BMC fiberglass mini test informatiom

General Chat with an emphasis on BMC Minis & Other iconic cars of the 1960's.
Post Reply
User avatar
IAIN
1275 Cooper S
Posts: 1090
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2010 3:40 pm
Location: Scotland

BMC fiberglass mini test informatiom

Post by IAIN »

I found this on youtube while looking for something else. It might be of interest here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX4jZUs55NQ
User avatar
Pete
1275 Cooper S
Posts: 11093
Joined: Fri Jun 25, 2010 10:47 pm
Has thanked: 18 times
Been thanked: 43 times

Re: BMC fiberglass mini test informatiom

Post by Pete »

Amazing what turns up in a car boot sale !
Tupers
998 Cooper
Posts: 650
Joined: Sat May 19, 2012 5:38 pm
Location: Newton Abbot
Been thanked: 3 times

Re: BMC fiberglass mini test informatiom

Post by Tupers »

Wow that's quite a find, I wonder if there any still surviving anywhere?
User avatar
bill773mini
998 Cooper
Posts: 636
Joined: Wed Jun 30, 2010 10:24 am

Re: BMC fiberglass mini test informatiom

Post by bill773mini »

At least 2 of the 6 BMC built cars survive.
minimk1man
998 Cooper
Posts: 506
Joined: Mon Dec 13, 2010 9:13 am
Location: Shropshire
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: BMC fiberglass mini test informatiom

Post by minimk1man »

Ex Fibreglass Ltd. test car survives. One of 6 prototypes built at Cowley
User avatar
mab01uk
1275 Cooper S
Posts: 8272
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2010 7:08 pm
Location: S.E. England
Has thanked: 106 times
Been thanked: 76 times

Re: BMC fiberglass mini test informatiom

Post by mab01uk »

Very interesting, thanks for posting. 8-)
Some screen shots taken from the video below:

Image

Image

Image

The Mini Cord GRP Mini website:
http://www.minipassionmini.50megs.com/m ... acorca.htm
Tim
1275 Cooper S
Posts: 1265
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2010 11:55 pm
Location: Tasmania, Australia
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 8 times

Re: BMC fiberglass mini test informatiom

Post by Tim »

I worked with a fisherman from Chile, many years ago. He'd been a mini enthusiast too, so we got on well. He told me that GRP Minis were fairly common back then, and he'd had a few of them. He reckoned that if you could get a good one they were very good, but he said that they had developed a bad reputation because it was so easy to 'fix' them at home. Apparently there had been a number of amateur "cut and shuts" that had broken in half through the middle.

Tim
1951 Morris Commercial J Type Van
1955 BSA C11G
1961 Morris Mini Traveller
1969 Triumph TR6R
1977 Leyland Moke Californian
User avatar
bill773mini
998 Cooper
Posts: 636
Joined: Wed Jun 30, 2010 10:24 am

Re: BMC fiberglass mini test informatiom

Post by bill773mini »

Image

Jan 2011 Mini World.
999 ORX
998 Cooper
Posts: 371
Joined: Fri Feb 11, 2011 8:10 am

Re: BMC fiberglass mini test informatiom

Post by 999 ORX »

I've seen photos of the fibre glass minis in scrap yards in Chile, and they look very similar to the photos above! :shock: a real cringe moment! I got pally with a lad from over there a few years back and he used to send me photo etc. Wonder if they sold of the moulds?
User avatar
bill773mini
998 Cooper
Posts: 636
Joined: Wed Jun 30, 2010 10:24 am

Re: BMC fiberglass mini test informatiom

Post by bill773mini »

The moulds didn't last long and needed replacing quite often. I have the factory (from Chile) record stating how many shells were taken from each mould, it's printed in the MW article.
Post Reply