1500th post!

Well-well, another milestone reached - this is my 1,500th article here in Maximum Mini. I hope you still enjoy it.

If you can handle more Maximum Mini from my hand you can read this month's MiniWorld magazine with a comprehensive report on Mini based fire engines from all corners of the world, from the UK to The Netherlands and Denmark to even the USA and Australia. Or go for this month's Classic & Sports Car magazine, which has a 6-page feature on how a rather amazing Mini advertisement film was made in central Amsterdam back in 1975, with interviews from the people involved who explain how exactly they did it. Buy those mags to keep me going.

One more little piece of news: work has started on a new Maximum Mini book. Don't hold your breath as this one is going to take an awful lot of work, but then it's going to be something quite special.

Meanwhile, keep those questions, messages and snippets coming as well as these will secure this little corner of the world wide web to continue for years to come.

Mini based fire engines from all over the world in this month's MiniWorld

Picture MiniWorld magazine

And the making of a 1975 Mini advertisement film in Classic & Sports Car

Picture Classic & Sports car magazine

More Unipower GTs for sale

Many people have said to me that if I ever know of a Unipower GT for sale, I should let them know. Well, I keep on doing just that. After last year's duo (this one and this one) here's another two!

Both cars that have made it to the market now are Mk2s but they couldn't be more different. First of them is the racer that has just been restored by Howard Darby and Bob Neville, which has been seen here several times before. I was much-surprised to hear of it being for sale and asked Howard about it. His reply: "Yes it’s true: LTM 80G is for sale. Both Bob and I will be really sad to see the car go as it was never our intention to sell it." Howard also told me that sad family circumstances mean that he has his hands tied for 24 hours a day, which does not allow him to commit any time to the car, adding: "It’s been a difficult decision, but at least Bob and I have rescued and restored a Unipower GT."

Let's hope the car now finds a good new home. It's ready to go and offers a great opportunity for someone to take it to racing tracks, road rallies or hill climbs. The price for all this? £84,000. See the ad with spec and more information here.

Unipower GT number 2 is another Mk2. But other then Bob and Howard's racer 'RFS 479H' is a car that has only had two owners since it was sold new in 1969. Nick Gerolemou bought it second-hand in 1975 from former dealer Monty & Ward in Kent, while the first owner had supposedly been a Scottish lady. It's a very late car, according to Nick one of the last if not the last to leave the factory and it has some unusual specifications. I visited him years ago to see the Unipower, which had then already been stored in his barn for at least 35 years. He added then: "Hi Jeroen, I do not know for definite if mine was the last one built but in its favour is the different suspension and the 'H' registration, never seen or heard of another 'H' Unipower. When I find the log book the chassis number will help. Monty and Ward almost certainly sold more than three, they were always advertising in Exchange & Mart for used Unipowers." Nick did find the logbook in the end and he was right in it being one of the very last cars built. You can read much more about the car here. 

I have tried to get in touch with Nick now again, but didn't succeed and now understand it's also due to regrettable circumstances that he is selling the Unipower, so I can only hope he is well. I do understand though that he did start a restoration on the car but didn't finish it. The body has apparently been restored and repainted in its original white, suspension and brakes have been rebuilt and the same goes for the 1275 'S' engine. Priced at £49,000, see the ad here. Another great opportunity surely.

This Unipower has been hill climbed and raced in the past

Picture Duncan Hamilton - Rofgo

Wide! 'LTM 80G' is a Mk2 Unipower GT

Picture Duncan Hamilton - Rofgo

And it was fully restored in the last two years

Picture Duncan Hamilton - Rofgo 

An ex-Peter Filby car, you may know it from his publications, too

Picture Duncan Hamilton - Rofgo 

Not for shopping. Full cage and full-race interior

Picture Duncan Hamilton - Rofgo

FIA race-spec Cooper 'S' engine built by Roger Heavens

Picture Duncan Hamilton - Rofgo

'RFS 479H' is an even later car which was put in storage for decades

Picture Jeroen Booij

It's one of the very last cars built and has had only two owners

Picture Jeroen Booij

Dashboard has been altered but overal this car is very original

Picture Jeroen Booij

I understand the suspension has been fully rebuilt by this time

Picture Jeroen Booij

Just like the original 1275 Cooper 'S' engine as well as the body

Picture Jeroen Booij

Eclipse needs saving

Bound to be an unsolved mystery for the rest of its life, the surprise was great when in December 2019 this Mystery Mini Derivative turned out to survive. I mean, it was seen in Wellington, New Zealand in the early 1980s and then believed to have been scrapped shortly after this picture was taken by Graeme Farr. It was also identified by a previous owner back in 2019 as the Eclipse.

Now, fast forward another three years and the one-off Eclipse still hasn't moved from the breaker's yard in Horopito. Steve Harris spotted it there only yesterday. Come on guys, what are you waiting for? All those boring cars that are being restored are the same - this one is unique. Don't tell me in another 10 or 20 years that I didn't warn you. This car needs saving.

The one-off Austin 1300 based Eclipse is still waiting to be saved in Horopito, NZ

Picture Steve Harris

It was long thought to be gone forever, but it's still there. What a shame

Picture Steve Harris

A Biota in a British garden

About two months ago I wrote about the long-lost Mini Jem Estate, which turned out to be still alive (click here). And it wasn't on its own. From the article: "It's still in the UK and it's not the only exiting Mini based car the current owner has. More to follow." Well, the other car didn't come with much information - in fact there were just two hazy pictures of it and I was hoping for more, which doesn't seem to come. And so I'm sharing them here now.

Yes, that's a Biota and it seems to be one that hasn't been seen before (well, not by me). From what we can see it looks incomplete and pretty sorry for itself standing out in the cold. Is it a Mk1 or a Mk2? I can't really see it but tend to believe it's the latter with the non-opening bonnet bulge. Remarkably, a dashboard doesn't seem to have been fitted. Has this car ever been on the road at all? Engine and front suspension are there but again it's hard to say anything about these due to the picture quality. So there we go. Any further information about this car would be highly appreciated!

UPDATE 11:50: Biota Mk2 owner Robert Scott conforms it to be a Mk2: "Definitely a Mk2. Brake and clutch master cylinders are forward of the front bulkhead line, just like mine."

 

Hardly protected to the elements: that's a Biota out in a garden. Was it ever on the road?

Picture via Paul Wylde

What's this? It's an under bonnet shot, seen from the left hand side of the car with the 

bonnet hinged forwards. Anyone who can make something out of it?

Picture via Paul Wylde

John Lennon's Radford Mini: a replica is in the making

This posting about the Radford Mini De Ville of John Lennon keeps on drawing attention and comments since it was posted almost 10 years ago now. Meanwhile we know a little more about the car (click here) but it seems unlikely to ever resurface again. 

In that light Fred and Tony Waters of Nippy Cars in Somerset have been asked to build a replica of it, including the hatchback door, Aston Martin DB5 rear lights, pitch dark 'Shadolite' windows and all the other special (Radford) features it had.

Fred wrote the following: "We don't often speak about the cars we do but this one deserves an exception. In 2021 we were asked to do a replica of John Lennon's Radford Cooper 'S'. Not too much was known about the cars details and only a few grainy pictures and short cinefilm clips of it exist, many stories of the car existing and its demise float around. I'm proud to say my dad has done an amazing job making a steel tailgate for the car, Aston Martin style rear lamp clusters, all correct and original Radford parts are being used where possible. It wasn’t planned to announce the build just yet but things happen. I’d like to take the chance now to thank Chris for entrusting us with the build, he’s very excited about the progress and so are we. Pictures will follow but not just yet. Stay tuned, but here is one to wet the appetite."

It seems likely that the car will debut at the London Classic Car Show in Olympia next month when the three existing Beatles Minis are announced to be on display.

Aston Martin rear lights, hatchback, piano black paint: John Lennon's Mini will be replicated

Picture Nippy Cars

Stimson's stories (5)

I promised to write more about the late Barry Stimson after the news reached me that he had sadly died on one of the last days of the year (click here). There really is a lot of material in words and pictures so where to start? I once asked Barry how the original Mini Bug came about and he told me the story in some detail of how it happened. So here we go, over to Barry himself: 

“I was in Vancouver with my Mk1 wife where we lived in a house belonging to American hippies, provided by the father of one of the hippies. The house was in Horseshoe Bay, a really pretty place. ‘Hey man’, they said to me, and we joined them. I was designing houses over here in the UK but I was having a hard time as the houses I designed were quite radical looking and the council planning department were reluctant to pass them, as they looked different. I thought I could build them over in Canada. Then my Mk1 wife decided that one of the hippies was more of a hippie then I was, so I came back with two children to the UK, leaving her in Canada. I’d seen a Meyers Buggy in Vancouver and thought I could build something like that in the UK. In the plane back I made a very simple line drawing – it is still representable for the Mini Bug and looks very simple. The reason for doing a Mini based buggy was that the Mini had its engine, suspension and gearbox all in one subframe. It meant I didn’t have to reinvent all of it. But it was a really smart thing, too. All the stuff that I do is sort of radical but to be radical it doesn’t have to be complicated.” 

"Back in the UK I rented a Nissen hut on a derelict farm in Chichester and that’s where the work started in the winter of 1969/1970. It was bloody freezing. Coral and Sean, my children, were 6 and 4 at the time and we were living in a camper van, parked in the building itself. Looking back it probably wasn’t particularly good for the kids, but they liked it and have good memories of the time. To start with I designed some toys for them, all out of pinewood. It was for them to play with, but I decided to market them too. But by the time I got the toys made but the Mini Bug was underway and I had no time left for the toys. ‘HPO 69H’ was a £20 or £30 Mini Van that was used as a base vehicle. It took over a week to make the plug and another week to make the mould from the plug. The chassis was lofted on the floor in a lock up garage. I didn’t employ anybody whatsoever; although I understand a while ago a chap said he’d built the first 100 bugs. Well, we didn’t even build a hundred of them I believe! There was an up hand welder involved though, who’d worked for the navy dock and there was also a laminator who was working in the same laid down farm. The guy was probably one of them who worked three huts down and who I think gave me a hand. We made jigs and the navy guy did the chassis’. The first body which came straight out of the mould looked horrible with rough edges and I cut it off with scissors and then made the flare around it. It still looked ugly so I thought let’s dress it up a little more. We rounded the edges off, changed the screen and put on a Targa bar. Everything sort of grew, it evolved.” 

 “I was at the time always looking for the easiest way out to create shapes. If I could take a quick moulding of an existing shape to give me a curve or a shape. The scoops for the lights of that car were made from breadbin lids. It was all very low-tech but quick; I wasn’t using any modeling clay or anything. The windscreen was made of Perspex and to bend it I used an old electric fire to heat it. That was changed quickly from Mk1 to Mk2 with very little Mk1s built. I would be really surprised if there’s any Mk1 car left (one turned up last year - click here). I probably built just five or six. The difference was that the car’s body was now separate with the whole front of the Mk2 lifting off.”

The original Stimson Mini Bug prototype 'HPO 69H' in a rare colour picture

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

And the original sketch, made by Barry in the plane from Canada back to the UK

"It is still representable for the Mini Bug and looks very simple"

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

This is the prototype's chassis with engine under construction in Chichester in '69 

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

And ready! That's a proud Barry behind the wheel, 29 years at the time

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

‘HPO 69H’ was built from a £20 or £30 Mini Van that was used as a base vehicle

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Next up: a photo shoot for Hot Car magazine. Note trim lines now added to body

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

And with some 'dolly birds' for some further PR shots. That's Stimson-style! 

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

First ad of the car seen in early 1970, looking for agents at the time

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

This is an early brochure, which I've seen only once. Who has a copy of it?

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Front cover of Hot Car magazine made the ball roll for the Mini Bug. 

Barry would later become art editor of the magazine also

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Looking for the Aldon-Viper BMC

Your help is needed: I am looking for a picture of a racing car named the Aldon-Viper BMC. This car was built by Aldon Engineering and raced in 1970 and 1971 by a man named Pat Ryan from Halesowen in the Midlands. The car was described as 'A slender chassis design, powered by a BMC Mini engine and used for sprints and hill climbs". I did speak to Aldon-boss Alan Goodwin.

Who has ever laid his eyes on it - or knows of a picture?

60 Years ago: pre-launch of the Deep Sanderson 301

These cool pictures have been in the Maximum Mini files for ages and I thought I'd share them with you now. They are unique photographs of the Deep Sanderson 301 production car's pre-launch - well, I believe it to be that. The 301 was of course officially launched at the Racing Car Show of January 1963, but these pictures are not taken there. And so I can only think of this being a private little party to celebrate the car getting ready for its first showing to the world, probably in Acton where it was built by LawrenceTune Engineering. I have never seen them anywhere else. Anyone who knows more is welcome to add any further information.

 

The Deep Sanderson 301 was unveiled at the Racing car Show in January 1963...

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

...But these photos were taken elsewhere. I think at a pre-launch party

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

They show the car having just been finished and probably days before the show

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

The engine was a 997 Cooper with LawrenceTune fettling good for 59.4bhp at 6,300rpm

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Mystery Mini Derivative (85) UPDATED

Boy, is the first Mystery Mini Derivative for this year shrouded in - er - mystery! It's only believed to be Mini powered, but even that is not known for sure. The picture was provided by regular supplier Roald Rakers and was supposedly shot in 1969 during a race in Japan in what was known as the 'Golden Series Minicar Challenge'. 

That does indeed look like a Mini engine poking out of the front to me, with two carburetors standing in the right position, aren't they? And those wheels may very well be 10" Mini ones also. But then... the Japanese had some small cars on offer, too. So... who knows more about this intriguing little racer from Nippon?

UPDATE 21 January 2023: Not a Mini derivative! According to Noriyuki Karikomi this is a Honda N360 based Phantom Formula Junior car. Thank you very much.

Mystery racer in the Japanese 1969 Golden Series Minicar Challenge. Mini based?

Picture via Roald Rakers

Stop press! Not Mini-based but a Honda N360 based Phantom Formula Junior car. Another one here

Picture via Noriyuki Karikomi

New pictures of Nieuwenhuis Special

Four new pictures of the Nieuwenhuis Special turn up thanks to reader Michael van der Meij. Once again they were taken at the Trophy of the Dunes race at Zandvoort in 1968. When I first heard of the car a long time ago I was eager to find out more, which took several years. Eventually I found out it was built by Henk Nieuwenhuis of Geldrop in The Netherlands, who'd emigrated to the isle of Crete. I interviewed him back in 2013, when he told me he built the car in 1967 in the attic of his parental house. 

He said: “You could either watch other people race, or build something yourself on a shoestring. I decided to do the latter and started making some drawings. It was all pretty simple, I just wanted to race. Since I had some Mini engines lying around, one of them a Cooper, I simply had to use that. I was a graphical designer by trade and so wanted it to look nice, too. At first it was a roadster, later I closed the body with gullwing doors." 

Unfortunately the gull winged racer does not survive since Nieuwenhuis re-used most parts to built up other cars and ultimately binned the car's chassis frame, or so he told me. I have still never seen any picture of it in its initial roadster form, as Nieuwenhuis didn't have these either.

More pictures of the car - also in colour here.

Zandvoort 1968 - That's Henk Nieuwenhuis with his home-built Special

Picture through Michael van der Meij

Lightweight and rear engined it must have been easy to oversteer, as demonstrated here!

Picture through Michael van der Meij

Mini subframe plus Cooper engine with double SUs and massive end pipe well visible here

Picture through Michael van der Meij

Sneaking passed a Lotus 47 in a sharp corner..? (the Lotus came 2nd overall)

Picture through Michael van der Meij