Table of contents for August 2022 in MiniWorld

There were many limited edition Minis launched by Rover in the 1980s and 1990s and many of them were used as daily drives, although a few would have been preserved in the hope that they would be a good investment. The Mini Cooper 35 LE pictured above is a well-used, recently-restored example. Only 200 of these models were built for the UK and there is now a dedicated register to keep track of them and help owners to preserve them. I think it’s important for Mini fans new to the scene to see these Minis as they play an important part in the history of our beloved Mini, and for us long-termers they can evoke nostalgia. I admit that I do have a soft spot for Cooper 35 LEs as…

The annual Chelsea in Bloom contest runs alongside the Chelsea Flower Show to showcase local businesses and attractions. This year’s British icons theme included HM The Queen, The Beatles and, of course, a Mini. Matt Thornton’s Mk1, known as Jack, formed part of a display. He said: “They chose my Mini because it’s a 1960s Mk1 with an iconic paint job. A custom plinth was made to spread the load and I had the engine removed to reduce the weight and it was very kindly dropped off and put into position by Les Roberts of BL Transverse. "I am very happy with the stunning red, white and blue floral hearts framing the Mini and with having it displayed on the iconic Kings Road in Chelsea. It’s a nice touch that…

Get in touch Email: mw.ed@kelsey.co.uk www.facebook.com/miniworldmagazine Post your letter to: MiniWorld Inbox, Kelsey Publishing Ltd, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent, ME18 6AL, UK Family Mini fun I wanted to write and say what an inspirational piece this was in the Logbook pages of the July issue of MiniWorld, with Richard Crawford’s son Eli doing a fantastic job of getting hands-on experience of working on a Mini. It was particularly fitting that the item followed your maintenance section featuring driveshafts and CV joints, so both explanations and sets of pictures clarified many details. Now there’s no excuse for me not tackling this job eventually on my 1994 Mini 35! So I say hats off to this youngster and to his dad too, for inspiring such dedication to and…

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Show off! To get your Mini on these pages, email mw.ed@kelsey.co.uk with photos of you and your Mini, plus information (put ‘My Mini’ in the subject box) or post to: MiniWorld My Mini, Kelsey Publishing Ltd, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent, ME18 6AL, UK. If your Mini is awarded the 'We Love It’ badge, you’ll win a goody pack, courtesy of Meguiar’s (www.meguiars.co.uk). Email us to claim your prize. Win! David Collins 1994 Mini 35 LE I’m a retired Nurse Manager and, as part of my mid-life crisis, I bought my Mini 35 LE, named Bertie, in my early 50s as a project but also so that I could take him to shows! I’ve been a Mini fan all my life and this is my third one.…

Despite only having a few weeks to organise the 2022 L2B, once a new start venue had been confirmed, London and Surrey MOC was pleased to put on the 35th anniversary event on Sunday 15 May. Madeira Drive in Brighton had not been filled end-to-end with Minis since 2019 so excitement for the event has only mounted in the intervening years. Many arriving to camp the night before, at the new start point of Cheam Recreation Ground, commented on the fantastic views over the city of London and the great new route out of London towards the A23. With the backing of the LSMOC committee, this year’s event was staged by just five of the team: Nathan Clifford, Matt Thornton, Jen Timms, Mick Hough and Jono Eales, who went all-out…

OWNER AT THE TIME: Kevin Horn ■ ISSUE: April 2014 In 2008, first-time Mini owner Kevin Horn decided to build a turbocharged Mini. “It was always going to be a turbo. That was a must!” He found a cheap Mini Red Hot on a neighbour’s drive, bought it and took it to a workshop to strip it. He cut off the front end so he could repair the rest of the rusty bodywork. The rest of it was shotblasted. “But, after being shot blasted, it looked like a sieve.” Kevin spent another year replacing and repairing panels on the Mini. He planned to spray it orange but, when he saw a similar car in MiniWorld, he disliked the look of it so much that it put him off. Instead, he…

Tony Salter, the owner of this cool looking MkII Elf, competed in a Rover Cooper, tackling sprints and hillclimbs, but decided to look for an earlier car from the BMC family. “I just fancied something earlier and different. Some years ago I looked at buying a Mk1 Mini and I saw one for sale, which was about £2,000, but it was in a shocking state. The Elf was £1,200 so it was a no-brainer. Also, everyone is competing in Mk1s or Mk2s.” The cost of early Minis has certainly increased in recent years but Elfs and Hornets do tend to be cheaper, even with their high OE specification list. Weight-wise, an Elf or Hornet becomes an interesting choice. It’s not an area Tony has subsequently investigated, after carrying out modifications,…

Calendar List your Mini or classic car event for free: Email: mw.ed@kelsey.co.uk Post: MiniWorld, Kelsey Publishing Ltd, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent, ME18 6AL, UK Check with event organisers for any last-minute changes 2022 June 23-26 Goodwood Festival of Speed A must-attend multi-marque event for fans of motorsport, performance cars and supercars. At Goodwood Circuit, near Chichester, West Sussex. www.goodwood.com/grr 25 Mini Action Day Take your Mini on Castle Combe’s circuit in Wiltshire on this Mini track day. Traders, club stands and autojumble. +44 (0)1249 479220 www.castlecombecircuit.co.uk 26 Armagh City Car & Bike Show At Shambles Market, Armagh, Northern Ireland. 150 vehicles on display, face painting, on-site catering. £8 entry fee for display Minis includes driver and one passenger. www.facebook.com/events/354042456676466 26 Classic Mini Day At Morris Motors…

During the restoration of a Mini, or during Mini ownership generally, it is very likely that work will need to be done to the engine. It may well need to be rebuilt or, in some cases, it will need to be replaced. Perhaps you have decided to replace it anyway as a performance upgrade. Engine failure does happen and it can be down to high mileage, lack of maintenance during the earlier years of the car’s life or sometimes being laid up for a great many years. Certain gearbox parts wear and fail on a fairly regular basis too. When the Mini is in use there will often be warning signs. Perhaps the engine will become noisy and knock or just burn a lot of oil. Gear changes start to…

In May 1996 Rover launched the Mini Cooper 35 Anniversary Edition to celebrate 35 years of the Mini Cooper. There were only 200 of these SPi Minis available in the UK at £8,195; five of those going to John Cooper Garages for conversion to S specification. John Cooper launched the Mini at Goodwood circuit with legendary Works Mini racer John Rhodes. John R even took one on the track for some smokin’ spirited driving. The Mini’s colour scheme harked back to the 1960s with an Almond Green body but a more modern Diamond White roof. It also had wheel arches and door mirrors in body colour. The alloy wheels were Gunmetal Grey in the UK and it came equipped with four auxiliary front lamps. Red rally-plaque-shaped ‘Anniversary Edition’ graphics sat…

In the last issue we heard about Martin Davidson’s early Mini racing success in 1961 and 1962 and how he bounced back from a racing accident. Inadvertently, Martin became part of the 1960s Mini tuning scene that sprang up as a result of Mini’s successes in motorsport. “Somehow or other, someone organised a lock-up in Lancaster Mews to put my Mini bits in and then Jack [Wheeler] got involved. We knew everybody from John Sprinzel’s at Lancaster Mews; he was god. “We then found a double garage in Brook Mews North. We rented this for the Mini and people were coming to us and saying: ‘Can you tune our Mini for us?’ Jack and I were both working and we thought we’d set it up as a little partnership company.…

Sunday 24 April was not only Drive it Day, it was also the second running of the Anning’s Race and Restoration Run. Phil Anning is well known for his work with Minis but his expertise extends into most classics, hence the open invitation to the event which the Mini Cooper Register was happy to accept. So it was that 26 crews, in a range of classic cars, met up at the AR&R headquarters in Hamstreet, Kent. After coffee and biscuits, and a brief tour around Phil’s fascinating workshop, the teams gathered for the obligatory briefing. Once the formalities were out of the way, they were given their start packs which included a detailed roadbook, a rally plate and a question sheet. There was a superb mix of Minis present at…

MiniWorld is the original magazine for the Mini and has been the best-selling mag for Mini owners worldwide for 30 years. This is thanks to our fantastic readers and their wonderful Minis. There are a number of ways to get your Mini in MiniWorld… Feature cars If your Mini is rust-free, immaculately presented and you have a great story to tell about it then email us around five photos showing the exterior, engine bay and interior and, if it qualifies for a full feature, we will arrange a photographer to visit you. You’ll get a copy of all the photos, a copy of the mag and the glory of sharing your Mini with MiniWorld readers. Reader features If you or a friend are handy with a camera and would like…

Brightwell Motor Company is a new classic car restoration business based in Hockley, Essex. The MiniWorld team visited its impressive workshop and we were delighted to see some Minis being restored alongside other stunning classics. Brightwell specialises in the management of classic car restorations and can also maintain and prepare them for prestige events and rallies. Each member of the team of fitters, mechanics, engineers, fabricators and trimmers has worked with classic cars for years, with most previously working for other high-end vehicle restorers, and their well-equipped premises even includes a trim shop. Mini fans considering using Brightwell Motor Company will be pleased to know that well-respected Mini restorer Scott Turner is part of the expert team. Regular MiniWorld readers will be aware of the high quality of his restorations.…

Prices include VAT Traders To get your products on these pages email: mw.ed@kelsey.co.uk. Post: MiniWorld, Kelsey Publishing Ltd, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent, ME18 6AL, UK. (Prices include VAT). Rover clock Mini Spares can supply original-specification magnolia-faced analogue clocks, as fitted by Rover to Minis with wooden or metal dashes from 1990-1999. Mini Spares says these early clocks were manufactured by Caerbont Automotive until 1999, when manufacture was switched to VDO, who produced a different, full numerical-figured clock face. £107.75 (Ref: YFB100370) +44 (0)1707 607700 www.minispares.com Airmaster compressors Machine Mart sells a large range of single-phase compressors which are ideal for the home garage, including this 100ltr 3hp example which can be used for spraying and air tools. +44 (0)115 956 5555 (Ref: 000119515) www.machinemart.co.uk Indicator hazard…

Restoring a Mini is a major undertaking whether you are doing all of the work yourself or paying specialists. With Minis becoming more rare, more collectible and expensive to buy and restore, there are probably lots of projects-in-waiting around the world. When time and funds allow, many of them will hopefully be returned to the road. When they are, there are yet more dilemmas to cope with, such as keeping the Mini maintained and deciding how much to use it. Graham Stockdale has been through all of this. When he spotted the 1972 1275GT seen here, back in 2006, their values weren’t particularly high and, to make matters worse, it had failed its MOT. It had been advertised on eBay by a private seller but the Mini was located at…

I am turning my Mini into a Cooper S replica. I would like to convert the front panel to S-specification, with an oil cooler and diagonal stiffener, but I have not been able to find the correct position to mount the stiffener and do not know anyone with an S from which I could take measurements. Do you know the correct positioning and should the stiffener be riveted or welded into position? Colin Harris I contacted Peter Horwood of M Machine (http://preview.m-machine.co.uk) which manufactures Cooper S front panels and he kindly provided the following information: “The diagonal stiffener position is on the nearside and measures 4” from the vertical at the side of the aperture, 4” at the bottom, and approximately 8” at the top. The oil cooler lip on…

Stop, in the name of love With her New Mini at the garage, my wife Eve sees the 850 as a temporary replacement… once I sort its dodgy brakes. Some may suggest that a 60-year-old car will never be as dependable as a modern runabout for everyday use. Perhaps. I do ask much of our Morris 850 but, I must say, the little car has never once let me down. This remarkable record of reliability may be due in part to OCD oil changes and the almost neurotic affliction I have for fitting fresh ignition points and sparking plugs at every opportunity. I have hesitated in the past when it comes to servicing the original, early single-leading-shoe drums. John Dean TA 6906 Model: 1961 Morris 850 History: The oldest continuously…

Most drivers regret parting with one or more vehicles they once owned, especially several decades on and especially if it was a Mini. Cars that were once tatty runabouts are now often valuable classics although there is the slight problem of finding sufficient money to have kept such vehicles in perfect condition for so many years. There’s no escaping the effect of sentimentality and the desire to recreate your faithful first car. In Colin Brotton’s case, he’s done it and doesn’t regret the hours and cash required to achieve it. Back in 1978 he was halfway through a four-year apprenticeship as a mechanic at a British Leyland dealership, working on everything from Minis to Rover SD1s. He looked for a car and found a 1970 Morris Minivan, painted aquamarine, which…

It had been a long time since the last Classic Minis United event, so it was time to head to the mountains and be reunited with Mini friends. The CMU Mini 63 was set in Wytheville, Virginia, USA, 6-9 April, at our favourite KOA Campground. The location is perfect for driving Minis on scenic and twisty mountain roads in every direction. Making it more exciting, the weather report was torrential rain, high winds and snow… in the springtime! The first day started with wet roads followed by beautiful blue skies in time for the afternoon scavenger hunt. This scavenger hunt was special as it was dedicated to Big Al, from Canada, who passed away in January. He was a North American Mini fixture as one of the earliest and most…

The Downton Cuckoo Fair returned on 30 May after a three-year break. It was a glorious day with attractions aplenty, from a WI cake stall, fairground rides to craft marquees but the highlight of the weekend, for classic car fans, was the Downton Classic Vehicle Show. This year’s event celebrated 75 years of Daniel Richmond’s arrival in this sleepy Wiltshire village, near Salisbury in Wiltshire, and his creation of Downton Engineering Works with his partner Bunty. Downton’s success in tuning A-series engines led to the company’s involvement with Minis. Motorsport success resulted in a consultancy contract with BMC in the 1960s. The show was attended by a number of former Downton Engineering Works employees and friends; Alan Haddock (who served his apprenticeship there), Jan Odor (of Janspeed fame), Barry Hawkins…