Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2024 i MiniWorld

Memories are a crucial part of the Mini experience. It’s not just a car, it’s a character in your life story, an integral fibre within the broader tapestry of your very existence. Look at the photo above: for JEU 311, the Morris Mini-Minor Deluxe, this is one of countless happy family scenes that saw its restoration and resurrection painstakingly carried out with the express intention of making a whole bunch of new memories. Much the same is also true of our cover star – Nick Paddy’s van, built in tribute to his grandad, Alan, and his New Malden business, Paddy’s Garage. And this is no ordinary van… this is a race van, with Swiftune power and all manner of FIA-spec mods hidden under the skin. Spurred on by the magnificence…

2024 AUGUST 21-25 Mini Beer&Betzel Kembs, Alsace minibeerbretzel@gmail.com 23-25 The East Anglian Job Applewood Countryside Park, Norfolk http://www.nmoc.co.uk/east-anglian-job.html 23-25 Silverstone Festival Silverstone Motor Circuit www.silverstone.co.uk/events/silverstone-festival 31 - Sept 1 Fort Mahon Plage Mini Festival Côte d’Opale, France laurent.roussel62520@gmail.com SEPTEMBER 1 Minis by the Sea Steyne Gardens, Worthing www.facebook.com/wsmocmbts 1 Mini National Day Statfold Country Park, Tamworth mini.national.day.show@gmail.com www.facebook.com/EastMidsMinis 5 Mod ’n’ Mini Night Ace Café, London https://london.acecafe.com 6-8 Goodwood Revival Goodwood Motor Circuit www.goodwood.com/motorsport/goodwood-revival 15 Mini Fest Stanford Hall, Leicestershire www.britishminiclub.co.uk OCTOBER 1-10 The Italian Job Rome-Turin www.italianjob.com/the-italian-job 3 Mod ’n’ Mini Night Ace Café, London https://london.acecafe.com 6 All Mini Breakfast Meet Royal Ordnance Depot, Industry & Supply, Northamptonshire NN7 4PS www.classiclineinsurance.co.uk/new-all-mini-breakfast-meet-announced-for-2024/ NOVEMBER 7 Mod ’n’ Mini Night Ace Café, London https://london.acecafe.com 8-10 NEC Classic Motor Show NEC, Birmingham www.necclassicmotorshow.com…

It is common knowledge that Minis became famous for having rusty rear subframes, and sadly a great many Minis were sent to the scrapyard because of the problem. By the later 1960s a lot of Minis did have the frame replaced, but this was often with a cheaper aftermarket frame which resulted in the Mini crabbing down the road due to poor frame alignment and construction. Today the vast majority of Minis are run as classic cars and are not used as much in bad conditions meaning generally that, together with much more awareness of rustproofing techniques and products, subframes tend to last a lot longer. But from May 1976 onwards, rubber mounts were introduced between the front subframe and bodyshell, and on the rear frame the forward mounting rubber…

“After the last one, I said I’d never rebuild another car,” says Bryan Millar. Yeah, we’ve heard that one before. It’s an addiction though, isn’t it? And having started out with classic Minis before moving onto other marques and differently-focused projects, it always felt like Bryan had unfinished business with these adorable little classics. “I’m 38 now, and I’ve been a motor mechanic since I was 16, currently working for the Scottish ambulance service,” he explains. “My dad bought me my first car when I was 16, a 1987 Mini City, after nipping his head for one. I proceeded to put my own touches on it in the time running up until I got my licence, including a metalflake paint job, Cobra seats and a ’cage. But after numerous head…

It’s the duality and the contrasts that make it so intriguing. The Mk1 taillights at the rear juxtaposed with the Clubman face at the business end. The Webasto roof thumbing its nose at the hardcore rollcage. The retro Mamba wheels hiding the ultra-modern 6-pot calipers. This is a car built to spark conversation. “Had I known the time, effort and money involved in restoring my car at the start of the project, I honestly don’t believe that I would have done it,” laughs Mark Bloom. “However, three years on and with my bank account having taken a hefty beating, I couldn’t be happier with the end result.” As well he ought to be, as the quality of the finish and the attention to detail are simply staggering throughout. And when…

This year’s BMC & Leyland Show at the British Motor Museum saw two of the three historic Minis known as the ‘Ecurie Frogstuffers’ line up as part of the Abingdon Works Motorsport Celebration (AWMC) display of ex-Works and period rally cars. Supported by Mini Cooper Register and the Historic Marathon Rally Group, AWMC was established in 2019 as a celebration of the success of BMC and British Leyland rally and sports cars across three decades and has put on a display at the show every year since. Next year will see the 70th anniversary of the opening of the Abingdon Competitions Department and AWMC are already planning a special celebration. The ‘Ecurie Frogstuffers’ competed in the 1986 Rally d’Antibes, a European Rally Championship round in the South East of France,…

It’s so often the case that project cars choose their owners, rather than the other way around. While an enthusiast may have harboured a lifelong ambition to restore or reimagine a particular model of car, plans are frequently dictated by what happens to pop up on the radar at the appropriate time. And sometimes, as in the case of Jamie Garrett, it can seem to come way out of leftfield and plunge one into a hitherto unfamiliar skillset. Of course, the cosmos has its wiles and few things are really thrown together by chance… the Mini you see before you had been waiting in the wings for a while, lurking subtly in the peripheries of Jamie’s own life story, biding its time before the opportune moment presented itself for fate…

“My grandad, Alan, had a garage called Paddy’s Garage in New Malden, back in the 1940s-60s. It was an MOT place and he used to work on cars and sell petrol,” says Nick Paddy, as he explains the reasons behind the graphics on his beautifully presented 1962 Morris Mini Van. Nick’s family’s automotive credentials don’t stop there. “My dad worked for Downton Engineering Works in the late 1960s. He tuned the cars, test-drove them and fitted cylinder heads. Then he worked for Wadham Stringer in Reigate. After leaving Wadham Stringer he set up the Sprite and Midget Centre, which is now known as Moss Europe. Dad gave me the original picture of Paddy’s Garage and I also have an original invoice book with the blue copy paper, and that’s where…

Acursory glance through the majority of motoring magazines of the 1960s will reveal a mind-blowing collection of advertisements for ‘go faster’ equipment promoting everything from uprated cylinder heads and camshafts marketed by companies such as Oselli and Downton to special seats and steering wheels from Microcell and Restall. It was a business-hungry market stimulated hugely by the introduction of the diminutive Mini. The little car was fun, frugal and certainly the vehicle to be seen in. Within just a couple of years a whole new world of enthusiasts focused on racing, rallying, autocross and much more had emerged. The key component in the blossoming world of conversions and tuning was that for relatively little outlay enthusiasts could enjoy a marked improvement in the performance and handling of their car. Here…

Rustival, the all-encompassing classic/youngtimer show hosted by YouTubers Ian and Carly from HubNut, Matt from Furious Driving and Steph from idriveaclassic, is set to return this autumn after its debut outing in March was met by huge acclaim from a bumper crowd. Rustival 2 will take place on September 28th, with full details – including the location – set to be announced soon. The inaugural Rustival saw around 2500 people pass through the gates and an impressive 875 cars exhibited. Rather than focus on a particular genre of vehicle, the aim was to create an inclusive show where everyone felt welcome, meaning the variety on show was nothing short of unprecedented. It’s therefore no surprise that it will be back – keep an eye on rustival.co.uk for announcements.…

MINI SPARES EVOLUTION LIGHTWEIGHT PISTONS AND RINGS Mini Spares has sourced a new manufacturer to provide what may be the ultimate in lightweight die-cast pistons. The new Evolution range are available in +.020, +.040 and +.060 sizes and have been specifically designed with durability and performance in mind; they feature a redesigned crown and ring lands to increase strength in these areas, which not only helps to extend the life of the piston, but also guards against detonation damage caused by poor quality modern fuels. To maximise the benefits, the package includes piston rings that use the same dimensions as Mini Spares MEGA and Omega piston ranges. A gudgeon pin is also included with each piston. £59.40 www.minispares.com MINI SPORT R RANGE BILLET STEERING WHEEL BOSS Revitalise your MPi Mini’s…

The Goodwood Festival of Speed has, quite rightly, become an institution within the petrolhead realm. It’s not just a show, it’s a pilgrimage; whatever your motoring proclivities, you’ll find them well catered for: classic rally cars, world-class concours vehicles, the latest supercars, the EVs of tomorrow, Formula One racers across the generations, mudplugging off-roaders, drift monsters, it’s all there being fabulously showcased. And yes, you’ll always be able to find the odd Mini sprinkled about the place. This year’s Festival of Speed was themed ‘Horseless to Hybrid: Revolutions in Power’, with notable highlights including MG as the headline featured marque (and thus getting the peachy central sculpture slot), Red Bull Racing’s celebration of 20 years in F1, and the revered Future Lab showcasing ‘Technology for a Better World’. In addition…

Aheartfelt tribute is a wonderful thing. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, as the hackneyed old cliché goes, and the world is jam-packed with people and places paying tribute to the things that inspire them. When notable art forgers are arrested, they usually claim that their efforts are in tribute to their creative heroes rather than trying to steal a little of their reflected glory, and you can see the logic of that (even if it’s not always strictly true). The glimmering city of Las Vegas is so enamoured of global architecture that it features its own replica Eiffel Tower, Colosseum, Egyptian pyramid, and even a little Statue of Liberty. And there’s another Statue of Liberty replica in Kosovo; Thames Town near Shanghai replicates much of London; heck, in…