all the prep work that it needed and I was ready to start welding. I’m glad to say that it all went without any problems, the only thing that I had forgot to do was the small repair on the lower part of the back seat but that wasn’t much of a big deal as it was easily accessible…