The Register

May 2003

Editorial 

We haven't skipped a month, this newsletter is entitled May 2003 because we always seemed to be one step behind. As the newsletter is compiled at the end of each month, it tends to hit the site in the first week of the following month. So we have taken a leaf out of the magazine publishers book and you should now be reading a newsletter with a date that matches your calendar.

Membership continues to grow with another 6 members joining us this month, however I am surprised a the lack of take-up for the members pages. The objective is to let each member have a page to display pictures and a description of their car. The page may also be used by the competition orientated members to show details of events and successes. Before a picture of a Mini is added to the site, the number plate is obscured for security reasons. If you already have your own site, then use the index page as a link, if not send some photos and text to theregister@miniregister.co.uk and we will do the rest.

New Members

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

Andrew Mundy, Bristol, Avon, UK

Andrew has a 2002 Cooper 'S' in Red with a White roof. So far it has no modifications but Andrew is working on that at present.

Dave Davidson, Droitwich, Worcestershire, UK

This must be a bit like coming across a barn find. Dave tells the story of his 1963  Morris Minivan (GPO Telephone Engineers) in the section below entitle GPO Mini Van. Dave is in the process of getting the van restored as far as possible to its original condition and will keep us informed of its progress

Scott Peach, Broadwell, Gloucestershire, UK

Scott's Mini is a 1990 Mini Racing in British Racing Green

Mark Burrows, Halesworth, Suffolk, UK

Answering to the name of Bridget, Marks Blue HLE fitted with a 998cc engine first left Longbridge in 1982.

Attila Csorba, Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, UK

It looks like Attila has caught the Mini bug, he has three Minis; a 1976 Clubman Estate that goes by the name of Lill Devil which is painted Red with a black Stripe and has tinted Windows. A Matt Black 1984 Mayfair known as The Beast which is propelled by a 1300cc which exhales via a 3" exhaust!. The body is fitted with Zeemax kit and sports a set of Revolution wheels kept under control with a set of Spax shocks. Inside the view from the bucket seats includes the walnut dash. And finally the latest acquisition a 1976  Mini Pickup painted Red.

Sue Green, Stowmarket, Suffolk, UK

The second Mk I of the month is Sue's 1966 Morris Mini Minor called Mo. The car is original except for the Cadburys Purple colour

Letters

Hi Mike,

GPO Mini Van

Member Dave Davidson describes his lucky find.

I bought the van in 1978 from a friend, probably paid him about £15 or so. It failed the MOT and I left it in my Dad's garage until recently. Over the years he nagged me to get rid of it and as he is now 99 I thought it was about time I did something. As you can see from the photos it was painted orange and black, it had a racing wheel and a bucket seat. I had no idea of the history.

It is now with a firm in Birmingham who were recommended to me, B.M.C. Motor Company. Paul Ratcliffe and Bob Green are carrying out the restoration.

Initially I thought it was just an ordinary van but there were some unusual features, such as bolt holes in the roof, so Bob and Paul encouraged me to get a heritage cerificate.

It turned out to be a Post Office Telephone Engineers van and the Post Office Vehicle Club have told me the fleet number and that it was based in Bournemouth. In those days the GPO bought virtually all of its vehicles from Morris and mine was one of a large batch of minivans destined for the Telephones or the Royal Mail. They wre probably BMC's biggest client so they could specify their own requirements.

Unlike Morris Minor vans, very few GPO minis have survived and none that I am aware of appear to be in original condition.

I have had to do a lot of research over the last few weeks and so far I have proved that, from 1962 the vans were supplied with removable bonnet grilles. It also seems that they began to fit false wooden floors under which was space for a tool drawer and a step ladder. Ladder racks were fitted on to the roof if required, depending on usage.

The GPO vans had two rubber rear bumpers, screwed to metal brackets, and you will see from the photo that mine are missing. In fact the piece of iron on the back is unlike anything I have come up with in my research. Apparantly the GPO workshops could carry out total rebuilds and fit all sorts of unusual things.

The van is presently in a shotblasted state and the engine is being reconditioned. Someone told me yesterday that GPO vans had a low differential so that is something else that made them different.

The GPO lettering is being re-created by Past Masters in Birmingham who can also supply original varnish fixed Royal crowns.

If any members of the Mini Register can help me with GPO parts and fittings,bumpers, ladders,information, photos etc I'd be very pleased to hear from them.

New Italian Job

It is bound to start the debate all over again; the traditionalists against the new brigade. No sooner have the "Nice car but they should never have called it a Mini" statements faded than along comes a film "inspired" by the greatest cinamatic tribute to the Mini ever.

The new film not only has the same name as The Italian Job but also features a car chase through a city brought to a standstill with a massive traffic jam in three cars with their boots full of gold bars. However that is were the similarity ends. Although the film starts in Italy (Venice rather than Turin) and does include footage in the Alps, the action is very much Stateside with Los Angeles and specifically Holywood Boulevard being the focus of attention.

Another difference is in the attitude of the manufacturers, for the original BMC were very reluctant to cooperate, in fact it is said that without the intervention of Giovanni Agnelli - head of Fiat - the original film may never have been made. Times have moved on and BMW who recognise the benefits of product placement, supplied Paramount with 32 MINIs - in Red White and Blue of course. The red MINI is an 'S', the white and blue being Coopers

Trevor Houghton-Berry, general manager of MINI UK said: "Making a new film called 'The Italian Job' is bound to draw comparisons with the classic film. The new 'Italian Job' is definitely inspired by the original, but in no way seeks to compete with a movie that is undoubtedly one of the great icons of British cinema. However one thing both films do have in common is a love for the Mini and what a Mini can do, both on and off the road. The car chase scenes are fantastic and it's worth going to see the film just for the MINIs alone."

The new film is written by Troy Kennedy Martin who wrote the original, this time it is co-written with Donna and Wayne Powers. Charlie Crocker is played by Mark Wahlberg and the character Stella Bridger ( the safe cracker) by Charlize Theron, Stella's father - Mr Bridger who else is played by Donald Sutherland. The film is directed by F. Gary Gray.

Due out in the USA at the end of this month (30th May), the UK will get to see it in September.

For more details check out the site www.italianjobmovie.com

If it starts another division or not, I for one will be there to watch it.

Charlie update - 1275GT Rebuild

We got Charlie turning over on the starter-motor with only a small hiccup in the shape of a seized starter-motor!! It just goes to show that keeping your beautifully shiny, newly painted parts in a damp shed for months is not big or clever. Several minutes with a big hammer and a tin of silicone spray eventually solved the problem and the old timer briefly came back to life, pumping lovely, clean oil all around the inside of his engine, with no further problems.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the car, things hadn’t changed much in 20 years or so. Our friend Dave Barrett, who had undertaken a lot of the original work on Charlie, including the cabriolet conversion, had fitted an extra fuel tank into the boot (trunk). This involved the siting of an electric pump and quite a bit of pipework on the bulkhead behind the rear seats. Considering the age of the pump and pipes, it was decided that this would have to go.

One of our original purchases at the start of the project was a Facet fast road electronic fuel pump, which is definitely an essential bit of kit to think about when re-building a classic Mini for everyday use. Mounted under the car, it allows you to keep the number of fuel-hose unions in the boot (trunk) to an absolute minimum, as well as freeing up some extra space. There can be nothing worse than not being able to get your golf clubs or surfboard in the back of the Mini ‘cos its full of fuel pumps and hoses. “Dammit, I can get one ski in there, but I can’t close the boot (trunk) when I put the other one in!”

Both tanks came out without any problems, and a thorough cleaning with some clean petrol (gasoline), revealed both to be as clean as a whistle. When writing about this kind of task, you feel obliged to point out the obvious safety issues to your reader, ie, get an adult to help you, always use round ended scissors etc, and if possible, try to do it in someone else’s garage like I did!! But seriously folks, it is a potentially dangerous task. A lot of angle-grinding takes place in Mike's garage, along with a fair amount of welding, and it only takes one spark from a carelessly worn nylon shirt to ignite a build up of vapours, so remember kids – safety first. As soon as the tanks were cleaned out, they were moved off site to my garage for storage, and the used contents were retained in a suitable container for use in Mike’s Autotesting Mini.

As previously mentioned in earlier articles, the underside of the car at the rear has remained something of an unknown quantity. I’ve had nightmare visions of a huge colony of the metal-moth residing in the vicinity of the rear subframe for quite some time now. Mike suggested that it would be a wasted opportunity at this stage of the game if we didn’t remove and inspect the rear subframe, even if it seemed like a retrograde step. With the car already up on axle-stands for the purpose of fitting the exhaust and fuel-pump we decided to go for it. A week of squirting the aerosol equivalent of ‘Plus gas’ at the threads of the mounting bolts followed, and with the exception of one arkward bolt, the subframe was removed without any drama. To our surprise, the unit turned out to be an early ‘wet type’ hydrolastic subframe in excellent condition. Following a quick trip down memory lane, Dave Barrett concluded that this subframe is the car’s 1972 original and was probably last painted (with Hammerite) back in 1980!! All bow down before the mighty Hammerite. After a stripdown and clean up, the only item of real concern turned out to be a seized mounting pin in one of the trailing arms. This particular pin could have been seized for a long, long time. Mike produced a reamer designed for this particular job and within an hour of “fine adjustment” with a big hammer the pin was able to move freely within the arm. The needle bearings and bronze bushes all checked out OK.

Following another fantastic Easter visit to the National Mini day at Stoneleigh, where a stainless steel mounting kit for the rear subframe was purchased at a very reasonable price from the boys at Stainless Auto Components, Mike took the subframe to be shot-blasted by an expert. The resulting finish is excellent and the subframe certainly looks better than I did at 31. Mike coated the newly exposed metal with Fe2 rust beater as soon as it came back, as it takes no time at all for the corrosion process to begin. And yesterday yours truly gave it a coat of primer in a shade of beige that would’ve made my grandad a happy man. Today, our subframe will once again be coated in a couple of coats of black Smoothrite, which will probably keep it safe from the dreaded tin-worm for another 30 years.

Next time, I will tell you how I fitted a pair of 100mm (4”) Sony audio speakers into the new dashboard where the vents are usually located – and, surprisingly, encountered no problems whatsoever!!

Mini Events

International Mini Show & Spares Bonanza, Stoneleigh Park - April 20th

Stoneleigh Park rolls off the tongue a bit easier than The National Agricultural Centre and the name wasn't the only thing different about this years Mini Show and Spares Bonanza.

Mini enthusiasts were treated to the new exhibition hall as well as the usual hall. As a consequence, the club displays were moved into the main building and the area they normally occupied was used for indoor parking.

These changes were an improvement but the day started with an air of bemusement as people got used to the new layout. Visitors were greated by the usual display of nicely prepared Minis (including a very nice 65 MK I Cooper S in Old English White/black) and a heavily accessorised MINI with flashy alloys.

All the usual trade stands were there and judging by the size of the crowd, they should have done well. I managed to pick up a pair of new Lucas switches (Lights & Wiper) and a new ignition switch - all for the 'S', Mark had a shopping list for the finishing touches to his GT Cabriolet and got everything except a pair of braided brake hoses for the rear. Karen picked up a display piece entitled "The End of an Era" which features models of a Sportspack, Cooper and Classic on a base that looks like the centre instrument binacle of a Mk I

The club stand theme was 'A day at the races' and once again there were some very impressive displays

The club stands were also the home of some very nicely prepared cars, including a Mini with an amazing sparkly paint finish. This was a magazine feature car but was even more impressive in real life than in the magazine pictures. We also had a chat with the proud owner of a Honda VTec engined round nose Mini, a very profesional looking conversion and we were well impressed with the work on extending the length of the front wings - the proportions were spot on and you could not tell that an extra 90mm had been added. Also impressive was the fact that despite the engine turning out just short of 200bhp - thanks to its mappable ECU and a laptop - the car is not fitted with a limited slip diff. Apparently the suspension geometry of the Metro subframe used in the conversion copes well with the power delivery with non of the expected torque steer.

One of the features I always like at the stoneleigh event is the indoor parking for Minis. This can be just as interesting as the official display areas with a fair old mixture of specification and states of preparation. we spotted this purple creation which was probably the wackyest car of

the day as well as some very nicely prepared cars in which the standard of body prep and paintwork was very high.

This year there was no segregation of the MINIs and we parked Kato in amoungst the rest and although very much in the minority, there were a lot more MINIs there this year than last.

Mini in the Park

As mentioned last month will will be having a stand at the Mini in the Park meeting at Cornbury, Oxfordshire on Sunday August 17th. This year we have room for 10 cars and will be awarding space on a first come first served basis so get your applications in early - just drop me a note on theregister@miniregister.co.uk

If you get your Mini on our stand, you will get a vehicle pass which gets the car and driver into the show for £3. The normal gate price is £10 per person.

Additional tickets cost £7 per person, we can also book group tickets (for 4 adults) for £23.

So make a note in your diary and let me know as soon as possible.

Good news from California

Rick Feibusch from California has passed on this note from Hagerty Insurance News

LEGISLATIVE ALERT UPDATE

Congratulations everyone on your hard work and commitment to stopping Senator Florez from pursuing his repeal in S.B. 708 of the current emissions exemption for collector vehicles. Following is an article we thought you would enjoy reading since it reports your tremendous legislative efforts and victory. Keep up the good fight.

McKeel Hagerty
President, Hagerty Protection Network

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FLOREZ REVERSES ON CLASSIC CAR SMOG RULES

By VIC POLLARD, Californian Sacramento Bureau

SACRAMENTO -- With Jay Leno and the rest of California's classic car buffs on his case, State Sen. Dean Florez has dropped his proposal to require smog checks for cars as old as 1958 models. Leno, "The Tonight Show" host who has a large collection of vintage autos, personally called Florez's office to lobby against the plan. The lawmaker was also inundated with letters, e-mails and phone calls from many other members of the highly organized hobby car community.

One of their tools was a cartoon depicting Florez in his state-leased SUV chasing classic cars out of California. Florez was forced to back down on the bill, one in a package of 10 bills aimed at cleaning up the air in the Central Valley, before it even got its first legislative hearing.

The bill, SB 708, isn't dead, but it has been amended to crack down on cars that emit visible smoke. Originally, it called for requiring regular smog checks and repairs for cars up to 45 model years old. If in effect this year, it would apply to cars made in 1958 or later. That would have replaced the state's existing exemption for cars older than 30 model years, which this year is 1973. "Given all the fights we have on all the other air pollution bills," Florez said, "it wasn't going to help to push that one."

He said classic car fans made a convincing argument that most of the oldest cars on the road, while they may be some of the worst polluters, aren't usually driven to and from work daily. "We told the classic car folks that we're going to continue to talk to them," Florez continued, "but that was just too much of a detailed type of proposal."

Florez's legislative aide, Michael Rubio, said Leno called after reading a newspaper article about the smog bills.  "He said he wanted to know what the deal was with (SB) 708," Rubio said. "Several days later, he called back and said, 'You've got me thinking now.' And I said 'Can I start at the beginning?'"

He said Leno listened carefully and discussed his thoughts on the smog problem and the bill at some length, urging Florez to carefully distinguish between older cars that are driven for basic transportation and those that are merely exhibited most of the time.

Other problems, he said, are the difficulty of getting repair parts for older cars and the fact that emission controls were not mandated on cars until the late 1960s.  The same arguments were made by the classic car community's chief lobbyist, Steve McDonald of the Special Equipment Marketing Association, a trade group of manufacturers, retailers, publishers and restorers. "Obviously we're thrilled that the senator has agreed to modify the legislation and refocus the target on what we believe is a more effective one, that being smoking vehicles," McDonald said.

So are hobbyists like Jan VanderPool of Bakersfield, who, with his fiancée, owns three vintage Ford Mustangs."That's definitely a big relief to me," he said.  VanderPool said it took years and a lot of effort to get the rolling exemption from smog checks for cars that are more than 30 years old enacted in 1997.

Florez and his staff appeared surprised, if not shellshocked, at the size and aggressiveness of the lobbying campaign against the smog check proposal. But it was no surprise to VanderPool, who has been through similar drills before when legislation was proposed that helped or hurt car hobbyists. "A lot of us have had to get pretty political," he said. "We've had to get active and kind of watch our backs."

Project S

Progress continues with yet more panels finding a permanent home. The nearside floorpan is welded to the centre tunnel, this was achieved by clamping the two panels with butt-weld clamps along the full length of the join and then using the MIG welder to run a series of short 20mm welds about 300mm apart. When these had cooled another set of short welds were added, extending each of the first set. This procedure continued until the weld covered the full length of the seam, the reason for this rather drawn out approach being to minimise the amount of heat being put into the panels and consequently preventing distortion.

With the seam complete, the weld is ground smooth with the angle driver, again care should be taken not to overheat the panel. Finally, i rigged up a light bulb inside the car and checked the line of the weld from the outside for any pin sized holes. These were plugged with the MIG and the area ground flat again. Despite all the care taken to avoid overheating, a bit of smoothing is going to be required. We once saw a demonstration of panel beating using a panel beaters spoon and dolly. I think that this will be the best way to get the floor as smooth as possible.

With the floor pan in place attention turned to the nearside A-post, this has been sat in a corner in its assembled state for some time now but prior to welding in place, the area that will become the inside of the box section was given a good couple of coats of red lead. While that was drying the A-post closer panel was welded into position between the top edge of the inner-sill and what was left of the A-post at waist level. This too was given a good coat of primer

The inner wing has a hole through which a previous owner had run the wire to the wing mounted aerial. A piece of flatened copper pipe was clamped to the back of the hole and the hole was then filled in with the MIG welder. The weld does not stick to the copper making it easier to build up the edges of the hole until they meet in the centre.

The upper repair panel on the inner wing has also been welded into place but prior to that the repair panel for the scuttle was trial fitted.

Next month I hope to report that the A-Post assembly is finally welded in place. I have trial fitted it again with the door in place and evertyhing still lines up as it should.

Thats it, have a good month and let us know what is going on in your part of the world

Keep in touch

Mike Bennett
theregister@miniregister.co.uk