The Early Days

[Luigi64]

Hi guys,

Sorry for what could be a fairly common/ Easy question.

I had the pleasure of spending some time with Patrick the custodian of 977 ARX over the weekend. Safe to say this has hugely kicked off an interest in all things works and the stories they hold.

I do have a couple of books on order and on the shelf to read however I was hoping some of you guys in the know could shed some light on what has become of some of the earlier Works cars from before ARX and also her if you know of anything out of the ordinary. Do any of the very early cars exist in one sense or another now or are they long gone and non existant?

I look forward to seeing what people have to say!

Thanks,
Lewis

[Pete]

I'm staying out of this one.

[251 ENG]

Chicken

[Pete]

Where do you start?

[251 ENG]

Normally with a V62

[JohnA]

I think 407ARX. 977ARX, 277EBL, CRX88B, DJB93B, EJB55C, GRX55D, and JBL495D to name a few are totally original

[Pete]

To be fair I don't think ARX has ever been misrepresented by Patrick and it's great to see people using their cars in anger. This subject is a massive can of worms though and has been discussed ad infinitum in the past (rarely in print though!) but safe to say what went on in the late 80's and 90's with the "re invention" gold rush is something that just doesn't go away, especially when they constantly come up for sale! Are there any actual small bore works Minis left?

Despite not being a fan of the Mini Pat Moss was the first to win a rally in a Cooper in '62 if memory serves, when the works loaned her '737 ABL' for the Yorkshire Rally.