Now in Maximum Mini Newsletter #132

Le Mans Mini Marcos - at the 1967 London Racing Car Show

One-off Méan Sonora spotted at Spa

An unbuilt Kingfisher Sprint is unearthed

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

Maximum Mini - Find of the Decade

2020 has been a remarkable year so far. And not just for virus-reasons, but also for finding back forlorn Mini based cars. Up until now more remarkable cars have made it to the finds list on here then ever before, with a few more stories of discoveries coming up soon. As tradition dictates we'll have the now-established 'Find of the Year' election here in December. 

But how about the last decade? Many more Mini derivatives were found through the years, and I thought it would be nice to list the 'Find of the Year' winners of the last 10 years here again. What's more: which one do you consider to be the best out of these? In other words: what will be the Maximum Mini Find of the Decade? You decide. Send your answers below in the comments, or reach me through any other way you like. 

UPDATE 2 January 2021: It's official - the Le Mans Mini Marcos is the Maximum Mini Find of the Decade. Thanks to all who brought in their vote.

2010 - The Beach Car prototype found in a Greece scrapyard. More here

2011 - The unspoilt Cox GTM found in a Cheshire garage. More here 

2012 - The mystery Maya GT found in a Kent garden. More here

2013 - The Mini Jaba found in a Spanish scrapyard. More here

2014 - The Mean Sonora BMC found in a Belgian garden. More here

2015 - The Landar R7 found in a lock-up in Germany. More here

2016 - The 1966 Le Mans Mini Marcos found in Portugal. More here

2017 - Dame Margot Fonteyn's coachbuilt Mini found in the UK. More here

2018 - The Peel Viking 'Dutch demonstrator' in a German barn. More here

2019 - Project X found in an Australian lock-up. More here

Méan Sonora: when a restoration becomes a recreation

Méan Sonora restorer Louis Lempereur got in touch for an update on his Mini powered and one-off Sonora and he certainly doesn't take half measures. He wrote: "Dear Jeroen, some updates about the reconstruction of the Méan Sonora Mini. First, thank you for having selected the Méan Mini for the 'Find of the Year' competition (I haven't - you, readers, have!). I was pleased to win it, also thanks from the friends of the Méan Group here and of many other supporters. It gives me much energy to go ahead with the reconstruction. This is more a reconstruction than a restoration! We use the old chassis as a mirror for the new one while most of the parts I dismount are in a bad shape and just a few can be restored, most of them will need replacement."

"The Mini subframe is just one of them, as it was damaged and badly repaired. It was probably so when the car was built back in 1969! We will now work on the suspension, bearings, brakes, steering… Hoping to mount the wheels and have a rolling chassis soon, but there will be much more to be done! As it was impossible to get the wheelbase from the Méan documents, we assembled the body to measure it. Surprise! The left hand door turned out to be 3cms longer than the right hand door and the front hood was mounted tilted! So we had to improvise again and decided to move the Mini subframe 2cms to the back. At least, the suspension is now straight. Another major change was to set the Mini subframe 35mm higher in the chassis. With shorter springs, this will allow the car to be lower on its wheels. The picture of the original car shows it was very high ! This was due to the subframe being too low, and the transmission axles touching it!"

"Of course, I will keep you informed. Thanks again for all, and for your interesting mails about Mini derivatives. Louis" It seems to me that the car couldn't have ended up in better hands and I look much forwards to seeing the car in the flesh. I say Blyton park 2016!

The chassis was in very bad shape and so it was decided to build a new one and keep the original

Picture courtesy Louis Lempereur

The subframe was mounted tilted and was twisted. Remember the donor Mini came from a scrapyard!

Picture courtesy Louis Lempereur

Just one among many surprises: the car came with three 5.5" and one 4.5" wheels!

Picture courtesy Louis Lempereur

To measure the wheelbase the body needed fitting. It turned out the left door was much longer

Picture courtesy Louis Lempereur

Relocated subframe and altered chassis means shorter springs, too...

Picture courtesy Louis Lempereur

...But then, the suspension is totally straight now!

Picture courtesy Louis Lempereur

The new chassis, made in a purpose-built jig looks very light - and strong

Picture courtesy Louis Lempereur

And here the central part of the chassis is now also finished. So far, so good...

Picture courtesy Louis Lempereur

2015 is here and we have two winners

Happy new year!

Let's start 2015 with the announcement of the 'Best Find of 2014'.
You voted for the Mini engined Méan Sonora, which resurfaced last year in a Belgian garden. The car is currently under restoration by Louis Lempereur who is very happy with the results of the poll. 57% of the 131 voters chose his car as the Find of the Year. Louis wrote: "That is good news! The Méan friends here in Liège will also be very happy! I am busy now and my son who helps me with the project is currently in China, so there is not too much time for the Méan currently… But I promise to send you some info and pictures within 2 or 3 weeks. Thanks again for your support!" Looking much forwards to that, of course.

The Méan 'BMC Mini' Sonora when it was brand new back in 1967

Picture Maximum Mini archive

Meanwhile, we have another winner here, as I have had a good look at the answers that came in for the Christmas Puzzle. Only 4 of you decided to give it a go and among them Paul Wylde, once more, was the one with most right answers! Paul, let me know if you want another Maximum Mini 2 book, or somethings else. Of the 50 questions Paul gave 11 fault answers. Runner-up was Dean Renwick, who had 15 faults, but to my surprise he answered the more difficult questions perfectly right and made mistakes with the (in my opinion) easy ones! Arunas Racelis made 20 faults and Mikael Pettersson 21. All the right answers are listed below.


1. Which comical 1970 film featured a Unipower GT?
'Crimen Imperfecto'

2. In which television series a Siva Buggy was used frequently?
'The Perishers'

3. What 1968 James Bond parody featured a Mini Moke based vehicle?
'Salt & Pepper'

4. Which television series used not one but two Stimson Mini Bugs?
'The Freewheelers'

5. The 1964 movie ‘Beach Blanket Bingo’ features which Mini based one-off?
(Ed Roth's) Surfite

6. What kind of equipment was once fitted to the Nimbus Don Parker Special’s engine?
A Wade supercharger

7. What carburettor(s) ran the Deep Sanderson 301 at Le Mans in 1964?
A 45DCOE Weber

8. What is the main (technical) difference between the Cox GTM and Heerey GTM?
The subframe holding the Mini engine made place for a space frame

9. What special cylinder head is fitted to the Fisher Spider?
An Arden 8-port head

10. What was unusual about the chassis construction of the Sekura Mini?
It was made of steel profiling for the tractor industry, allowing super-slim pillars with no welding

11. What was the price that a Beach car fetched last August at an auction in California?
$165,000 ($181,500 with the auction fee on top of it)

12. What was the original selling price for the MiniSprint Traveller?
£750

13. What was the base price of the ‘Hustler in Wood’ in 1980?
£595

14. What was the price that Peter Sellers supposedly paid for his coachbuilt Hooper Mini?
£2600

15. What was the base price of the Wildgoose conversion on an existing Mini Van?
£425

16. What was the nickname of the Le Mans Mini Marcos in 1966?
'La Puce Bleue' (the blue flee)

17. The Unipower GT initially had another name. What was that name?
Hustler GT

18. What was the nickname of the original Deep Sanderson prototype?
Perfume Delivery Wagon

19. The Roamer was built under at least two more names. Which ones?
Arrividerci Winchester and Moons Moke

20. What was the name of the Dutch-built Stimson Mini Bug?
Barclay Mini Bug

21. Which British newspaper gave away a Broadspeed GT in a very easy contest?
The Daily Express

22. The only British-built Nota Fang does not survive. What happened to it?
A Friesian bull decided to sit on it!

23. What was the only colour available for the Status 365 and why?
Yellow - it was the cheapest ready mixed (marine) gelcoat that the makers could get

24. Which famous Italian designer offered a coachbuilt version of the Mini saloon in 1966?
Bertone (the Bertone Mini Minor VIP)

25. Which other Mini based vehicle was designed by Scamp instigator Robert Mandry?
The RTV (Rough Terrain Vehicle)

26. What happened to the roof moulds of the Ecurie de Dez?
They were destroyed by Des Higgins himself, who soon regretted doing so!

27. The Gecko was developed by a one-model specialist? What model did they specialize in?
The VW Beetle

28. Before the Butterfield Musketeer, Richard Butterfield (re)designed which car?
A Triumph TR3 named 'Mulsanne'

29. The Fletcher GT features a redesigned Ogle rear with light clusters of which car?
The Austin 1800

30. In which Mini derivative was the Minister for Interior of Uganda supposedly interested?
The ASD Hobo

31. In what kind of premises was the Lightspeed Magenta built?
In a former British Railways goods shed

32. In what kind of premises was the mould of the Taylorspeed MiniJem made?
In a surfboard factory

33. In what kind of premises was the Ranger Cub built?
In a former Cinema theatre (which was supposedly haunted...)

34. In what kind of premises was the Libra Magnum built?
In a barn next to the house of Trevor Foxen's mother

35. In what kind of premises was the first AF Spider built?
In Alexander Fraser's kitchen

36. How many records did Allan Staniforth set with his original Terrapin in October 1968?
9

37. How many records that the TransXL Mini Marcos broke stand to this day?
4

38. Which Mini derivative amassed 10 sidecar records in one year?
Owen Greenwood's Mini 'sidecar'

39. Which 3-wheeler is said to have driven round Malory Park at under the lap record?
The ABC Tricar

40. Which car set a record at Bathurst, Australia, when it was clocked at 127.8 mph?
The Broadspeed GTS by Brian Foley

41. How many inches shorter than a standard Mini saloon was the Gordon Mini?
14.6 inches

42. How many Mini powered Davrians were officially built?
10 (5 Mk7s and 5 Mk8s)

43. How many years did it take Robert Lawther to build the Lawther GT?
5 years

44. What is the number of Camber GTs and Maya GTs tracked down for this blog?
10 (5 of each)

45. What was the capacity in ccs of the Kingfisher Sprint's engine in Turbosport guise?
1480cc

46. How many Ogle SX1000s were built?
69

47. How many Codford Minis were built?
3

48. How many Foers Nomads were built by John Foers?
164

49. What is the kerb weight in kgs of the Hrubon Phaeton?
220kgs

50. What was the age of Desmond ‘Dizzy’ Addicot when he passed away in 2005?
83 years

The tale of the Mini powered Méan Sonora (3)

Some two years ago I tried to find out the whereabouts of a Mini powered Méan Sonora, built in an old Belgian castle. Despite ending up for a closed door when visiting the actual place, I found out something. I published the car's story in two articles - read part 1 here, part 2 here. But the question remained: What happened to the car. I wrote: "Perhaps somebody here will be able to tell?"

Now, we're almost two years ahead but that somebody has finally called in. It's Louis Lempereur who knew of the car for many years but only just managed to rescue it. He wrote the third part of a fascinating story and I am privileged to share it with you. This is what he wrote:

"I was born in Liège, Belgium in 1946 and when student, used to meet Jacques d'Heur, founder of Méan, in cafés downtown. Elie Boone, a friend from Brussels, owned a Méan Sonora since 1984. The car was waiting restoration in his garage. Having known Jacques, I was interested to buy this car, but despite several requests, Elie did not want to sell it. But at our early meeting last january, surprisingly, he told me the car was available. And so, we made the deal."

The car as it was in 1984, Here in Elie Boone's garden

Picture courtesy Louis Lempereur

This picture also dates back to 1984. The Mini engine is just visible

Picture courtesy Louis Lempereur

"This car had a Mini engine while most Sonoras were built with Cortina or Renault engines. I did not know about any Méan with a Mini engine and so I attempted some research on the internet and found the Maximum Mini reports. I could not believe what I was reading! Promising a special car for a show and forgetting about it, then building one in five days, the story is so typical for Jacques!"

"While looking more carefully at the pictures from the Maximum Mini site and those I got from Elie, I could say the car from the site is the one I found. The tyres are the same, also the steering wheel, the little radiator (not from a Mini ) next to the engine… The car sits very high on its wheels because the gearbox linkage runs, unprotected, under the chassis. Some parts of the body still have the original silver colour. It was really nice to see pictures from my car when it was new at the Méan 'factory'!" Thanks to the Maximum Mini report, I also learned about Daniel Dodeur, who I knew before as we ran the 2CV 24H race at Spa together in 2007. He now runs the Méan register. See their web site for more info here"

"When the car arrived home, I could see the very bad state it was in. The chassis was completely rotten and needed replacement. While searching for a local company to rebuild it, I met with several people who had worked with Jacques while they were young. Always a happy experience! Some of them worked as students during their holidays and were not really qualified for the job, which explains some of the bad workmanship. While cleaning the Mini subframe I found it was badly repaired probably because the donor Mini purchased in the scrap yard was damaged! The subframe is also mounted tilted in the chassis - for some specific reason or due to emergency?"

The Mini powered Méan Sonora as Louis bought it earlier this year - all complete...

Picture courtesy Louis Lempereur

… but chassis is well-rotten and needs lots of work. The right men have been found now

Picture courtesy Louis Lempereur

Welding appears to have been done in a hurry - well, the car was built in 5 days...

Picture courtesy Louis Lempereur

The interior seems surprisingly well kept and original - note Mini key fob!

Picture courtesy Louis Lempereur

The Méan's full reconstruction has now started - this is just prior to taking it apart

Picture courtesy Louis Lempereur

"Searching for good parts, I ended up having dismounted the car completely. I am now heading for a complete reconstruction. On the Mean website, there is a picture of a Sonora taken in Monaco. My target is to go there with my car and take the same picture. But that will be another story!" Keep us posted Louis, you are a star contender for Find of the Year!

Picture of Méan Sonora in Monaco has inspired Louis to go there once finished

Picture courtesy Mean Motor Engineering

What a spot! Taken during the Monaco Grand Prix of - we think - 1969

Picture courtesy  Mean Motor Engineering

The tale of the Mini powered Méan Sonora (2)

Last week I have been trying to trigger you with a story about the Mini powered Méan Sonora (click here) - here's the unveiling of that cliff hanger. It actually comes from Jean-Pierre Jacques and Daniel Dodeur of l'Amicale Méan Motor Engineering who found out the history behind the Méan Sonora BMC Mini. They wrote: "In 1967 the organizers of the Copenhagen motor show asked Jacques d'Heur to build and display a car that was powered by a Mini engine. Monsieur d'Heur liked the idea and promised them to do so but totally forgot, being busy building other cars. Some months later, in the mid of winter and with 12 inches of snow on the ground, a lorry entered the Méan castle grounds to pick up the finished car. Jacques d'Heur suddenly remembered about the deal he'd made, but only had an unfinished Sonora and nothing like a donor Mini to complete it."

"He acts quickly, though, and phones up all the local scrap yards to ask if they have something suitable for him. Over 40 miles ahead a Mini 850 with good running gear is located and is picked up that same day. Just five days later the Méan BMC Mini is finished and ready to be transported to the motor show in Denmark. Another three months later the car returns from Copenhagen and that's when these pictures were taken, at the castle grounds. To this day it remains unknown what happened to the car. It is also unsure if any other Mini powered Méan Sonoras were built." Perhaps somebody here will be able to tell? I am also interested in the show, could that have been the 1967 Racing Car Show that took place in Copenhagen? With some avid readers from Denmark here, I'm sure we may be able to unearth some pictures of the venue. Peter Camping, who instigated the chaps from l'Amicale Méan, also continues to research the Mini powered Méan, so there's nothing that can stop us, I would say.

UPDATE 19 August 2014: We got 'm! Click here

The Mini based Méan Sonora on the lawn of its birthplace in Belgium 

It's unknown if Mini based Méan remained a one-off. Note Sonoras behind

Long rear deck hides Mini power. Wheels (13"?) are clearly not Mini

850cc Mini engine was sourced at a scrap yard some 40 miles from Méan

Picture courtesy l'Automobile magazine

The tale of the Mini powered Méan Sonora (1)

Years ago I stumbled upon a brochure for the Méan Sonora. A pretty two-seat sports car with space frame and fibreglass Spider or Coupé body that was built from the mid-1960s on in the tiny little village of Méan in one of Belgiums more rural parts. Not a lot were sold, despite even having a British importer. Hot Car magazine wrote about it: "Competition in the special-body field, such as this Méan kit is refreshing, providing a challenge to our designers". Being a kit car the Sonora could be built up with a multitude of engines, all placed amidships. Méan Motors was also happy to provide you with a built car, in which case you just had to chooose from NSU, Ford, Renault, Simca, VW or even Porsche power! But hang on, in the brochure a Sonora could be seen with a Mini engine, too. There was even a sign 'Méan BMC Mini' to explain the noteworthyness of that specific car. I became intrigued by it, and found a few more pictures of the car. From what I read about Méan Motors I learned that the chap behind it, Jacques d'Heur, must have been a colourful charachter, too, triggering me even more.

So when I was in Belgium not too long ago, I decided to take a look at the old address where the cars were built, although I knew Monsieur d'Heur had moved from it years and years ago. When I got there the old works premises turned out to be a big surprise - they were nothing less then a castle. And a pretty one too! Unfortunately there was no one at home and I returned home with no more information. However, more recently fellow Dutchman Peter Camping, an enthusiastic subscriber to this blog, researched the Mini powered Méan a bit harder. He got in touch with Daniel Dodeur of 'l'Amicale Méan Motor Engineering' - a club dedicated to Méan and its cars, who was able to unveil the tale of how the Méan BMC Mini came to be. A good story, really, that I will share with you in the next part.

UPDATE 21 December 2011: Part 2 can be read now here

The brochure picture of the Mini powered Méan Sonora that started it all

Another publicity shot: an unassembled Sonora Spider kit sans engine

A works Sonora was rallied, too. This is on the 12 hours de Huy rally of 1965

Picture courtesy www.motorlegend.com

While a mean looking Méan Spider was raced. Who knows the venue?

Picture courtesy www.autodiva.fr

The only picture I have of the works premises - a castle! Unfortunately I couldn't see it

The Méan BMC Mini from another angle. Suspension clearly is not BMC sourced

Source: l'Automobile magazine