Oh dear... :-(

[bizzard]

MG Magnette farina body too. Mk3 1489cc and 4 1622cc.

[cuthound]

4 hours ago, David Mack said:

My father had a Morris Mini and for some reason we all thought it was better than the Austin version. No idea what the difference was though, apart from the name and the badge.

 

Austin Mini's had a crinkly grille (unless they were Cooper versions).

[Alan de Enfield]

33 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

Austin Mini's had a crinkly grille (unless they were Cooper versions).

 

I think all of the cars that SWMBO has had have had 'crinkly grills' as well as 'crinkly front corners' and 'crinkly back corners'

[cuthound]

3 hours ago, MtB said:

 

Thats what Bengo just said!

 

I remember the Wolseley and Riley versions having stuff like leather seats and real walnut veneer (lol) dashboards, extra chrome and fancy radiator grills. Often two-tone paintwork too.

 

 

And then there was the MG 1300. Had the most powerful of all the A Series engines ever fitted into a vehicle. At 80bhp was a fave to buy from a wrecked car to put into your Mini. Better even than the standard 1275cc Cooper "S"engine which was only 72 or 74bhp, IIRC.

 

1071 cc developed 70 bhp, 970 cc developed 65 bhp and the 1275 cc version developed 76 bhp.

[Machpoint005]

4 hours ago, Nightwatch said:

And a lousy Wetherspoons.

 

That's another oxymoron.

 

[Machpoint005]

3 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

Some of them were also badged Wolseley or Riley, but they had slight differences.

 

That rather depends upon the year of manufacture. The scalloped bonnet Morris Oxford was a very different beast to the Austin Cambridge and derivative line.

 

Apparently when Mini became a "make" in its own right the DVLC didn't recognise it, so the BL dealers had to decide arbitrarily .. that one's an Austin, that one's a Morris ... there was absolutely nothing to distinguish them apart from the V5.

 

At least, that's what the dealer told my Dad when he bought one in 1975.

 

 

 

 

[GUMPY]

26 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

1071 cc developed 70 bhp, 970 cc developed 65 bhp and the 1275 cc version developed 76 bhp.

In standard trim 🤔🤭😎

[cuthound]

1 hour ago, Loddon said:

In standard trim 🤔🤭😎

 

Indeed, these engines can produce over 100 bhp per litre in race trim.

Edited February 19, 2023 by cuthound
To add one of my favourite mini photos

[Tony Brooks]

30 minutes ago, Machpoint005 said:

 

Apparently when Mini became a "make" in its own right the DVLC didn't recognise it, so the BL dealers had to decide arbitrarily .. that one's an Austin, that one's a Morris ... there was absolutely nothing to distinguish them apart from the V5.

 

At least, that's what the dealer told my Dad when he bought one in 1975.

 

 

When first introduced, all the versions carries their own "make" badges on the grill or front of the bonnet. The Wolseley ones (when they came out) had a light up Wolseley had on the grill. I think the Morrises had a badge on the back saying "Mini Minor" whereas the Austin ones just said Mini.

[cuthound]

1 hour ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

When first introduced, all the versions carries their own "make" badges on the grill or front of the bonnet. The Wolseley ones (when they came out) had a light up Wolseley had on the grill. I think the Morrises had a badge on the back saying "Mini Minor" whereas the Austin ones just said Mini.

 

The first Austin Mini's had "Austin Seven" on the boot, but in 1961 it changed to "Austin Mini". Morris Mini's changed from "Morris Mini-Minor" to "Morris Mini" at the same time.

 

https://classicsworld.co.uk/uncategorised/the-beginnings-of-the-mini/

[BEngo]

Early Austin Minis were badged as Austin Sevens.  I had one, briefly.  Fitted with a tweaked Cooper S motor, just got 100 bhp at the front wheels after Longmans, Downtons and a guy called Nolan Pitts had fettled it.  Would do 90 in second, if you could stand the row.    Great for eating Lotus Cotinas. 

 

The  Morris Oxford had a lot more room and was much better for evening activities on Dartmoor.

 

 

Beaten by cuthound.

N

 

 

Edited February 19, 2023 by BEngo

[Tony Brooks]

28 minutes ago, BEngo said:

Early Austin Minis were badged as Austin Sevens.  I had one, briefly.  Fitted with a tweaked Cooper S motor, just got 100 bhp at the front wheels after Longmans, Downtons and a guy called Nolan Pitts had fettled it.  Would do 90 in second, if you could stand the row.    Great for eating Lotus Cotinas. 

 

The  Morris Oxford had a lot more room and was much better for evening activities on Dartmoor.

 

 

Beaten by cuthound.

N

 

 

 

Yes, i forgot about that, but they were certainly not all identical.

[Peanut]

The body shell on the Austin Seven version was lighter than the later Mini version, and was much sort after as a base for track racing cars.

[Stevec]

On 18/02/2023 at 16:58, IanD said:

I went to Cambridge -- trust me, there are morons there too... 😉

I went to Cambridge - Oh how long were you there? - - About 5 minutes mate -- I was delivering the groceries  - - Old goon show joke

[GUMPY]

8 hours ago, Peanut said:

The body shell on the Austin Seven version was lighter than the later Mini version, and was much sort after as a base for track racing cars.

From memory it was only the 1959 cars that were lighter. Space frame chassis was the way forward if you wanted something really light🤔

[Tracy D'arth]

9 hours ago, Peanut said:

The body shell on the Austin Seven version was lighter than the later Mini version, and was much sort after as a base for track racing cars.

The early wheels were lighter by being of thinner steel. They used to break, many were changed under warrantee.

[cuthound]

12 hours ago, Peanut said:

The body shell on the Austin Seven version was lighter than the later Mini version, and was much sort after as a base for track racing cars.

 

No, both shells were identical but the shells built in 1959 were made of thinner gauge steel and thus lighter.

 

I rebodied my 1964 Cooper S (the original shell was rotten) with one from a 1959 mini to save weight when I modified it to go rallying.

[cuthound]

4 hours ago, Loddon said:

From memory it was only the 1959 cars that were lighter. Space frame chassis was the way forward if you wanted something really light🤔

 

Ownes Fabrications make excellent "new" shells (you have to provide the donor shell) which use the roll cage as a stressed member to save weight and add rigidity to racing minis.

 

https://www.owensfabrication.co.uk/product/historic-mini-mk-1-fully-restored-bodyshell-and-t45-roll-cage/

Edited February 20, 2023 by cuthound
Clarification

[GUMPY]

16 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

Ownes Fabrications make excellent "new" shells (you have to provide the donor shell) which use the roll cage as a stressed member to save weight and add rigidity to racing minis.

 

https://www.owensfabrication.co.uk/product/historic-mini-mk-1-fully-restored-bodyshell-and-t45-roll-cage/

One could spend a lot of money there😎

[cuthound]

10 minutes ago, Loddon said:

One could spend a lot of money there😎

 

Indeed, even relatively low level Motorsport, such as the Mini Millia series (Mini's up to 1000cc) requires £100k car plus running costs to be competitive. 😠

[GUMPY]

1 hour ago, cuthound said:

 

Indeed, even relatively low level Motorsport, such as the Mini Millia series (Mini's up to 1000cc) requires £100k car plus running costs to be competitive. 😠

There was a very accessible BMW series a few years ago. Basically unmodified cars with just a roll cage added. Cheap way into Motorsport don't know if it still exists.

[Guest]

So what's the craic with the DVLA if you completely re shell a classic Mini for road use??

 

(asking for a friend)

[tree monkey]

The one and only car I ever owned and felt sad when it had to go was a bog standard 850cc mini, I've driven a fair number of cars/vans/pickups over the years, most of them, (all of them?), more refined/faster/reliable, and still I miss that mini.

Funny things minis, love them or hate them they had something about them

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

The one and only car I ever owned and felt sad when it had to go was a bog standard 850cc mini, I've driven a fair number of cars/vans/pickups over the years, most of them, (all of them?), more refined/faster/reliable, and still I miss that mini.

Funny things minis, love them or hate them they had something about them

 

Definitely.

 

And I still have the scar on my thumb whem I tore it open on the sharp top edge of the bottom half of the radiator cowl.

 

Our second Mini was an 850 too K reg., with the long gear stick but I swapped it to a 998 with the shaft extention that meant it was a straight lever. The shell was built for both versions with a removable plate allowing for fitment of either.

 

It also broke down on our wedding day meaning I was nearly late! Clutch gave up.

 

But I still loved it, even taking it Cornwall one summer from the NE, and pxed it for a year old W reg Mini 1000.

 

I added chrome nudge bars to the newer one, cut a hole in the roof to fit a sunroof and added wheel spats, Rostyle (copy) wheels with spacers and a sporty smaller steering wheel. 

 

Thought I was the dogs do dah's but had to let it go when daughter one came along.

[cuthound]

17 hours ago, M_JG said:

So what's the craic with the DVLA if you completely re shell a classic Mini for road use??

 

(asking for a friend)

 

The DVLA use a points based system to determine whether the car can keep its original registration.

 

Full details here

https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-registration/radically-altered-vehicles