Miss Tilling calls in

MiniSprint owner and author Keith Mainland had a little surprise for me this week, as he brought me in touch with Suzi Grant-Fernyhough. Suzi is the girl in the 1975 Tilling Mini de Ville advertisement, seen here some two year ago. She wrote: "Dear Jeroen and Keith, Bill Albert (whom I have known since the year dot) sent me this email as he recognised that it was a photo of me! Your mysterious “Miss Tilling” is in fact Suzi Grant-Fernyhough, who now runs the 96 Club in London, see here. My husband, at that time, was James Tilling’s business partner and it was through James and Ian that I developed my love of classic/cherished cars and les 24 Heures du Mans and I have been involved one way or another with the 96 Club almost since it began… I could also possibly contact Ian and see if he has memories of that period." Please do so Suzi, as the Tilling Minis are still much shrouded in mystery. Meanwhile, I did find another ad of Tilling's wind-up window conversion plus one of another fully converted Tilling Mini de Ville that was offered for sale in 1996 and registered 'LBP 446P'. Who knows what happened to that car?

It's Suzi here! That's her in 1975 - 40 years ago and still a classic car lover!

Picture courtesy Sascha Wilkins

Another Tilling ad, another Tilling girl! Feel free to get in touch with us, too…

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

 Plus another Tilling Mini de Ville with the signature Landau conversion. Where is it now?

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

More about Tilling's Mini de Ville

Thanks for the messages I received in the past week. Some about the list of Unipower GTs that I made (click here - update soon) and also about the coachbuilt threesome seen here. Tilling Automotive Limited of London, who dreamt up the Tilling Mini de Ville in 1975 advertised their product in the motoring press at the time. And Sascha Wilkins was kind enough to send in one such ads - see below. It gives a good impression of what the converted roof looks like. Whatever happened to the car in question is unclear, but I now understand hat another Tilling Mini does survive. It doesn't have the converted roof, but does come with some other 'coachbuilt' features and does wear the Tilling Mini de Ville badges. Let me know if you own it now, or if you found out more about Tilling and their Minis.

So this is what the Tilling 'Landau roof conversion' looked like from the rear

Picture via Sascha Wilkins

This doesn't look too spectacular but it's 1975 Mini Clubman converted by Tilling, too

Picture courtesy carandclassics.co.uk  

It doesn't have the distinctive 'Landau' conversion, but does come with the badges

Picture courtesy carandclassics.co.uk

Coachbuilt cover stars

Okay. Take a good look at the very 1970s picture below. It's a cover shot from 'The Motor' in 1975. The centre attraction is the opulent Panther De Ville. But there is some more opulence in there as the three Minis shown are all far from standard. The thing is that at least two of them are pretty mysterious, so there's a good reason for showing them here. 

Right behind the Panther De Ville there is a namesake: the Tilling Mini De Ville, which I reckon is the least known of the three. Among its interior features you will find tinted and electric windows and quarterlight, plenty of veneer, a centre armrest and an adjustable steering column. Stranger is the exterior rear treatment, of which the article says this: "By special treatment, the roofline above the rear window is raised and moulded to simulate the traditional 'Landau'." But unfortunately there's no good picture showing this. Perhaps anyone out here knows more about Tilling and their Mini conversions?

Then there is the Oyler Contessa with its door open. That car, built by Oyler Coachtrimmers of Halifax, is a trimmed treasure indeed. The Oyler company was part of the Homfray Group - big carpet manufacturers and so the interior was richly equiped to say the least. 'When they've finished, you wouldn't know it was a Mini' Motor magazine writes. Apart from carpets and dralon everywhere you could also find cigar lighters en suite with champagne panniers and chrome glass holders. But the Contessa also is a hidden treasure as information about Oylers coachbuilt Minis is so scarce. The car in the article is said to be owned by a Mrs. Stephenson, and I believe it to be the same one as in Oyler's brochure. Did they ever build any more than that?

Last there's the car on the right back behind the Oyler Contessa: a Wood & Pickett Mini Margrave that's been fully deseamed. There's lot and lots more information about W&P to be found and it's a fact that many more Margraves were built. But how about this particularly good looking chestnut brown example?

Opulence galore: Panther De Ville, Tilling Mini De Ville, Oyler Contessa and W&P Mini Margrave

Picture courtesy Motor magazine