Easter racing through the 1960s

What to do in the long Easter weekend? Well, there was a time when you simply took your Mini based sports car, drove it to the racing track nearby, changed the tyres on the spot and gave it some good trashing during one of numerous Easter races organized. See a selection of photographs below. 

Have a good Easter!

Easter 1964, Bob Henderson in his Minnow GT at the Brands Hatch circuit

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Easter 1964 also, Chris Lawrence in the Deep Sanderson 105 at Mallory Park

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Easter 1967, Brian Foley behind the wheel of the Aussie Broadspeed GTS

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Easter 1968, Peter Garrad's girlfriend in the Buckle Monaco LMS at Hume Weir

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Easter 1972, Michael Gill in the Minilan at Bushy Park on Barbados

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Another Carimoke to be restored on Barbados

Not long after the overseas adventures of Scamp-boss Andrew MacLean made it to print in January (more here), I received a message from Barbados of Charles Fuller Cowles, who's restoring one of the cars made by MacLean on the island. Well, actually this turned out to be a slightly later car using not Mini but Suzuki power, but it was nice to see it anyway (here).

Over to the next one then. Terrell Inniss contacted me last week: "Hi, I recently bought a Carimoke and while Google searching I found your blog posts. I live in Barbados and would love to talk to anyone here involved in its making. The engine is seized and I'm looking into the restoration with an engine swap. Any info or contacts would be greatly appreciated. Attached are some photos of the car in the restoration process Regards Terrell."

I have flashed over a few contacts, but anyone wanting to get in touch with him, too, just drop me a line.

Evolution Cars Carimoke owned by Terrell Inniss is being restored at the moment

Picture Terrell Inniss

The Carimoke is a Jimini made under licence on Barbados under Graham and Andrea Reeves-Law

Picture Terrell Inniss

And unlike last month's car, this one has the 998 cc Mini engine under its bonnet

Picture Terrell Inniss

Owner Terrell Inniss has taken it out yet as the car will be fully restored

Picture Terrell Inniss

Subframes are out, too. Front one seen here could do with a refresh 

Picture Terrell Inniss

Barbados Carimoke owners needs help

Shortly after the article about Andrew MacLean's far flung adventures of building Mini-based cars overseas got published (more here), I received a message from Barbados. Charles Fuller Cowles owns one of the 'Carimoke' Jiminis built there under MacLean's supervision. He wrote: 

"Hi Jeroen, Hope all is well with you in this difficult times. Hopefully I can get a little help in finding the parts I need for the Carimoke. Currently we need a carburetor. Original parts are made by Evolution cars. Any help on where to get parts? we have not been able to find correct engine numbers, so any help or leads would be great. Hope your are well in these odd times Keith."

Naturally, Andrew was the first man I thought of but unfortunately he couldn't help and so I passed Keith over to MiniSpares North, which has been of great help for me before. But somebody here may be closer to Keith on Barbados and may be able to help also?

UPDATE 4 February 2021: Reader Dennis van Eck recognizes the engine as a Maruti! And so does Andrew MacLean: "I thought it looked a bit different! That's a Suzuki Maruti based CariMoke! From the new moulds made in Barbados. Nothing Mini based there, apart from the styling. Note the 13" wheels and much taller windscreen. And the dead giveaway Evolution Cars nameplate on the Suzuki engine? The Maruti is manufactured in India. I think an internet search might find parts for it... Also... The Mini based CariMoke used the earlier A-Series power units of 998cc designated 'ULG' (UnLeaded Green) low compression also known as 'pre' A+. The units were sourced from Powertrain Products, a subsidiary of Unipart, at the time and were very old NOS!" 

Evolution Cars Carimoke was a version of the Jimini built on Barbados

Picture Charles Fuller Cowles

Keith owns one on the island but misses a few parts to get it running again

Picture Charles Fuller Cowles

Evolution Cars was set up by Graham and Andrea Reeves-Law in 1995

Picture Charles Fuller Cowles

The Carimokes used 998 Pre-A-series engines originally destined for the Mini Cord of Venezuela

UPDATE: But this one doesn't - see above

Picture Charles Fuller Cowles

It's unknown to me how many Carimokes were made. This looks to be number 12, built in 1998?

Picture Charles Fuller Cowles

The adventures of a happy Scamper

Over the years I spoke to many people involved in Mini based cars, but had strangely never got in touch with Scamp boss Andrew MacLean. This while the Scamp has been in production since 1969, of which the last four decades or so under MacLean's wings. So it was about time to catch up. It finally happened last year when traveling wasn't that difficult yet. And I wasn't disappointed. Andrew invited me for a full day at the Scamp headquarters and workshops in Surrey, interviewing the man, driving his works demo and with full access to the Scamp files also.

It was a lovely day with Andrew being such a fantastic storyteller also. Did you know he built Scamps in Nigeria and Jamaica as well as Jiminis on Barbados, where they were called the Evolution CariMoke? His stories were both fascinating as well as hilarious and sometimes unbelievable. Complete Kit Car magazines had such an interest in these tales that the editor decided to publish the interview in two installments. First about the history and MacLean's involvement in the Scamp Motor company (which came out last summer); the second about his adventures overseas. That has just come out now and can be found in magazine stores or here now. I'm sure you'll like it.

Andrew MacLean in an RTV that is undergoing full restoration at the Scamp works

Picture Jeroen Booij

A brand new galvanized steel Scamp chassis, ready to go to the customer

Picture Jeroen Booij

Andrew welding up another new Scamp chassis. He's built hundreds of them

Picture Jeroen Booij

This machine has been used to make all the body panels of all the Scamps since 1969!

Picture Jeroen Booij

Production abroad started in Nigeria where MacLean got to work under Chief Doctor M.O. Akinrele

Picture Jeroen Booij archive courtesy Andrew MacLean

 

Next overseas adventure was building the Scamp in Jamaica, which proved to be a real disaster

Picture Jeroen Booij archive courtesy Andrew MacLean

MacLean tried it once more by building Jiminis on the isle of Barbados: 'Lovely'

Picture Jeroen Booij archive courtesy Andrew MacLean

The Minilan of Barbados does survive

The power of the internet! Yesterday's question was: could the Minilan of Barbados survive? Well, today's answer is: yes! Although without it's Mini 1275 cc powertrain and other mechanicals, the car's body is indeed still owned by Michael Gill's son Alexander who still keeps it on the island of Barbados, and plans a restoration, too. Thanks to everyone for letting me know!

An early 1970s picture of Michael Gill in the Minilan at a BRC tarmac hill climb in Barbados

Picture Motor Sport Caribbean History

And here Gill is seen at the 1972 Easter Race Meet at Bushy Park Race Track in Barbados

Picture Motor Sport Caribbean History

This is the car as it sits today in Alexander Gill's garage, or at least it's body

Picture Alexander Gill

Does the Minilan of Barbados survive?

I have heard several rumours about the survival of the Minilan, a racing Special built and raced and hill climbed on the island of Barbados in the early 1970s by Michael Gill. But I have never seen any evidence. When somebody asked me about the car recently I found back an old email message from Paul Ogle. He wrote: "Hi Jeroen. Have you ever come acros the 'Minilan'? I have attached the pictures of pictures that were on the wall in a museum. This is in Barbados and its called the Mallalieu collection. I'm fairly sure the pictures are from the Barbados annual motor rally back in the 1960s. The caption under the picture if you zoom in describes it as 'the famous Minilan'. Have you already found this car?"

Well, I haven't! I know Gill raced the car at the Bushy Park and Chancelylane swamp track and used parts of the body of a Lotus Elan, hence the name. It used a 1293cc Mini engine and is said to have been very competitive. The Barbados Rally Club wrote: “His finest hour to date came at Bushy Park; driving the Minilan, he set the pace at the opening race meet on Independence Day 1971: the only driver to win all three races in his Group, he was the circuit’s first Champion Driver and its first outright lap record-holder.” I was told the Gill family still owns it. True?

UPDATE 26 March 2020: It does indeed survive! More here.

A picture of the Minilan in action, as seen inthe Mallalieu Motor Collection on Barbados

Picture Mallalieu Motor Collection, via Paul Ogle

The car was entered in a number of events at Barbados by Michael Gill. Is it still there?

Picture Mallalieu Motor Collection, via Paul Ogle

It would definitely suit the Mallalieu Motor Collection on the island?

Picture Paul Ogle

CariMoke instigator speaks

A message from the horse's mouth, or so to speak. Scamp builder Andrew MacLean, who took over the Jimini project in the 1990s, let me know he was behind the Barbados built CariMoke also, indeed a Jimini made under a licence as mentioned here last week (click!). He wrote:

"The old white Carimoke, no 29, is Mini based, one of about 30 manufactured, under licence from me, by Evolution cars in Barbados, but the others in the photos are Suzuki based! Sadly the new set of moulds I supplied (subcontracted to Fi-glass of Edenbridge) for the Mini based Jimini / Carimoke, developed osmosis as the moisture content leached out by the heat of the Barbadian summer. New moulds were taken off one of my UK supplied bodyshell and altered to accept Suzuki Maruti running gear as can be clearly seen in the photos. Quite a lengthy story deserving much more than the comments in Maximum Mini 2 that I took over Jimini production to kill it off!"

"The Reeves-Law family paid the Scamp Factory a visit in 1995 with a view to buying a Scamp Mk3 manufacturing franchise to take with them to Barbados, at the time I had an early 'Highlander' Jimini as well as Dave Cameron's immaculate metallic blue demonstrator and several freshly produced white GRP body tubs. They liked the slightly more curvaceous Jimini and there and then agreed a deal. I had already made many strengthening improvements to seats and seat belt mountings, with an eye on SVA specifications, spending a fortune. It was assessed by my late friend Dr George Reid from STATUS with praise. The 1990's were busy years with other Scamp manufacturing franchise sold to Jamaica and ....Nigeria. .. I look forward to your visit, it's the 50th birthday of the Scamp this year! It is quite a story. ..I'm responsible for over 400 Mini based kits....so far!"

Thank you Andrew, that does clear up things!

The old white CariMoke no. 29 - one of about 30 made by Evolution Cars of Barbados

Picture via Henk van Brakel

And another. It was a Jimini built under a licence. The initial plan was to build the Scamp

Picture P. Braun / Flickr, via Henk van Brakel 

Later CariMokes, however, used Suzuki power and were manufactured from a different mould, too

Picture P. Braun / Flickr, via Henk van Brakel

Several CariMokes are believed to survive on the island of Barbados

Picture via Henk van Brakel

CariMoke: the Jimini of Barbados

Did I know about a Moke copy from Barbados called the CariMoke? Reader Henk van Brakel asked me this and I had to admit I'd never heard of it. But I when I had a look at the pictures that Henk attached it seemed clear to me that this was a Jimini 2 with another name. Or was it? A closer look to the photographs of the car being built by a company named Evolution Cars showed that the bodies were actually made there, too. So a different car after all, not even assembled locally but scratch-built or so it seems. Still probably a Jimini 2 built under a licence? The factory pictures are made by P. Braun in 1998 on the island of Barbados. I would love to find out a little more about these cars.
They do remind me of that other Caribbean built Moke interpretation, seen previously here and here...

A Jimini 2 on Barbados. But actually it is a Evolution Cars CariMoke, built locally

Picture P. Braun / Flickr, via Henk van Brakel

Freshly laminated bodies ready to receive their mechanicals on Barbados in 1998

Picture P. Braun / Flickr, via Henk van Brakel

Mini engines and front suspensions in their subframes ready to go in in Evolution Cars' factory

Update: Hang on, they aren't Mini mechanicals! What are they, and were these used for the CariMoke or did that come with Mini engines after all?

Picture P. Braun / Flickr, via Henk van Brakel

Evolution Cars of Barbados appeared to fully produce these cars, probably under a licence?

Picture P. Braun / Flickr, via Henk van Brakel

Moulds seem to suggest that even the bodies were made locally on the island of Barbados

Picture P. Braun / Flickr, via Henk van Brakel

The finished product: the CariMoke is different in detail to the Jimini 2. Note tall windscreen

Picture P. Braun / Flickr, via Henk van Brakel

This CariMoke uses the same grille shape and simple front bumper as a Jimini. Other (later?) cars appear to have an oval shaped grille and moulded bumpers, as well as a different windscreen (above)

Picture via Henk van Brakel

Chassis plate shows Evolution Cars Ltd. Chassis number 10029 suggests at least 29 cars were made

Picture via Henk van Brakel

More Minilan pictures emerge

Remember the Minilan? A Caribbean built racing special based on Mini mechanicals but with the looks of Lotus' Elan (hence Mini-Elan). It was raced on Babados in the early 1970s by Michael Gill and I wrote about it before (click here). Now, four more pictures of the car in its heydays have emerged from the archives of the Barbados Rally Club and I thought you might like to see them here, too. The best bit is that I understand the car is still alive and well with the Gill family on the island, although it's missing an engine at the moment. To be continued.

The Minilan in action. This is either at Bushy Park or Chancelylane swamp track

Picture courtesy Barbados Rally Club

Early '70s Caribbean pit scene: Michael Gill's special attracts plenty of attention

Picture courtesy Barbados Rally Club

The Minilan, a cross between Lotus Elan and Mini racer, survives on Babados

Picture courtesy Barbados Rally Club

1293cc Minilan ahead of Mini, Anglia, NSU and VW special on start grid 

Picture courtesy Barbados Rally Club

Caribbean connection: Barbados specials

Let's stay in the Caribbean for another while after yesterdays treat (click here). Why not? The weather is nice, the atmosphere relaxing, the seafood fresh, and yet there are some more Mini derivatives. Yes, some 80 sea miles eastwards from Petit St. Vincent we arrive at the shores of Barbados. Several Terrapins were built here after Allan Staniforth paid a visit to the island, and I will write more about these soon.

But what I also found is that a local chap named Michael Gill used to race and hill climb two Mini based specials back in the early 1970s here. The first was an open top sports car named 'Minilan' that used a 1293cc engine. I now quote from the Barbados Rally Club's web site: "His finest hour to date came at Bushy Park; driving the Minilan, he set the pace at the opening race meet on Independence Day 1971: the only driver to win all three races in his Group, he was the circuit’s first Champion Driver and its first outright lap record-holder. And it was there that Gill’s other talent would be best displayed, as designer and constructor of some remarkable racing machines. In 1972, there was the spaceframe Fort Royal Special (later 'Royal Bank Special'), Mini-based, with components including the front suspension from Irishman Alec Poole’s Mini, which had competed at Turners Hall the previous November. This proved completely reliable until the Players No 6 International in November, where it non-started". Gill stopped racing in the late 1990s but appears to be still active in the Barbados racing scene. I bet he has some more good stories to tell.

UPDATE 20 september 2013: More pictures of the Minilan are found. Click here.

Michael Gill behind the wheel of the Minilan special he designed and built

Picture courtesy www.barbadosrallyclub.com

Gill and his Minilan did well at Bushy Park, a dirt track constructed at an old plantation

Picture courtesy www.barbadosrallyclub.com

The Minilan at the start grid behind a VW special that was named 'Foolishness'!

Picture courtesy www.barbadosrallyclub.com

The lack of a proper body suggests that Gill's second Mini racer was inspired by it!

Picture courtesy www.barbadosrallyclub.com

'Royal Bank Special' used spaceframe, much modified suspension and ultra wide wheels

Picture courtesy www.barbadosrallyclub.com