Now in Maximum Mini Newsletter #113

Stirling Moss and the Ogle he never owned

Gitane GT - now we really now what happened to it

Now in Maximum Mini Newsletter #98

Biota newsflashes

Update: Mini Marcos at the Nurburgring

Coldwell in colour - at Shelsley Walsh

Now in Maximum Mini Newsletter #95

Getting ready for Poland 2026: 3 men, 3 project cars

Coldwell GT in its earliest stage

Happy Halloween 2025!

Now in Maximum Mini Newsletter #85

Everyone loves the Mini Marcos: here Lyn Marsh and Chris Marsh

Simon Goodliff drove it up the hill at Prescott

Marcos racer Cor Euser behind the wheel at Snetterton

Classic & Sports Car's Tony Baker taking photos at airfield

Now in Maximum Mini Newsletter #76

 

2025 Season has kicked off - this is what happened in May

Unique one-off Mini based single seater for sale

Fisher Spyder looses all oil at Doune hillclimb

 

Now in Maximum Mini Newsletter #62

Film footage of Gitane GT in action found

Le Mans Mini Marcos: engine turned pattern dashpots

Deep Sanderson 301 for sale again

Now in Maximum Mini Newsletter #53

 

Supercharged 997 Spenceley Special is rather special

Last events of the year in pictures

Broadspeed GTS raced in Adelaide Rally - plus replica in the making

Now in Maximum Mini Newsletter #24

Restored Méan Sonora BMC spectacularly presented

Events: from Blyton Park to Shelshley Walsh

New film footage of MoBi-One found

A McCoy (and Mini Jem) in France

I was surprised to learn of a McCoy in The Netherlands last month (click here), but it's not the only example of the species outside of the UK. Raynald Claudine has one in Brittany, France and recently took part in the car in the Florio Cup in it; a local hill climb in Saint-Brieuc. The newspaper Ouest-France wrote the following: "For almost forty years, Raynald Claudine has been passionate about the original Austin Mini, even to the point of setting up a veritable museum to its glory. During the Coupe Florio, which will be held from September 9 to 11, 2022 in Saint-Brieuc (Côtes-d'Armor), it will be possible to admire his latest acquisition: a car produced in only 83 copies and unique in France."

The McCoy wasn't the only Mini variant entered in the Coupe Florio as there was a Mk3 Mini Jem on Luxembourg plates also. I don't know how the cars did in the hill climb, but I understand both of them finished.

 

Raynard Claudine in his Brittany workshop with his McCoy GT

Picture Ouest-France 

The Mini based McCoy was born out of the Imp based Clan Crusader

Picture Marie-Paul Claudine

Rubbing shoulders with another Mini variant in Saint-Brieuc: a Mini Jem

Picture Marie-Paul Claudine

This is a Mk3 car on Luxembourg plates

Picture Marie-Paul Claudine

Notas at Grafton hill climb

It's the 70th anniversary of Nota Cars this year and I understand quite a few of them will make it to the Grafton historic hill climb this weekend, among them several Nota Fangs. It would be great to see pictures of them, so if you happen to be around and have your camera ready - do feel free to share them. Enjoy the weekend folks.

John Seymour enjoying his Nota Fang

Picture Craig Watson

Biota at 50 - return to Harewood hill climb

50 Years after a Biota won the BARC hill climb championship in 1972, Maximum Mini-fan Tim Harber went there again to reunite his car with then-winner Chris Seaman and have a go up the hill himself. He wrote:

"Hi Jeroen A bit about my little escapade to Harewood: 'All-time low-key motor sport celebration dept.!' Got a quicker engine in the Biota, got all the wheels pointing vaguely towards the front, put on some sticky rubber on its original 6 inch Mambas and tested it at Blyton and all seemed set for a good showing for the 50th Anniversary of Chris Seaman’s BARC hillclimb championship victory."

"Sadly all the other 'masses' of Biotas that I know of personally (3) weren’t able to attend the Harewood Classic meeting. Robert Scott’s one expired at Blyton and all the overseas ones couldn’t make it so Chris Seaman and I had a solitary celebration – you can see in the pictures of me and him we weren’t exactly thronged, but hey ho – a 1972 victory is a victory and I can’t think any other Mini-based kit car has actually won something major (15th at Le Mans is posh but…). Can you?" Er... I'll have a think about that, suggestions welcome!

"The car played up on the day so I wasn’t able to win (my excuse) but at least I stayed on the track and didn’t roll it! It’s still on its 50 year-old rear shocks and springs which means that it squirms about a bit too much on acceleration and you can see it a bit in the video (not as much as the V8 MGB!) so more things to be done… At least I was parked next to a Davrian which for once made my plastic one look relatively glamorous. Thankfully my mate Stuart was there to do the video and take some stills. Tim" 

Well, Tim's messages always put a smile on my face and this one is no exception! To thanks again Tim for all this and do continue to fly the Biota-flag. There were two more Mini based sports cars tackling the hill and they can be seen in the video footage, which I have added below. Go to 0:57 for Tim's Biota in action; to 2:36 for Allan Scott in a Mk3 Mini Jem and to 3:53 for David Smith in a Mk4 Mini Marcos.

Tim at Harewood hill. "The car played up on the day so I wasn’t able to win (my excuse) but at least I stayed on the track and didn’t roll it!"

Picture courtesy Tim Harber

"Got a quicker engine in the Biota, got all the wheels pointing vaguely towards the front, put on some sticky rubber and all seemed set for a good showing"

Picture courtesy Tim Harber

Tim and Biota ex-works driver Chris Seaman (right) looking for the car's Mini engine

Picture courtesy Tim Harber

The winners of the 1972 BARC hill climbing championship having a laugh. 

Chris Seaman and the works-Biota in the centre

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Chris Seaman with the trophy! Does he still have it, I wondered..?

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

It just asked for a little re-enactment, and there you go. Well done boys!

Picture courtesy Tim Harber

And moving images! Go to 0:57 for Tim's Biota; 2:36 for Mini Jem and 3:53 for Mini Marcos

Video courtesy Tim Harber

Unipower GT returns to Prescott Hill

The Unipower GT restored by Howard Darby and Bob Neville made it to the Prescott Hill climb last weekend. And interestingly, the very same car had a go there back in 1991. The official records mention that it was then entered in Class 6 for Sports Libre Cars of 1300- to 1600cc and driven by Arni Wookey and Chris Gow.

I contacted Chris Gow about it and he wrote: "It was never hillclimbed extensively as that was its one and only event. It didn't run well. Upon investigation the head gasket had blown."

Now that the car has been fully restored, Howard Darby had a good weekend with it and added: "We did five runs up the hill including two practice runs. Revs were limited to 6000 rpm so we weren't expecting a fast time. The 1991 best time was 64.91 and our lowest time now was 63 seconds. Peter Clark, the driver, reported that the handling was good." Thanks chaps!

The Unipower at Prescott Hill on Sunday April 14th 1991 

Picture via Pete Flanagan 

And the same car at the same place last weekend

Picture Howard Darby

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