Maximum Mini 3 is here!

It's there!
The final book in the Maximum Mini series, already now referred to as the Mini's 'Trilogy of Terrors'...



So, what to expect?
Another 128 pages full of Mini based cars, in a hardback similar in size and lay-out as the first two volumes. Yes. But that's where the similarities end. This one is quite different from what you have seen before.

Where all of the known and slightly lesser known cars were covered in detail over a two-page spread each in the first two books, this one features a lot more of them. 397 More Mini derivatives to be precise. Yes. 397. It has become a bit of an encyclopedia of obscurities and you'll be surprised to find out what else the Mini's multipurpose mechanicals brought forth. Trikes, twinis, racers, coachbuilt specials, beach cars, buggies, jeeps and a dragster, oh yes. But there are also also Mini powered fire engines, crop sprayers, ice cream vans, camper vans, motorkhana specials, miniature buses and wacky marketing mobiles. There is a Wood & Pickett trimmed four-door Mini which did the grueling 16,000-mile World Cup Rally in 1970 and a three-wheeler that was designed and built by the chief stylist of Rolls-Royce and Bentley in his spare time. There are Mini Moke based movie vehicles from Moonraker and UFO, The Persuaders and The Prisoner.
Apart from the UK the vehicles featured in this book originate from Ireland, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, Germany, Malta, Japan, Italy, France, Greece, Portugal, South-Africa, Belgium, The Netherlands, Spain, Barbados, Denmark, Uruguay, Chile and Switzerland.

Do notice that I am quite enthusiastic about it myself!

And it's for sale now, in a strictly limited edition of 600 numbered pieces only. Click here to buy it and I'll send it out to you in a purpose-made box. Let me know if you want a dedication or autograph. Oh - and what you think of it after it arrived!

Visit Maximum Mini at the IMM

Only just back from the UK, Maximum Mini is getting ready for the next big show coming weekend: the International Mini Meeting in Belgium. And I will have a nice stand in the trader's area from where you'll be able to buy books (Maximum Mini 3 will be there, too!) and posters. I'll make a special offer for the show, so don't miss my stand if you are looking for the books at a special price. 

But there's more. You will see two very nice and very rare Mini derivatives on display there. First there is a superbly restored Dutch version of the Stimson Mini Bug: the Barclay Mini Bug of which you can read more here. It's a very cool car and the only one that I know of with the Barclay name moulded into its body. Secondly there's an even more unusual car: the Mk1 Scamp Twini that was built by McLaren engineer John Hornby in the early 1970s. The car was last seen at the IMM in 2009, when it was offered for sale needing complete restoration. Meanwhile the current owner is working hard to get it finished on time for next weekend (and he is adamant to get it there!). Both of the engines run, but it hasn't been driven yet. Who knows we will be able to get it out and running in Belgium. So don't miss Maximum Mini at the IMM and come and say hello when you want to see the rarest cars of the event!

Beautifully restored Barclay Mini Bug will be on display with Maximum Mini

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

As will the unique Twini Scamp - seen here during its last outing at the IMM in 2009

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

What else do you need to make fun? Barclay Bug interior in all its simplicity

Picture Andre de Wit

The car was found in a Dutch barn some five years ago and is now fully restored 

Picture Andre de Wit

Work is still ongoing on the Scamp Twini, but it will be there on Friday and in the weekend

Picture Dylan Doek

 McLaren engineer John Hornby never drove it on the road, but it may do so at the IMM

Picture Dylan Doek

Rear engine: check. Originally model aeroplane server motors were used to operate the throttles

Picture Dylan Doek

The IMM 2016 plan. You'll find Maximum Mini in the trader's area

See you there!

Image courtesy www.imm2016.be

Stimsons shine at Stoneleigh - other are less fortunate

A string of Stimsons was supposed to come over to Blyton Park this year, but hey, they didn't make it. Fortunately two of them - Philip Lyons' Stimson Scorcher and Paul Wylde's Stimson Mini Bug found their way to Stoneleigh, so I had a chance to see them there. Philip's Scorcher supposedly is the only one on the road at the moment, while Paul's Bug only just reappeared after a very long restoration. It looked splendid and it was great to finally catch up with him and his son Tom. Paul is a great Mini derivatives enthusiast and multiple Maximum Mini Christmas puzzle winner who's helped me to several  stories in the past years.

Meanwhile, he just sent me over a picture of a Stimson collection that seems to feel rather sorry for itself. We see two derelict Mini Bugs plus a Scorcher together with a Siva Buggy photographed behind a fence. I did recognize the second Bug from the left from another photograph of derelict Stimson of years ago. At the time it was joined by another Bug plus a Stimson Trek. Who knows more about any of them?

Raised eyebrows at Stoneleigh where a Stimson Scorcher and Stimson Mini Bug were on display

Picture Jeroen Booij

Paul Wylde (left) with the car he's owned for over 20 years. He has shots of his son Tom (right) in it as a toddler!

Picture Jeroen Booij

Philips Lyons on his Scorcher with tow bar and trailer to carry his camping gear. Brave man!

Picture Jeroen Booij

But what do we have here? Left to right: Stimson Mini Bug x 2, a Siva Buggy and a Stimson Scorcher

Picture via Paul Wylde

The same white Bug was seen in another Stimson collection (including a Trek) years ago

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Back on track (literally!)

May is here and the season has begun. But before I start telling what's happening a little explanation may be needed. I haven't posted here for over six weeks and that was mostly due to the new book that didn't come out before some time-consuming work on it: Maximum Mini 3. Available directly from your's truly from next week-on. Oh - there was more to say about all the hick-ups that come with publishing, but I won't bother you with that. Most important is that the book has come out beautifully with very good initial reaction from the lucky few who have already seen it at Blyton Park and / or the Stoneleigh Kit Car show, where I was last weekend. In fact the book was quite literally hot from the press at these events, as I picked up the first copies from the printer only to drive on directly to the ferry in order to reach the UK.

Blyton was great as always, as it was windy as always! But the Maximum Mini display had a good turnout with two Mini Jems, two Cox GTMs, two Midases, a Mini Marcos, a Unipower GT, a Nimbus Coupe and an Ogle SX1000. The latter is the actual car that was driven by Sir John Whitmore in the USA in 1963 and has recently fully been restored by Guy Loveridge. In fact the paint had hardly dried, but that didn't keep Guy from me entering it to the track! Apart from a few miles I made some years ago in a slightly later blue car, this was the first time I really got to assess the SX1000, and it was great! I will write more about it later, as I will make a more comprehensive report on Blyton Park and Stoneleigh. Don't worry, it won't take as long this time.

Asking for trouble? Ready to spur Guy's just-restored Ogle SX1000 with racing pedigree on the track

Picture courtesy Guy Loveridge

Maximum Mini 3 is on its way

You will have noticed that it's been very quiet here in the last few weeks. But there's a good reason for that - it's called Maximum Mini 3 and should be available this May or June. Earlier this week I have made a deal with the printer, while at this very moment the words for it - all 43,000 of them - are being proof read. After that they can go to the lay-out department where hundreds of new pictures that you won't have seen before have already arrived, only to be merged with the words. I'll keep you posted.

Maximum Mini 3 will feature a whopping 397 more Mini derivatives

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Who converted Françoises Mini?

French novelist Françoise Sagan had a soft spot for big dogs and fast open top cars. The web is full of pictures of her in droptop Jaguars, Aston Martins, Ferraris, ACs, Lancias and Lotuses, often accompanied by a shepherd dog. But a Mini? Hey, it appears she had one for scooting around in Paris, too. And it was not a regular model either. This Mini - a Mk2 Austin Cooper - was converted into a cabriolet. But by who? I don't think it was a Crayford with no hood to be seen. Or am I wrong? I do know there were several cabriolet conversions haling from France but don't know very much about them. Do you?

Kosellek Mini Cabriolet (mid 1960s)
Jacky Mini Plage (late 1960s)
ATA Many Mego Mini Cabriolet (1970s or 1980s)
Fayard Mini Cabriolet (1970s or 1980s)
ENAC Mini Mayfair Cabriolet (mid 1980s)
Arc de Triomphe Mini Cabriolet (1988-1998)

Francoise Sagan, her dog and one of many cabriolets. Who converted it?

Picture via François Tasiaux

Landar R6 in full Technicolor

While I am working on Maximum Mini 3, messages about cars that have been featured in the previous two books continue to come in, too. And the one I received today from Graham Nevill is a particularly great one. He writes: "Hi Jeroen, I have been a fan of your site for a long time now and especially enjoy any articles regarding Landar cars as my father campaigned an R6 in the early 70’s. At the time when I was about 16, I took some 8mm cine footage which I have finally had scanned and uploaded, I am sure you will enjoy it ! There is very little period amateur motor racing film around and none featuring Landars, so quite rare. Wish I had taken a lot more at the time!"

Graham's great video - 9 minutes no less, can be seen below here, but Graham adds some more information about the car, too: "My father, Gordon Nevill, started motor racing with his work colleague and friend Frank Aston, of whom mention has been made on your site, as his old R7 which he acquired new from Landars, has just resurfaced in Germany (click here). They were both directors of a metal recycling business in Ironbridge, Shropshire and started racing using increasing tuned minis, competing in local hillclimbs, sprints and then circuits such as Silverstone etc. After being introduced to the Radnall brothers, Frank bought his first Landar, an R6 in about 1971 and this was soon followed by the blue 1300cc R7. A dizzying selection of racing cars then passed through Franks hands including a Chevron B8, B16 and B19, McLaren M1a, Gropa (a coupe B8 with Ford power) and the Astra - which is the car in the footage. Finally he commissioned the one and only R8 new from Landars but only used it for a couple of events. He then gave up racing for the golf course in about 1975. My father had a Chevron B8 after the Mini but then bought the R6 in 1973, apparently it was the last R6 made by Radnalls. This R6 was fitted with the 1275 bored to 1300 and later in his ownership had the 8-port Arden cross flow head fitted which was quite exotic for the day. Due to their many dealings with Clive and Peter Radnall they became family friends and one time Clive treated us to a flight over the Birmingham area, taking us up in his private single engine plane. After he finished racing in 1975, meetings with Clive and Peter became less frequent but I did have the pleasure of seeing Peter about 5 years ago, in his 70’s now, compete at Loton Park hillclimb when he hurled a motor bike powered little rocket ship of a single seater up the hill with great skill. My father always loved the R6, finding it a beautifully handling little machine and I was quite involved as well changing wheels and simple mechanical work etc. I would of course love to know what has happened to it over the years and still think the R6 would make a lovely little road/track day car."

That is some fantastic footage Graham, thank you for sharing! I do not know about the current whereabouts of the car, but it could be one of the R6s that have ended up in Japan. I saw what was believed to be the ex-John Handley and Barry Pearson works car in the Maruyama collection, but I'm not sure about that. It was silver grey too. Perhaps another reader will know more?

Video courtesy Graham Nevill

This R6, in the Maruyama collection is believed to be the ex-John Handley car. I don't know

Picture Jeroen Booij

 

This good looking Landar R6 shows up in Japan every now and then, but I do not know more about it

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Another mystery Landar R6 in Japan. an air dam has been added to the front at some point

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Badging the Ogles

When I visited Markus Tanner about a year ago in Switzerland he showed me an unusual Ogle badge that he'd found while on the hunt for SX1000 parts (he restored this car beautifully). It certainly was similar to the ones used on both of the SX1000's c-pillars, but this one simply came on a heavy black base. Like Markus, I had no idea what it was meant for. David Ogle's paperweight perhaps? While searching a picture last week I came across the thing again and compared it to some other photographs I'd taken of Ogle badges. It appeared to me there were some differences in between them. Here's what I found:

Golden Ogle badge on a heavy base, as seen in Switzerland. What was it meant for?

Picture Jeroen Booij

This is a similar badge as seen on one of the cars. But detail and horns are clearly different 

Picture Jeroen Booij

This one is again different or are those horns simply bent?

Picture Jeroen Booij

This one is outright flat and it doesn't seem to be chrome plated

Picture Jeroen Booij

While this one is plated but again, the detail is not very fine

Picture Jeroen Booij

However, this one does look very similar to the golden badge

Picture Jeroen Booij

As does this one. But how many variants were there?

Picture Jeroen Booij

This is another variant, this time seen on the front grille of an SX1000

Picture Jeroen Booij

Some of them also have this badge on their front grille. I think they are early cars

Picture Jeroen Booij

Same logo, different car, different colour. And I've seen it in both red/black, too

Picture courtesy Guy Loveridge

One car I saw had just the Ogle name on its grille. A cut out from the above?

Picture Jeroen Booij

Some of the earliest of the SX1000s used the badge of their donor car. Like Tom Karen's personal Ogle, based on a 997 Austin Cooper

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

A Mini based eight- (8) wheeler!

Just when you think you've seen it all, someone drops in a line with something you'd never thought of before. Well, it happens to me every now and the line that Chaz Ing dropped this week was another eye opener. I know of many Mini based four-wheelers; I've seen quite a few Mini-based three-wheelers, there have been several Mini based six-wheelers and I even know about Mini based two-wheelers and Mini based tracked vehicles. But a Mini based eight-wheeler? Good grief, I did not know that existed.

But it does, and there is in fact one for sale in Powys, Wales, at the moment - see the ad here. It's an ATV Argocat, which I did know as a two-stroke twin cylinder powered contraption, offered for sale by Crayford Auto Development of Kent. Yep, they were the same company which converted Minis into convertibles since 1962. I don't know if this four-wheel steered 1000cc Mini automatic powered version comes from them, too, but I'd love to find out.

This ATV Argocat does use Mini power to drive eight wheels, two of them removed here

Picture courtesy Ebay.co.uk

The 1000 engine is placed longitudinally next to seat. How is it constructed to drive the wheels?

Picture courtesy Ebay.co.uk

This contraption appears to have nearly been buried in Wales until not too long ago. It's for sale now

Picture courtesy Ebay.co.uk

Crayford's Argocat sold strong in the 1970s, but did they ever build a Mini based version?

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Stimson's stories (4)

Well, more pictures then stories this time, but some very nice material never the less. It's not very often that you see moving images of a Stimson MiniBug being auto crossed in period. You see it here, thanks to the ever enthusiastic Barry and Caroline Stimson, who dug it out from some old boxes. The car driven seriously fast seen here is the rare racing version of the MiniBug; the CS+2, driven by autocross-champion John Bevan, who was sponsored by Cars & Car Conversions magazine at the time - they wrote about his exploits on a monthly basis. Some more info here. Enjoy the film for now!

Video courtesy Barry & Caroline Stimson