Deep Sanderson 'Twini' at the drag strip

Ever-enthusiastic fellow-Biota owner Tim Harber sent me some material related to the illusive Deep Sanderson 105 'Twini' or 'Twinny'. What struck me most was a clipping from a 1972 issue of Cars & Car Conversions magazine that was new to me. It's an interview with Irishman James 'Jim' Gavin, who worked for Chris Lawrence in the mid-1960s and famously sprinted the Twini at the British International Dragfests at Church Fenton in 1964 and at Woodvale in 1965.

From the article: "Jim came to England and worked for Chris Lawrence, the Deep Sanderson man, whose brilliance and ideas and driving was wasted by accidents and financial disaster. Jim found fun in everything at LawrenceTune, but most of all in a racing TwinnyMini single seater. Jim doesn't say wether it went round corners, as he used it only for dragging. In 1964 when the first Great Britain versus America contests were held. "The car would do the 1/4 mile in 11.43 and at the end of the run would be pulling 115-118 mph. It earned me some money, and this was very handy when we started SuperSport." The car was lying around partly built, using four tubes tying the two subframes together, and the whole thing was run with 10" wheels. The two engine craze rather faded away after John Cooper had an awful smash on the Kingston bypass in a saloon twinny. The LawrenceTune car used two Downton 1071Ss, and possibly the arrival of the 1275S saved any more disasters."

What's more: Tim also sent a link to some film footage of these dragfests, in which Jim Gavin can be seen briefly in action with the Twini - see below and go to around 3:10 for the Deep Sanderson. What struck me here is that the car looks to be green. I have a few black and white pics of the Twini at the drag strip, but always thought it to be red. It was red with a black stripe when I photographed it for Maximum Mini 1, back in 2007, with absolutely no clues of any green paint on the body.

Irishman Jim Gavin at work on the Deep Sanderson 105, which used two Downton 1071 engines

Picture Cars & Car Conversions, via Tim Harber

Gavin at the wheel of the Twini during one of the Sydney Allard-organized 'Dragfests'

Picture jeroen Booij archive

Gavin said: "It earned me some money, and this was very handy when we started SuperSport"

Picture jeroen Booij archive

"The car used two Downton 1071Ss, and possibly the arrival of the 1275S saved any more disasters"

Picture jeroen Booij archive

Gavin was quoted to do the 1/4 mile in 11.43 at 115-118 mph - this clipping says it did 13.18 at 109 mph

Still pretty impressive for the Twini though

Picture jeroen Booij archive

As found in 2007 - the Deep Sanderson 105 was red then, with no traces of any green paint

Picture Jeroen Booij

Unseen film footage by Nick Pettitt shows it in action on the drag strip when it was green

Video courtesy Youtube / Nick Pettitt

Coombs' coachbuilt Mini de Ville

One very interesting article was dug up for me by reader Peter Camping. It's a piece from a 1969 issue of Motoring News and is about a coachbuilt Mini that was totally new to me. The car was built by none other then John Coombs, who succesfully ran a Jaguar dealership in Guildford at the time, and who was involved in Formula One and racing Jags also.

The Mini was built on request of one of Coombs' wealthy customers and, boy, it was lavish! Based on a 1275 Cooper 'S', the list of modifications and add-ons is sheer endless. The body was deseamed and received a low rear screen cut from that of an MGB, modified rear side screens, heated windscreen, a hand made grille, flared arches, louvred bonnet and Mercedes headlights. Door locks came with push-button openers, overriders from a Riley Elf while the standard Cooper 'S' wheels were cadmium plated. The car was painted in Roman purple cellulose paint.

The inside was hardly less remarkable. It received seats from a Porsche 911, a fold-down rear seat, pile carpets, polka dot cloth rooflining, full-width leather covered dashboard with Jaguar gauges and tumbler switches, Aeroflow fresh air vents from a Ford Corsair, HMV radio and 8-track Dyna Sound stereo tape deck with three speakers, heavily modified heater and demister, collapsible umbrella in the passenger door and violet light in the glove box compartment. Total costs reportedly came at £2,450.

The car remained a one-off, was named Mini De Ville - like Radford called theirs - and was registered '3 EXW'. Could it survive..? 

The Coombs Mini De Ville was built as a one-off in 1969 by John Coombs

Picture Motoring News, courtesy Henk A. Hazelaar

3 EXW indeed must have been pretty much the ultimate in Minis. The list of mods is amazing

Picture Motoring News, courtesy Henk A. Hazelaar

And it doesn't stop on the outside. Interior boasts many more lavish luxuries

Picture Motoring News, courtesy Henk A. Hazelaar

Could this Mini de Ville, made by the famous John Coombs of Guildford, survive?

Picture Motoring News, courtesy Henk A. Hazelaar

Original 'Dutch demonstrator' Biota found

When I found out recently that the missing first Biota imported to The Netherlands in 1971 resurfaced, I was very eager to see it. The car had been long lost and I soon learned that its second owner, who had it since 1984, had passed away. I decided to drive over to the place where it was and took my trailer with me - just in case! 

What I found was an incredibly original car which had hardly been touched for ages. It does need full recommissioning but is fully complete and has hardly changed from the day when it was new. Dutch Biota-owners Peter and Jos Niessen knew more about the car and sent me a lovely set of original publicity pictures, showing the very car when it was just finished. There's more paperwork with it as well as boxes full of spare parts. The Dutch registration papers are in my name now, too, so this certainly is a worthy project. 

I really fell in love with this little orange fellow, but already have my hands full on the Le Mans Mini Marcos, so I'm not sure yet if I am the right person to keep it and put it back on the road. Please let me know if you are interested in this great car and who knows we may come to an agreement...

UPDATE 16 November: More on the car's history here in part 1

The first Biota to be imported to The Netherlands has now resurfaced and it is incredibly original

Picture Jeroen Booij

The car has had one owner since 1984, who passed away earlier this year

Picture Jeroen Booij

The original registration is now in my name, too. I am the third owner since new in 1971

Picture Jeroen Booij

A restoration was once started but never finished. The car has always been dry stored

Picture Jeroen Booij

Bonnet is very easy to take off and simplifies work on the mechanicals considerably

Rear has been damaged at one point but was restored properly, needing only a respray

Picture Jeroen Booij

Originally the car came with a Cooper 1000 engine, but it has been replaced with 1100 at one stage

Picture Jeroen Booij

Original Mamba wheels and rear suspension have been fully refurbished yet. Unused Avon tyres haven't been available for ages though

Picture Jeroen Booij

Interior comes with Biota's signature 'clam seats' and cast alloy steering wheel boss

Picture Jeroen Booij

Houghton Coldwell chassis plate indicates it is the 15th Biota built. 'L' for left hand drive

Picture Jeroen Booij

Badges are slightly battered but still there. Several Biota's miss them and you won't find these

Picture Jeroen Booij

W&P tailor model confirmed to be John Paul

A while ago I got confused over a well-known Wood & Pickett publicity photograph. I always thought it showed actor Richard O'Sullivan but later learned it was Twiggy's manager Justin de Villeneuve - full story here. 

Or was it? One reader threw a new light on the picture, writing it wasn't both of these men but John Paul instead: a man who was at the very heart of the London in the swinging sixties and the originator of the 'battledress' in fashion as worn by Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, The Cream, The Tremeloes and of course The Beatles in their Sergeant Pepper-period.

By this time it has been confirmed that he was right! The man in that famous Wood & Pickett picture is indeed John Paul and I have been sent a picture of the man taken a month or so ago - I'm sure you'll notice the resemblance too. John appears to have had a fair share of interesting vehicles himself, and I hope to speak to him soon.

John Paul in the 1960s (left) and in 2020. He is the mysterious Wood & Pickett man!

Picture Jeroen Booij archive / Robert Orbach

Le Mans 1966 - Mini Marcos

This is my 10th anniversary present for you, dear reader. All the film footage I have found of the Mini Marcos at Le Mans in 1966 put together to make this one video. There were 24 clips in which it was seen, some several seconds, others just a fraction of that. Together with some more general Le Mans '66 material it makes some 3 and a half minutes of footage. I hope you'll like it - don't forget to turn on the sound! Oh and if you can't see it - click here.

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.

Video Maximum Mini / Juriaan & Jeroen Booij

Solved after 10 years - the mysterious Gnat

10 Years ago today I made the first posting on what would become the Maximum Mini weblog and it was about a mystery Mini derivative named Gnat. See the article here. Imagine my surprise when the designer and builder of that particular car contacted me earlier this year! I thought it could make the perfect article to publish today - exactly a decade after my plea for information. This is what I received: 

"Hello Jeroen, I have seen your name in the classic car magazines with reference to Mini Specials. Here are some photos of the Gnat, a 998cc based Mini Special I built 1990/91. I sold it about 1994 but have not seen or heard of it since. The DVLA records acknowledge its existence but it has neither current road tax or SORN. The latter is a shame because it means it will have difficulty getting back on the road. If this is of interest to you I could give you more details and photos of the build. Regards Franklin Woodcock."

That name did ring a bell, but from what or where? Then I remembered: Franklin D Woodcock was a contributor to Peter Filby’s kit car titles in the 1980s and I always thought that had been one of Filby's 'noms de plume'! Franklin: "I was born soon after Franklin D Roosevelt died in 1945 and my folks were big fans. A guy at school said “With a name like that you’ll get a job anywhere”. His name was David White, which he thought was a handicap. I can’t say he was right but at least it’s memorable. I was in email contact with Simon Taylor recently and he thought exactly the same as you about it being a Filby nom de plume!"

Franklin continued with his recollections of the car: "I had the foolish idea that in 1990 the world needed another Mini based kit car. Wrong! Twenty years too late. Anyway, together with a friend who was a technical illustrator I went ahead. His drawings show a credible idea of what a 1990s Mini special should look like but unfortunately my body building skills did not match up. I had built 3 one-off specials prior to this but they were 1930s style jobs. That really is my thing, I started in 1963 with a 1933 MG L2 Magna and today I drive a Marlin Roadster which I have owned for 20 years and it’s the best car I have ever had. Back to the Gnat, I started with a mid-70s 850cc Mini with a poor body but sound mechanics. I scrapped the body and kept all the essentials. I 'designed' and welded up the chassis in my single garage and made the crude bodywork from plywood, MDF and filler (lots of it). The gear lever has an extension because I didn’t want the bonnet to be the usual stubby style as with most Minis and Mini based kits. I tack welded the pieces together until I was sure everything was okay, then I finished it off and painted it. I didn’t touch any of the mechanical parts, I just bolted them all on as they worked okay in the original car. If you look at the rear view chassis photo you can just see the bolt heads of my 'tappet' adjuster for the rear suspension inside the triangulated corners. I made these because I didn’t know what the ride height would be. By rotating the bolt it would push on the disc pressing on the rubber suspension trumpet and raise or lower the car. To make it look more credible I fitted 12” wheels. It was sprayed professionally in Porsche Guards red. The bumpers and spoiler were narrowed Marina and Metro items and I think the spats were from a later Mini. The grill was made from plastic curtain rail and the centre badge moulding was a ceiling light rose with a badge made by a graphic designer mate. The seats were plywood with homemade cushions. Although I am not very proud of the body design I think my detailing was good, especially the dash which tells you exactly what it is. Because it was designed by me, for me, I have to say it was one of the most comfortable cars I have ever driven, it fitted like a glove. I used it for work on nice days but never got round to making any foul weather gear. When I first drove it I had a shock as it was gutless. There was nothing wrong with the original car but this thing seemed to be lacking 'go'. I put it on a weighbridge and found out to my horror that it weighed about the same as a standard Mini! I had grossly over-engineered it. From 1992-97 I worked for Midland Autotrader mag and I sold the car to one of my clients. I saw him about 10 years ago and asked after the car, he told me he sold it to another car dealer way back so I have no idea where it is now unfortunately. I think that just about covers it. Bye for now, Franklin."

As he'd found me through the print media, I directed Franklin also to Maximum Mini online, which opened another world: "Now you’ve started something! I knew there were a lot of us Mini special builders out there but I didn’t realize how many. This will occupy me for ages, thanks for that. In the early 1980s Filby asked me to edit a mag on one-off specials as I was 'the specialist'. After I had got most of the stuff together he pulled it as on 2nd thoughts it would not be a good seller. However, he did suggest to me that I might like to do it on my own at my own expense. Foolishly I took it on with the hope of making it a quarterly publication. After a lot of heartache, money and work my wife and I launched it in 1983. It ran for the one issue and obviously I lost money on it BUT it got it out of my system and it was well received by those who bought it. My attic creaked with unsold copies for years until I committed them to the council tip about 15 years ago. I still come across a few when rummaging in the attic. Bye for now, Franklin."

Thank you very much for all that Franklin! It's very good to hear from you even if it took a decade. Proof that perseverance pays! Now, wouldn't it be nice to learn that the car survives..?

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.

 

There it is! The Gnat mystery has finally been solved thanks to its creator

Picture Franklin Woodcock

Inspired by the Mk1 Sprite, Franklin asked an illustrator friend to come up with a design sketch

Picture Franklin Woodcock

Franklin: 'He was a keen designer and car enthusiast but not a mechanic - he didn’t realize that his nicely sloping bonnet would not suit the high, forward biased engine package of the Mini'

Picture Franklin Woodcock 

"His drawings show a credible idea of what a 1990s Mini special should look like but unfortunately my body building skills did not match up"

Picture Franklin Woodcock

The car's body was made from plywood, MDF and filler ('lots of it')

Picture Franklin Woodcock

 The chassis was designed and welded up in a single garage

Picture Franklin Woodcock

 The 'tappet' adjuster for the rear suspension inside the triangulated corners is just visible here

Picture Franklin Woodcock

'Although I am not very proud of the body design I think my detailing was good, especially the dash'

Picture Franklin Woodcock

Grill made from plastic curtain rail, badge moulding was a ceiling light rose with a badge made by a graphic designer mate

Picture Franklin Woodcock

The seats were homemade, too, and again plywood was used, furbished with homemade cushions

Picture Franklin Woodcock

This is a special announcement from Maximum Mini towers. 

Tomorrow it will be 10 years since this weblog got its little place in the world wide web. Ten years! I started it after I didn't know what to do with the photographic archive left from making Maximum Mini volume 1. Little did I know then! In 10 years time 1,204 articles and thousands of photographs were published here. I have been derided for doing it, but also appreciated and even praised. Hey, it was all with a love for the Mini based car in mind. 

But why and for who? I often wonder about that myself! Do drop me a line if you have feedback, whatever it is, as that may keep me going for another while. Another drive is the cars that keep on coming out of the woodwork. I can assure you there are more to come. I've got some exiting articles ready to be posted, with two special ones for tomorrow and Friday, it is an anniversary after all.

Last but not least I might just as well ask you for a favour. If you enjoy what I do here on Maximum Mini and if you would like to help me continue to do so for years to come, then I would very much appreciate a donation to keep this blog going. Maximum Mini cannot exist without you, dear reader. 

Click here to do so.

Mini Mouse of Chuckles the Clown found

Now this is a find of a different kind! A Mini-based three-wheeler that was used by a clown! Maximum Mini fan extraordinaire Tony Bucknall, whom I visited earlier this year (click here and scroll down), dropped me a line recently: "Good afternoon, I hope you are well? Do you have any images of the Mini Mouse? Picked one up less the windscreen surround, but have no idea what it should look like..."

You bet I knew the Mini Mouse, and if you look up the entry on the model in Maximum Mini 3 you will read "(...) Another one with a home-made hardtop was equipped with a speaker system for use by Chuckles the Clown throughout the UK! All seven were supposedly sold fully built. One was unearthed in 2011 in a derelict state, but other survivors are unknown."

And there was no doubt that Tony's latest purchase was in fact Chuckles the Clown's car. Tony added: "The fibreglass has been hacked through along the base line and the chassis is typically 1970’s kit car. The mechanics are late 1960’s magic wand gear stick and early electrics. But it’s registered as a Leyland 3-wheeler so that’s a key part. This one was registered on the 13th of July 1983. I’m thinking the circus had to get it registered to use it on the road for promotion purposes but I bet some clown MOT’d it just using a Mini ref they found at the time!"

Anyone here who ever saw it in action in a circus or parade, at a festival or carnival?

Bright colours, flowers and clowns figures - there can only be one Mini Mouse like that

Picture Tony Bucknall

Moulded-in windscreen and hardtop are gone, but Tony is just the man to repair this

Picture Tony Bucknall

From the files: same car as used by Chuckles the Clown. This must be before being registered in '83

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

The simplicity of the Mini Mouse becomes clear when the body is taken off

Picture Tony Bucknall

Typically 1970s kit car chassis, says Tony. Mechanicals are 1960s though with magic wand gear

Picture Tony Bucknall

Single rear wheel uses modified Mini wheel suspension, too

Picture Tony Bucknall

Tony wonders how this one needs to be restored. I say: keep it as a tribute to Chuckles the Clown!

Picture Tony Bucknall

Mini Mouse parked next to Tony's other Mini based cars and projects. Quite a few!

Picture Tony Bucknall

Pleasing the crowds. Did Chuckles the Clown also use the Mini Mouse in his act?

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

The circus probably didn't register it until they wanted to use it on the road for promotion purposes

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Mk3 Mini Marcos for sale in France

A particularly good looking Mk3 Mini Marcos has just made it to the market. It's a 1967 car (with the pretty dashboard layout) and correctly registered as such. The car has been restored in the last two years without cutting costs and now comes with full integrated roll cage. See it for sale in the Maximum Mini Market here. 

Road registered in France and ready to be viewed by FIA for historic racing

Picture Nicolas Pinon

This Mk3 Mini Marcos has just been restored over a two-year period

Picture Nicolas Pinon

This Mk3 comes with the early dashboard layout and fully integrated roll bar

Picture Nicolas Pinon

85hp on the wheels - proof is there, as well as a full history and restoration file

Picture Nicolas Pinon

The cars of Douglas Glover (3) UPDATED

Over to another DGS Firecrest, built by Douglas Glover of Dublin, Ireland in the 1960s.

The first Firecrest was described here in detail recently (click here) followed by the second car, which was used for PR activities and later raced and spectacularly crashed on a hill climb in Donegal (click here). This is number three of which unfortunately not much is known other than that it is supposedly a coupe. 

'KZE 999' is a Dublin County registration, issued somewhere between May 1963 and June 1964. Apart from having a closed roof the car is wearing different headlights then the other two with large chrome surrounds plus spotlights (Facel Vega!?). The picture below is unfortunately the only one that I have of the car.

UPDATE 24 October 2020: Eddie Fitzgerald dropped me a line as he knows more about 'KZE 999': "I have a memory of seeing it in the mid 1960s. Glover started a business a few miles from where I lived, I think the roof section may have been a one-piece moulding fitted onto the shell like a hard top. I have seen this photo before, and it is the only one I have seen of the car, which was either stolen and never found or written off in an accident with a truck. Regards Eddie."

The number 'KZE 999' belongs to DGS Firecrest number three

Picture Jeroen Booij archive, source unknown