Tony's Jem: Restoration finished and up for sale

Reader Tony Fysh restored a Mk2 Mini Jem a few years ago and enjoyed the job so much, he decided to do another! Well, his second Jem had in fact been in his ownership for decades and was waiting for a restoration for quite a while. Tony did it in two years time and now that he's finished it, he's ready to take on the next job: an originally factory built Midas Gold Coupe! "Just another challenge", he told me. It means the freshly restored Jem has to go. Over to Tony:

"Hi Jeroen. My Mini Jem is now finished and due to many reasons I am going to put it up for sale. I am in my late 60s and if I am honest I prefer to build them than use them. I have owned the car for almost 30 years in which time it has followed me from home to home and always planned to keep it but the reality is I have too many projects and not enough time to enjoy them. I purchased it from a guy in the North East of England (Sunderland) who was preparing it for grass track racing, hence the bulkhead and dash removal. Interestingly the OMP bucket seats I purchased new from a chap in Newcastle and he told me that he tried to buy this very car way back in the late 1970s / early 1980s when it was still a complete running car. He even told me the reg number that he remembered. Apparently he used to drive past it parked outside the then owner's house every day on his way to work. It was obviously built very early on, when control and documentation was not really controlled as it is now. I did initially build the car with a lightweight beam and coil overs but the ride was far too hard. And despite a spring change I decided to replace it with an almost brand new subframe which improved the ride significantly. It is a very nice well built car which hopefully someone will appreciate and enjoy in the future."

"It has undergone a totally bare shell, nut and bolt restoration with hundreds of photos to follow its progress. I estimate between 90 and 95 percent of the car is brand new. Possibly only the shell, speedo and steering column are original. The car is tax and MOT exempt in the UK and is registered (historic) in my name as a 1961 Morris Mini. The registration number is 948 VTB, which I believe could be transferable. It has taken around two years (excluding Covid lockdown) to complete and is now ready to go. Cheers and very best regards. Tony."

I can only admire the man for his work and great enthusiasm to restore these cars! I have now placed an ad for the Jem, which you can find here on the Maximum Mini Marketplace.

This Mk2 Mini Jem has been owned for almost 30 years by Tony Fysh

Picture Tony Fysh

But it's only in the last two years that the car underwent a complete restoration

Picture Tony Fysh

Between 90 and 95 percent of it is now estimated to be brand new

Picture Tony Fysh

948 VTB was originally on a 1961 Morris Mini 

Picture Tony Fysh

The pretty Jem dashboard needed removal but is still intact

Picture Tony Fysh

Full roll cage is fitted, as well as OMP seats and 4-point harnesses

Picture Tony Fysh

And a view to the rear of the interior with the roll cage

Picture Tony Fysh

Engine is a 1275 that was fully reconditioned 

Picture Tony Fysh

The block prior to assembly with loads of new parts

Picture Tony Fysh

Straight from the box: new Cooper 'S' discs also...

Picture Tony Fysh

...As well as new master cylinders and Goodridge hoses

Picture Tony Fysh

New petrol tank just one of many many new bits

Picture Tony Fysh

New alloys before they were shod with new tyres. There's no doubt this was a thorough restoration!

Picture Tony Fysh

A new Peter Filby book: Cars through the mists of time

Motoring journalists usually can't be bothered with the obscure corners of the automotive world. But from somewhere in the 1970s to deep into the new millennium there was the great exception known as Peter Filby. His books and articles were full of detailed information about the strangest of vehicles but they were well written and full of wit also. Looking back we have to be thankful to the man who documented so many of these contraptions for posterity. I do prefer his early stuff before Cobra and Seven clones took over the alternative cars scene as he wrote about many of the Mini based cars and owned quite a few of them, too.

So when I heard that he'd just finished a book titled 'Cars through the mists of time' about the approximately 100 cars he owned himself in the last 55 years, I knew I wanted a copy. In Filby fashion the 89-pager is self-published and hard to find. From the foreword: "It's admittedly an exercise in self-indulgent memories. I was just doing it for myself, my family and perhaps a few close friends. And even the family weren't particularly interested!" You'd better be quick to order one if you want one, too (I found my copy through Steve Hole's TKC webshop).

It's like going back in time when reading about how he bought and sold all these obscurities, which he often hated. About the Maya GT that became known as 'The Maya Maynot': "Whatever changes were made, it remained a horribly basic, undesirable car, but for some reason I kept it for several years." About the brown Peel Viking Minisport that was named 'The Flying Turd': "In terms of styling, accommodation and Mini based performance, it was a truly awful contraption". You'd be surprised to read that the great kit car writer, in all honesty, detested working on his own cars and "hates to get my hands dirty". He must have spent fortunes on them. "Only the great accountant in the sky knows how much money they've all cost me!" 

Ever wondered what cars Peter Filby owned himself and what he really thought about them? 

His latest book is just about that

Picture Jeroen Booij

'RBL 25F' was the first of two Unipower GTs owned by Filby and the start of a life long affair with specialist sports cars. What happened to the car?

Picture Jeroen Booij

Repainted twice and the subject of many an Alternative Cars magazine article, 

Filby's Maya GT became known as the Maya Maynot (and it survives, too)

Picture Jeroen Booij

The second Unipower - LTM 80G - was a Mk2. "I loved it so I kept it more than ten years." 

It's still in the UK, under restoration today (click here)

Picture Jeroen Booij

"Horribly basic". The Peel Viking Minisport was painted brown and nicknamed 'The Flying Turd'

It's another survivor although now in a slightly different hue

Picture Jeroen Booij

French museum closes - Hustler 6 seeks new home

Méan Sonora-owner Louis Lempereur told me about the upcoming closure of the Musée Automobile de Provence in southern France. The museum will be closed and the premises destroyed to build houses. Many of the cars on display are said to come up for sale, with some real gems in between them. There are several pre-war Bugattis in the collection as well as a Cooper T61 and quite a number number of interesting French Specials and low-volume cars. A Hustler Huntsman 6 is perhaps not quite what you'd expect here, but it's there and it's looking good in bright orange. 

I contacted the museum's curator Pierre Delliere, who confirmed the car's for sale status: "Dear Sir, Indeed I made the decision to separate myself from the Hustler. It is a 1985 car and it was completely dismantled and rebuilt in two years time. There is a newly built engine, new seats, belts, hoses, exhaust, carpets, tyres, brakes, clutch, 6 hydrolastic hoses (600 €), radiator, tank, etc, etc... We also changed the headlights and rear lights and reviewed the entire wiring loom. There is still some work to fully finish it. It comes with English papers (V5), but I do have the French tax paper also as it was imported before Brexit. Greetings, Pierre Delliere."

If anyone here is interested, just drop me a line and I'd be happy to get you in touch with monsieur Delliere.

Hustler Huntsman 6 in the Musée Automobile de Provence in Orgon, southern France

Picture courtesy Louis Lempereur

The car was fully restored in the last two years and will now be sold as the museum closes

Picture Jordi Vilaro picture / All Andora

Still on British plates (wrong way 'round...) but it came to France pre-Brexit

Picture Jordi Vilaro picture / All Andora

Interior looks particularly good on this car with beautiful carpeting and trimmings

Picture Jordi Vilaro picture / All Andora

The Musée Automobile de Provence in Orgon will disappear to make place for houses

Picture courtesy Louis Lempereur

Ranger Cubs found in a field + Mystery Mini Derivative (78)

Ranger Cubs three-wheelers keep on turning up in the last few years and latest now comes from Stuart Christopher Satchell, who recently bumped into not one but two Cubs in a field in the Midlands. They are Red and yellow and both of them unknown to me before. I have now added their registrations 'LPK 631P' and 'HKP 281N' in the little list of Ranger Cubs here.

Unfortunately Stuart had very little information: "Hi jeroen, unfortunately I can't really tell you much about them. Sorry I couldn't be of much help I just come across them when I was doing a delivery there."

Apart from the Cub duo there was another three-wheeler who I think may well be Mini based. It comes on a Q-plate and looks like an Earl Trike but is not that. Anyone who knows more about these three would be much welcome to tell more about them.

A field full of classics, and among them a duo of Ranger Cub three-wheelers

Picture Stuart Christopher Satchell

'HKP 281N' and 'LPK 631P' were previously unknown to me. Who knows more?

Picture Stuart Christopher Satchell

This was also there and I think it could well be another Mini powered 3-wheeler. But what?

Picture Stuart Christopher Satchell

Q-registered, but the plate is not very well visible. It's not an Earl Trike but looks quite similar

Picture Stuart Christopher Satchell

Ogle SX1000 on Ebay is not for sale

A while ago, a few months before I found what is my own Ogle SX1000 now (this one) I received a number of messages from readers who'd spotted one such car on Ebay. No, it wasn't offered for sale there but it could be seen in an ad for another car. I was interested to learn a little more about it since '996 GXH' was one that had been off the radar for many years. I contacted the seller and got a quick reply: "No not for sale, please stick to what is advertised."

I kindly apologized for my curiosity but did get another reply a few days later from the seller. He now wrote: "No problem, apologies if I sounded a bit brash. I do know about your book, sounds very interesting. The Ogle is not mine, it is part of a collection owned by a very eccentric elderly gentleman. He owns approximately 60 British fibreglass specialist sports cars from the 1960/70’s. He is very private and I am sworn to secrecy on who he is and his car collection. Kind Regards Mark."

That was a nice surprise. And there was more. Mark came back with the next: "I owned my self back in 1977 a 1967 Cox GTM, the registration number number was FRO 7G. I would love to trace where it is now. It had a 1360 cc Oselli engine with a very unusual Reece Fish carburetor. It was a quick little thing. I nearly bought around the same time a Peel Viking Minisport, it was dark blue and for sale in Suffolk, I could not quite afford what the then owner wanted for it. Kind Regards Mark." I've looked in the files but unfortunately cannot find anything on that Cox GTM as I don't have any pictures of a dark blue Peel Viking either. Anyone out here who knows more about these cars?

This Ogle SX1000 is owned by a very eccentric elderly gentleman and is not for sale

Picture Ebay.co.uk

Meanwhile, a Cox GTM registered FRO 7G is missing. This is a picture of another car with faked plate

Edited picture Jeroen Booij archive

Broadspeed GT found and sold

Last August Leon Daniels contacted me with a most interesting message: "Hi Jeroen, are you familiar with this car at all? Apparently a genuine Broadspeed GT."

I was most suprised to see pictures of a GT I didn't know about and wanted to learn more. Leon told me that the car had been offered for sale through a friend. He wrote: "The pics were sent to me by my engine builder Stuart Greig. He got them from a friend from Zimbabwe who said it was an original car. I got the impression that he was not the owner and was trying to find a buyer for a commission."

Since I was eager to find out more I contacted Stuart and finally got in touch with Jeff Lendrum, who told me he'd actually just bought the GT but hadn't yet collected it. He did send me a few more pictures of the car and also stressed it to be an original Broadspeed GT, with all the necessary paperwork including registration. It was in the UK where Jeff was to pick it up at the end of August. Two month have passed since and I have phoned and e-mailed him several times since for more details, but unfortunately don't seem to be able to get in touch with him anymore. 

Please let me know more about this intriguing find!

UPDATE 12:00: Andy Harrison writes: "I think I owned that for a while and was on the front cover of Hot Car magazine. 'WUX 431', I think or maybe 421? It was similar to how it is now. I bought it from Greg Hales, had it about 5 years in storage then sold it... It came with loads of history to other famous Broadspeeds and the owner of one of those cars bought everything. It needed painting..."

It could well be that car. 'WUX 421' was based on a Mk2 Mini and built up by Graham West of Burton-on-Trent originally. It did have electric windows and was in Hot Car mag. Not on the front cover but in the Reader's Cars section though. It's in this listing also, written almost exactly 10 years ago...

UPDATE 27 October 2021: Sad news as Stuart Greig informed me about the following: "Jeff Lendrum has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and is in intensive care in the UK, hence he is not contactable currently." I wish Jeff all the best.

UPDATE 28 January 2022: The sad news continues. Jeff is in a very poor health. The Broadspeed has now been sold again and is on its way to the USA. The transport company Kingstown Shipping placed the picture below on its Facebook page.

This is said to be a genuine Broadspeed GT, seen for sale in August. What happened next?

Picture Jeff Lendrum

The car was for sale in the UK and supposedly came with correct registration

Picture Jeff Lendrum

I'd never seen it before or heard about it. It was sold for very strong money

Picture Jeff Lendrum

An empty shell but a fantastic project if you ask me. Any more info would be much appreciated

Picture Jeff Lendrum

The car is on its way from the UK to the US now

Picture Kingstown Shipping Ltd

Magnum Spectre survivor

A picture of the second (of two) built Magnum Spectre was posted on Facebook this week. The car appears to be fully restored and I'd love to hear more about it. 

The two Spectres were made in the mid-1970s by carpenter Rohan Ash and his mate Arthur Wilshire of Auckland, New Zealand. They bought two written-off Leyland 1100s, one for each, and started work on the cars that were inspired by the Alfa-Romeo Carabo concept car. A magazine article was their only reference. Floors and mechanicals were retained, including the hydrolastic suspension and drum brakes, but they replaced the 1100 engines with 1275s from Mini Cooper ‘S’s. Some 30 metres of 25mm square section steel tubing was used to make a frame to place over each of the 1100 floorpans. The car’s bodies were made in fibreglass. Scissor doors like that of the Carabo were deemed to complicated and so Ash and Wilshire settled for more conventional opening doors. The hexagonal pattern of the rear lights, made of two layers of polycarbonate, proved to be another challenge. The interior was a mix of Mini, Datsun and home made parts. Once finished the duo offered replicas for sale from $8,500 but soon decided it would be too much work for them to run the business and deliver the kits. 

Both Ash as Wilshire used their cars on a daily basis for many years. Ash supposedly gave his to a museum in 2003, although it ended up in private hands some time later. Wilshire moved to Australia, taking his Spectre with him and the car seen on the Facebook picture is his car, on a Queensland plate with appropriate 'O KIT 2' number. It's now painted bright orange and has undergone some changes. It's got bigger wheels and wider arches while the pop-up headlights have been replaced by more conventional units. I wonder if it is still owned by Wilshire?

The Magnum Spectre of builder Arthur Wilshire was spotted in Australia recently

Picture Facebook via Paul Kelly

The same car when it was just finished in 1976. The pop-up lights still there

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Wilshire's Spectre was originally a deep brown metallic and wore a NZ plate 'IC 1520'

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Although it was based on an Austin 1100, the engine was a 1275 Cooper 'S'

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

While the very luxurious interior was a mix of Mini, Datsun and home made parts

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

This is the first of the two Magnum Spectres, the one used by Rohan Ash. Note different bonnet

Picture Patrick Harlow / Jeroen Booij archive

Ash and Wilshire marketed the Magnum Spectre in 1976 but never made any others

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Peel Vikings on the Isle of Man

As we saw last week a Peel Viking was autocrossed on the Isle of Man (click here), but it wasn't the only Viking on the island. Stephen Callow owns one, too. He wrote:

"Hi, here’s a picture of it from a few years ago parked with another Mini restoration project I have. It is pictured on your site when it was in the UK registered 'RET 680J' – a friend brought it back to the Isle of Man in the early 2000’s for a classic car hire business he started which didn’t success so I bought the Viking but haven’t got around to starting on it. The pics someone took of mine parked at the side of the house are quite old now and sadly it hasn’t improved but at least glassfibre doesn’t rust – the blue Mk1 Cooper is crumbling!"

"Mine was registered MAN70P when originally on island, then went to UK and became RET680J. It’s back on a 2003 IOM number plate now and has 1275 engine, discs, and needs a full restoration. Apart from Neil Hanson’s red one I have only seen one other in the flesh and that was autocrossed by Mike Hewison and had the front end cut off after a fire. I think it was scrapped, but knowing the IOM there’s one or two lurking in sheds."

I have added more pictures of Vikings on the Isle of Man. It would be lovely to hear from when you can fill in more about these cars.

This is one of the first Vikings built and I believe it must have been the 1966 show car

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

'MAN 66P', seen here with Peel castle on the island in the background 

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Same car, seen here with its designer and builder, the late Cyril Cannell. Does it survive?

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

That's Stephen Callow's car. Originally this one was registered MAN 70P on the island

Picture courtesy Stephen Callow

"The pics are quite old now and sadly it hasn’t improved but at least glassfibre doesn’t rust – the blue Mk1 Cooper is crumbling!" 

Picture courtesy Stephen Callow

And this is the same car after it had gone to the UK and was re-registered 'RET 680J' there

Picture courtesy Stephen Callow

"A friend brought it back to the Isle of Man in the early 2000’s for a classic car hire business"

Picture Mini Marcos Owners Club

Neil Hanson's car - 321 MAN - on the Central Promenade in Douglas, Isle of Man

Picture Jeroen Booij

Neil's car was fully restored not too long before I saw it and photographed it for Maximum Mini

Picture Jeroen Booij

The same car made it to a stamp from the Isle of Man, dedicated to Peel Cars, also

Picture Jeroen Booij

This is a mystery car to me. The registration is from the Isle of Man: MAN 321A

Picture Jeroen Booij archive