| Mini History |
The Mini was launched in 1959 and stayed in
production until September 2000, during which time about 5.3 million Minis
were made. The car was designed by Sir Alec Issigonis - the brief was to
produce a small economical modern car to replace the Morris 1000. His novel
solution was to mount the engine transversely and incorporate the gearbox
into the sump to make a compact power unit driving the front wheels. The car
had small 10" wheels at each corner of the car and rubber cone suspension.
The earlier cars had an 848cc A-series engine, with a side mounted radiator
to fit in the restricted engine bay. The boot space was also tiny, with the
spare wheel and battery leaving little room for luggage. The solution was to
hinge the boot downward to allow extra luggage to be carried with the boot
open. Internally the car had storage bins in the doors and three-quarter
panels, and a centre mounted speedo incorporating all the
instruments.
The car was meant to be a shopping runabout but it turned
out to have remarkably good road manners. By 1963 the first Cooper was
produced, and the Mini has been regarded as a sporty car ever since. Later
models had 848cc, 998cc, 1098cc or 1275cc engines. The latest Mini models
all have 1275cc injection engines full of electronic gizmos, and front
mounted radiators for better cooling, but the Mini has never been offered
with a five speed gearbox from the factory.
The Mini survived many changes of company
ownership and name over the years. Even British Leyland couldn't kill the
Mini, despite trying their best with bits of plastic and ghastly colour
schemes. The Mini has been facelifted on several occasions. The original
"Mark I" can be recognised by the sliding front windows, external door hinges
and smaller back lights. As a general rule, the older Minis are more
attractive and of course more valuable. Opinion is divided on the Clubman
front end, but I like it.
My Mini was originally a 1983 Mini Mayfair with
a 1000cc engine and 10" wheels. When I bought the car it had been reshelled
from a later car, complete with front discs and a servo. The discs required
the use of 12" wheels, and the servo took up a lot of room under the bonnet
so the washer bottle was in the boot. The engine was a 1275cc Metro unit of
unknown year or type, and had done "a few miles". The late model shell allowed
the fitting of an additional electric fan in the front inner wing which was
invaluable when standing in traffic. The car came with a homemade exhaust of
a largish bore, a bad respray in a one-off colour, a dent in the boot, and
red Metro seatbelts which were slightly too short for comfort. The whole car
was filthy inside and out, having been owned by a (very nice) scrap dealer
who had used it for work.
After buying the car I added chrome
bumpers and grille, halogen headlights, new interior (black cloth and vinyl
replacing the original brown cloth) and painted the wheels. I also fitted
the chrome over-arches and sill trims, which
were useful for covering up the cracked and broken grey plastic items.
Mechanical work was limited to maintenance such as subframe mounts,
swivel joints etc plus all the usual bits like brakes, tappets etc. I
also painted the subframes and cleaned up the engine a bit, and the rear
section of the exhaust was cut out and replaced.
Jobs that never got done
included an engine brace, internal bonnet release, black front seats to match the
rest of the interior, and rear seatbelts. I also never got around to
sorting out the awful plastic dash, fixing all the door leaks or putting in some
carpets.
The reason that all these jobs didn't get done was that the diff exploded on the
A6. I truly believed that I would get around to fixing it, and I even built an
engine hoist in my garage, but after a few months I sold the car and all the spares
to a guy from Wales for £200. The number plate spelled Toby and was sold for £300,
so I got my money back in the end.
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| Mini Links |
| Mini Clubman V8 |
A FWD Rover V8 powered mini. Wow! |
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| Another Mini V8 |
A copy of the first one, looking good. |
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| Lowlife Mini |
The worlds lowest car? |
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| Mini Limo Gallery |
Lots to choose from |
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