Let's quote René from some of the messages he sent over to here in the last year or so.
29 November 2020
"Hello Jeroen, here is some news, this afternoon I started with the Biota, the bonnet is starting to fit well now. I have to reinforce the fibreglass on the left side, because it is a bit too thin and sagging, but it was already like that on some old pictures. The man who has worked on it previously must not have been a mechanic but a farmer I guess! Luckily he has not messed up too much of that 1098 engine, which has never been used in this car. Nothing is connected properly and the thermostat housing will touch the bonnet if there is a rubber hose on it. Also the gear lever can not work like this. The radiator comes from a VW K70 and is way too wide and not a good fit. He probably sold the original Cooper engine to raise some funds or something! I'm also very happy with the report on your blog which you have written well and it tells the truth. I also found yesterday a Maximum Mini book N° 1 on Ebay."
1 December 2020
"I have a very good contact with Peter Niessen who advised me to find a copper Innocenti radiator (scarce) and I was lucky to find one in Cagnes-sur-Mer, pictures to follow. Our Biota used a Cooper engine with two carburetors. The 1100 it comes with now has never been used and doesn't fit well. It's a good little block but not very sporty. The solution is a 1275 bored to 1300 with two SUs. The car ran like a rocket in the past - it had to because otherwise my dad wouldn't have sold any of those cars. Yesterday a new manifold for two carbs came new from England. It fits but the carbs are already too high for the engine cover. The only solution is to make one myself or find special Speedwel pipes, but yesterday I bought a manifold on Ebay for a 1275 Midget so I'll try again. If it won't fit I'll make one from aluminium."
4 December 2020
"I now bought a manifold from a Midget 1275 to fit the double carburetors. Look at it, it's a millimetre job with the bonnet. I also looked at the needle number of the two small carburetors. They are N° AZ, used only on Cooper 1000s in 1961 / 1962, so my memories are correct."
13 December 2020
"Hello Jeroen. I found some engine parts in Bergamote near Nancy by a real enthusiast who knows his Minis through and through. With all this I can build up a Cooper 1300 specification engine with modern castings. So a 1293cc Inno / 1275 GT block with modern head / Piper camshaft / balanced crankshaft, lighter flywheel, better clutch etc. Oh, we also talked about your world famous Marcos."
3 January 2021
"Bonne Anneé! I spent the whole week on provisionally building up the fibreglass. It turns out a 1275 engine is too wide and also 7mm too tall for the car. But I managed to fit it properly in the end."
11 January 2021
"Hello Jeroen. I am putting a lot of energy in the Biota, I can't do this in 10 more years because of my age, I also have troubles because of my medication. But due to Covid I am now building up the car in the weekends and on Sundays. The intention is to treat the body with some extra layers of fibreglass and gelcoat as soon as possible, this has to dry out well. In the meantime I can restore the engine / gearbox / subfames / brakes / dashboard etc. I have managed to drop the engine and gearbox 11mm in the frame by welding a thick box-shaped plate into the subframe, so the engine can also move more to the right, otherwise I can't make it with the bonnet, which I absolutely don't want to have any holes. I have found the original paint colour to be McLaren Orange."
26 March 2021
"Oof! Half the body has now undergone its fibreglass treatment."
1 August 2021
"Hello Jeroen, Everything alright with you? The Biota is coming along very well!"
It seems to me it has paid off really well as this Biota looks like one of the best current Mini based cars restorations that I have seen. Let these pictures speak for themselves. Oh - the car is on garage plates now, but will hopefully soon be (re)registered correctly. Last but not least René mentioned to me that it was 50 years ago that his father had it on trade plates in The Netherlands also... l'Histoire se répète!
Picture René Sontrop
Picture René Sontrop
Picture René Sontrop
Picture René Sontrop
Picture René Sontrop
Picture René Sontrop
Picture René Sontrop
Picture René Sontrop
Picture René Sontrop
Picture René Sontrop
Picture René Sontrop
Picture René Sontrop
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