Now in Maximum Mini Newsletter #108

Tumult over Terry's collection. Scrapped and saved

More pictures of Samuelson's Moke six-wheeler

RIP Colin Wells - 48-year-long prototype Ogle owner

Now in Maximum Mini Newsletter #45

Newspaper article causes Mini Marcos storm

Famous Moke from movies on the move again

Former Ogle SX1000 owner speaks

Turner Ranger stars in James Bond movie

I was aware of a Mini based James Bond vehicle before (click here), but it now turns out there has been another one. Siva Buggy owner Graham Hill told me so. He happens to own a Turner Ranger also and is in regular touch with Tony Turner, the man behind the vehicle. Graham wrote: "Perhaps their finest hour was as film stars. Tony Turner was never shy of a bit of promotional work, and somehow he got the opportunity to place them in the Bond film, The Spy Who Loved Me. They can be seen dotted around Karl Stromberg's submarine base (who knew there was so much money in carburetors...) and somehow skillfully avoided being blown to bits in the final sequences. Tony recalls him and his son Jonathan taking tea with Roger Moore between takes. Tony Turner was, and still is, regularly ahead of his time, and the Ranger shows us the antecedent of the mules made by Kubota and Polaris now. If only we had been ready for the Ranger at the time.."

Thank you very much for this Tony!

A bit of Turner Ranger product placement in a James Bond movie!

Picture Eon Productions

Tony Turner's vehicles can be seen in The Spy Who Loved Me of 1977

Picture Eon Productions

Unipower GT from The Troubleshooters

A BBC television series named 'The Troubleshooters', which ran from 1965 to 1972 (the first year as 'Mogul') featured a Unipower GT as the main transportation for one of the lead characters played by actor Ray Barrett. The series revolved around an oil company called Mogul and was all about international company take-overs, political tensions, the discovery of new oil fields and the negotiation of drilling rights. 

Remarkably most of the original recordings were wiped by the BBC with very little of the footage now surviving. A few of the earliest (black & white) episodes have been saved but only one of them in colour, dated 1970s, is known to survive. Wikipedia mentions: "A previously missing episode from series two - "Birdstrike" - was returned to the BBC by a private collector in May 2010". I don't know in which series Barret could be seen driving the Unipower but I am guessing 1967 or 1968. Unfortunately these seem to be among the ones missing.

I came across this after reading a period article (dated August '68) which shows the car as it was used in the series, mentioning The Troubleshooters as having a prominent role for the Unipower. The car that was used was the factory demonstrator 'OYF 80F', which also featured in a great number of magazine articles and several PR shots. It was here running on white 'reverse rim' wheels and featuring a Mogul decal on the back. I guess the colour must have been the metallic green seen on a few other period pictures of the car. Remarkably, it's the only Unipower publication which seems to mention The Troubleshooters, there's also not a word about it in the Unipower GT book which came out last year. 

It would be fantastic to learn that footage from The Troubleshooters of Barrett with the car does survive after all.

UPDATE - 2 November 2022: The Troubleshooters do get a brief mention in the Unipower book, as Gerry Hulford points out rightly! From the text: "The Unipower would see fame on television, with a car being taken by one of the factory trimmers, Gerry (Gez) Wheeler, to be filmed in the BBC TV drama series 'The Troubleshooters'. Based around the fictitious Mogul Oil Company, the car appeared in one of the episodes filmed at Saltburn-on-Sea and at the Croft race track in the Midlands of England."

UPDATE - 23 June 2025: The lost footage has now been found!
See Maximum Mini Newsletter #79

The Unipower GT from BBC series 'The Troubleshooters' about fictive oil company Mogul

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

The Unipower is said to have had a prominent role in the series but no footage seems to survive

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

'OYF 80F' was a factory demonstrator that featured in a great number of magazine articles also

Anyone who recognizes the backdrop, by the way?

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Actor Ray Barrett played a lead role in the series and was the man driving the Unipower GT

Picture Star Stills

A little playing with Photoshop since no (moving) images of Barrett with the car seem to survive...

Photo editing Jeroen Booij

James Bond's Mini Moke based Moonraker buggy

Information about James Bond movies is everywhere on the internet. But one car that even the hardest of Bond fans seem to have missed is the Mini Moke based buggy that can be seen (briefly) in Moonraker (1979). As far as I know it was the Mini derivative to feature in a James Bond movie, with the car being used in the secret headquarters of Bond villain Sir Hugo Drax. The scene is set in Brazil but it was actually filmed at the Pinewood Studios in London. 

Based on a British-built Mini Moke, the car was made specifically for the movie and designed by Ken Adam, who’d also designed the famous gadgets on Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 and his submarine Lotus Esprit, as well as several spacey film settings for Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove and 2001: A Space Odyssey. The body was supposedly made in plywood and used a huge Perspex windscreen. The whereabouts of the car are unknown but at least the design sketches survive.

The Mini Moke based vehicle as featured in Moonraker with Roger Moore

Picture: Internet Movie Car Database imcdb.com

This is a sketch for the vehicle by film production designer Ken Adams

Picture Jeroen Booij archive 

Adams had been responsible for a number of 'made-for-movie' vehicles also

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Gerry Anderson's Mini Moke camera car has a twin!

An article about the special Mini Moke six-wheeler camera car that was used by filmer Gerry Anderson for his UFO series has recently been brought under the attention. Reason for me to dig deeper into its history. You can see the earlier article with several pictures here. I've now included many more and found out quite a lot more also.

I must admit I'm not so sure anymore wether the vehicle was made solely for Gerry Anderson, as I found it could be hired for many years by camera and filming equipment supplier Samuelson Film Service Ltd. of London, which offered an incredible collection of machinery to the filming industry. The number of camera cars alone was truly impressive with all sorts of camera vehicles. And the Moke was not alone either, as there were two of them. You've seen the first one, an Austin Mini Moke based six-wheeler registered RYW 677F in September 1967 as used for filming UFO. I have scraped together several new images of that car and they are all attached below.

But there was a second car, registered OYF 445F as a Morris Mini Moke in June 1968. Like its Austin sister car this one was also fitted with a 1300 engine for extra power and also came in blue with maroon accents since these were Samuelson's company colours. Both cars had names of their own also: Sam Minimook and Sam 'Casperised' Minimook, with the latter being the Morris and having extra additional camera platforms and adjustable tubular extensions to mount cameras in every possible position. I have found several pictures of that car, too.

Some of these are 'behind the scenes' shots taken during the filming. One shows OYF 445F at the set of the 1969 film The Prime of Miss Brodie. Another shot of it was taken during the filming of Dad's Army in 1970. Funnily the Morris can be seen in action in one movie also: The Games, about a couple of athletes preparing for the Olympic Games with them being filmed from the Morris Sam Minimoook. Avid Maximum Mini reader Henk van Brakel saw the car in action in London in the early to mid-1980s and was quick enough to point his camera at it. Anyone who recognizes the backdrop from a particular movie..? 

The last sighting of the Morris car was in 1988 when it was part of the famous Patrick Collection in Birmingham and on display in its museum. Is it still there? It was last taxed in December 1985 while its Austin sibling was last taxed in May 1987...

If you enjoy what I do here on Maximum Mini and would like to help me continue, then I would very much appreciate a donation towards keeping this blog going. Click here.

RYW 677F was a six-wheeler Mini Moke that could be hired to the filming industry, here during filming of Gerry Anderson's tv-series UFO in 1970

Picture ufoseries.com

Another shots of it in action filming Ayshea Brough (not Wanda Ventham as I thought before)

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

These behind the scenes pictures keep on turning up, this one being a new one also

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Another behind the scenes shot from UFO (1970) with RYW 677F again visible

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

This is an unusual picture with the hood up and a Dutch (1969) number plate. Why was that?

Picture Scouse73 / Flickr

The Moke as the center piece on the cover of Samuelson Film Service Ltd's 1975/6 brochure

Picture Samuelson Film Service Ltd

But it wasn't alone. There were two of them named Sam Minimook and Sam 'Casperised' Minimook

Picture Samuelson Film Service Ltd

The latter was a Morris registered OYF 445F and is seen here during the filming of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in 1969, filming actress Maggie Smith. Director Ronald Neame is in the car

Picture Rotten Tomatoes 

And it can be seen - only just - in the background here, during filming of Dad's Army in 1970

Picture The Mirror

And not just behind the scenes. It's seen briefly on screen in the 1970 movie The Games

Picture imcdb.com

Spotted in action in London by Henk van Brakel in the early to mid-1980s. What were they filming?

Picture Henk van Brakel

This picture was taken in Samuelson Film Service Ltd's workshop in 1980. Note blue hood

Picture Samuelson Film Service Ltd

Eventually the car ended up in The Patrick Collection in Birmingham. This is it in 1988

Picture Henk van den Hurk / Autovisie

In The Patrick Collection again, note odd badge Samini-Moook. Where is it now..?

Picture Elliott Brown

Quasar Unipower film car survives in France

The Quasar Unipower seen in the French movie 'Elle boit pas, elle fume pas, elle drague pas, mais... elle cause!' driven by the late Mireille Darc (film footage here), appears to survive in great shape in Toulouse, France. 

A number of pictures of the car were posted recently by French garage 'Old Cars City' which did some maintenance work on it, adding: "The owner has had it for a long time, it's part of a collection of over 30 unlikely cars." Apart from the French cult movie, the car with plates '610-VA 75' was seen in a few publications in the period as well.

Quasar Unipower film star survives in Toulouse, France in long-term ownership

Picture Old Cars City

The car is said to be part of a 30-car strong collection. That's a Bond three-wheeler next to it

Picture Old Cars City

Chrome passenger bar is missing, number plates have changed but this is said to be it

Picture Old Cars City

1100 engine with automatic transmission was standard equipment for Quasars

Picture Old Cars City

Same car seen here with Mireille Darc driving it in the 1970 French cult film named...

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

...'Elle boit pas, elle fume pas, elle drague pas, mais... elle cause!' in which Darc plays a TV host

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

'610 VA 75' is seen here with its creators Emanuelle and Quasar Khanh plus children in Paris 

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

And again in a saucy cover shot for French Adam magazine

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

The Prisoner Moke can now be yours

To get in the mood for this message, may I recommend you to watch this first? Yes boys and girls, that's the opening theme to that great 1960s series 'The Prisoner'. This series had such an impact that the very confusing ending led to troubles. The late Patrick McGoohan, who played the lead, said later: "The switchboard at ATV was jammed overnight, my children were molested coming from school and people were beating on the door with malice. We had to go to Wales for a couple of weeks with no telephones or contacts or whatsoever to the outside world." When fiction becomes fact... 

But apart from McGoohan the stars of the show were perhaps the village of Portmeirion in Wales and a couple of converted Mini Mokes. Just one of the Mokes was believed to survive until one time warp car was found back in 2011, which turned out to be the original and first one, too (unfortunately not by me but in my home country! - click here). It ended up in the possession of Phil Caunt who beautifully restored it. When it was finished the car was fully featured in MiniWorld and Classic & Sports Car magazine in 2018 and still is in an immaculate condition. Phil, however, hasn't been getting any better himself and has now decided to sell it. He wrote: "I wouldn't be selling but my health is not good. It is with a heavy heart that I have now, after 5 years of ownership, decided to sell the car."

Here's the outline that he wrote. 'The Prisoner Moke' is HLT 709C, the fully restored original Mini Moke as seen in several episodes of the series, and once showing its true registration number in the episode 'Living in Harmony'. McGoohan himself drove it in the famous chase scene on the beach in Portmerion. Indeed, it appears in most ' Portmeirion' episodes as well as the later studio based ones, finally appearing at the famous press launch at MGM Studio's at Borehamwood. Built in May 1965, and registered in June in London, the car was converted by Wood & Pickett to a design which resembled a 'beach buggy'. It is unknown who commissioned the car but the company 'Weircrest' were to market it... It was used in brochures, photo-shoots and publicity material, and by the London Hilton Hotel. One has to assume it was spotted by a member of the production crew as what they needed for the upcoming TV show 'The Prisoner'. Based on this another three Mokes were converted to resemble this one, including CFC 916C, which was owned by Max Hora the owner of the Prisoner shop in the 1980s and 1990s. Indeed I owned and restored this Moke back in the 1990's, this vehicle now resides in Los Angeles with a Prisoner fan and Moke enthusiast.

HLT 709C was taken down to Portmeirion in late 1966 to begin filming, closely followed by the other three. Whilst filming it sustained damage to the front and had to be returned to London for repairs, the other Mokes covered its absence. After its fame in The Prisoner the car disappeared and its whereabouts were unknown, it appears to have spent time in the Sheffield area in the 1970's but after that the trail goes cold. It is rumoured to have been owned by a member of the production company although I have not been able to confirm this. In 2011 it was discovered in a farm building in Holland by a Mini enthusiast, still with its UK number plates, 'candy stripe roof' and Penny Farthing bonnet logo intact but obviously worse for wear. On to 2015 and the owner decides to sell and the car goes to auction. Upon taking delivery of the car ( I did not view it before buying... sometimes you just know you want it!), I assessed what was needed for a full but sympathetic restoration, keeping everything I could to keep the car as original as possible, whilst obtaining anything else to bring it back to how it looked in 1966. 

See the ad here.

Perhaps the most famous of all Mini Mokes - converted by Wood & Pickett in 1965

Picture courtesy Phil Caunt

The car was used by Patrick McGoohan in the television series The Prisoner back in 1966

A famous scene reenacted for this picture on the beach of Portmeirion, Wales

Picture courtesy Phil Caunt

Salt & Pepper Moke also starred in 1971 movie 'Percy'

Time for some light hearted entertainment after all those Mini Marcos researches. It may have seemed that the much-modified Mini Moke used in the 1967 comedy 'Salt & Pepper' ended up on the bottom of the river Thames but it didn't, as we know since David Guyan identified his now standard-looking white Moke as this particular car (click here).

Now David has found more movie footage. He wrote: "Since I discovered your article about the Salt & Pepper Moke that I currently own I have been doing some more research. I have since found out that the Moke also appeared in the 1971 film called 'Percy' starring Hywel Bennett and an all star cast. According to Wikipedia it was the 8th most popular film at the British box office in 1971. It has an unusual plot but was popular with the British public.  I thought you may want to know. Best, David"

Well, that must have been a great surprise! I'd never heard of Percy before and it certainly seems as if it has an unusual plot. To sum it up in a few words: it's about world's first successful penis transplant, bringing lots of trouble for the man who received it... See the opening titles with the modded Moke here. I'm also surprised the film's beautiful soundtrack - written and performed by The Kinks no less - didn't become a hit.

The late Hywel Bennett starred in Percy, the British comedy film that was a hit in 1971

Picture still Anglo-EMI / Youtube

And the Mini Moke known from the 1967 comedy 'Salt & Pepper' comes back, too. 

Picture still Anglo-EMI / Youtube

The car appears to have been mildly modified once more with a wicker bed at the back

Picture still Anglo-EMI / Youtube

'Percy' also starred Elke Sommer and coachbuilt Mini-fan Britt Ekland plus soundtrack by The Kinks

Picture still Anglo-EMI / Youtube

Wicker bed seen here. There's no doubt this is the same car that's now owned by David Guyan

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

What is the Find of the Year 2019?

It's time to introduce you to the nominees for the 'Best Find of 2019', a contest held on Maximum Mini every year. Once again I picked out what I believe to be the 5 best finds and discoveries made in 2019. It's up to you to decide which one wins the title.

You will find the cars that have made it to the contest below. To vote simply drop a comment below stating your favourite (click here if you read this through an email message), or do it on my Facebook page (here). The one with the most votes wins - it's simple as that. Now, over to the candidates:

Long search ends in a London shed: MoBi One finally found. Full story here and here

Rumours of its survival came true: Australia's sports car 'Project X' survives. Full story here

The British-built ASP 1300 racer appears to be alive in Kansas, USA. Full story here

Unrecognzable as such but this really is the Salt & Pepper Mini Moke. Full story here

A surprise find at a New Zealand wrecker's yard: the Wellington mystery Special. Full story here