Mk 1 Mini's are great. My first car was a 1970 850cc Mini with wolfrace alloys and a tan vinyl roof (never found out what it was hiding!)

Had to replace clutch and sub-frame not long after I got it - standard jobs on the Mk1.

Then in 1993 I won a new Mini in a Sunday Express competition. it was a 1.3 Sprite, but sadly I had to sell it straight away as I had no work at the time and needed the money :(

my old car at Oulton Park , with the Fabia

I loved my mini 1000 , Im gutted I didnt take any pics of it! It was a 74 N reg one , with the oval binnacle inside with the extra 2 gauges , and on 10" rims. I remember making £10 worth of petrol last all week , and the car was never cold , as I was 17 and just passed my test...ahh happy days indeed!

They are the old Mini city I had first was much better, but not as good looking

True. SWMBO's looked nice with 12" Minilte replica alloys: these were taken before the next owner fitted a body kit [shudder] Mini (excuse the terrible sentences and dodgy web skills)

What kind of kit is that - seen one before but can't remember the name.

The maroon / burgandy one? I can't remember the name, but I think it's basically an update of the old Mini Marcos (and I don't mean the Midas; different front light treatment).

Ah gotta love mini's i have 2 atm but have had 2 others in the past, i love restoring them!

Best cars i have ever owned

I once followed a mini along a twisty road in the lake district. On the straights my car had far more power and didn't break a sweat sitting behind the mini, but the bends were a very different story.

I had a sprite with 10 inch wheels, fantastic little car. You could generally travel at a constant speed regardless of the bends, unless they were really tight.

Only problem was the electrics, whenj you turned the main beam off it blew all the lights, not good on an unlit road at night...

My wife had one too, had to get rid of it when we found you could see the passenger seat if you crouched down behind the car and looked through the big hole beneath the bumper. Unfortunately the rear subframe was in the same condition. her car had a faulty speedo and she thought she was doing near 60 when it was actually nearly 80! She had been going round some corners rather fast but never had a problem.

My first mini, i built it as a road rally car in 1985(but to stage rally regs)

Brief spec:

1293cc

Stage 3 head,

Kent (296?) cam

1 3/4" SU and K&N

LCB & 2" twin box system

Oil cooler

4 core radiator

4 syncro box & AP comp clutch

'S' disc's front

super minifins rear

'S' R/H tank

Full Safety Devices roll cage with rear diagonal

Corbeau GT8 highback competition seats

Luke 4 point harnesses

Plumbed in & hand held extinguishers

Edited 14 August, 200817 yr by Gizmo68
reducing photo size

This was my next mini, a full blown rally car, and with a decent driver (not me though!) was capable of top results. This was around 1988?

This is the only side on picture i can find (behind my 3 litre V6 service barge)

This time it was a proper spec car:

Unofficial ex works 1275GT (Malcolm Oxborrow)

1293cc full race engine

Janspeed LCB & system

4 speed Jack Knight s/c box

Salisbury LSD

Single 45 Dellorto & K&N

Front rad

Oil cooler

Metro turbo front vented disc's (13" wheels)

Super minifins rear drums

Watsons adjustable rear beam axle

Kevlar seats

Alloy fuel tank

Plus all the relevant safety equipment

When I passed my test, I always wanted a Mini.

Bought numerous copies of Mini World mag & dreamt of owning a nice shiny 1275 or even a 1380cc.

Unfortunately, the insurance quotes were more than the actual value of the car, so I had to make do with a Metro 1000cc for a while! :(

However, the wife has a R50 Mini (2002) One & it's a hoot to drive. It lacks the punch & guts it should really have for a 1600cc but the handling is spot one.

I've had a few spirited drives across the moor roads & country lanes & it just goes where you point it.

I'd love to own a classic Mini..................................maybe some day!

However, the wife has a R50 Mini (2002) One & it's a hoot to drive. It lacks the punch & guts it should really have for a 1600cc but the handling is spot one.

That's because it's not a Mini; it's a lardy Eurobox that's styled similarly to a de-seamed Mini!

My first car...

Bought for a pricely sum of £80 when I was 16 (nearly two weeks wages)

And set to work, by the time I was 17.....

I had it for 8 months, almost ready to stick in a fully rebuilt MG Metro engine (was an 850cc) and someone failed to notice me on a roundabout at the bottom of MK and smashed into the side of it. Luckily enough a private accessor came out to value the car. I showed him the folder I had done for the rebuild and he valued it at £1300 considering the work I did (better than the £200 it was actually worth), sad end to a lovely car and my first pride and joy.

My first car...

Bought for a pricely sum of £80 when I was 16 (nearly two weeks wages)

And set to work, by the time I was 17.....

I had it for 8 months, almost ready to stick in a fully rebuilt MG Metro engine (was an 850cc) and someone failed to notice me on a roundabout at the bottom of MK and smashed into the side of it. Luckily enough a private accessor came out to value the car. I showed him the folder I had done for the rebuild and he valued it at £1300 considering the work I did (better than the £200 it was actually worth), sad end to a lovely car and my first pride and joy.

£5 less than we paid the old lady for the one we rally. It was a 998 auto originally and she was made up it was going to a good home

Reminds me of the complete ground up restoration project I carried out years ago.

Loved every minute of it and it and it drove very well. David Vizard was the man

This is my baby. Brought him for AU$4,000 and spent almost AU$6,000 to get him to where he is now. Love him lots tho!

David Vizard was the man

A genius! What this man doesn't know about engines & tuning engines, isn't worth knowing!!

However, the wife has a R50 Mini (2002) One & it's a hoot to drive. It lacks the punch & guts it should really have for a 1600cc but the handling is spot one.

I felt the runflats let the first version on the new MINI down as it made the ride quite harsh. However, I've been out in a couple of the Mk2 MINI's and the ride is fantastic and is capable of being super-sharp and focussed as well as being comfortable and soaking up bumps and potholes. If they weren't so expensive, I'd happily have one!

Chris

My bro-in law used to have a 1275GT model,now that was a blast!!

Felt like your **** was dragging along the floor!

Steve

Just been scanning my old photo's onto the PC and found a slightly better shot of one of the first few events i did in 1992.

I felt the runflats let the first version on the new MINI down as it made the ride quite harsh. However, I've been out in a couple of the Mk2 MINI's and the ride is fantastic and is capable of being super-sharp and focussed as well as being comfortable and soaking up bumps and potholes. If they weren't so expensive, I'd happily have one!

Chris

Ours doesn't have run flats fitted, so the ride isn't too bad.

Mind you saying that, I've just got a set of Cooper S alloys with run flats but will replace them with normal tyres when they need it.

A friend has just got a R56 Cooper S (mk2 mini) & that is better, but the rear end is skittish when pushed hard. The turbo is better at delivering the power than the superchargerd R53. It's nice & smooth. Was amazed at what speed we were doing when I test drove.

Here is mine. She is an 84 Sprite and she is all original except for the S1 kit and the electronic ignition kit. The sunroof is a factory Webasto and it has the orignal 3 clock dash and reclining seats!!!!

And some of the work...

Unleaded head

Seems to suffer from the usual...

So far I have done;

New shocks, brake shoes, heater valve, half the welding, Clutch, the head, Rear SFM's and the stage 1 kit (Heated IM, sports needle, K&N and RC40 )

To do;

Welding (Lots :( ), complete flat back and respray, new doors, new bootlid, new bonnet, new bumpers, halogen kit, new carpets, all new brake lines, recon the original alloys (Fit with yoko A008's), fit new decals (Original Sprite decals), recon and refit the original herringbone interior, MOT, tax and insure.

Haven't done anything on her for nearly 2 years and it's breaking my heart especially as there is about £1000 worth of parts just sat there.