Innehållsförteckning för June 2021 från Mini Magazine

For a car that now has over six decades under its belt, it sometimes feels like the Mini is always pushing towards the future. Things never stand still around the Mini... Going out to take a closer look at Luke Smith's brilliant Pickup really brought this home. Here's a Mini that was new in the 1970s, had clearly lived the life it was meant to and now, thanks to Luke and his Grandad, is ready to face many more decades. And not just in factory spec - there's a fuel injected, electronically managed engine, wind up windows and even a full leather interior. It looks great - see page 40 for the full story. And if you still feel fuel injection is too high tech for Mini, wait until you…

Hungry for the show season to start up again? Make a note in your diaries, because British Mini Day at Himley Hall is back on Sunday 1st August and it promises to be everything we’ve been longing for after a year of restrictions. The 29th British Mini Day will run from 10am-4pm, taking place in the impressive grounds of 18th century Himley Hall and Park. The show is open to all types of Minis and variants from 1959 to present day. You won’t want to hide your Mini away in the car park, show it off in the main show arena either in the premier concours section or the BMC Show ‘n’ Shine decade display. Pre-booking is essential for both displays and you’ll need to be in place by 9.30am…

Brilliant Mini racing at Silverstone on 24-25 April proved a hit for ‘lockdown’ viewers tuning in to watch the action on live screening channels, with the combined winning margins of all four races totalling less than a second! Both Miglia encounters saw between six and eight car trains in contention throughout, with Endaf Owens holding off tremendous pressure to take the opening victory on Saturday. Nick Padmore came through to triumph in Sunday’s repeat, further lowering the lap record after Sam Summerhayes’ fine effort the day before. Former BTCC champion Andrew Jordan twice had to settle for second while reigning Miglia titleist Aaron Smith scored a brace of thirds. In the Libre category, Richard Colburn landed a double, despite a jump start in the first race. Jeff Smith and Spencer…

Having long-coveted a VTECpowered Mini, Les Leagas scratched that particular itch back in 2016 when he built this Honda-powered Clubman. It even went on to grace the February 2017 edition of Mini Magazine, where readers could see what a fabulous job he’d done in integrating the B18 Honda Integra DC2 engine and matching gearbox into the Clubman 1275GT bodyshell; a bodyshell that he also had to completely renovate (apparently, it was a rust bucket). The result of his labours was one cracking Clubman. Quick too. There was, however, one downside. Namely, considering the punch it packed, it looked far too standard; the emphasis being firmly on the mild, not the wild. It was, very much, as the title of that 2017 feature implied, a sleeper. Consequently, at shows, Les found…

It’s March 2021, the pubs and pretty much everything else are shut leaving people with a lot of spare time on their hands. But 19-year-old Matti White chose to use this unique opportunity productively bought himself a 1987 Mini Mayfair to restore – a car that had languished in a Norfolk driveway since 2007! “My first goal was to get the 998cc A-series running and at least attempt to drive it down the road,” Matti recalls. “The previous owner had told me he’d fitted new third and fourth gears, so I was keen to check the gearbox worked too.” Once he’d connected an adequate fuel source, set the valve clearances, fitted a new distributor cap and added oil, the Mayfair fired into life. “I did manage to achieve a quick…

It’s not unusual for a Mini to undergo a transformation at some point in its life. And these days, we’re always embarking on ‘a journey’ – usually more metaphorical than actual. But for Bogdan Barbatu and his FIA spec Hillclimb car, the story involves the most radical of transformations and an actual journey of over 1500 miles… Although it’s now every inch the racer, Bogdan’s Mini lived most of its life on the streets of the UK. It left the factory in 1988 as a Mini Mayfair, but by 2018 when it was offered for sale on eBay, painted grey, fitted with Sport Pack style arches and 13 inch Minilite-style wheels, Recaro seats and overrider bumpers. Clearly someone’s much prized car, but a long way from what Bogdan had in…

I’ve fitted a 1340 engine into my 1988 Mayfair. I’ve been comparing the speeds shown on both my sat nav and the speedo, and they’re really different. Do I need a new speedo? I was trying to keep the interior and dash as standard original and don’t really want to start messing it about. Terrence There are a lot of factors to consider here. If your new engine has been fitted on top of your original gearbox, you will at least know that the speedo drive was the matched one for your speedometer. But even this won’t guarantee you’ll get an accurate speed measurement. The reading can be affected by the final drive fitted in the car and even the diameter of the wheels. Perhaps the easiest thing to do,…

MINI SPORT HEAVY DUTY LCB MANIFOLD £71.40 An essential piece of equipment for getting more power from your Mini engine, this high performance long centre branch manifold includes Y piece and clamps and fits with any 1.75 inch performance exhaust system. • 01282 778731 • www.minisport.com MINI SPARES LED SIDE REPEATER LAMP £7.20 LED lights are becoming more and more popular on classic cars thanks to their increased brilliance, low current consumption and longevity. Mini Spares now has LED side repeater lamps for all post-1986 Minis and they are equally suitable for upgrading any other classic or kit car. They can be connected into the indicator circuit without a resistor being required. • 01707 607700 • www.minispares.com SEALEY ULTRASONIC PARTS CLEANING TANK From £189.95 The 3 and 27 litre Ultrasonic…

It was only recently we featured Ben Thompson’s ultra-rare Wolseley 1000 as one of our ‘On The Job’ feature cars. There seemed plenty of work left to be done on it back then. But when it comes to restorations, Ben doesn’t mess around, and the lockdown gave him the perfect opportunity to complete this unusual project. Ben has been a Mini fan since he was 15, when he bought a Mini automatic saloon with his Dad to rebuild. “I enjoyed working on the car, fixing the brakes, welding and getting it roadworthy again,” Ben remembers. “I’ve been hooked on Minis ever since.” “I’ve restored and rebuilt other types of classic cars too, I’m a real fan of anything that’s a bit different and stands out,” Ben admits. “When classic car…

• The British Motor Museum is all set to reopen its doors on 17 May in line with Stage 3 of the Government’s roadmap. Having been awarded the ‘We’re Good to Go’ industry charter mark by VisitEngland, the Museum is confident that everything is in place to ensure a safe and enjoyable visit. The Museum will be open seven days a week from 10am – 5pm with limited numbers per day and pre-booking is essential for all visitors including those returning with an annual pass. There are 10am, 11am, 12noon and 1pm arrival slots available and once at the Museum visitors can stay as long as they wish until closing. The ‘Gaydon Gathering’, a free monthly evening gathering aimed at motoring enthusiasts is back. The first gathering took place last…

• Registration is now open for a fun, family-orientated all-inclusive ‘Staycation’ Mini-break happening 14-17th October. Fans of the Italian Job are invited to join this post-lockdown family getaway set in the picturesque Yorkshire Countryside. The event will kick off on the Thursday with registration and lunch at the Mercure York Fairfield Manor before the 60-strong motorcade will start the drive through historic Yorkshire. Then, the 'Jobbers' will participate in a series of car-based sports activities at the Elvington Airfield. For the three days, participants will take in many of the hidden gems of Yorkshire - from the soaring natural beauty of the Yorkshire Dales to the rugged sandy beaches of the Yorkshire Coast: to the stunning and breath-taking landscapes of the North Yorkshire Moors to Leeds's cosmopolitan charm and York's…

The name Chris Moss may well be familiar to regular readers by now. We’ve already seen his retro themed metallic brown Clubman Estate and his bizarre Minivan complete with its matching camping trailer, converted from a similar Minivan. Not content with 2.5 Minis, incredibly, Chris’s fleet also happens to contain another matching car and trailer combo. Welcome to his RAF themed saloon and mobile barbecue! Chris first joined the RAF some 22 years ago and currently trades as a Mechanical Technician. “I’ve worked on various aircraft in my time, both large and small, serving in the UK and overseas,” Chris explains, “I was lucky enough to be part of a seven year tour with the Red Arrows based at Scampton near Lincoln.” This illustrious and eventful career goes some way…

REMOVING YOUR HEATER FROM THE CAR To remove the heater you will first need to drain the cooling system by undoing the bottom radiator hose. Then working inside the car, undo the two heater pipes, there will probably still be water in them so have something ready to catch the water in. Undo the feed wire from the switch and then slacken off the two nuts at the back of the heater which secure it to the brackets on the heel board/ bulkhead area. With those slackened off, undo the screws at the front and then lift the unit out of the car, tilt the outlets upwards to prevent water spilling out into the car. FLUSHING THE HEATER MATRIX THROUGH Once you have removed the heater matrix from the heater…

I’m hoping to buy a Mini. I’d like to find something that is MoT’d and ready to drive, but with my budget, I think I may end up buying a project car. I’m aware of the rust problems some Minis have and I know things like the rear subframe and sills need to be inspected carefully. But the cars I see advertised that fall within my budget have rusty seams under the headlamps. Is this a serious problem? Is this a good indication of how rusty it might be in other areas…? Shaun If you’re a regular reader of Mini Magazine, you will no doubt notice that in most features, the owner will tell of the considerable number of body panels that needed to be replaced in the course of…

Electric Minis are not new, but it’s only been in recent years that the technology has truly leapt forward, making these vehicles not only viable in terms of usability and reliability, but also for the first time, to be seen as potentially great drivers’ cars. If you’re regularly on social media, you won’t have failed to notice the teasers from Volt EV, the latest venture from Specialist Components. SC has a solid reputation for engineering excellence, innovation and building some of the wildest, groundbreaking cars and engines we’ve seen. So when they announced the R300, we knew it would be something special. “The electric Mini is always something we’ve wanted to do, ever since we started Specialist Components,” says John Kimmins, SC’s main man. “But only when the technology, the…

• The MINI brand and BMW Group’s UK manufacturing plants in Oxford and Swindon are celebrating twenty successful years of MINI production. In early 2001, production began for MINI body parts in Swindon and on the 26th April that same year, the first brand new MINI rolled off the line in Oxford. Over the past two decades MINI has built over 5 million cars in the UK. Plant Oxford (formerly Cowley) currently builds the MINI 3-Door Hatch, MINI 5-Door Hatch, MINI Clubman and the MINI Electric, all on the same production line. MINI Plants Oxford and Swindon employ over 4,500 highly-skilled employees, including 130 apprentices, who all keep production moving to build 1000 MINI a day - one every 67 seconds. Peter Weber, the Managing Director of Plants Oxford and…

You may not be able to venture to the Riviera this summer, but you can bring that carefree spirit home by ordering an ultra fun modern MOKE from Hendy Group dealerships. The cars are available to order from today with prices starting from £23,950 inc. VAT. With deliveries in time for the start of the British summer, you won’t have chance to miss your holiday abroad. Since the official return of the MOKE in the last summer of 2020, fun-seekers from Holkham to Sandbanks have taken delivery of the ultimate beach house-to-waterfront, open-air vehicle. Indeed, when the MOKE returned to British shores in the late summer of 2020 it wrote a new chapter in one of Britain's best-loved automotive stories. From humble beginnings as a brief to car design legend…

It’s a tricky balancing act, getting a Mini to look ‘right’. It’s often a case of deciding when to stop, to avoid adding that extra dash of chrome, or those alloys that everyone else considers a must have. But get the formula right, and as we all know, the results can be stunning. To the point where further scrutiny is unnecessary. You don’t need to analyse the car, or the parts which go into making it. You just accept it for what it is. Luke Smith’s stunning 1976 Pickup is a perfect case in point. It’s easy to see it’s a beautifully finished example of the breed, but if you can stop being dazzled for a second, you begin to notice that this is far from standard. Luke (and his…

LOW INJECTION My Mini is a 1999 MPi Cooper Sportpack. When I bought the car, it had been modified by a previous owner and came with all the receipts for the work that had been carried out on the car. According to the paperwork, the engine has a Stage 3 cylinder head, 1.5 roller rockers, K&N filter, an LCB manifold and a full stainless steel exhaust system. The inlet manifold has been matched to the cylinder head ports. I was told that the car had also been fitted with a Unichip, but we can’t find any information about this on the internet and even though I’m not sure what I’m looking for, I couldn’t find any sign of anything on the car. The car drives really well, and the fact…

Q I have just installed a new set of Hi-Los, rubber cones and knuckles on my 1980 Mini. With the wheels back on and the car on the ground, I found that the ride height was exactly as it was before. Even with the adjusting screws wound all the way in, at the rear of the car, there’s still about four inches between the tyre and the wheelarch. What have I done wrong? Jamie First thing to point out here is that Hi-Lo is a trademark, and it’s the original height adjustable suspension trumpet now sold by Mini Spares. Many specialists produce their own versions of this type of unit with differing design features, etc – for instance, Mini Sport’s adjustable ride height trumpet is the Adjusta Ride. Hi-Lo has…