Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2023 i MiniWorld

The Clubman Estate above was in the way of a new housing estate being built around it. If Alan Stanyon hadn't gone to take a look at it when he did then it may have ended up as scrap. It had been bashed around and was rusty but Alan knew he could save it and felt a duty to do so. He even cleaned and kept the very 'of its time' mouldy brown velour seats that many would have thrown away. We commend heroes like Alan for saving such Minis as they are all an important part of the Mini's story for the next generatation of Mini enthusiasts. Of course there are more excellent feature Minis to read about in this issue: David Anning's stunning turbocharged Van, Roger and Helen…

A brand new multi-marque classic car event will take place on 3 September at Turvey House in Bedfordshire, a privately owned estate with beautiful gardens and parkland. There will be many displays at the show celebrating the many marques produced by the British car industry including, of course, a celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Mini Cooper S. MiniWorld readers who own a Cooper S are invited to take part in the display and will receive two tickets for the event. Simply email mw.ed@kelsey.co.uk to take part. The event will include club stands (£15 per person with a minimum of 5 cars per stand), entertainment and a retail village. Camping is also available the night before the show. General early bird tickets are £20 per person. If you don’t…

When planning engine tuning and upgrades one of the most important considerations will be the induction system. If you have an injection Mini then the options are to tune within the limits of the factory injection or to fit an aftermarket system. With a carburettor Mini there is a number of options which will not only affect performance but also have a big effect on the appearance of the engine. As demonstrated in the chart on this page, there are both single SU carb (which could be the existing carb) or twin-SU carb options for virtually every Mini engine specification. There are also different manufacturer’s carb options too but here we are looking at SU (Skinner’s Union) carbs which were the carburettors fitted as standard to all UK pre-injection Minis.…

On Sunday, 6 November 2022, Japan's largest classic Mini festival, Japan Mini Day, took place at Nagisaen Campsite, Lake Hamanako (aka Lake Hamana), near Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. ManyMini owners camped over the night before, excited for the following day as it was the first time the event had run since the COVID pandemic. The event marked the 30th anniversary of the first Japan Mini Day which was held at Fuji Speedway in Oyama, in 1993. Over 3,000 Minis and over 4,200 Mini fans gathered from all over Japan. Over 300 clubs had Minis displayed and 130 stands were set up for trade and flea market sales; the highest number of entries ever at Hamanako. Ticket sales on the day were 2.5 times higher than usual. Even though it was…

A total of 10 Minis completed the 2023 Monte Carlo Rallye Historique, which took place 24 January – 1 February. The highest placed Mini, a 1970 Mini Cooper S (car 256), was campaigned by Paul Besenius and Nico Deltgen of Luxemburg. They finished in 36th place. The winning car was the Lancia Fulvia Coupé of Claudio Enz and Cristina Seeberger of Switzerland. Find out more at: ww.acm.mc Contact us Send club, trade, motorsport and all other Mini news to: Email: mw.ed@kelsey.co.uk Post: Mini Scene, MiniWorld, Kelsey Publishing Ltd, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent, ME18 6AL UK…

The London Classic Car Show returned to its pre-pandemic setting of London’s Olympia in February with over 20,000 visitors over three days. Among displays featuring many different marques, Minis formerly owned by three members of The Beatles were part of a display celebrating 60 years of the Mini Cooper S. Minis also went under the hammer in the Historics auction. The coach-built Minis previously owned by The Beatles include a Hooper-converted Cooper S with hatchback for Ringo Starr’s drums, now owned by Geri Horner, a Radford Cooper S converted for Paul McCartney, also now owned by Geri Horner, and a Radford conversion for the late George Harrison which he modified further and is now owned by the Harrison family. The whereabouts of John Lennon’s Radford Mini are unknown. Although these…

“My older brother had Minis and, when you get to a certain age, you got a Mini, which is what I did,” recalls Roger Hill. “I never thought I’d end up competing in one or doing the stuff that I have done.” Starting off working as a baker, in the family business, Roger ended up specialising in Mini bodywork repairs before his recent retirement. “Playing with cars and bikes was a hobby but it became a living.” In fact, MiniWorld has featured a number of Minis over the years that he has repaired for customers, including his superbly modified 1275GT which was in the December 2022 issue. Roger was a member of the Mini Cooper Club in the 1980s before some members, including him, branched away to form the Mini…

■ OWNER AT THE TIME: Nik Aveyard ■ ISSUE: March 2006 Nik Aveyard and friend Rob Sinclair fancied competing in historic rallying and decided to build a Mini with Works styling. In October 2004 they bought a solid-looking 1964 848cc Mini which had undergone bodywork repairs in the past. Luckily, the Mini came with a load of competition spares. However, it was a bit lacking in the oomph department, as Nik recalled: “With Rob and I aboard it wouldn’t pull up the hill at more than 20mph and we thought that this was going to be a bit of a struggle in the Alps.” Nik looked around for more power and bought a locally advertised Mk3 which was in a bad way but the competition spares which came with it…

Minis At Goodwood will take place at Goodwood Motor Circuit on Sunday 27 August. The event is part of The Italian Job’s fundraising calendar and raises money for Buttle UK, a charity which helps disadvantaged children. The one-day charity event is a great taster for those interested in taking part in The Italian Job touring assembly to Italy later in the year. The day at Goodwood combines an Italian Job-style special stage, a navigational drive in the scenic West Sussex countryside and a few parade laps on the iconic Goodwood circuit. Tickets are £85 per car and admit one car and all passengers. The maximum number of participating teams is 143 cars so buy yours now from www.minisatgoodwood.com. Also see www.italianjob.com for more details about charity fundraising in Minis.…

In the August 2018 issue of MiniWorld we featured David Anning’s previous Mini project. It was a heavily modified saloon with wide wheels, rollcage and a rip-snorting Yamaha R1 motorbike engine. “My right foot was too heavy and I kept breaking the chain and it was a bit too ‘look at me’.” It had to go. “I just wanted something that looked a bit more original.” He found a lightly modified 1974 Mini Van, in white with a black roof, on a car dealer’s website. “I part-exed the R1 for the Van and got a little bit of money my way.” The tidy-looking, rebuilt 998cc Van arrived on a flatbed lorry in June 2019 and the R1 was taken away. “The Van needed petrol so I drove it to the…

I an Lewis’ parents, Keith and Lynne, loved Minis so much that they made sure their son Ian shared their enthusiasm. “My first road Mini was a 1971 Mk3 which dad and mum bought me when I was 17,” recalls Ian. “Then I had race Minis. I did autograss racing for the best part of 10 years. My then wife had six road Minis and I had a Mini Van which I bought from a scrapyard and put back on the road. After that, I didn’t have a Mini until I got this one.” In April 2015 he heard about a rusty black 1988 Rover Mini Mayfair for sale at Mini Mail. “I took my boss, Andy, to see Tim Harber at Mini Mail, because Andy had a trailer, and…

I quite often refer back to the competition use of Minis in the 1960s and 1970s, mainly because it was a lot more accessible to Mini owners as many Minis doubled up as competition car and daily driver. It was also something that helped make the Mini so popular. One commonplace sport, in which some people competed in their road Mini, was autotesting. This was a sport that took place usually on tarmac or a firm surface as opposed to autocross, which was held on rougher ground. Local Saturday morning autotests often took place in car parks. I remember going to one in the car park of a local Ford main dealer. The cars went round a course marked out with cones and had to manoeuvre and reverse into spaces…

Alan has been a car mechanic since he took on an apprenticeship aged 15. “One of my first cars was a Mini Traveller,” he explains, underlining his Mini credentials. “I then owned an Irish-spec. 850 in 1980 and a 1275GT in 1985.” After that Minis were not on his radar much as he worked for a number of car dealerships. By 2007 his partner Karen suggested that he started working for himself. “I started doing bits and pieces for other people. My mate Dave Knee bought a Mini. He asked if I could help him with some bodywork so I took the MIG welder round to his place and welded all the panels on it and he asked if I could paint it.” One day Dave drove home from work…

When imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery, Wood & Pickett of London must have been a blessed company back in the 1970s, considering the amount of copycats offering similar coachbuilt Minis. Coachbuilding a Mini isn’t quite as easy as it may seem and most enterprises vanished as quickly as they appeared as they found out that the process was too complex, too time-consuming and too expensive. The NJC Mini is perhaps the best exception. I’m not surprised if you’ve never heard of the NJC Mini as no marketing whatsoever was carried out to promote it. There were zero advertisements or brochures. This lavish Mini was only known to the few people who could afford one at roughly four times the price of a new 1275GT. While working on…