The Register
The E-Newsletter of The Mini Register
June 2005
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The Register |
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June 2005 |
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Editorial |
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In the UK we are facing one of the biggest threats to the Mini scene in a long time. The government is proposing the introduction of a charging scheme that will mean you pay for every mile you travel. The current plan is to charge £1.36 per mile for the busiest roads like motorways and a lower figure for lightly used roads. They also said there would be an off-peak charge on the M6 toll but despite driving through the night I have yet to find the off-peak time. For us to attend Mini in the Park, it is a round trip of 314 miles, 280 of which is on the motorways. Even giving the benefit of the doubt, and assuming the average cost would be half the peak rate, the mileage charge would be £213. At present the tax on petrol and road fund licence works out at about 11 pence per mile which at £34 for the same journey is bad enough. Our nearest Mini show is 60 miles away for which we will have to pay the government £81 and that's before we have bought the tickets. This is a serious threat, if you don't want the be confined to pushing your Minis up and down your driveway, write to your MP, write to the papers, make a fuss!! |
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New Members |
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| We would like to extend a very warm welcome to The Mini Register to: Ian White, New South Wales, Australia At present I have too many mini's and not enough time , normal story I guess . A 1962 Mini Sports 850 which is one of about 4 known to still be around . They were produced by two Australian dealers (P & R Williams in Sydney and Peter Manton Motors in Melbourne) under the wing of BMC starting in August 1961 till late 1963 . Depending on which "expert" you talk to there were either 500 or 1000 produced for Homogolation requirements .
From what I've been able to find out a lot of them ended up on race and speedway tracks after the arrival of the Coopers as they could be run with twin su's under racing regs and were cheaper than the newer coopers . They were basically a standard 850 with an extra su carb (not a matched set of left and right) on a twin manifold . The original manifold had the carb part cut off so only the exhaust part was used and the bend in front of the muffler was cut and the muffler reattached so it came out in the middle (obviously more sporty .....) of the rear of the car . Then new badges were fitted along with a chrome rocker cover with a sticker that was the same as the badges . As you could imagine , performance in standard form wasn't brilliant but since enough were sold with this configuration people could legally race them and tuned properly they could do 100 mph , which on standard 850 brakes would have been a little scary . It's a fun mini to drive and while it doesn't have the power of a 1275 , it still seems to have long legs and once you're up to 100 kph it takes a big hill to slow it down . I've owned this one for about 13 years and have used it on the road over about 7 years , it's now waiting for club registration so I can have fun with it again . It's original and unrestored although that does mean it's not a concourse car , but it is fun . Currently it's use is only for a good hoon around the yard regularly until I find the local vintage car club . The 1981 Moke Californian pictured here with the security system , my staffy named Buddy , got me out of a wedding about 7 years ago .
I bought the Moke with the proceeds from a written off car , and told my then fiance I wanted her to use my other car at the time , a 2 year old hatchback , to get her licence so she could get a job . She refused to do either and then gave the ultimatum that either I got rid of the moke or she was calling off the wedding as she didn't want to marry "someone who'd make me do something I didn't want to do" .... I figured the moke was cheaper to keep , easier to service and basically more fun to have around and keep happy than she was so I accepted her offer . I'll let you imagine the uproar that followed , but the upshot was the wedding was canceled 3 months short (in hindsight it was doomed anyway , and besides , I'm married now and my wife likes mini's , always a good sign ....) and I had to drive her 2 1/2 hours back to her parents as they refused to come and get her . This is why the Moke has "I DON'T" written on the bull bar . The Mokes basically a standard 1981 Californian , 1275 motor and galvanised body although the body colour is listed as "kraft silver" , not a normal colour down here so not sure if it was a company car or a promotions car . It too is currently unregistered as it wasn't being used often enough to warrant the expense so now we use it around the yard and towing trailers for gardening , it's much easier and more maneuverable to use in the yard than my 4WD ute which is my normal car/mini recovery vehicle . I've also included a couple of shots of my latest bragging point ,in the late 60's BMC in Australia looked at making Moke pedal cars as a bit of a gimmicky sideline and selling them through dealers beside the mokes . 6 prototypes were made and this is one of them after a long restoration . Mini's and Mokes are really a disease and once you start there is no stopping ......
Ian also has a Mini Van and Nota Fang - an Australian sports car with a Mini engine and subframe at the rear. He is also busy turning his "Mini" garage into a display area for his extensive collection of Mini models Larry Herrmann, San Diego, California, USA Larry gets to enjoy all that sunshine in San Diago in his new MINI Cooper S in a very cool Jet Black colour. Nick Kasoff, St Louis, Missouri, USA Resisting all temptations to mention sting or honey, Nick's MINI Convertible has somewhat of a Bee theme, starting with the colour of yellow with black bonnet stripes, the concept is reinforced with a stuffed bumble bee hanging from rear view mirror and a BBL-BEE vanity plate Astrid van Nijkerk, Purmerend, Noord-Holland, Netherlands Astrid joins us from Holland where she drives a 1991 1300 Cooper in Flame red. I don't know what it means but its name is Sjeesenwiet Nicholas Persaud, Nassau, Florida, USA Nicholas is the third of our new members from America. His Mini is also painted Flame red and is a 1971Mini Cooper called Aliza. His comments are "You have to see to believe !" - we would love to, please send us some photos Nicholas. Peter Farrell, Beldon, Western Australia Peter is obviously a Mk I fan and likes to get his hands dirty. He has two 850s from the sixties, both of which are in the process of being restored. His Green and Blue 1963 Morris 850 was originally built in Australia and is bog standard - including the lack of a heater Keeping the saloon company is a Green English built woody from 1967. This has a Goldseal 850 engine and Peter is trying to find out what the original number plate was. Ron Jernigan, Greenwood, Delaware, USA Ron enjoys the use of two Minis, a 1976 mini that he drives all the time and a 1966 Austin Cooper S. The newer Mini is right hand drive and really gets noticed, having the steering wheel on the wrong side!!!!!. Ron is working on the 'S' which is Velocity Red with a Pearl white hood, despite this it is called Kermit as it used to be Olive green. The suspension has been converted from Hydrolastic to dry cones. Dennis Camberg, Randburg, South Africa Denis owns an Orange Austin Delux built in 1978. The car is in original condition. As the UK Austin Deluxe model was made in either 1962 or between 1964 and 1967, was this a South African built Mini ? Tom Sapp, Chantilly, Virginia, USA Tom's Mini is a bit of a puzzle, he describes it as a 1985 Austin Morris Mini Cooper in Silver, however the English plates that came with the car are from 1965. The Austin Rover marque is right for 1985 (used from 1982 to 1986) but the Cooper model was not available at that time. |
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Nota Fang |
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Ian White was quick off the mark and has sent in photos of his Nota Fang which is in bits at the moment.
The Nota Fang (or Nota Type 4 as it was officially known) was produced by Nota Engineering, an Australian producer of space-framed cars originally founded in 1952. From 1963, they took advantage of the compact Mini power plant and with the Nota Mini, in which the engine and gearbox from the Mini was mounted at the rear of a lightweight spaceframe to produce a mid-engined racer. The first of the Nota Fangs was produced in 1968 as an evolution of the Nota Mini but now with improved suspension and a 1275 engine. Over 100 Nota Fangs were produced before the company introduced the Nota Marauder range in 1973 which also used the Mini mechanicals until the supply of 1275GT engines ran out in 1975.
It looks from Ian's photos as if the front suspension was donated by the Hillman Imp. Like the rest of the Nota family, the Fang was principally a competition car that could be used as a road car as well. |
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Number Plates |
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Its not just the Kiwis who use their number plates imaginatively, Francois Joubert spotted this in downtown Milton Keynes.
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Herbert Austin - Who was he ? - Frank van der Meer |
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Motorcar manufacturer and philanthropist.
Date and Place of Birth: Family Background: Education: Chronology: 1882: Went to Melbourne, Australia to join his uncle as a works manager of a general engineering firm. He went on to work for six other engineering firms. 1893: He was asked by Frederick Wolseley, whose company he was now working for to return to Birmingham, England to supervise a sheep shearing equipment manufactory. 1895: He built his first experimental car, a three wheeler steered by a tiller. 1896: The prototype of his second car was exhibited at the Exhibition at Crystal Palace, London. 1900: He entered a four wheel car for the Automobile Club of Great Britain 1,000 mile challenge. The single cylinder car won first prize. 1901: The Wolseley Tool and Motor Car Company was begun at Adderley Park in Birmingham and Austin became Manager. He became a founder member of the Midland Automobile Club. 1905: After taking Wolseley cars to world renown he resigned and looked around to start his own business. He found an out of town site at Longbridge which was then seven miles from the city of Birmingham and with the help of financial assistance from friends he bought a small derelict printing works and began the Austin Motor Company. (November 17th) Austin went to the Motor Show at Olympia in London and received his first orders. 1906: The first car, a 25 hp Endcliffe Phaeton costing £650, was produced and soon skilled craftsmen made their way to Longbridge, manufacturing 120 cars in the first year. 1908: Three special racing cars at 100 hp were produced and entered in the French Grand Prix. The car driven by J.T.C. Moore-Brabazon came in a creditable fifteenth. Production of the main road cars was now so popular that a night shift at the factory was introduced. New models were developed and the factory turned out a thousand cars per year. 1912: The company expanded into manufacturing marine engines and a Saunders of Cowes craft, powered by an Austin engine, won the British International Trophy. 1913: A two ton lorry was produced establishing Austin as a manufacturer of commercial vehicles. 1914: (February) The company went into public ownership and expansion was planned but then came the outbreak of the First world War. The factory moved over to making munitions for the war effort as well as vehicles and aircraft and by 1917 had trebled in size even having its own airfield on a local hill. 22,000 people now worked at the factory. Austin was knighted for his services to the war effort. Sadly his only son was killed in France during the War but was survived by two daughters. 1918: At the end of the War the factory went back to producing cars only and concentrated on a 30 hp model which was sold for the staggeringly low cost of £495. He began to take an interest in politics and served as the Conservative Member of parliament for Kings Norton, Birmingham until 1924. 1920: He began working on the concept of a smaller car to meet the needs of the family and because he received great opposition from his board he financed the project himself. 1922: (July) The new car designed by a small team under Herbert's direction and called the Austin Seven was unveiled to the public. It quickly became known popularly as the "Chummy" and sold for a mere £165. Sales began slowly. 1924: The size of the engine in the Austin Seven was increased and other refinements such as an electric starter were introduced. 1926: The project was now considered a success and production passed the 14,000 per year mark. 1928: A new version nicknamed the "Top Hat" was introduced. 1930's: This period saw a continuous array of small changes and refinements to the Seven being introduced. 1936: He was made a Baron for his philanthropic works which included support for Birmingham General Hospital. 1939: At the beginning of World War Two the Longbridge factory was again turned over to the manufacture of military equipment, including aircraft. (1948): Heavily modified Austin Sevens became the foundation point for the Lotus Car Company. Marriage: Places of Interest: BIRMINGHAM: WORCESTERSHIRE: Date and Place of Death: Age at Death: 74. Site of Grave: Holy Trinity Church, Twatling Road, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. His wife is buried next to him in the same plot. |
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Rear seat for a Moke |
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Robert Weeks of Napier New Zealand wants to fit a rear seat to his Moke, Ian White from the other side of the Tasman Sea has fitted the rear seat from a Suzuki Sierra to his Moke
The seat is easy to fit however it is important to get the seat mounting brackets and the seat belts as the centre buckle for the belts is incorporated in the seat.
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4WD MINI |
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Getrag, the German transmission specialist, have been developing a 4 wheel drive version of the MINI, apparently BMW are favourably impressed but as yet there is no date available for its planned introduction |
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Longbridge - the end of the road ? |
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What a sad time, with the demise of MG Rover, the future of the Longbridge factory does not look good. Although the liquidators had hoped to sell the complete site as a motor manufacturing facility, the deadline has passed and the chances of that happening are slim to zero. As can be seen in Frank's article above, Hertbert Austin found a 2.5 acre site with a derelict printing works at the end of 1905. And in the following 100 years, Longbridge went from zero to one of the largest motor manufacturing plants in Europe and then back to zero. In that 100 years the 2.5 acres expanded to 228 with over 4 million square feet of buildings. The staff went up from the original 3 to 33000 and then back to 6000 on the day the factory gates closed. Although it is difficult to imagine now, when the first of the 120 cars that were produced in the first year rolled out of the factory, the area was right out in the country, only 10 years prior to the start of the company, Longbridge consisted of a single house. From our point of view Longbridge is were the production of the Mini started and ended, the first production car rolling off the track on 4th April 1959 and the last 41 years later on the 4th October 2000. |
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Heritage not affected |
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With the demise of MG Rover, there was concern that the Heritage Motor Centre and British Motor Heritage may be affected. This is not the case as both companies were completely independent of MG Rover when the group went into liquidation. The collection of vehicles at The Heritage Motor Centre are owned by a charitable trust and the buildings and land are owned by Land Rover (and therefore Ford). They will continue as before, including the provision of certificates for your classic Minis. British Motor Heritage is also unaffected and will continue to supply Mini bodyshells and a comprehensive range of Mini components. |
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Help required in South Africa |
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The Mini Owners of South Africa (MOCSA) are trying to put a run together on 21 August to gather as many Minis as possible at one central point, both to give the MOCSA Members and other Mini owners a special opportunity to celebrate the Mini’s birthday, along similar lines as the ‘London to Brighton’ run in the UK. They need volunteers to help in the organisation and actual control of this event and to assist in the planning and preparation thereof. Then, a special request is for anyone, or all of you, that can assist with trying to secure the Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton for the end-destination of the above run. If you know who they can approach, or have a contact who can handle this on their behalf, please contact urgently. As a matter of interest, the idea of the event is to get the Minis to depart from different points and to make their way to a central point (preferably something like Mandela Square) where they will go on display and celebrate the birthday, have refreshments (the people that came in the Minis, that is) and raise money for charity. Thank you, in anticipation. Frank van
der Meer
If you can help in any way, please drop us a note to theregister@miniregister.co.uk and we will pass it on to Frank |
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It was with great sadness that we learnt of the passing away of John Love, in Bulawayo this morning. John will be fondly remembered by all South African motor sport enthusiasts as the former South African Champion of many years, but dominating the South African racing scene between 1964 and 1979. What made John Love so special to those of us involved with the classic Mini was of course the fact that he won the 1962 British Saloon Car Championship in a Tyrrell-run Mini Cooper. During the course of that season, in eight saloon car championship events, against stiff competition from the 3.8 litre Jaguars, he won his class seven times and set the fastest lap on four occasions. The saloon car championship was the forerunner of the latter years’ Touring Car Championship. What always made John Love so endearing was his humbleness and approachability. I had the pleasure of first meeting him at his car dealership in Bulawayo more than 30 years ago when I was a young insurance broker and although he was possibly at the peak of his racing career at that stage, he only talked about his racing when I enquired about it. In later years we had many a ‘cold one’ at the Bulawayo Club, but sadly the occasions became fewer and fewer and longer apart. Two years ago we tried to get him to attend the Mini in the Park, but he was prevented from attending as he had to protect his farm from illegal land settlers. He still sent me a fax on the Friday wishing us all of the best. He told me at the time that he still had a few Minis tucked away in his garage in Bulawayo Earlier this year we had the privilege of celebrating his eightieth birthday with him at a special commemorative race day at Zwartkops. It was a joy to see him beaming amongst old friends and fellow competitors from those marvelous racing days of the sixties and seventies and he even had the opportunity of driving some of his former racing cars. That was a really special day! We mourn the passing of another great Mini and racing personality, but will always fondly remember the great man that he was. We extend our deepest sympathies to the loved ones and those dear to him and agree that the world is a lot emptier without the beloved John Love. Frank van der Meer |
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Events |
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MOCSA Father's day run - 19th June 2005 MOCSA will leave the Tiger Wheel & Tyre, Cresta at 9:00 on Sunday 19th June for a run to the British Car Day at the Piston Ring Club's Modderfontein club house. Mini World Show - Sandown Park - 30/31 July 2005 Unusual for a summer show, the Mini World show is based indoors with the main events, autojumble and trade stands in the Esher Hall. For the competition minded, show goers will be able to try their hand at karting in the Dayton twin engined karts. British Car Meet - Van Nuys, Los Angeles - 27th & 28th August 2005 The Meet will take place on the lawn at Woodley Park on the Saturday with a tour heading west on the Sunday morning. British Meet - Palo Alto, California, USA - 10th & 11th September 2005 This is the 27th year that this event has been at El Caminio Park just across the road from the Stanford Centre. There will be the usual Tour to the Sea on Saturday heading west over the hills to Half Moon Bay. With the British Car Meet on Sunday on the Lawn at El Camino Park.
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That's it, have a good month and let us know what is going on in your part of the world for 2005 Keep in touch Mike Bennett |
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The opinions expressed in The Register are those of the members and not necessarily those of The Mini Register. When transmitted as an e-mail, this newsletter is sent to registered members of The Mini Register. If you receive such an e-mail when not a Mini Register member and if you would like to stop further editions being sent, the please reply with "stop" in the subject. |
