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Pete wrote:That's £4K over here. Quite a rarity the Mk2 in the U.S?

Pete wrote:That's certainly not the first time i've heard of a serviceman taking a Mini back to the U.S. My old Surf Blue Mk1 S 'MEG 977F' went to California in the early 70s (as my Radford did) with a student returning home and probably saved it from a life of rust , having it's trim painted black and no doubt a reshell!

GrahamWRobinson wrote: 
Interesting but as a Brit the ad left me wondering what the hell is a Thermactor pump?!!

A visit to Mr Google found this:

Thermactor is Ford's trademark name for an exhaust gas reactor. It is basically just an air pump that directs fresh air into the superheated exhaust stream near the exhaust valve to assure all unburned fuel (gasoline) and all partially-burned (carbon monoxide) fuel is combusted before leaving the tailpipe.

Thermactor became mandatory in 1966 on some FE cars sold in California and New York due to the progressive automobile pollution control laws of those States. The California and New York engines which required Thermactor usually had performance cams, such as the 390GT and 428PI cams, as these cams had a valve overlap large enough to permit raw fuel to pass straight through to the exhaust without being burned, and richer-jetted carbs which promoted the generation of carbom monoxide, creating unsatisfactory emissions levels. The Thermactor pump injected a tiny amount of air into the exhaust ports to promote complete combustion of the unburned fuel, as well as combust carbon monoxide which results from the rich fuel-air mixture. Some counties of California actually required Thermactor on all FE cars sold in 1966 and 1967 due to particularly bad air pollution issues. When not mandatory, Thermactor was a $46.00 option available on every FE sold in the US, and was priced "at cost", not at a profit for Ford, so you will occasionally find Thermactor equipped FEs in unexpected circumstances, and it will be listed on the window sticker.

In 1968, the California and New York emissions laws were basically adopted by the Feds, making Thermactor mandatory on all performance-cammed FE cars sold in the 50 states. This is why the 427 inherited the hydraulic cam and Thermactor for 1968, since it was the only way it would pass emissions, and 500 hydraulic 1968 427s were needed for NASCAR homologation rules. Note that 427-4V Fairlanes failed California emissions laws in 1966 and 1967, but a loophole in the law exempted twin-carb V-8s from emissions regulations, so 427-8V Fairlanes were legal for sale in California. This loophole also applied to 1967 Shelby Mustangs sold in California, which could run a solid cammed 428 without emissions controls if twin carbs were part of the package (I don't know what cam these Shelby's used, but twin carbs opened up the options).

As the 1970s arrived, pollution laws strengthened and Thermactor was required on more FE cars, and soon on FE trucks, too. Note that Ford sometimes offered the same 390 engine with or without Thermactor. The Thermactor-equipped 390s always got richer carb jetting than the equivalent non-thermactor 390s, so performance may have been a bit better with Thermactor.

Johnny wrote:Not to go too far off track here but I have always found this classified ad from a U.S. BMC dealer interesting in relationship with Mk 2 S cars in the States.

Competition Press & Autoweek
March 2 1968



Makes me wonder how this was possible and how many Mk 2 cars were laying around dealership lots at this time in 1968.

This particular dealer was also a very strong and successful competitor with Mini's in SCCA C-Sedan racing in the 1960's and early 1970's.

Johnny wrote: I know Kjell Qvale in San Francisco had one of the last Mk2 S cars, I think it was a 1970, it still exists. He was one of the largest B.M.C. importers in the country so he would have had some influence.