The future of Maximum Mini - advice needed

It's more then 12 years since this webpage was started as a spin-off to the Maximum Mini books. But now, 1399 articles illustrated with thousands of pictures later, the time has come for some structural changes. 

Why? Well, it's easy. I am spending more and more time on Maximum Mini and less and less on my other writings. Those other writings are my income, Maximum Mini hardly earns me any. I need an income. Carrying on in this way will spell my end, taking Maximum Mini with me to the grave. 

I've thought of stopping. But there are so many cars and their stories left to be uncovered. I have material for hundreds and hundreds more. I've also been talking to a few people about the possibilities. What they all tell me is that weblogs are becoming extinct with video now having become the norm. 

So how do I see the future? I find that very hard. As a blog for paid members perhaps? Or as a Youtube channel? Patreon offers a service that may fit in well, too. Or how about a podcast or even a paper magazine? Please let me hear from you, dear reader, in the comments below.

Three Mini Moke based SHADO Jeeps in the science fiction movie 'Doppelganger'

Picture imdcb.com

Unipower GT hill climber nears completion

The restoration of the Unipower GT jointly owned by Howard Darby and Bob Neville ('LTM 80G' - this one) is nearing completion and Howard was kind enough to contact me about it. He told me that he and Bob first met when they were apprentices at BMC, with Bob eventually moving to MG at Abingdon and finally ending up working in the BMC Competition Department. What's more: Bob also looked after the Unipower of BMC's works driver Alec Poole, who famously owned one, with Bob being allowed to use it as daily transport whilst Alec was away for several months. That's a sweet memory!

Since Howard and Bob purchased the car in February 2020 it underwent a complete strip down and where necessary chassis members were repaired or replaced. The bodywork went to a fibreglass specialist who had to make moulds for the rear face of the rear shroud as well as one for the roof to sort out an earlier poor repair. Back from the fiberglass specialist the car went to Normandales of Daventry for a respray. The colour they chose is a Porsche Carrera Yellow and does look good on the car.

The rebuilt began next and the engine is a genuine 1275 'S' bored out to 1293cc and tuned to full race specification with Omega pistons, Swiftune camshaft, fully gas flowed cylinder head and a 45 Weber carburetor. It comes with the right gearbox (333 casting), which now has close ratio straight cut gears. The drop gears are also straight cut as is the final drive, which has a limited slip. The exhaust system had to be hand made and proved quite challenging as there is an extra horizontal chassis member which the pipes had to go round, or so Howard told me.

The GT will now have its shakedown soon since it has been entered at the Prescott Hill Climb on May 14th. Remarkably, the very same car was entered at the same event on April 14th 1991 and this was its very last time it turned a wheel under its own power before a very long winter sleep of 31 years! 

More to follow.

Ready for shakedown! Rebuilt Unipower GT racer will be road legal, too

Picture courtesy Howard Darby 

The car, 'LTM 80G', had languished for three decades and needed serious work

Picture courtesy Howard Darby 

Chassis is partly hidden into the bodywork, making restoration not easier

Picture courtesy Howard Darby 

The car's bodywork was fully repaired at a fibreglass specialist

Picture courtesy Howard Darby 

New moulds were made for rear face and roof, which had been cut out / repaired poorly

Picture courtesy Howard Darby 

Resplendent in Porsche Carrera Yellow at Normandales of Daventry

Picture courtesy Howard Darby 

A plus B plus C... Exhaust system proved quite challenging to be made...

Picture courtesy Howard Darby 

...going around a horizontal chassis member

Picture courtesy Howard Darby

And like the exhaust system, the suspension is a piece of art, too

Picture courtesy Howard Darby

The fully rebuilt 1293cc 'S' engine comes with a 45 Weber carburetor

Picture courtesy Howard Darby 

There you go: from tired old car to fully restored racer again, ready to go

Picture courtesy Howard Darby 

The restored car will now debut at Prescott Hill on May 14th 2022

Picture courtesy Howard Darby 

Howard (left) and Bob with Bob's E-type at last year's Goodwood Revival

Picture courtesy Howard Darby

Bonus picture: the Unipower GT at Goodwood when owned by Peter and Wendy Nash

Picture courtesy Howard Darby 

Sun's out - John Cooper Ices ready to go

Spotted last month in Tokyo: that's a Mini based 'Batman' ice cream van by Whitby Morrison of Crewe and it looks eager to get out into the sunshine. The sun will be out here this weekend. Enjoy!

'John Cooper Ices' ice cream van on display at Mini Maruyama in Tokyo

Picture courtesy Masayuki Arakawa

The same Mini ice cream van during its active service in the 1980s

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Landar R6 at Barbon manor hill climb

Here are some great period pictures to get in the mood - we are entering a new season after all. A season in which we can hopefully get together again for some motoring action or fun. The pictures below come once again from Landar-racer Tim Dyke and they were taken at the Barbon Manor hill climb in 1968 when he raced it under number 34. 

I've heard of a few exiting Mini based sports cars that will come into action this Spring and hope to report about these, so stay tuned.

Tim with his Landar R6 in 1968 at the grounds of Barbon manor house

Picture Jeroen Booij archive, courtesy Tim Dyke 

This was the Broadspeed tuned car seen at the 1966 Racing Car Show in London (more here)

Picture Jeroen Booij archive, courtesy Tim Dyke 

Tim raced it throughout the 1966, 1967 and 1968 seasons. This is again Barbon in '68

Picture Jeroen Booij archive, courtesy Tim Dyke 

Tim told me: "I was lucky enough to own and race a Landar R6 - the first one in private hands, in 1966!"

Picture Jeroen Booij archive, courtesy Tim Dyke 

Wellington DT1000 Special survives

If you have a copy of Maximum Mini 3 you may have read the following about a car seen in Wellington and named DT1000: "Another mystery Mini derivative seen in Wellington, New Zealand. This square but very roomy car was supposedly built in the UK in 1988 before being brought over to New Zealand. It did survive up until 2012 at least, when it was seen for sale."

Well, mysterious Mini derivatives from Wellington have a tendency to survive (click here) and it goes for this one, too. For 10 years later it's still alive and is offered for sale by Daniel Mickleson of Hamilton in New Zealand. From his ad: "Whats someone willing to pay for this? One of a kind hand made 1988 1000cc Mini engine front wheel drive. Have all the paper work of who built it, photos of it being built and why it was built. Also import papers/land transport papers making it legal in NZ. It runs and drives. The roof is canvas And the seat rails are literally a ladder".

I've written to Daniel as I'm curious to learn a little more about the background of this one. Let's see...

 

Wellington DT1000 Special was supposedly built in the UK in 1988

Picture Daniel Mickleson

Spacious and practical! Panels are all aluminium while roof is canvas

Picture Daniel Mickleson

Neat dashboard layout, supposedly with Allegro steering column

Picture Daniel Mickleson

Name suggests it uses a 1000cc engine although paperwork says 1100

Picture Daniel Mickleson

Racing Ogles of Canada

The Ogle SX1000 of Martin Golder (this one) may have been raced previously in Canada during the 1963 season by a man named Donald Grey of Toronto. Grey entered the car in the Grand Valley Car Club's race meeting at Mosport Park on 15 June 1963, in the Oak Cup race meeting at Mosport Park on 27 July 1963, and in the Player's Quebec Trophy at the Mont-Tremblant circuit on 13 September 1964. 

Now, remember that Martin Golder bought his car at around 1967 from a used car lot in Toronto 'in a rough state' and without bumpers and I just can't stop wondering this may very well be Donald Grey's racer. Neil Griffin dished up a picture of Grey racing the car and the wing mirrors seem similar, too.

I told Martin about this and he replied: "Wow. That's cool. Very interesting. I also used to race Minis in Ontario from about 1962 to' 67, but I never saw the Ogle." I also told him about Canadian agent Dennis Prophet and he replied: "The name Dennis Prophet sounds familiar as I was in several car clubs and got parts support from BMC. But I never raced or rallied the Ogle."

Interestingly, the 1964 Player's Quebec Trophy at the Mont-Tremblant circuit saw not one but two Ogle entries. Apart from Donald Grey's 997cc car there was another Ogle, now with 998cc capacity and being entered and raced by a man named Sam Lapointe of Quebec. I remembered former Unipowerowner Carl Lapointe came from Quebec also, and asked if he knew more but he doesn't. And requests at the Canadian Vintage Auto Racing Association (VARA) and Canadian Motorsport Historical Society have led to nothing either - so far. 

Donald Grey of Toronto racing his Ogle SX1000 in Canada at Mosport Park in 1963...

Picture Sports Car Graphic, via Stephen Dalton/Neil Griffin

...The same car as the one bought in Toronto at around 1967 by Martin Golder?

Picture Martin Golder

Program for the Oak Cup race meeting at Mosport Park on 27 July 1963

Picture Racingsportscars.com

It shows the Ogle of Donald Grey of Toronto under number 90

Picture Racingsportscars.com

Player's Quebec Trophy at the Mont-Tremblant circuit on 13 September 1964

Picture Racingsportscars.com

Number 90 and 94 are Ogles here, raced by Don Grey and Sam Lapointe

Picture Racingsportscars.com

You choose: Heerey or Whitby?

A great number of Mini based cars has been sold in the last couple of months, I believe, and I can hardly keep up with the ones being offered for sale. But let's have a look at this duo, spotted by Maximum Mini readers recently as being offered for sale. First of them is a Heerey GTM of 1971 seen by reader Thomas at the Bingley Hall Mini meet of last weekend. It is powered by a rebuilt 1310 engine and comes with heated wind screen, roll cage and much more. If it has not been sold yet, I'm sure it will be soon with a £5,500 price. Let me know if you need the seller's contacts and I'll flash them over.

Perhaps quite the opposite, price wise and as vehicle too, is a Whitby Mini Warrior spotted by reader Nicolas Roy for sale in Nice, southern France. It's a great example of the species and according to the ad it comes with 1300 power, much-improved braking and cooling system, new tyres, removable Land Rover style hardtop and full registration. Price? €17,990... See the ad here. 

Thanks all for letting me know, and keep them coming!

Seen for sale at Bingley Hall last weekend: a 1971 Heerey 1-3 registered JTJ 774K

Picture Thomas

This GTM comes with extensive spec list and appears to be ready to be enjoyed

Picture Thomas

Rebuilt 1310 engine is said to deliver 55hp at the wheels, asking price £5,500

Picture Thomas

This is the only picture I had of it in the files and I can't remember where that came from

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Over to southern France, where this Whitby Mini Warrior is being offered for sale

Picture Leboncoin

Said to be just one of six survivors, but I wonder if that is true. It's a lovely car though

Picture Leboncoin

It spent the last 10 years with its last owner in Nice on French plates, or so it is believed

Picture Leboncoin

1300 engine, improved brakes and improved cooling system, says the ad

Picture Leboncoin

Neat and tidy. But it comes at a price: €17,990 seems very steep to me

Picture Leboncoin

A Canadian Ogle, and a chance meeting with Stirling Moss

Canada has a bit of an odd relation to the Ogle SX1000 with one of its distributors turning the British Ogle Mini into the Canadian Reptune GT (story here). But there were more Ogles in Canada and one of these was bought second-hand by Martin Golder. Golder was a great Mini enthusiast who owned and raced a number of them in the 1960s. He got in touch about the Ogle and wrote:

"I bought it from a used car lot in Toronto for $150 in a rough shape. The dealer had no clue what it was. This must have been at around 1967. It was still with the 'soup stirrer' shifter and the car was red when I bought it with the interior black with red piping. I think the seats were Microcell or something like that. As I said it was rough when I bought it and I redid the whole body and sprayed it with a Ford Mustang burgundy metal flake paint."

"At the time I worked at the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation-JB) in Toronto, which is where I met Stirling Moss. This was when he was on the board of Ogle and he was being interviewed for the CBC when he saw my Ogle in the parking lot and came to talk. We talked about his association with Ogle and a bit about mine."

Unfortunately Martin didn't know anything about the car's previous history and doesn't remember the chassis number. I might have found something on its past - more to follow on that soon. Martin: "I was just thinking about recreating the front bumpers when circumstances led to me selling it. I sold it after having it for a year or two. I kind of wish I had paid more attention way back and kept copies of the papers or indeed the car..."

Martin bought his Ogle SX1000 for $150 in a rough shape. "The dealer had no clue what it was"

Picture Martin Golder

It was red when he bought it but Martin repainted it in a Ford Mustang burgundy colour

Picture Martin Golder

Martin Golder with the Ogle he owned for about two years "I never raced or rallied the Ogle"

Picture courtesy Martin Golder

He did race several of Minis between 1962 and 1967 though. Here with two of them

Picture courtesy Martin Golder

In 2009 he was in the UK and saw this Ogle SX1000 at Goodwood. "That's me beside it and wondered if it was mine reimported to UK as the paint looked like the same..."

Picture courtesy Martin Golder

Car Graphic Classic - Mini variants and Maruyama interview

When there's something about Mini based cars in magazines, they find their way to here from wide and far and wether they are old or new.The latest issue of Car Graphic Classic from Japan did, as it happens to be a Mini special. I was lucky to contribute a piece, but what has to be much more interesting is an interview with Kazuo Maruyama, the caretaker of Mini Maruyama - Tokyo's Mini Valhalla. Apart from that Mister Maruyama is the owner of an incredible number of historically important Minis and Mini derivatives. There was no doubt he was the man to visit when I started writing about these cars and I did that in 2007 and 2008. However, this is the first time I've seen a full feature interview with the man, which was about time. Pity I can't read it, but I'm sure a translation will be possible these days. You can order the magazine here.

UPDATE 11 March: Translation now made and supplied by the article's author Yoshi Hayata. Thank you so much!

 

Car Graphic Classic is a beautiful magazine with this issue focussing on the Mini and its offspring

Picture Car Graphic / Jeroen Booij

Kazuo Maruyama may well be called Mister Mini derivative. He is interviewed in this issue

Picture Masayuki Arakawa / Jeroen Booij

Another North-American Marcos coming over soon

Colleague writer and Mini derivatives fan Iain Ayre will be moving soon from Vancouver, Canada to Scotland and will be doing a European tour, too. He wrote to me: "Hi Jeroen, hope all is well with you. I'm moving from Vancouver to Scotland fairly soon, and bringing my fleet of projects including the Mini Marcos. It's the NOS unbuilt 1974 complete kit with original seats, carpets, etc, with a fresh rebuilt 65bhp 1098cc engine on a Webber 40 DCOE, fresh gearbox too."

"I have a few quite valuable Mini bits collected over the years, such as original Cooper S brakes, Japanese racing wheels that weigh about 4lbs each, cranks, dashboards and so on. The car is left hand drive, currently registered in Canada in my name as a 1974 Marcos, and it will have a UK 1974 registration. I'll finish it and ship it, and then plan to visit you when I'm on a European tour with it. Part of my plan for it is slalom racing, cheap, safe and non-destructive. Usually a Mini Moke is unbeatable, but we'll see how a Marcos will perform. Cheers Iain."

Iain Ayre is moving from Canada to Scotland and will bring his unbuilt 1974 Marcos along

Picture Iain Ayre

Iain's friends Richard and Pete help to get on to a borrowed trailer for the first part of the move

Picture Iain Ayre

"It's a NOS unbuilt 1974 complete kit painted in a nice rich Mercedes SLK yellow"

Picture Iain Ayre

"I've decided to build it absolutely stock as designed. Even the carpet is brand new 1974" 

Picture Iain Ayre

Engine uses bottom end of an 1100cc Austin America with added Cooper head and cheerful colours

Picture Iain Ayre

The Mk4 car is now on Vancouver Island in a friend's workshop but will be shipped to the UK soon

Picture Iain Ayre