1966 Super Deluxe

[finchy533]

I thought I'd put a thread up ahead of (hopefully) taking my Mini on its first post-resto outing, to Chateau Impney on Saturday. I took it off the road in 2005 for 'a couple of little jobs' and have now finally (almost) finished its second restoration…

ONP is a Super Deluxe built June '66 and registered in Worcester in April '67, before moving to Ireland for the next few years (or at least that's where the book says it was serviced). It then came back and my Dad bought it in Pershore in '71. As an aspiring rallyman, he made a few mods over the next few years - 700 Lucas lights, works-style dash made from an old meat safe, reverse rims and SP44s, SPQR major change, Karobes seat cover, and eventually an MG1100 engine (the 850 had managed 110k miles by this point!). It also had a good dose of red lead and Supertrol, which did its job well, and I’m certainly grateful for now. In '72 it was 'Cooper-ised' while having some accident damage repaired (all courtesy of someone else's insurance company!). Cooper badges, grille and a black roof were added to a new bootlid, rear valance, front panel and O/S wing. 

A few photos from those early days…

[finchy533]

It never did get as far as competing, life getting in the way as usual, and by the early 80s my Mum was driving it around with me in a carrycot strapped to the back seat and the pram wheels where the passenger seat was meant to be. But when it was finally replaced by a Metro in '83 my Dad couldn't bring himself to part with it and it was stashed in the garage as a kids' plaything. Fast forward to the 90s and I was a teenager keen to restore it, so it was dragged out of the garage to see how it had survived…





But when I was 18 (late 90s by this point), there was still a long way to go, and I needed a car to use - Tim at Minimail came up trumps with a nice Mk2 Cooper for sale in Newent.



I used, and modified, this for the next few years, including borrowing the odd part from ONP.



In 2001, it was damaged in a 12-car rally and I took the opportunity to get ONP back on the road. The shell was tidied up with wings, A-panels, front panel and a few coats of tartan red - it was mostly the panels replaced back in ’72 that needed replacing again - everything that was original survived amazingly well - the rustproofing having been done before the accident. The Mk2 donated engine, box and some running gear to hurry things along and ONP was back on the road - now with a Cooper 998, 4-synchro remote box, dry suspension and S brakes.



It was my main car for the next few years, until I added something modern for motorway duties and turned to the dark side and bought a Mk2 Escort for road rallying. With too many cars and ONP starting to look a little tired, it was taken off the road in 2005 so that I could do the jobs I hadn't had the time or money to do during its first restoration...

[finchy533]

Of course, these things never quite go to plan...not long after taking it off the road, I moved to a flat and ONP ended up back in my parents' garage, scene of its first hibernation, waiting patiently once more. The years ticked by with only occasional progress, until I was able to dust it off and move it to my own garage in 2013.



With the intervening years, those few jobs needed had turned into a rather more comprehensive rebuild...but at least now I had the chance to do things a bit differently to when I was young and just needed a road car. Or at least that's my excuse for why it's taken me another 6 years since then! The main spec change this time round is a new engine - a mate picked up a 1380 pre-A+ cheaply so that was rebuilt with a few nice bits. Everything else has been given a good going over too.



Now it's finally up and running again, my plan is to just get some use out of it, particularly the competition use it never quite managed in the 70s - I’m looking at doing some hillclimbs and maybe historic road rallies.

Making it period but usable for motorsport has been the main driver behind its current spec - in the longer term, when either the car or myself needs a bit of a rest, it would be nice to revert it to something nearer its early 70s spec - hydro/drums/MG1100/3-synchro box etc.

For now, there’s just a few more little things to finish off and niggles to sort, but with a bit of luck it will make it to Chateau Impney!

[finchy533]

Finally, a few photos from this weekend…











The Flickr album is here if you want to see the full size pics.

[wantafaster1]

It looks great, well done

[morris-miner]

My thoughts exactly.
It's so nice to read about the extended ownership of cars and how they've survived over the years.

[SMOKE GREY]

Brilliant . A proper ‘period’ car.

[Chris64]

Lovely! Great story and brilliant photos! Looks like a real cracker!

[billycooper]

Love it ! love a story me !

[mini5967]

That's ace, me definitely likey! And a great story as well, love the old pictures.

[finchy533]

Thanks

[TRP]

Thank you for shariing. I hope to own mine for nearly as long as you've owned yous.

Ted

[AndyPen]

Sounds like a real mini to me, when I think back to all the things we did to keep them going - nice story and thanks for sharing

[finchy533]

A little update as I've had time for some tinkering...

One thing I wasn't too happy with was the seats and belts. The little Cobra Cubs had much going for them when I bought 20 years ago - they looked smart enough, I was small enough to fit them - but most of all I could afford them. Now though they're neither one thing nor the other - not original or very period, and not decent modern competition seats either. So, for road use at least, I decided to resurrect the original seats.

The starting point…

IMG_1746.jpg

With new diaphragms from Newton and a good clean, the seats themselves came up lovely. The Karobes-style cover though was a little more knackered. It cleaned up okay, then I patched it up with some ‘mastaplasta’ and stuffed some old foam in the missing bolster. It looks a bit crap, but then it probably always did. It is, however, remarkably comfy! And it’s certainly more period now…

IMG_1763.jpg

Next job is to see what I can do with the old Kangols…