I grew up in a village near Oxford, and back in the 80's we all raced around the countryside in souped-up, but cheaply done, Mini's. Mine had arrived on a trailer, complete but not working. Me and my buddies fixed it up under the experienced eye of my dad who was an old-school mechanic ("I'm not a bloody fitter - I don't fit new parts I fix stuff"). We got it going and I drove it to work every day and to the pub every night (back then that was OK).
At the time it was just an old Mini with a small engine, so I swapped the small engine and subframe for a set from a smashed 1275GT (1971) at the local scrappy. Of course now I wish I'd kept the 850 and drums, but that was beer money back then. At least I ended up with a decent 1275 and all the Cooper spec stuff from that year!
Here's a pic from the late 80's next to my buddy's Alpine (that sounded like a sewing machine).
Then it was nicked from outside my house, it was the late 80's in Oxford, some of you probably remember, But conveniently my buddy was a local firefighter who knew where the lads took cars to burn them. We found it in a field disabled with no wheels, looked like they planned to come back for more parts. So we pulled it out of the field on a spare set of wheels and towed it straight to a friends barn where I asked if I could leave it "for a little while" to wait for new wheels from the insurance.
Then I got married and left Blighty for a new life in California …
Fast-forward 30-years to 2019 … My kids are grown up, and my wife wants me to stop talking about my old Mini unless I'm going to do something about it. The barn is almost collapsed on it, of course I decide to finally bring it over into the sunshine.
Here' are some pics from the barn, turns out sheep "dust" is a good preservative.
I took a cheap flight to the UK last Easter and my buddy, who helped me build it originally, comes to the barn and we drag it out onto a trailer and back to the workshop. A couple of days and a few cans of beer later, much reminiscing and laughing, we end up getting it started, completely unexpected, no smoke, sounds sweet through the rusted exhaust. Quick wash and bit of T-Cut later for fun, ready to book the boat.
Here's a pic after a weekend of feeling young again.
And here it is at Port Hueneme in Southern California ready for the 400-mile drive home on the back of another buddy's extended F-250 diesel, we couldn't even tell it was on the back!
The body is still remarkably solid, all the roof drains are good, floor is good, just the usual rust around the door hinges. These are the early single-skin panels, so I'm not sure what to do about repairing that, custom patches or cut in the later inner/outer panels. Suggestions welcome.
I'll leave the 1275 in there, it's old too, so I think it's a fair setup. Interior is original, 12-panel seats, single pod, optional heater. Drives well, but front suspension is drooped, so I'll fix that, already fitted new RC-40, wheels/tires, and repro starter button from Mark's desk drawer
Plenty to do, but it's going to be fun.At this point I'll stop and apologize for exporting an old Mini. My excuse is that I didn't just buy one out, I already owned him for 35-years, so really it's a reunion. Anyway, he's here now
I'll post some pics of the LHD conversion and boy-racer wiring clean-up next … remember the 80's
Cheers,
Mike.
