austin mini

The classic Mini. Who doesn't have fond memories of it? My first, a beige Clubman estate my Nan owned. The memorable occasion, getting lost and waking my little sister to tell her we were lost causing her to burst into tears.

My next memory was much happier. At the age of 18, by best friend from school was given a 1969 MkII for his birthday. Nicknamed "Herman", it was painted Blue with a cooper white roof, flared arches and Wolfrace wheels. My friend learnt to drive in that car, some scary memories, but the fun that followed...... I later acquired the car which had been unused for some time gave it a re-spray lost the arches but gained a set of Cooper reverse rim steel wheels. A novice car restorer, my attempts were short lived and so I had to part with the car. Part of me regrets this and if I ever find it again I would love to buy it back for my friend, but I fear its sitting in a scrap yard some place looking sorry for itself.

A lucky break followed with another friend of a friend who had a white 1970 clubman which was stuck in 3rd gear. A quick look over and £50 later the car was mine. Over the weekend the offending cog was replaced and I sold a good condition car for £700. A good weekends work for any man!

Much later my wife, then girlfriend, started her driving life in a 1985 Austin Mini 25 Anniversary. Over time she clocked up many miles and spent a lot of her student loan on bringing her little car up to scratch. Upgrades included ditching the leggy 1098cc engine for a nippier 1275cc, full re-spray, new chrome, arches and a wide set of polished rim Revolution alloys. The inside received a similar treatment, retaining the Anniversary seats but adding new carpets, and a walnut dash and console. As student transportation it was perfect, cheap to buy and run and with the simple mechanics, I could do most of the maintenance and servicing.

These cars were so much fun and easy to work on and upgrade, I think its such a shame there are less on the roads these days as every time I see one, I still smile with fond memories. The BMW MINI is a great car, no doubt there, but it lacks everything of the original, fun, compact, cheap motoring.

When the day comes I can afford a warehouse of "most wanted" cars, you can be sure a mini will be parked in there some place.

Mark Borthwick
December 2007