Hi from Sydney Australia

General Chat with an emphasis on BMC Minis & Other iconic cars of the 1960's.
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Minivan69
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon May 20, 2013 1:50 pm

Hi from Sydney Australia

Post by Minivan69 »

Hey all, great to find the site!

Meet Malmo. Got my van back in 95 from my uncle who saved it from the 1st owner when he spied it behind a shed door. the old fella was growing mushrooms in the back and it was full of dirt. My uncle made him an offer of replacing the van for a greenhouse and the deal was done. As he drove it away (yes, it started!) the front suspension gave way and the old timer hooked my uncle up with the local mechanic and promptly paid for the repairs.

Now I use it as my daily drive to carry my drums. Drummer jokes most welcome ;)
image.jpg
I drove it 95 til 99 when the 850 engine finally succumbed. It then went into storage for 8 years while I went gallivanting around Europe thumping drums.

A few years ago i moved back to oz, dragged it out of storage in Melbourne and shipped it 900 klms to sydney.
swapped the 850 engine for a mild 1098 rebuilt in my tiny garage and stuck that in along with electronic ignition, new 1 1/2 carb, extractors, Kent 266 cam, new suspension, steering, seats, gauges, etc etc.mainly to improve reliability and performance in traffic. quite a learning process and $$$ but very rewarding first time she started.
All the dings are from other clowns over the years and paint's getting thin but still enjoy every drive!
It's done 120k miles and I have the orig manual with complete service history notes which is an interesting journey through another time...
Anyway, look forward to chatting...

Simon
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mk1coopers
1275 Cooper S
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Re: Hi from Sydney Australia

Post by mk1coopers »

Welcome to the forum, looks like you have a nice van with an interesting history there 8-)
JC T ONE
1275 Cooper S
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Re: Hi from Sydney Australia

Post by JC T ONE »

Hi & welcome inhere :)

Nice car, with some interesting windows, never seen those before.




Jens Christian
chichestermini
850 Super
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Joined: Sun Sep 02, 2012 4:40 pm

Re: Hi from Sydney Australia

Post by chichestermini »

Welcome to the forum!

Keep the pictures coming (We love those!) :lol:

What a beautiful van, in such a lovely colour too...

Thom :D
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Etienne B.
850 Super
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Joined: Tue Jun 29, 2010 9:55 am

Re: Hi from Sydney Australia

Post by Etienne B. »

Hi & welcome on board !
Lovely van indeed !
Your rebuild reminds me a certain 998 I rebuilt twelve years ago without any knowledge.
Learning process is good and very rewarding.
Looking forward to seeing some other pictures !
Etienne
Minivan69
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Joined: Mon May 20, 2013 1:50 pm

Re: Hi from Sydney Australia

Post by Minivan69 »

image.jpg
Ok great to e-meet u all.
here are some more pics then..(sorry for the whacky pic size)

The dodgy fitting sliding windows from the early 70's according to the log book. fitted by a local 'mate' of the dealer no doubt . They have a label "Bailey Windows" on them... Rattle like mad since the felt rotted away decades ago so I've jammed them with rubber. Also, as they had no drainage consideration, floor used to fill with water so after bare metal respray of inside I drilled a couple of small holes in the underside of the alu window channels outside to let it drain. What were they thinking??
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Tim
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Re: Hi from Sydney Australia

Post by Tim »

Its lovely. I still miss my old van - had to sell it to buy the Moke.

Aussie vans end up with all kinds of window conversions, some more dodgy than others :lol:

Tim
1951 Morris Commercial J Type Van
1955 BSA C11G
1961 Morris Mini Traveller
1969 Triumph TR6R
1977 Leyland Moke Californian
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