Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2024 i MiniWorld

Care, love, appreciation, these are the things that keep Minis alive. Each car has its own unique character, and the longer you own them, the more nuanced becomes your understanding of their intricacies and peccadilloes. Of course, you can’t keep a car running on love alone – knowledge and logic also play a part. As regular readers will know, MiniWorld’s occasional Keeping Your Mini Alive (aka KYMA) series has proven popular over the years as a means of sharing know-how and canny ideas. Some of these guides were seriously in-depth; KYMA 8, for example, showed Mini Sport’s whole build of a fast-road Mini, Bogus 2, in incredible detail. For this KYMA, we wanted to broaden things out a bit. We’ve got detailed tech features, showing you how to carry out…

MINI SPORT QUICK-RELEASE STEERING WHEEL BOSS Upgrade your classic Mini’s security with Mini Sport’s quick-release steering wheel boss. Designed in collaboration with Optimill, the leaders in Land Rover Defender security, this innovative device acts as a visual deterrent and ensures your Mini stays right where it belongs. The part is available in two fitment options: Momo steering wheel style with bolt pattern (PCD): 6x70mm, and Moto-Lita style with bolt pattern (PCD): 9x4"/101.6mm. £175.75 www.minisport.com MINI SPARES REAR SEAT INERTIA BELTS Now rear seat passengers can have the comfort and convenience of inertia reel seat belts thanks to some new introductions from Mini Spares. The company is offering its own brand of inertia reel rear belts for the late MPi model Minis (1997-2000) and they are available in a choice of black, beige,…

The 1996 Cooper 35 LE was a limited edition Mini which marked the 35th anniversary of the launch of the Mini Cooper. It was a popular SPi-engined model with its retro Almond Green paint and white roof. The Porcelain Green leather seats were a real touch of luxury. When new editor Monty Watkins took over from Mike Askew in 1996, he was lucky enough to get one as a company car. As well as commuting to MiniWorld HQ in Croydon, Monty and the team drove the car to Mini events all over Europe. The name Sputnik means ‘travelling companion’ in Russian, and was also the name of Issigonis’ Mini prototypes. Over the years, various members of the MiniWorld team have driven Sputnik to Italy many times for the International Mini…

Part of the Mini’s revolutionary design in 1959 was the use of the new-fangled constant velocity (or CV) joint. This enabled the transmission of power through the front wheels while still being able to turn them, thanks to a combination of ball bearings in cages allowing enough movement in the joint. The tendency for the driveshaft to try to straighten under power while cornering was effectively eliminated. Though quite resilient, the CV joint can fail. When the ball bearings wear there is increased play in the joint, creating a knocking noise as the components come into contact with each other. A knocking noise on full lock usually indicates that your CVs need replacing and, if left, they could become dangerous and ultimately lead to an accident. The single largest reason…

Buying a classic Mini is the realisation of a dream for many folk, but can quickly lead to a nightmare if you don't do your homework. It’s all too easy to be wowed by a car’s shiny paint or polished rims, only to get it home and find rotting sills and body seams crafted from filler. The Mini was produced in a variety of guises throughout its 41-year lifespan and trying to cover every model in detail would be impossible – for instance, a 1996-on MPi is a very different car from a 1959 Mk1 and they share almost nothing. However, there are general rules and principles that apply to all models. Given that even the youngest Minis are 24 years old now, some previous restoration work is inevitable. However,…

Ogles meet at Knebworth Park With just 66 Mini-based Ogle SX1000s made in 1962 and 1963, bumping into one of these cars has always been a rarity. So when seven of them came together at Knebworth Park during the Classic Car Show on 25/26 August, it was probably a unique moment. The Ogle line-up drew great attention and left many of the visitors in perplexity, as they’d never seen one of these cars before, let alone a whole group of them. The cars attending ranged from the experimental prototype to the penultimate example made, and from a highly original car with just two family owners, to one restored to modern spec including multipoint injection and air-conditioning. The meeting was organized by Dutchman and MiniWorld contributor Jeroen Booij, who owns the…

2024 OCTOBER 6 All Mini Breakfast Meet Royal Ordnance Depot, Northants NN7 4PS www.classiclineinsurance.co.uk/new-all-mini-breakfast-meet-announced-for-2024/ 6 October Scramble Bicester Heritage https://bicesterheritage.co.uk/events/october-scramble-2024 12 Leeds Cruise Skelton Lake Services www.carevents.com/uk/events/leeds-cruise-4/ 13 Old-School Re:Fuel Cullompton www.takona.co.uk/pages/coffees-and-cars 13 Autumn Motorsport Day Brooklands Museum www.brooklandsmuseum.com/whats-on/autumn-motorsport-day-2024 13 Port Solent Car Meet Port Solent, Portsmouth www.facebook.com/groups/portsolentcarmeet 20 Manhood Classics Meet Sidlesham Memorial Recreation Ground, Chichester www.manhoodclassiccars.com/meets-shows 25 Great British Car Meet Great British Car Journey, Belper greatbritishcarjourney.com 26 North East Auto Show Darlington Arena www.facebook.com/AutoShowUK NOVEMBER 2 Live Action & Fireworks Spectacular Knockhill www.knockhill.com 3 Southside Hustle Wimbledon Common Southside instagram.com/southsidehustle.carmeet 7 Mod ’n’ Mini Night Ace Café, London https://london.acecafe.com 8-10 NEC Classic Motor Show NEC, Birmingham www.necclassicmotorshow.com DECEMBER 1 Southside Hustle Wimbledon Common Southside instagram.com/southsidehustle.carmeet 5 Mod ’n’ Mini Night Ace Café, London https://london.acecafe.com LIST YOUR MINI…

If your feet are getting wet while you’re driving along, this generally signals that there’s something somewhere you probably ought to fix. Ben Brodie thankfully has dry socks these days, but it’s been a long, hard road to reach this point. “The car was never meant to get a full restoration like this,” he grins, “but one thing led to another…” Yes, Minis have a habit of doing that. The further into them you dig, the more ‘might as well’ jobs you unearth, until the to-do list starts to resemble rather more than a weekend’s tinkering. Still, all part of the fun, eh? Interestingly, Ben had never owned a Mini before this one. He does know his way around them though; as the owner and head honcho at Brodies Bodyshop…

When it comes to customising your classic Mini – and any car, for that matter – it is important to choose the right combination of styling and tuning parts. Even more so when you have a Mini that already looks incredible, and the last thing you want to do is make it look like something that would be seen at a local cruise night back in the late 1990s, with a his-and-hers sticker on the top of the front window and neons glowing from underneath. Over the last few years we have seen less exterior styling done to cars in the form of full-on bodykits, due to that JDM element of our scene in the late ’90s and early 2000s; few bodykits from those eras have stood the test of…

Traditionally, petrol in Britain was sold in gallons. Fuel consumption was always quoted as ‘mpg’ – and often still is. Because of fuel economy, the Mini became famous in the 1970s during and after the fuel crisis as it was one of a number of cars that could provide ‘penny-a-mile motoring’. This was so because a ‘sensibly driven’ Mini could return 50mpg and petrol had hit a whopping 50p per gallon – that is equivalent to around 11p a litre… During the 1980s, petrol ceased to be sold in gallons and went over to litres. This didn’t go down brilliantly with the motoring public and often caused a lot of confusion. Many people started to buy petrol by the £ as it was easier. Fuel prices had risen and by…

As many of you will have gathered, 2024 marks an incredible 65 years since the birth of the classic car we all love. To celebrate this milestone, The Great British Car Journey located in Ambergate, Derbyshire held a special birthday gathering for us Mini fans over the August bank holiday. For anyone with even the slightest interest in old British cars, the GBCJ museum is a real treat and well worth a visit. Their impressive collection of classics is not to be missed while the unique opportunity to Drive Dads’ Car has become a major attraction. What could be a more fitting venue to hold an important event such as this? From early doors, the generously-sized car park soon began filling up with Minis new and old, and we were…

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Unusually, Ray Holmes must be one of very few people out there who didn’t own a Mini as a first car, though his fifty years (and counting) of involvement with the brand did begin at an early age. “The first Mini I bought was for my wife,” he smiles. “This was back in the ’70s when it was normal for everyone to maintain their own cars.” As you’d expect, Ray soon got to grips keeping his wife’s Mini in fine fettle and managed to find his way around the trusty A-series. “I was also busy working on my own cars and had a couple of V6 Capris, a V6 Ford Popular and a modified Viva HB around that time,” he remembers. “The Viva was treated to wide arches, big wheels,…

“Mini fun, that’s what we’re here for.” So said Nick Swift, and he’s a man whose word can be taken as gospel in such matters; indeed, the second part of the St. Mary’s Trophy (in which Minis battle with the likes of the Ford Galaxie 500 and Lotus Cortina) was perhaps the most joyful motor race Goodwood has ever hosted, with Swift’s Mini sparring relentlessly back-and-forth with Chris Ward’s Mk2 Jaguar, the pair playfully gesturing to one another while grinning from ear to ear. That’s very much the vibe at the Revival: serious motorsport wrapped up in an ineffably fun, engaging and inclusive atmosphere. If you’ve been before, you’ll know what a timewarp energy it has; the event is themed around the circuit’s heyday of 1948-66, with all cars that…

In 2009, when the MiniWorld editorial team began discussing building a project car for Keeping Your Mini Alive 6, the name ‘Bogus’ kept coming up. Bogus was the mag’s first real project car. The blue Mini was super popular with readers who loved seeing it at shows and a big attraction was the powerful KAD 16-valve head. However, what sealed Bogus’ legendary status was the fact that it was stolen in 1994. When Mini Sport came on board with the new project, they too wanted to create a Mini to showcase their many skills and also impress our readers, just like Bogus did. We started talking about Bogus 2 and the name just stuck! Mini Sport did all the mechanics and bodywork. It was decided that a Mini Sport 7-port…

Whether it’s YouTube, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest, you can log on to any social media platform you like and you won’t scroll far before hitting a post about ‘upcycling’. Technically, it’s a trend that’s been around for donkey’s years, but by filming it and splicing it into short, easy to consume clips and accompanying it with the latest foot-tapping pop tune, content creators have a veritably unending stream of viral videos to keep their baying fans entertained and hitting that subscribe button. All manner of items can be and are upcycled, from furniture and clothing to corks and cutlery. One man who has taken his upcycling dreams to the extreme, however, is 45-year-old Richard Gill. As the owner of RIG Automotive, Richard has deployed his upcycling skills and raised the…

The Legendary Grand Tour of North Devon made a poignant return over the August bank holiday weekend, in memory of founder and organiser Terry Baker who sadly passed away in April. Founded in 1995 by Terry after a visit to the Children’s Hospice South West at Little Bridge House in Fremington, the event has gone on to raise more than £600,000 for the charity, and become a fixture of the bank holiday calendar in the region ever since. This year’s event was no different, with thousands of people lining the route of the run over the three days as more than 200 Minis descended on North Devon to pay tribute to the man who has brought so much joy to so many over the event’s lifetime. This year, the run…