The Register

The E-Newsletter of The Mini Register

March 2008

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New Members

We would like to extend a very warm welcome to The Mini Register to:

Dirk Hardtmann, Greenville, South Carolina, USA

Despite making its way across the pond, Dirk's very smart 1963 Morris Mini Minor Super DeLuxe is still right hand drive. Victoria, the Smoke Grey and OEW Mini, is as original as possible

From the outside, the only visible changes are the wider wheels, the overriders and corner bars and a pair of overtaking mirrors. Under the bonnet, a pair of 1 1/4" SUs and a Maniflow stainless Free-Flow manifold grace a Slark Racing polished and ported head. The cooling is handled by a 2-core aluminum radiator and silicone hoses and the revs are monitored using an electronic tacho powered by the negative earth electrics.

Mark Stubbs, Newark, Nottinghamshire, UK

Mark's Mini is a red 1985 Mini City.

Brendan  & Gary Cullingworth, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

Brendan has a red 1983 Mini 1275E a model specific to the South African market, he is however looking for another SA special, the Mini Rebel

"In 1983 my late wife bought the very last Red Mini Rebel from Southern Leyland in downtown Johannesburg. Since she passed away a month ago my two sons (11&12years old) and I decided that we would like to find a Rebel and restore it if there were any available. My Dad used to work at Leyland SA, my mom drove the Sunshine, Moonlight and van Den Plas models which truly entrenched the love of Mini in my blood and I would love to own one again."

Neil Marsh and Andrea Scatterson, St.Helens, Merseyside, UK

We first met Neil at the beginning of the year on the Wirral Mini's Llandudno run when we spotted his rare Tahiti blue 1999 Mini Cooper S Monza, "Vinnie" at the start. Neil and Andrea have fitted a set of Angel Eye headlights, Jewel rear lenses, K and N air filter, Sportex twin exhaust, Cobra bucket seats and harnesses and a blue fitted carpet in boot and interior.

"We bought our Mini in August 2007. The Mini had only done 25,000 miles when we bought it and now has 33,000 miles. When we bought the car we did not know how rare it was until we did a bit of digging around and we found that only 150 were made and they were left hand drive for the German market. We believe that our Mini was converted to right hand drive in the factory and then shipped back over here. My girlfriend Andrea has always wanted a Mini since being very young and now we have one, I admit that I am hooked as well. We have attended a number of shows, and we are going to L2B for the first time this May. Our Mini is in mint condition and my main focus is to keep it looking that way and try and keep the nasty orange stuff at bay. It as just recently had 2 new doors fitted as the crusty stuff had started at the bottom edge. Well he is nearly 10 years old. The other modifications that I have done are not too extreme as I want to be able to put it back to original if need be as it is such a rare model. I hope our Mini 'Vinnie' gives us many more years of smiles."

Jean-Pierre and Lionel Engels, Fish Hoek, Cape Town, South Africa

By coincidence, the small port of Fish Hoek near Cape Town is mentioned twice this month as you will see from Ryan Bubear's report. In this case it is the home of the Engels and the Burgundy 1984 Leyland 1275E called Tyson.

"I bought my Mini from a fellow enthusiast and I am as happy as pie. Doing a couple of refurbs to bring her back to spec and join the Mini Owners Club of SA as soon as possible."

Jack Wood, Bolton, Lancashire, UK

Glad to see that we have yet another Yak in the club, this time "Jack the Yak" is white and is based on a 1965 Mini, the conversion taking place in 1972.

"I am 74, I bought this Yak with a Bolton No. Plate from a man in Hove on the South Coast last November, through Ebay Classic Cars. I was intent on buying the New PGO Bugracer 500, but when I saw this Yak I knew this was the car for me.. I had my old BM M/Bike stolen 18 mnths.ago so I thought I would go for 4 wheels"

Elliot Childs, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, UK

I assume that "Alfie", the name of Elliot's red 1991 Rover Mini, is a clever link through Michael Caine.

Andrew and Zoe Thomas, Lichfield, Staffordshire, UK

"It started 4 years ago as a winter project that got out of control. The Mini was a standard 1 litre Mini City but that changed to a tinkered with 1.3 Metro engine courtesy of A.D.Autos(07903810459). Great bloke with plenty of knowledge and years of experience around cars (raced mini stox too). The shell was gutted and the hunt for spares was on, in fact the only thing that remains original from the car is the passenger door,everything else has been replaced, pillars, scuttles, wings, custom bonnet, door, front panel, boot lid, full rear valence, sills, the list is endless (and the cost). I had it painted in flame red with a black roof and fitted it with some rare 100+alloys (would love a 5th as a spare if anyone has one) red and black high back Cobra bucket seats and harnesses, roll cage, centre console and other goodies.

The car is 98% done apart from wheel arches which is where I need help. The arches I want are the ones that wrap around the rear valence rather than stop at the little lip by the bumper. I have been told they are called Wood And Pickett Duluxe but W+P say they are not an arch they make. I am prepared to buy used ones if I cold only find any.(HELP!!!)."

Ian Just, South Shields, Tyne & Wear, UK

Ian describes himself as "Mini nut.. looking to build a very fast road/track mini....love to hunt Saxo's!! lol", well his Cherry 1989 Mini Thirty called "Scuffy" would not exactly hold up the traffic, the 110bhp MED 1380 is fitted with a Stage 4 head, 1 3/4" HIF44 SU and custom stainless LCB leading into a twin exit stainless system. The suspension is fully adjustable with 1.5 degrees of negative camber and to help the power-to-weight ratio, the front-end, doors and boot are all fibreglass. Connecting this lot to the ground are a set of 13x7 Ultralight wheels

Members Updates

You may remember that Dave Noone is building a track-day Mini that is fitted with Jenvey fuel injection and Emerald programmable ECU see, well the injection system is running nicely now and the bodywork pretty much ready for paint.

Paul Mcnair, who joined the Mini Register last month has sent in these pictures of the Mini Van he is restoring for his daughter

David Susca from Santarem in Portugal wrote to tell us that he recently drove to a Mini show - in Italy!!

David was very pleased to receive a Mini World Magazine Trophy for the Mini that traveled the furthest to get to the show in Florence. He and his Mini Cooper traveled a total of 4890 Km by road and 1600 miles by sea, taking the ferry from Barcelona to Livorno and back via Civitavecchia.

The three day meeting included a gathering of Minis in the beautiful city of Florence and a session at Ferrari's Mugello circuit.

Well done David

It's ages since I joined the register. I still have 65 FXY but unfortunately it has taken a lot longer than I expected to get it near to completion. It was stripped and shotblasted very quickly but then things started to go wrong. Things outside my control which I won't go into!

However, the guy who is restoring my 1963 GPO Minivan has suddenly started to move quickly and we need a Mini Mark 1 heater blower unit plus pipes a.s.a.p.. (Someone told me that these may also have been fitted to early Mark 2 models)

If you have one or know someone who has one available I'd be very grateful if you would let me know or pass on my details . ..my email or phone 07968 131982.

I do have a few photos and will keep taking them and send some to you as it becomes more interesting...and when I am certain that restoration is moving forward.

Many thanks

Dave Davidson

Mini in the Park

It is that time of the year again, The Mini Register will once again have a stand at Mini in the Park. This year it will be returning to the Santa Pod Drag Strip between Milton Keynes and Wellingborough.

If you would like to display your Mini on the stand, please let us know as soon as possible, tickets will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.

Do not be put off if your Mini is not concours, our stand should reflect the cars of the members and these include some vary smart originals, some wild custom creations, but mainly members pride and joy daily drivers. Having your car on the club stand means that you can drive right in to the centre of the action, and benefit from a significant saving on the entry price.

'59 Morris Mini Minor for sale

Paul Le Roy in Johannesburg, South Africa is looking to sell his immaculate 1959 Morris Mini Minor, he is looking for about 60K Rand plus shipping. Let us know if you are interested an we will pass it on.

Cape Town Breakfast Run

In a desperate attempt to squeeze in one last breakfast run before Cape Town's winter well and truly set in, we booked a few tables for May 4 at the Lookout Deck in Hout Bay.

The morning of the run greeted us with typically British weather, all grey sky and constant drizzle.

We were hoping for an improved turnout with this being only our second outing since getting things up and running again. Unfortunately, the weather (and other a few other factors) kept a number of people away.

But kudos to Mike and his wife for braving the elements in their modified Moke, affectionately known as the 'Mini Mutt'. Despite losing them for a minute or two after they made a wrong turn out of a traffic circle, they arrived at the venue in surprisingly dry condition.

A particularly popular Mini on the day was Matt's newly-restored Traveller, complete with chromed external door hinges.

Also catching the eye was Michelle's white saloon, sporting brand new Ultralites wrapped in Yoko rubber, something not seen on many Minis over here.

Despite the weather, the venue was picturesque as the restaurant is set on a deck over the water in Hout Bay harbour.

Thanks to all who attended; the drive for new recruits now begins in earnest!

Ryan Bubear, Cape Town

MINI Cabrio Spy Shots

Channel 4 have spy shot footage of the new MINI Cabriolet being put through its paces at Nurbugring, it was either there for a long time or there were a lot of cameras to catch the action Take a look at http://tinyurl.co.uk/xucp

Benefiting from the extra length of the R56 floorpan, the new Cabrio will have more leg room for the rear passengers. The fixed roll-over bars have been replaced by pop-up equivalents and the stowage of the soft-top has been improved. The car should reach the dealers towards the end of this year.

YouTube Link

Thanks to Chris Lee for this link to a series of stills showing a lucky escape for Mathew Nesbitt during a rallycross at Lydden Hill.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=1q1sqopRpXk&feature=related

REME Magical Mini Mystery Run

Based in San Francisco on the weekend of 5th to 7th of September, the Redwood Empire Mini Enthusiasts are organising a tremendous Mini event which will cater for both Mini and MINI enthusiasts.

More details at http://magicalmysteryminitour.com/

Events

31st May/1st June - Wine Country Vintage Classic Races - Redwood Empire Mini Enthusiasts and Mini Mania will be organising a Mini Cooper corral at the F5000 re-union at the Infineon Raceway (Sears Point). There will be a Saturday night drive to the Sonoma Square for wine tasting and fun.

Sunday 1st June - Bristol Mini Day - Puxton Park, Weston-super-Mare

7th to 9th June - Hay Mini Nationals, Australia - This is the 40th anniversary of this amazing event with everything from show'n'shine to competition - see http://www.visithay.com.au/eventdetails.php?id=73

Friday 13th June - MINI Takes The States - MTTS 2008 starts in Miami and finishes in Los Angeles on August 3rd - see http://blog.minitakesthestates.com/

Sunday 15th June - Cannon Hill Park Mini Show, Birmingham, UK

Sunday 15th June - Normanby Hall Country Park Mini Show - Nr Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire

Saturday 17th June - Nevada City Adventure - see http://new.minimania.com/ArticleV.cfm?DisplayID=1939

Sunday 29th June - AutoSolo - Accrington Lancashire

That's it, please let us know what is going on in your part of the world.

Keep in touch

Mike Bennett
theregister@miniregister.co.uk

The opinions expressed in The Register are those of the members and not necessarily those of The Mini Register.

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