Find of the Year 2021: the candidates

Well-well, 2021 was a remarkable year when it came to long-lost Mini based cars. With 24 exciting discoveries in sheds, barns, gardens and woods the number of Mini derivatives being rediscovered keeps on growing. It's not easy to make a top-5 with so many exiting finds. From Broadspeed GT to Magnum Spectre, and from pairs of Ranger Cubs, ABC Tricars as well as Scamp six-wheelers to the unique AC Donington.

Like last year, I found a few cars myself with Belgium proving to be excellent finding ground: there was the 1967 Cox GTM in a garage in Belgium, the sole GTM 'Euro' Coupe in a Belgian lock-up and the Ogle SX1000 which was originally sold to Belgium and had always remained there. But there was also the Guinness World Record 'blind drive' RTV in bramble bushes in England and the Dutch Barclay Mini Bug.

Now, to vote simply drop a message below or send me an e-mail if you like. The one with the most votes wins the title 'Maximum Mini Find of the Year 2021'. Over to the 5 candidates.

Pellandini number 1. The first and only space framed Pellandini as built by Peter Pellandine in Australia was one of three Pellandinis resurfacing recently, this one with an Aussie crash repairer. (full story here)

The Ogle Mini prototype. A one-owner car for more than 50 years, this is believed to be the first Ogle Mini built. It was sold last May with the restoration starting straight away. (full story here)

The Ogle SX1000 in Belgium. Another Ogle with another unusual story. This one spent all of its life in Belgium after being sold by Mini racer Julien Vernaeve there when new (full story here)

The Deep Sanderson 301 in Mexico. This was one find I could hardly believe myself - a Deep Sanderson 301 road car in a very original state resurfaced in Mexico-City in March. (full story here)

The Nimbus Coupe prototype. The prototype that was later turned into a successful racer by Gary Shillabeer was freed from bramble bushes in rural Dorset in May. (full story here)

Nimbus Coupe prototype freed from the brambles

Report from the bramble bushes in Somerset. Remember this find of a Nimbus Coupe formerly a prototype car and later raced by Gary Shillabeer? Well, it has finally been freed from the brambles by Simon Denman. He wrote: "Hi Jeroen. I can tell you my late father was best mates with Gary Shillabeer and that’s who he got it from.  I honestly can’t remember much about when dad got it from Gary, but I seem to remember some tension between my mum and dad when he bought it - hence why it was probably left in the orchard with the initial plan of waiting til mum calmed down!"

"Sadly Gary recently died too so I can’t ask him. I’m trying to find the other open top kit car which might be in brambles too which must have come from Gary at about the same time. I’m pretty sure I know where the front clam is - as for the main middle but I’m not sure my memory is it was bought from Gary at the same time and I think the main tub was green and the front clam was primer grey, it might of had scalloped sides but I haven’t seen it since I was a kid. We are clearing up the farm and are selling it all, so the Nimbus will be up for sale. I have also got a lot of other bits including a series bits - none of which I believe came from the Nimbus though. It would appear there is much of a Mini in pieces in one of the sheds! Including a complete 850 lump and Mk1 boot lid etc! I will be in touch with photos of what I can find of the other one. If you know anyone interested in the Nimbus feel free to point them my way before I stick it on eBay. Speak soon, Simon."

It sounds as if the open car could be that other Ian Shearer design - the Boxer Sprint. But then Ian told me years ago there was just one made (this one), so it has to be something else..? We'll see when Simon finds it, I reckon. In the meantime, let me know if you are interested in the Nimbus Coupe and I'll get you in touch with Simon.

That's the Nimbus Coupe prototype as it was raced by Gary Shillabeer in the mid-1980s

Picture Simon Denman

But Q304 NYA was also the car used at the Nimbus Coupe's press launch back in 1984

Picture Simon Denman

Shortly after the launch it must have been bought by Shillabeer and transformed into this

Picture Simon Denman

Shillabeer campaigned it briefly before it disappeared only to turn up last year

Picture Simon Denman

The car will need lots of work, interior seems to have been stripped also 

Picture Simon Denman

Last on the road in 1986 means it has been on the road (and track) for two years only

Picture Simon Denman

There used to be an engine built by Avonbar Racing fitted, but the engine bay is empty now

Picture Simon Denman

The car in its heyday, raced in 1984 at Cadwell Park with Shillabeer behind the wheel

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

While earlier that year it was used at the press launch in East-Sussex, seen here

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Nimbus Coupe prototype found on a farm

Fortunately I am not the only person discovering long-lost classics on remote places in the UK (last week's news). Chris Pollitt and Jonny Smith of Car & Classic recently unearthed what they believe to be 'the rustiest Jaguar in the world' in a farm yard in Somerset planning to restore it (very enjoyable video here). But the Jag - a Mk9 - wasn't the only thing to be found there.

Richard Hawcroft dropped me a line: "I found a Nimbus! Well, I haven't, but I found it whilst watching Youtube! It's about 9 minutes in: Q304 NYA. One you know about?"
And right he was, and you bet I knew that car. Car & Classic's Chris and Jonny had no idea though, uncovering it from bushes of brambles: "This is a real race car that's been living in the weeds for about 25 or 30 years. Is it a kit car? Well, it hasn't rusted away, so I guess so!"

As a matter of fact it is the Nimbus Coupe prototype that was used for the car's launch back in 1984. The same car was then sold to Garry Shillabeer of Devon who modified it into a racer. What happened next was unknown to me, until now! Thanks Rich and the boys from Car & Classic. I'm sure Nimbus designer Ian Shearer, who sadly passed away in November, would have loved it. Let's see who is going to save it now.

UPDATE 6 March 2020: Simon Denman contacted me: "The nimbus you blogged about did indeed belong to Gary, my dad who was very good friends bought if from Gary in the 1990’s. Sadly my dad died in 2009 and Gary passed away a few years after. I believe Chris is going to attempt to recover it in a few week’s time with a view to making a video and then I’ll be looking to find it a new owner.
From memory dad also bought a similar kit car but convertible from Gary at the same time. I’m not sure if that is still about." The latter may possibly have been the Boxer Sprint?

UPDATE 25 May 2021: it has been freed from the brambles and is offered for sale now. Click here

Found on a Somerset farm by the Car & Classic team: the Nimbus Coupe prototype

Picture Car & Classic

Q304 NYA is said to have been 'living in the weeds for about 25 to 30 years'

Picture Car & Classic

But here it is back in 1984 on its official press launch in East-Sussex

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

The car was then sold to Garry Shillabeer who turned it into a racer

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Shillabeer campaigned the Nimbus in races, here at Cadwell Park in the mid-1980s

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Boxer Sprint project now offered for sale

Due to the unexpected death of Ian Shearer (obituary here), his family has decided to sell his much beloved and last project car - the original 1986 Boxer Sprint prototype. The Boxer was a lightweight spyder version of the Nimbus Coupe that Shearer designed a couple of years earlier. The car’s fiberglass body tub was moulded as a single piece with some areas strengthened with Kevlar. The clamshell bonnet hinged forwards and the engine cover flipped the other way for easy access. Brakes, steering column and pedals came from the Mini donor, with the rectangular headlights sourced from VW’s Scirocco. A wiring loom was made for the car, but according to Shearer a modified Imp loom could be used, too. Kitcars and Specials magazine wrote in September 1986: “The Boxer Sprint is designed to be either a club racer and/or a second road car, and as such it makes no pretence of being a refined everyday vehicle. Although, having said that, it will be seen that it has the potential to be made as practical as any two seat sports car.” Still, no more production cars were made, with only the prototype being registered. Shearer found it back on a farm in Kent in 2017 (see here) and started a comprehensive restoration.

Unfortunately he never got 'round to finish that and the whole project is now for sale. It's not just the car itself, fully registered as a 'Nimbus Sprint' with full V5 logbook and all the paperwork. But it also comes with the original moulds, two engines and a whole load of bits and pieces. Ian's son Will: "The car comes with all other items required to get it on the road. There will also be a lot of materials that I am happy for the buyer to have too - things like GRP mat, microfibre filler additives, resins, and hardeners/catalysts. Also, the odd tool that I have no use for, there is a cylinder honing tool for example; basically I'd be happy for anyone buying to rummage through and take what they feel is useful to them. I have taken some photos of all the stuff that will be sold with the Boxer. Everything appears to be complete though it is spread all over! Dad was never one for being organized!"

See the full ad here.

UPDATE 28 November: BLACK FRIDAY Special - only on Friday the 29th offered for £1500!
And I also throw in a signed copy of both Maximum Mini 2 as Maximum Mini 3

A cover star in September 1986: the Boxer Sprint prototype before being registered

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

These are the moulds for the monocoque shell and clamshell front, included in the sale

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Designer Ian Shearer found the car back in 2017 and started a comprehensive redesign

Picture Will Shearer

Due to Shearer's unexpected death, the whole project is now offered for sale

Picture Will Shearer

Included also: one of two engines - this is a modified A-series

Picture Will Shearer

Ian Shearer passes away at 71

It is with great sadness that I learned about the sudden death of Ian Shearer today. Ian was the designer of the Mini powered Nimbus Coupe and Boxer Sprint cars and was an enormous enthusiast of anything Maximum Mini. His wife Hilary wrote:

"Dear Jeroen, Ian sadly died very suddenly and unexpectedly last Monday 28 October. This has absolutely devastated us. We have decided on a personal committal with just us and then we are going to have a celebration of his life early next year on or around his 72nd birthday, we feel if we did anything now we would not do him justice he achieved so much and we want to share that at a happier time and we know that’s what he would have wanted."

A good decision no doubt as Ian was a rather special man. His life was filled with cars and I remember very well that I tried to track him down for years - with no success- when all of a sudden he found me and contacted me from France, where he'd moved to many years earlier. That was a great surprise and ever since that day Ian was an enthusiast of everything I wrote. He often dropped a line after having read my latest scribblings, giving his unique point of view on them - always very optimistic and helpful. 

He also kept me updated on his projects. Ian had managed to buy back his Boxer prototype two and a half years ago after a long process of finding it (which almost even included a helicopter search) and difficult negotiations (full story here). He was very eager to get that car back on the road. In order to restore it, he had just sold another of his projects through this website a week before his passing (here). Days before his death he wrote: "Now I have made the decision to let the Nimbus Sprint go, I feel more relaxed about the work I am doing on the Boxer, I'm sure you are finding the same as me about the cost of rebuilding a powerful 'A' series, wow!"
May you rest in peace Ian. It was a privilege to know you.

Ian Shearer was positive and kind. Here at Blyton Park in 2015 with Wil Ker's Nimbus Coupe

Picture Jeroen Booij

Ian with the prototype Nimbus Coupe in 1983. Very proud indeed!

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

A rare picture taken during the official launch of the Nimbus Coupe in 1984

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Production of Nimbus Coupe body shells in 1984. Note the remarkably flat floor

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Ian's Boxer Sprint prototype was found back almost three years ago on a farm in Kent

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

The search was painstaking and Ian almost booked a helicopter flight to find it. Picking it up here

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

One-off Nimbus Sprint project for sale

With just 24 bodies made, the Nimbus Coupe is a rare car. The one seen below is one of them, but it was turned into something very different by none other than the designer himself: Ian Shearer. Ian wrote: "As you know, I bought a 1985 Nimbus shell a while ago with the idea of re-styling it and modifying the rear bulkhead to accommodate a variety of small-ish engines. As you also know I then (with your help) found my old Boxer, which I had spent years fruitlessly searching for (click here for story). After my recent move back to the UK permanently, I have had to make some hard decisions. I have less space and less time therefore one has to go, and the Nimbus is the one I have decided to move on."

Ian calles his creation the Nimbus 'Sprint'. "Having spent a large part of the last 3 years making the changes seen in the pics, I have managed to take the superb monocoque which was always hiding, and turn it into, in my view, where I always wanted it to be, Centre tub and clamshell body panels, it's a one off and the price I'm asking is a fraction of the cost of the mods, my real reward would be to see someone with the time and energy to build this up for whatever use they wish to put it to, trackday/sprint/hillclimb or road use. Best regards, Ian."

So... want to buy a unique car directly from its designer? This is your chance! See the ad here.

Nimbus Sprint bodyshell is a redevelopment of the Nimbus Coupe of the mid-1980s

Picture Ian Shearer

Three years of work to "turn it into, in my view, where I always wanted it to be"

Picture Ian Shearer

Note that the differences to the standard Nimbus shell (top) are numerous!

Picture Ian Shearer/Jeroen Booij archive

Boxer Sprint found

You know the Nimbus Coupe, do you? Then you may have heard of the Boxer Sprint, too. This car was developed by Ian Shearer, who came up with the Nimbus, too. However, the Boxer was never a success, and apart from the 1986 prototype, no more cars envisaged despite it being a cover car for Kitcars and Specials magazine in September '86. Shearer sold the car many moons ago, regretting it very soon after, but he never found it back. And so, I dropped him a line immediately after I'd been sent over a picture of the car. It looked rather sorry for itself but at least it was still there. You can imagine Ian's urge to see it. He wrote to me:

"My old Boxer looks complete, any idea where it is?? I would love to get it back."

I only knew it was photographed in Lydd, and Ian replied: "Wow!! Lydd is not far away and I've brought my trailer with me, perhaps I might get lucky." A day later he came back to me: "I have had a quick look around the most obvious yards in Lydd, but as it is very rural and a bit of a rabbit warren, I have not yet found any leads to the whereabouts of my old Boxer. I just hope I can find it before the yard owner disposes of it. I don't suppose the chap who spotted it has got back to you with a more specific location?"

Unfortunately he hadn't.

Ian again: "Thanks Jeroen, I have a couple of places to search tomorrow, but when the weather improves; hopefully at the weekend, a friend who runs air taxi/medivac from Lydd airport said he would give me 30 minutes in one of his helicopters to help with the search."

But then the photographing guy did come back to me with a location. Ian was over the moon: "Well! That's saved a helicopter ride. Today would not be a good day for air recon, everything is covered in a light dusting of snow. We're off to make contact straight after breakfast and too take a few pics. Thank you sooo much for your input Jeroen, lets hope I can secure it quickly!"

So far, so good. Ian went over to the place to have a look, but still hasnt bought it. He wrote: "All is very slow, the owner tells me that the car is part of a company and will only be sold as such? I am meeting with him next week, hopefully to sort out the details. Fingers crossed that it does not take to long, although I am not to worried about extended time scales, as long as I achieve my goal…"

The sole Boxer Sprint, found on a farm place in Lydd recently. Hopefully soon to be moved

Picture Tobe Bailey

The car being built at Ian Shearer's place in the mid-1980s. Note the moulds behind it

Picture Ian Shearer / Jeroen Booij archive

Completed at Tollgate Garage in Rye, from where it was marketed, too. Prices started at 695 GBP

Picture Ian Shearer / Jeroen Booij archive

September 1986: cover star of Kitcars and Specials magazine. It did not help sales though…

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Looking back at Blyton Park 2015 (1)

The Mk1 Performance Conversions / Maximum Mini Action Day 2015 took place last weekend at Blyton Park and was another smashing hit. Several people had postponed their entry in the days prior to the event, which made me kind of anxious and we didn't really need our sunglasses (putting things mildly), but despite all that we saw a good turn out of Mini derivatives never the less. In fact there were more interesting cars then I can describe in one blog article, so this is the first of my posts about it - a second will follow later this week, probably a third, too. So let's have a look with the pictures below as a guideline.

My old friend Geoff Hunter (more here) turned up with his lovely Ogle SX1000

Picture Jeroen Booij

Geoff has restored the car recently and Blyton Park was its first longer trip since

Picture Jeroen Booij

Geoff owns the car since 1963, seen here that year with his wife behind the wheel

Picture courtesy Geoffrey Hunter

Writer, journalist, GOMW chairman and ex-Deep Sanderson owner Guy Loveridge is another enthusiast Ogle owner and hopes to have his racer ready for next year's event.

Picture Jeroen Booij

You may know Wil Ker's Nimbus Coupe and that's Wil standing behind it (right). The other man must have been a bit of a surprise for him, though…

Picture Jeroen Booij

…It's Ian Shearer who designed the car back in the early 1980s and now decided to come over (he lives in France most of the time) and have a look. Ian had some great tales to share!

Picture Jeroen Booij

That's Ian with the prototype in 1983. Or actually it was the car he built for himself which more or less accidentally made it to production. A story I'll keep for the near future!

Picture courtesy Ian Shearer

One of Ian Mitcheson's TiCi's was featured in Maximum Mini 1 - he owns three!

Picture Jeroen Booij

This particular car, with ultra-rare hardtop, was actually driven by Sir Stirling Moss at the car's launch

Picture Jeroen Booij

Moss with dolly birds and the car (behind) with the Westminster Palace as a backdrop in 1973

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Perhaps not a real Mini derivative anymore, but too cool not to share here: Pat Ford's KAD space frame racer boasts over 200bhp from a 2.1 litre XE engine

Picture Jeroen Booij

 Co-organizer Pete Flanagan brought his Janspeed tuned Unipower GT and what a treat 

it was to finally see it in the flesh!

Picture Jeroen Booij

Pete did a terrific job on the car's restoration - in fact it's still not totally finished, he says

Picture Jeroen Booij

But it went well on the track, despite a water loss issue from the header tank

Picture courtesy Stuart Watson

Pete's Unipower would have been the obvious winner for 'Best Mini variant' but that title went to this barn find Peel Viking. Only just unearthed but MOT'd and seen driving on the park this weekend!

Picture Jeroen Booij

The Peel's early history is shrouded in mystery, but hopefully we can find out more. I will do a separate article on the car soon, with all known details so you may be able to help, too…

Picture Jeroen Booij