How Peel Engineering created BMC's production fibreglass Minis
Posted: Fri Jan 24, 2025 5:54 pm
How Peel Engineering created BMC's production fibreglass Minis:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YcUKUFm5P0
Quote: "The BMC Mini was made in countries all around the world, including Chile, which started to make its own examples in 1963. By the end of 1965 around 300 steel-bodied Minis had been made in Chile, but in 1966 the Chilean government decided to shift the goalposts; from here on, all cars produced in the country would have to contain at least 45% local content. This would mean BMC having to be rather inventive…
The solution was to work with Peel Engineering, which was commissioned to come up with a glassfibre bodyshell that could be made in Chile. The plan was to start production at the end of 1966 but it wouldn’t be until 1969 that the first plastic-bodied Minis would roll off the production line.
Peel produced half a dozen prototype glassfibre bodyshells and one of them is in the Isle of Man Motor Museum. Not only that, but the museum also has one of the very few fully operational working prototypes, and here, museum director Darren Cunningham tells the story of how Peel worked with BMC to create the plastic-bodied Mini."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YcUKUFm5P0
Quote: "The BMC Mini was made in countries all around the world, including Chile, which started to make its own examples in 1963. By the end of 1965 around 300 steel-bodied Minis had been made in Chile, but in 1966 the Chilean government decided to shift the goalposts; from here on, all cars produced in the country would have to contain at least 45% local content. This would mean BMC having to be rather inventive…
The solution was to work with Peel Engineering, which was commissioned to come up with a glassfibre bodyshell that could be made in Chile. The plan was to start production at the end of 1966 but it wouldn’t be until 1969 that the first plastic-bodied Minis would roll off the production line.
Peel produced half a dozen prototype glassfibre bodyshells and one of them is in the Isle of Man Motor Museum. Not only that, but the museum also has one of the very few fully operational working prototypes, and here, museum director Darren Cunningham tells the story of how Peel worked with BMC to create the plastic-bodied Mini."