mini magazine article - pg 3

Words and photography by Zoe Harrison
published in mini magazine, June 2000

Mini Machine managed to straighten out the burnt area and treat it so it wouldn't rust, without having to replace the entire side of the car as Trevor had first feared. He has tried to keep as much of the original car as possible, so although the floorpans have been replaced, the transmission tunnel has not.

The Mini Cooper did need new front wings, sills, A-panels, and a new roofskin to get rid of the large sunroof fitted at some point by Mr Hunt. The plate containing the body number was spot-welded to the original slam panel, so the slam panel itself was cut out and stitched in to the new front end. Mini Machine also put in a MkIII S boot floor. "The metal is thicker than the later Rover floors, so that was better," Trevor explains. "Then all the correct holes were put into it."

Although Trevor originally wanted an Almond Green Cooper with a white roof, having traced so much of the car's history he decided to stick to the Old English White with a black roof paint scheme. Mini Machine used two-pack paint, which should help the car last for years.

All the exterior trim was missing when he bought the Cooper, so Trevor scoured autojumbles and car shows. "The particular bits you can't find are the chrome trim round the door and under the window, and the early headlight rims with the brass rivet on top," he remarks. "I ended up drilling out some later ones, sending them away for re-chroming and making up a brass rivet to put back in. Bit sad that, isn't it?" The front grille is a reproduction chrome piece, but the bumpers are stainless steel, after Trevor was unable to find chrome ones.

Since the Mini Cooper was finished in November 1999 it's covered only a few hundred miles, but soon it will be travelling several thousand in one hit. Trevor's work is taking him back to Canada with his wife, Mary, and the car is going with him.

"I'm going to get an enclosed trailer for it and a motorhome so we can travel down to shows in the States," he reveals. "I might even do a few autotests, but I want to go and have some fun with it."

Having gone to so much time and trouble to create such a nice S in the first place, Trevor's not planning on parting with for some time. "My daughter used to watch me ice race Minis years ago," he adds, "and I want to leave it to her when I'm gone." So perhaps this very nice little Cooper will continue with a largely unblemished record of ownership?

Thanks to: SW Crompton, blacksmith, for use of The Smithy at Thornton Hough, Wirral for our location.

mini magazine article - pg 2

Words and photography by Zoe Harrison
published in mini magazine, June 2000

Trevor himself has owned all manner of Minis in the past, both here in the UK, and over in Canada where he has lived for many years. "I used to race Minis on the ice over there," he reveals. "My first car was a Mini, and to me it's the only fun car you can have."

Getting this Mini Cooper into its present immaculate condition took 18 months of hard work. To begin with, although he'd been assured by the dealer that the car was complete, it was actually without an engine and gearbox.

"When I got there it was a case of well, there's an engine block over there, and choose one of those cranks from over there," he recalls. "What you don't get is all those little nuts and bolts."

Nevertheless, after numerous trips backwards and forwards, Trevor managed to obtain a reasonable 1275cc cylinder block, which he's bored out by .060 inches and fitted new pistons to suit. "Finding a standard block is very rare and expensive," he adds. The block also had to be drilled to take a modern four-bolt oil pump.

To this set-up, Trevor has fitted a Piper cam, which turned out to be a cheaper option than re-grinding the original. "I put a Duplex vernier timing chain on, because I wanted to dial the cam in properly, and roller rockers, because 1.3 roller rockers are exactly 1.3, where old S rockers are only approximate," he comments.

Trevor had the twin SU carbs restored by Burlen Fuel Systems, who also tracked down a fuel pump for him, and he's very impressed with the service. He's equally pleased with the new cylinder head from Racespec Engineering.

"What I was aiming for was to get the horsepower a little better than the original S," he declares. "The S was only 58-59 bhp at the wheels, and this was dyno'd at 64 bhp, so I did exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to use the original 1.25 in carbs and if you go much over 65 bhp you're wasting your time because the engine can't breathe that fast with those carbs. I developed the engine to be compatible with that horsepower."

The gearbox and diff has all been rebuilt as well, although the first 'box Trevor had for the Mini went back because of a repair to the casing. He had initial teething trouble with the diff too, which had a slight oil leak. Trevor stripped the unit down again, and re-shimmed and re-sealed it to cure the problem.

Apart from this, the Mini Cooper was in very good condition mechanically. "When I took the subframe apart it even still had MOWOG stencilled onto it," he recalls. "Even the hydrolastic units were in pristine condition, still with the blue band on." Many of the bits such as the subframes and the twin fuel tanks were powdercoated to preserve them.

The body itself needed a lot of work to bring it up to scratch, much of which was carried out by Mini Machine in Darlington. Trevor was anxious that MkI Cooper details were retained. "On the 1967 S all the boot board brackets and the cross brace on the front were pop-riveted in rather than spot-welded, because the Mini was still being developed," he reports. "I've had it seam-sealed properly, which wasn't done when it was made, and Waxoyled it heavily in all the cavities you can't see."

By The Book

Only one previous on your logbook? Then researching your Mini's history should be a doddle.
Words and photography by Zoe Harrison
published in mini magazine, June 2000

These days people tend to change their cars on a regular basis, so finding a classic without a ream of names on the logbook is a pretty rare occurence. This was especially true for Trevor Vickery when he bought his Mk1 Mini Cooper S.

Despite the fact that the car was over 30 years old and had changed hands many times, the only officially recorded previous keeper was the first owner. When Trevor tried to track him down, he discovered to his amazement that the man still lived at the same address.

Trevor bought his car in a very rough state in 1998 after viewing various ready-restored examples. He had help choosing the right vehicle from a friend and fellow Mini enthusiast, Barry Long. "Barry said he knew of a genuine car in Sheffield, but it was in need of restoration," Trevor recalls. "I thought OK, sounds good, if I want it done properly, I'll do it myself."

The car in question turned out to be a 1967 Austin Mini Cooper, which had been taken off the road some time in the mid-'70s and not driven since. After contacting the first owner, Arthur Hunt, Trevor discovered more of the car's history.

It had been delivered to Mr Hunt by dealers Carey & Lambert of Southampton in March 1967, and their medallion still decorates the dashboard. Mr Hunt ran the Mini Cooper until he started having gearbox problems, then passed it onto his wife for shopping duty until it was finally laid up in the garage. Eventually, rather worse for wear by this time, the car was traded in against a replacement.

From there it passed through numerous sets of hands without being driven again. In the end, the Mini Cooper was involved in a workshop fire, allegedly part of an insurance scam. "The firemen came along and pushed the Mini outside, put the fire out, and the two guys who owned it went to prison for attempting to defraud the insurance company," Trevor explains. Fortunately, the Mini was rescued with just burn damage to the driver's side and went to the dealer, then on to Trevor.

Mini History - Pt. 3

British Leyland training video introducing the 1978 Mini Range. Presented by Raymond Baxter, for British Leyland car sales.



Part Two:


Highlighted "improvements" to the 1978 Mini line were: brown coach lines under the windows, a better grip-form on the emergency brake handle, a door-pocket with a snap, a pocket on the driver's side visor (for papers!) and a vanity mirror on the passenger's side visor.

Will the technological wonders of the Mini never cease?!

Mini History - Pt. 2

Before buying this car, I didn't realize there was such a thing as a Canadian Mini. Outside of the UK, Minis were produced in several countries (Spain, Australia, South Africa, Belgium, Portugal and New Zealand) but none in North America.

Minis were exported for sale in the US until 1967, when the safety regulations changed (thanks Ralph Nader) and there weren't enough US sales to justify the modifications necessary to comply with the new standards. However, the Canadian regulations were less strict which allowed British Leyland to continue exporting Minis, with minor alterations, to Canada until 1980.

There are several cosmetic differences in the Canadian Mini:

reflective side markers at the front and the back,

rubber bumpers mounted higher than the traditional chrome bumpers
(must withstand an 8km/hr hit with no damage to body),

and larger front indicator lights in the grille (instead of under it) to accomodate the higher bumper,
.
Apparently the Canadian Mini is considered pretty ugly (I disagree, personally I think the Clubman Minis are the ugliest) and most have been converted to more standard specs by replacing the rubber bumpers with chrome or stainless steel ones.

This makes my awesome Canadian Mini a bit of a rarity - which pleases me.

Mini History - Pt. 1

One of the things I really enjoy about Minis (and Mini owners) is the practise of getting to know the history of the car. Most sale ads will mention how many owners a Mini has had (one-owner cars are increasingly rare, especially in North America) and often where the car was originally sold.

My car was sold off the lot of Manotick Motors to a Colonel in the Canadian Forces from the village of Kars. He bought it for his daughter who drove it for a few years until she almost got t-boned. She didn't want to drive it anymore and gave it back to her father who stored it in his barn (apparently along with several other 60s/70s vehicles including a Land Rover) for the next 20 years.

He did drive it for a summer or two - but after that, most of the miles put on it were from the annual Kars Parade. He had an oversized wind-up key that he would attach to the roof and it was a big hit with the crowd. But it sat for a few years in the barn, at least, before the next owner offered to buy it in 2004. I don't know how he found it in the barn, but Mark (2nd owner) told me the sale was a little bizarre.

The Colonel and his wife had become very reclusive as they grew older and were not comfortable with anyone visiting their farmhouse. When Mark arrived to view the Mini he was asked to avert his eyes away from the house and keep them pointed in the direction of the barn as they crossed the yard - the Colonel and his wife followed behind. It wasn't until the Colonel's wife retreated back to the house that the Colonel allowed Mark to relax, explaining his wife was very nervous about strangers.

Thankfully, all went fine after this and Mark bought the car without further overtones of axe-murder horror movies:
thanks to Mark for the photo

De Rigourd

Parked the Mini in the carhole today. I love having it sit in the driveway so I can see it on my way out and when I get home - but Hallowe'en is approaching and I don't want to risk it getting tipped on its lid. (It is, kind of, pumpkin-ish coloured/shaped, after all.)



I spent a few hours on the weekend cleaning the inside and the trim/lights on the outside. I'm really digging the original crappy vinyl interior. Aside from some black markings and one long-ish tear in the driver's seat cushion, it's in great shape. It even smells right - smells just like the Mini we used to have as one of our family cars when I was a kid (the other car was a HUGE Ford LTD.)

I daydream now when I go out to the garage for a smoke - thinking about the finished car; the paint job, the addition of a decent stereo, a dash and maybe a centre console? So many details to consider! So many wonderful possible outcomes!

I can't wait to get this car on the road. I want to drive it forever.

Mini/Me

1980

Me beside my dad's ice-racing Mini on a frozen lake in Thunder Bay.
2008

Me sitting in my new Mini in my driveway in Ottawa.

Arrival

My new Mini was delivered on Friday - I'm still in disbelief over actually owning one. I'm going to take some pictures of my own on my days off this week, but for now here are a few more from the previous owner:







I'm going to spend some time in the next couple days vacuuming and cleaning the interior and maybe give the outside a good wash/polish...

Legacy Mini

Aquiring the 1969 Mini would be quite the coup. Especially for a first-time Mini Owner. My father didn't have a chance to own such a specimen until his 50s - and he's spent much of his life driving and restoring Minis both in the UK and here in Canada.

His last Mini was a 1967 Cooper S. He bought it as a burned out shell, the victim of an insurance fraud fire at a used car dealership. He was able to trace the history back to the original owner and even got in contact with the man after the restoration was complete; he learned that an old pipe-cleaner, mysteriously found in the car once all the interior had been removed, actually belonged to the original owner who still smoked a pipe!

I helped with a couple things during the restoration: disassembling part of the rear sub-frame and searching Mini Spares for windscreen and window glass stamped with the appropriate date-markers (tiny white dots above or below different letters on the safety registration stamp. This took the better part of a day's work and we managed to find almost every pane from a first-quarter 1967 production run.)

But that was pretty much the extent of my involvement. Even so, I was seriously disappointed when I learned a few years later through my brother (my dad and I have gone through long periods of non-contact), that after my dad returned to Canada from the UK, he sold the cherished '67 S to an American from Texas.

If the Old British Guy decides to sell his 69 Cooper (and if I'm lucky enough to be able to afford the car and restoration) - that sucker's staying in the family.

Luckily, my brother and his wife just had a baby girl so now there's actually someone to pass it on to...

It's not quite official, but...

I just put a deposit on this car:

The Holy Grille.

Although I'd missed out on buying his Mini, the seller agreed to keep an eye out for anything that might be in my price range. He mentioned he'd seen a Mini in a garage in his neighbourhood but he was pretty sure the guy wasn't interested in selling. Apparently the car was covered in old boxes and hadn't been driven in a long time. Two weeks later I got an email - the seller had talked to the guy and was passing on the info:

1. One owner;
2. Year: 1969;
3. Type - Austin Mini , 998 cc, 2 SU carbs and larger exhaust;
4. Has not been driven since 1983;
5. Price: Owner is unsure what it is worth;
6. Some rust and engine might need work ?

This a Mark II Cooper. A 1969 Mark II Cooper. That hasn't been driven in 25 years. Sitting in the garage of an old British man who is unsure what it's worth. Fuck me. Obviously I e-mailed the guy right away to see if I could take a look. He was still reticent about selling but asked me to call in a week when I returned from a road trip.

I called last week. Still unsure, he's going to speak with his son and decide what they want to do with the car and get back to me.

I mentioned I was looking for a restoration project and that my father has restored Minis before - I'm hoping he'll realize the car deserves better than 25 years worth of dust and sell it for a ridiculously affordable price to someone that will care for it like a freaking lover.

1982 RHD

A few weeks ago I was twenty minutes away from owning my first Mini.



I had seen the ad on craigslist or kijiji a few days prior and exchanged a couple e-mails arranging to go have a look. On a whim, I'd sent the ad to my dad and asked his opinion - the price was fair and it looked to be in good shape. It was a 1982 right-hand drive, imported from the UK a few years ago; disc brakes on the front, 1275cc engine, flared wheel wells and 12" tires, nice interior, very little rust.

I mentioned I was going to make an appointment at my bank to see if they'd loan me the $5000 (doubtful, my credit rating is crap - but what the hell, it's for a Mini...) and in his reply my dad offered to front me or co-sign. I was driving up to his place near Kingston the next day to pick him up and we talked about it on the way back to Ottawa. When he mentioned we might have enough time to see the car before he had to be at the airport (he left for Darfur until the end of the month) I floored it back as fast as possible.

I had to stop at home and call the seller. I apologized for the short notice and asked if it was ok to come by right away - my dad was on his way out of the country and we had 1/2 an hour before he needed to be at the airport.

But the car was sold. A couple from Kingston had come up an hour before, had left and come back to buy 20 mins before I called. He said I was welcome to come by anyway (the couple was coming back the next day to pick up the car, there's always a chance they don't make it) and not wanting to let it go, my dad and I headed over.

It's been a long time since I've been that disappointed. Or, I suppose, a long time since I've been that excited about something. My entire life (almost) I've wanted to own a Mini. Minis and I go way back. I had never been so close. Only in the last year have the circumstances even been fortuitous for Mini-ownership - I have a garage it will fit in, my dad's workshop/machineshop/custom tools/expertise at my disposal and access to funds (even if it means giving up all other luxuries.) And then to find a Mini in my price range? I really felt this car was destined for me. I thought for sure the couple wouldn't show at the last minute.

But they did.