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Who is going to save this Siva Mule? (Updated)

August 19, 2015, 4:49 am
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I hadn't seen a Siva Mule being offered for sale for a long time and was happy to see one being advertised from Lancashire this week. Well it wasn't much more then a rough chassis plus body, but wasn't that the way you bought it when the thing was new?
But hang on, that slot in the body's left hand side seemed familiar. Yep. This very car was offered for sale some two years ago in Walsall. It was complete at the time, with all the mechanicals, interior and its correct 1974 registration 'BUY 148M' - a real barn find or so it seemed. Now, its engine, suspension and all the rest of it ave gone while the registration number is defunct. What a shame another piece of Mini variants history is treated like this. Or is somebody going to rescue it? See the ad here.

UPDATE 20 august: Richard 'Dicky' Scott, dropped me a line with some good news. "Hello Jeroen, I'm actually the owner of the Siva Mule kit on Ebay, I contacted you when we stripped it down to restore it but due to work commitments etc. I've never got round to it. I'd just like to say that the kit comes with a full V5 and its original registration BUY148M. Also I have the engine."
And that's not all. Kelvin Kinkaid got in touch, too, writing: "I have the moulds and the chassis jig for the Siva Mule you posted about rescuing. So if anyone does what to rescue it or rebuild one it can be done." I can sleep again!
1970: the Siva Mule was introduced together with six more Siva designs!
Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Body/chassis kits came at 195 GBP. That's Neville Trickett himself behind the wheel
Picture Jeroen Booij archive

This surviving body and chassis (1 of 12 kits sold) is now for sale in Lancashire
Picture courtesy ebay.co.uk

Nice find… but the unusual slot in the left hand wing seemed familiar to me
Picture courtesy ebay.co.uk

Yep - that's the same car a while ago, complete and with proper registration at the time
Picture courtesy classiccarsunder1000.com

Rough, but bucket seats, Mini mechanicals and reg. number 'BUY 148M' were all there
Picture courtesy classiccarsunder1000.com

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Cool Maya GT shot - but who is that man?

August 21, 2015, 2:12 am
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Another great shot of the Maya GT 'HPN 13D' was found recently in a 1967 Dutch motoring magazine. I am not sure but suspect the man standing proudly next to it is the boss himself: George Holmes - anyone who can confirm this? The car was used for one of the brochures and was raced by a Mike Greenwood, but I still haven'tt been able to find out anything more on that. See here for more information about the car and click on the registration numbers below for all the other Camber GTs and Maya GTs that I have researched. 

NPM14F (Camber GT)
RLL8L (Camber GT)
FNU400H (Camber GT)
HPN14D (Camber GT)
DEN70D (Camber GT)
KOO589 (Maya GT)
HPN13D (Maya GT)
RKM473G (Maya GT)
PAP14F (Maya GT)
???208H (Maya GT)

The Maya GT demonstrator with - I think - George Holmes who designed it
Picture Jeroen Booij archive

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Racing a Stimson Mini Bug - not without trouble!

August 24, 2015, 6:08 am
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You think buggies are for posers? Think again as some were raced. Stephen Lawrenson got in touch recently to tell he owned a Landar R7 at one stage and carried on about his adventures with a Stimson CS+1 - the competition version of Barry Stimson glorious Mini Bug. Stephen bought that car after he'd heard of autocrosser John Bevan's exploits in one. He wrote: "I wanted a Marcos but couldn't afford one, when I read about Johns Bevan's Stimson. I thought now this could be a good thing to race because it was so light. The donor car was a 1962 Mini Cooper 997 but I used a 1071 S engine and sprinted and hill climbed the car for two years when the body was shot after me rallying the car for two or three years prior. I then changed the engine to a screamer 999S to race in up to 1000cc, which proved to be a good idea. With help from a friend we built it up from my Cooper. I managed to get a sponsor with MiniSport of Padiham to help with the cost of racing."

But then trouble started. Stephen: "John Bevan's car was sponsored by Cars & Car Conversions back in the early '70s and he used this car to win a championship in either '73 or '74, I think in autocross at a National level. When I bought my car it was the same as John's but when we went to an RAC meeting  they said it was a go-kart because the wheelbase was too short! We contacted Stimson in Portsmouth but they didn't want to know. I said they would be when I contact the RAC to say that John's car was illegal and the winning car was a go-kart. They then said not to say anything and made extension brackets to lengthen my car. It only needed to be 1" longer. We did the change to the radius arms and had to make mudguards to comply with the regulations as well. I hill climbed and sprinted the car for 2 years with class wins with a Cooper S 999. Then I sold the engine and wheels and the body to my friend Eric who converted it to a road going Stimson. Then I bought the Landar R7 in 1975/1976…"
Thank for sharing your stories and pictures Stephen!

Stephen Lawrenson at speed in his Stimson CS+1 racer, built after John Bevan's
Picture courtesy Stephen Lawrenson

Lightweight and short wheelbased - only a go-kart was shorter - just an inch...
Picture courtesy Stephen Lawrenson

Sponsored by Mini-Sport - the car's lengthened wheelbase is good visible here
Picture courtesy Stephen Lawrenson

Especially when you compare it to John Bevan's unaltered car on this picture
Picture Jeroen Booij archive

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Miss Tilling calls in

August 27, 2015, 6:10 am
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MiniSprint owner and author Keith Mainland had a little surprise for me this week, as he brought me in touch with Suzi Grant-Fernyhough. Suzi is the girl in the 1975 Tilling Mini de Ville advertisement, seen here some two year ago. She wrote: "Dear Jeroen and Keith, Bill Albert (whom I have known since the year dot) sent me this email as he recognised that it was a photo of me! Your mysterious “Miss Tilling” is in fact Suzi Grant-Fernyhough, who now runs the 96 Club in London, see here. My husband, at that time, was James Tilling’s business partner and it was through James and Ian that I developed my love of classic/cherished cars and les 24 Heures du Mans and I have been involved one way or another with the 96 Club almost since it began… I could also possibly contact Ian and see if he has memories of that period." Please do so Suzi, as the Tilling Minis are still much shrouded in mystery. Meanwhile, I did find another ad of Tilling's wind-up window conversion plus one of another fully converted Tilling Mini de Ville that was offered for sale in 1996 and registered 'LBP 446P'. Who knows what happened to that car?

It's Suzi here! That's her in 1975 - 40 years ago and still a classic car lover!
Picture courtesy Sascha Wilkins

Another Tilling ad, another Tilling girl! Feel free to get in touch with us, too…
Picture Jeroen Booij archive

 Plus another Tilling Mini de Ville with the signature Landau conversion. Where is it now?
Picture Jeroen Booij archive

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Euregio Meeting 2015 - the people

August 31, 2015, 4:32 am
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It was a particularly sunny day, yesterday, when the Marcos Eurgio Meeting took place in The Netherlands, attracting a flock of Mini Marcoses and a handful of other Mini and Metro based cars. Due to the lovely weather and very scenic route plus start and finish location I was able to make plenty of nice photographs. For today some faces, later in the week I'll tell you more about the cars.

Peter Camping is one of my most dedicated readers, sending in snippets and unusual finds very regularly. This is his immaculate Midas Gold Convertible
Picture Jeroen Booij

Always there: Richard Porter took over his Mk2 Mini Jem this year. He's owned the car for 21 years now and had it just repaired and repainted. Note the extra air intakes on the bonnet 
Picture Jeroen Booij

Splendid car, splendid couple: Joost van Dien and Anne Nobels. Joost owns another Mk3 and more interesting cars. He's working on a Gilbern Invader right now
Picture Jeroen Booij

Steady runners: Ed 'The Hat' Darwinkel and his trusty Midas Gold were there last year and will be there next year. You'll have to love him for admitting that, apart from Midases, he's a big Allegro fan!
Picture Jeroen Booij

Jouke Boersen with well-traveled Mini Marcos and girlfriend Daphne - I made a similar picture of them in Lithuania (click here) earlier this year. The start of a tradition?
Picture Jeroen Booij

I hadn't seen Raymond and his GTM Coupe for years, but was really glad to see the car now finally finished. It's beautifully engineered and fully turbo'd. More about it soon.
Picture Jeroen Booij

Keith Rose restored this GTM Rossa prior to coming over with his lovely wife. It's one of the cleanest I've seen. Keith owned several Marcoses and Kingfishers, too 
Picture Jeroen Booij

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Euregio Meeting 2015 - the cars (and a train)

September 1, 2015, 10:00 am
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Some more views on this year's Marcos Euregio Meeting - as promised. Now focussing on the cars rather then on the people. Enjoy it!

Starting location was the beautiful estate of the Institute of Philosophy in Leusden, Netherlands
Here Henko Landheer's gorgeous Mini Marcos Mk4
Picture Jeroen Booij

"I haven't driven it very fast yet - I wouldn't dare", said Raymond van der Klugt about his great GTM Coupe with turbo and intercooler
Picture Jeroen Booij

Colourful display of derivatives during the lunch stop at Renswoude...
Picture Jeroen Booij

…Where Jeroen Klomp served lunch and showed his latest find: another Mini Marcos Mk4 body with TransXL style add-ons and rear spoiler…
Picture Jeroen Booij

…Plus TransXL style and very deep front spoiler, too. The body is for sale to a devoted enthusiast. 
Ask Jeroen for a price by going here
Picture Jeroen Booij

Over to the finish location at the steam depot in Beekbergen. A steamy and noisy affair, but very photogenic. That's Raymond GTM again
Picture Jeroen Booij

I was just ready to make a photograph of Keith Rose's GTM Rossa when this thing came along. I say!
Picture Jeroen Booij

It was bloody slow, too, but I took my time and shot this when it had chitty-chitty-banged away
Picture Jeroen Booij

This Midas in Gulf livery is owned by Hans Joachim Lenzen, who drove it over from Cologne. I think the Gulf livery suits it pretty well
Picture Jeroen Booij

The Four Tops: Frank Morskate's great Le Mans replica; Jouke Boeren's Mk3; Ed 'The Hat' Darwinkel's Midas Gold and Richard Porter Mini Jem Mk2
Picture Jeroen Booij

But for me this was the car of the day. Another Mk4 Mini Marcos, beautifully restored in Germany. The car is owned by Hans Joachim Lenzen; his wife Kerstin drove it
Picture Jeroen Booij

The car's interior, too, was splendid in its simplicity. Hans Joachim made a lot of work of keeping it that way, despite several modernizations hidden under the dash
Picture Jeroen Booij

The big Weber, with ultra short intake manifold, hints at serious power. And indeed, this 1310cc engine is said to deliver over 140bhp. it was built by Hans Müller-Deck (more here)
Picture Jeroen Booij

The eye for detail is eye-catching and these Japan-sourced mirrors are just an example. They are adjustable from the inside, too
Picture Jeroen Booij

1970s shade of green suits it particularly well and original Cooper 'S' wheels are another groovy detail, making this car stand out from the rest - I believe
Picture Jeroen Booij

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Ruud's restoration

September 4, 2015, 4:38 am
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Ruud de Leeuw has just finished the long-term restoration of his Mk1 Midas and got in touch. Unfortunately he wasnt able to bring it over to the Eurgeio Meeting last weekend but he may be there next year. He tells me the car needed a full nut and bolt restoration and that is what he just did. The body was repaired and resprayed, the subframes sand blasted and epoxy primed. All the rubbers in the car's suspension were replaced by Polyflex, the interior now sports new carpets and mats while the reupholstered seats were sourced from a Mazda MX5. The Metro loom didn't fit very well and so Ruud decided to make a new one by himself. The Metro 1275 new uses a stage 1 kit plus stage 3 cylinder head. Well done, love it!

Oh - and what's more: Ruud bought my GTM Coupe years ago and, now that his Midas is finished, thinks about selling that again. See the market place section of this website (here) to find out more and get in touch in touch with Ruud.

Midases came in self-coloured gellcoat, much prone to fade, so this one was nicely painted
Picture courtesy Ruud de Leeuw

That's one sharp looking Midas - the splendour of a true Richard Oakes design!
Picture courtesy Ruud de Leeuw

The kits came with wiring looms fitted when new, but Ruud replaced his, as he did with the engine
Picture courtesy Ruud de Leeuw

Fresh interior with retrimmed Mazda MX5 seats and plenty of chrome-bezeled gauges
Picture courtesy Ruud de Leeuw

Recognize this? It was owned by your's truly years ago. Ruud is now offering it for sale again
Picture courtesy Ruud de Leeuw

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Greenwood's 'sidecar' at its prime

September 8, 2015, 6:51 am
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Thanks to an observant reader I was sent over these great pictures of Owen Greenwood's infamous 'sidecar' creation. They are all pictures I never saw before and I quite like them. It also struck to me that the 'four-wheeled motorbike', as the thing was named soon after it entered the sidecar championship in 1965, appears to be road registered at one point. I can't find anything on '139 GYN' though. What's more: I don't think that is Owen Greenwood at the wheel, but who is it then? And how about the lady passengers? 

Anything goes: 1960s paddock scene includes a clever piece of British engineering
Picture via Michael Craig

Mind that aluminum body… Greenwood Special weighed just over 300kgs
Picture via Michael Craig

Mini sidecar became the terror of the tracks in the mid-1960s, pulverizing the championship
Picture via Michael Craig

Oops! Things didn't go well all the time though. Double rear wheels can be seen here
Picture via Michael Craig



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Unipowers meet up (in 1984)

September 10, 2015, 4:18 am
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When I caught up with Unipower GT owner Tim Carpenter last year (more here) he told me he had a stash of pictures somewhere of a meeting he attended with his car back in the mid-1980s. If only he could find them, scan them and pass them over… Well, fast forward a year and a bit more and they are here. And what a beautiful set of photographs it is! Meanwhile I had another long chat to Tim, who does remember bits from that day in July 1984 after having seen the pictures again. So here is a starter. Enjoy it for now, more to follow!

4 Unipower GTs on a hot day in July 1984. What happened to them? Watch this space
Picture courtesy Tim Carpenter

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More about the Unipower meet

September 11, 2015, 5:33 am
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As you may have known, there was a little group of devoted Unipower owners in the south of the UK back in the 1980s, who regularly met up. Tim Carpenter was among them: "The first Sunday of the month we used to have a pub meeting in Brockham, Surrey but most of the guys came over in their daily drivers as their Unipowers inevitably were in some state of disrepair. But the pictures of the cars together were taken at a meeting at Syon Park in July 1984, which was organized by Gerry Hulford. The Heritage Motor Museum used to be part of the park at the time. These days it probably is a hotel."

"The green car belonged to Peter Beale, who lived in West London. You can see his car is on the original Mk1 Cosmics, which my car originally had, too. You can also see that all the cars, except for mine have an air dam at the front. They are from a Golf Mk1, but I didn't think it needed one. People said it does get very light at the front at speed but I remember it felt all right to me when I drove it once at Goodwood when it was just finished, although it was hardly run in at the time."

"I believe Peter's car was sold to Japan (yes, it's been seen there, now painted silver grey-JB) but I don't know what happened to the other two: YLN 4G and NPN 16F. As you can see they both have the black windscreen surround and this was original to the cars, I believe they were both Mk2s. On the other pictures taken inside the park you can see a yellow racer. I don't think this is the Le Mans car, but another. It was Gerry's, as was the two-tone car, which was in fact the 75th and last car built. That went to Japan, too."

"Next, there was a kit car show at Hindhead which ran every year in the middle of the summer and I think some of the pictures were taken there in 1991. One of the cars was the two-tone Mk1 which was owned by Simon Lee. He worked for Janspeed at the time and the car was beautiful. It was an early car, too, with a chassis number under the 10-mark and I remember it really was pretty."
Thanks Tim for all the memories and pictures. I need to make a big update for my Unipower register as more information has come up since the last time I updated it. Who knows what else this may lead to.

 Four Unipower GTs. Closest car to the camera, YLN 4G, is a Mk2. Note (Golf sourced) air dams
Picture courtesy Tim Carpenter

 The orange one, another Mk2 and registered NPN 16F, was also a regular during 1980s meets
Picture courtesy Tim Carpenter

 The green car belonged to Peter Beale. It's silver-grey now and resides in japan
Picture courtesy Tim Carpenter

More cars, including Tim's (centre) the last one built (far right) and a wide bodied racer 
Picture courtesy Tim Carpenter

 Not the Le mans racer, is it? I believe this car to be in Japan now, too, but I'm not sure
Picture courtesy Tim Carpenter

Hindhead '91: This early car belonged to Simon Lee, who worked for Janspeed. It's in japan now, too. 
Behind the Mini Marcos another Unipower, registered HNK 8G
Picture courtesy Tim Carpenter

That's it. It was painted black later and offered for sale for 1,600 GBP (see here). The man carrying the books is Peter Beale, the man in the green sweater is Simon Lee
Picture courtesy Tim Carpenter

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Mystery Mini Coupe getting less mysterious

September 15, 2015, 8:57 am
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Michael Nahar of Connecticut, USA got in touch as he'd seen a Mini Coupe. This Mini Coupe. And he wondered if I knew more about it by now as he was offered the car recently. Well, I didn't know more but thought it may well have been an ABS roof conversion and so asked ABS boss Tony Bucknall. Tony came back instantly: "Hi Jeroen, that is one of the conversions done by a company in Norfolk, it's the same moulding, yes. Unfortunately our Coupe roof was taken off the sales list two weeks ago as we took the mould out of the storage container to make one for a customer in Ireland, only to find the mould has been effected by Osmosis and is now useless. So that clubman is even rarer now!"

I asked him if he remembered the name of the Norfolk company, but unfortunately he did not: "I purchased a really strange set of body kit moulds and the roof moulding from a gentleman who had ceased trading several years prior. It was late 90's when I bought them, so it may well have been trading in the 80's. The only images I have seen where that Clubman which was used on a black and white advertising flyer, and a red mini with the body kit fitted, the body kit had a large box shape on the front bumper/grill area, it looked like a cage on the front of the car!" I hope he or somebody else will be able to find that ad one day.

Meanwhile, Michael had a look at the car earlier this week and came back to me, too: "I was let down by the car's detailing, with the fiberglass clearly visible from inside. Under the rear screen, pop rivets are visible through the paint and the same goes for the boot. I believe it will need some work where the fiberglass is mounted on the steel body although the car seems to be sound structurally. The doors close beautifully and the seems are all okay. It's a pity that the rear side windows have just been glued in though. What do you think?" Well, I quite like the car, even alone it was for its rarity. You won't find another in the USA - I'm quite sure of that!

A Mini Coupe, believed to have been created in Norfolk in the 1980s
Picture courtesy Michael Nahar

That's a British plate dating back to 1974. But the car ended up in the USA
Picture courtesy Michael Nahar

Detailing could be better, but the colour scheme is definitely cool. Is that a Marina logo?
Picture courtesy Michael Nahar


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Japan Mini Day 2015: Derivatives theme

September 17, 2015, 2:10 am
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The 23rd Japan Mini Day will this year take place on November the 1st at the Lake Hamana, west of Hamamatsu (where well-known specialist Dinky Inc. is based). What's more: this year's theme is Mini derivatives, with several very interesting cars expected - as you'll know the country hides a vast number of Mini variants and specials. Unfortunately I won't be there, but will let you know when I receive pictures. More information can be found here.

Poster art for the 23rd Japan Mini Day. Note Broadspeed, Mini Marcos and Unipower
Picture courtesy J-MSA

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Unipowers for sale

September 18, 2015, 3:46 am
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I get often asked if I know of a certain Mini based car for sale. Mind you: I'm no dealer and am not too much interested in the buying and selling side of cars. But now all of a sudden no less than three Unipower GT owners asked me to see if I know somebody to buy their cars. The first two asked me to do so in private, so I can't say much about them here unless you are really interested and prepared to pay top prices for top cars (which they both are - drop me a line if you are) - sorry!

But the third of them can be shared here freely. That car, chassis number 36713, is a Mk1 and is one of a few cars delivered to Spain (see one here, one here, another here and yet another here) and prepared as a race car from the start. This one actually was the car entered in the 6-hour race of Barcelona and later owned by Spanish MP Miguel Arias Cañete. It's been modified and, for example, now misses the signature gear lever placed into the door sill. But it seems to be a fantastic car to me overall. What's more: it comes with full FIA papers and is ready to race. See the ad here. Oh - and do bring it over to Blyton Park next year when you buy it!

Flares, fat tyres and FIA papers: this Unipower GT road legal racer is for sale
Picture courtesy Patrick Kaufmann

The same car during the Barcelona 6 Hours of 1968. It's always had the same registration
Picture Jeroen Booij archive

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The end of the Martini Mini

September 23, 2015, 2:34 am
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I often wonder why there are so little Mini based cars from the continent. Italy, France, The Netherlands, Belgium - there have to be more cars built then the handful that I know of. Or how about Germany? The only German Mini based car that I know of is the Martini Mini ASC (for Austin Cooper 'S'), built in 1964 by Willi Martini. Martini ran a BMW dealership on the Nurburgring track and had already rejoiced the German cottage industry with some low volume production cars before he turned a wrecked Mini into something very cool (design buy Uwe Bahnsen, built with BMC dealer Dieter Mohr). Anyway: the car was campaigned seriously at the 'Ring (10:50 lap time at the then-22.8 kms long track) and transformed into a Mk2-version before it was crashed heavily in June 1966 by driver Ralf Juettner. One picture of the wreck was published in Maximum Mini 2, but there are several more, donated to me by Wolfgang Thierak. Below a selection of them. Oh - and if you do know of any other continental Mini derivatives - do let me know.

This picture was published in Maximum Mini 2, but there are quite a few more…
Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Look at this one of the wreckage being loaded on a trailer. It's amazing Juettner got out unhurt
Picture Jeroen Booij archive

The crashed Martini Mini arrives at the Martini garage - now the home of BMW Motorsport
Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Onlookers aplenty. I don't know who the 'driver' is. Could it be Ralf Juettner, who escaped unhurt?
Picture Jeroen Booij archive

The leftovers must have formed quite an attraction in between the BMWs at Martini's garage
Picture Jeroen Booij archive

The Austin Cooper 'S' engine is clearly visible here. The car got scrapped, but the mechanicals?
Picture  Jeroen Booij archive

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Today 50 years ago: Mini Marcos debuts

September 25, 2015, 12:30 am
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On 25 September 1965 an unusual new car made its debut at a very wet Castle Combe. It was the Mini Marcos which was not even yet officially launched until January 1966. But the car, built by Jem Marsh, driven by Geoff Mabbs and entered by Jan Odor of Janspeed Engineering, made a remarkable debut.

Autosport magazine headed 'First race - first win' and quoted Marsh before the race took place: "Don't expect too much of it - it was only completed at midnight last night and isn't at all sorted." They continued: "It had 'only' a group 2 1,293 cc Mini Cooper S engine, but even after only seven practice laps Geoff Mabbs had it in pole position for the 1,600 cc GT race. The little device went like a bomb in atrociously wet conditions, lapping all but one car to finish 81.8 secs ahead of the second man - who very nearly came under the axle also. Don't expect too much indeed!"

Geoffrey Mabbs was an experienced racing driver who ran a garage in Keynsham, Somerset. He raced and rallied Mini Cooper S's for the Cooper Car Co. but moved to the Janspeed team in 1965. Both Janspeed in Salisbury as Marcos cars in Westbury were relatively close by. Unfortunately the Janspeed-Mini Marcos didn't last very long. Mabbs crashed it heavily only a week after his Castle Combe-victory during the Weston-Super-Mare Speed Trials on 2 October 1965 and the car was scrapped. Mabbs died at only 50 in 1983.

The Mini Marcos Owner's Club will be celebrating the historical win with a meeting at Castle Combe this Saturday during the Mini Action Day. On the Sunday they have organized a drive through Wiltshire and Somerset visiting some of the places associated with 50 years of Mini Marcos production. A week later the Castle Combe Autumn Classic will take place and enthusiasts Gary Marlow (who owns a very early Mk1 Mini Marcos in racing guise) and Pete Flanagan (who owns the Janspeed Unipower GT as driven by Mabbs) will be there "on a bit of a Geoff Mabbs celebration" Unfortunately I won't be there, but hope to be able make a nice report next week.

Mabb's Mini Marcos about to make its debut at a wet Castle Combe on 25 September 1965
Picture Jeroen Booij archive

"The little device went like a bomb in atrociously wet conditions", wrote Autocar
Picture courtesy Autocar magazine

The car at the Weston Super Mare Speed Trials a week later, just before being crashed
Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Geoff Mabbs, seen here on the 1963 Monte Carlo Rally in a works Mini. He died in 1983
Picture courtesy Pete Flanagan

Jan Odor (left) and Geoff Mabbs with the Unipower GT they entered after the Mini Marcos' crash
Picture courtesy Pete Flanagan

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Castle Combe celebrates the Mini Marcos

September 28, 2015, 1:51 am
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What a lovely day at Castle Combe to celebrate the Mini Marcos' debut of 50 years ago (updated story here)! A photographic report with excellent pictures by Stuart Watson. Thank you very much Sir!

Richard Porter's Mini Jem Mk2 heads a long line of Mini Marcoses (and another Jem)
Picture courtesy Stuart Watson

But there's even more of them. An excellent turnout of Mini Marcos Owners
Picture courtesy Stuart Watson
 
Individual: Mk4 with big rear spoiler, vinyl roof and signature Cortina rear light
Picture courtesy Stuart Watson

I like this Mk3 in full racing guise. Note the hump on the roof to gain some space
Picture courtesy Stuart Watson

Mini Marcoses are all about individuality - Note flares and wheel arches of all kinds 
Picture courtesy Stuart Watson 

Another Mk3 Marcos, the registration suggests it came over from France. Tres bien
Picture courtesy Stuart Watson

Lovely car in lovely colour and condition, or so it seems. It's another Mk3
Picture courtesy Stuart Watson

The white car is Peter Skitt's Mk1 Marcos. A very early car - seen at Blyton Park too
Picture courtesy Stuart Watson

Opening rear hatches give a big clue about the age of these three cars
Picture courtesy Stuart Watson

And that's the dynamic duo from London that has also been seen here before
Picture courtesy Stuart Watson

And a bit of a surprise! This is Gerry Bath's 'Minim' - a hill climb special of 1965
Picture courtesy Stuart Watson

Gerry Bath passed away last year and that's when the car came out of its hiding
Picture courtesy Stuart Watson

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Mystery Mini Margrave looks indeed like Omar's toy

September 29, 2015, 1:16 am
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You may remember the Wood & Pickett Mini Margrave spotted in an underground car park in Cannes two years ago (see here). The question was: is it the same car as '50 MAR'? That's the Mini Margrave Elite with all the bells and whistles, also known at one stage as 'World's most expensive Mini'. Despite the horrid Mercedes-grille and landau roof conversion many details definitely pointed in that direction. The thing was that we couldn't see anything of the car's interior.

Until now, as Wood & Pickett-owner John Reynolds got in touch, writing: "Working in Nice, France today. So thrashed the hire car to the madness of Cannes to see if I could find that Mini Margrave. I could. And it was great to see a car I had a photo of on my bedroom wall growing up. Those windows are so dark! But… that orange piping and the 'super elite' armrest are there." So, what do you guys think?

There it is with a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow as a stable mate. Also a W&P car?
Picture courtesy John Reynolds

Double exhausts, triple antennas, low rear screen, modified boot lid - it's all there
Picture courtesy John Reynolds

And there's the interior - well… only just as the windows are pitch dark. It does match, though
Picture courtesy John Reynolds

And the same goes for those 10" Minilite wheels with rare spinners
Picture courtesy John Reynolds

AOM initials on door must be the car's current owner? Or are they Sheik Omar's?
Picture courtesy John Reynolds

Dusty but dry stored. Does this car get driven at all? '111 UN' is on sorn since 1999
Picture courtesy John Reynolds

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Gerry Anderson's rather special Mini Moke

October 1, 2015, 12:34 am
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Let's have a little sneak peek at the content of Maximum Mini 3, which will include some intriguing Moke based cars, too. How about the film car commissioned for tv producer and director Gerry Anderson? He was the man of The Thunderbirds, UFO and Space: 1999, to name a few. You may know that Anderson also filmed the flick Doppelgänger in 1969 (see here) and had several Mini Moke based six-wheelers made for this movie. They were later adapted for the UFO series (see here)

Anyway: In order to film driving scenes Anderson had a special camera car built, which again was Mini Moke based, using and extra rear subframe and six wheels. The lengthened platform was necessary to locate camera and film crew and there was a camera mount on the bonnet, too. The car supposedly used hydrolastic suspension for a soft ride. Question is: does it survive? The DVLA recognizes it as a blue Austin Light Utility 4x4 with 2-axle rigid body weighing a whopping 3499 kilograms! That has to be a mistake? 'RYW 677F' - where are you?

It's very fuzzy but this is the only picture that I found showing the Gerry Anderson Moke as a whole
Picture Jeroen Booij archive

This one is better known. It shows the car in use, filming UFO actress Wanda Ventham 
Picture Jeroen Booij archive

And again in full working conditions. I think that's Gerry Anderson himself giving instructions
Picture Jeroen Booij archive

And this is what they filmed. Note Straker's car on left, SHADO Jeep and a Siva Edwardian?
Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Who knows the location? Also note groovy Stingray and Interceptor in the parking lot
Picture Jeroen Booij archive

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World's only car with transparant seats?

October 6, 2015, 6:36 am
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I came across some nice shots of the Quasar Unipower lately and simply had to share them here. The car was the idea of former model Emanuelle Khahn who ran a fashion and accessories firm in Paris and who entrusted her husband, the Vietnamese-born industrial designer Quasar Khahn with the design. He teamed up with Universal Power Drives of Unipower GT fame to build a run of twelve cubic cars with sliding doors. Only the prototype used Khahn's trademark interior of transparant and inflatable PVC seats.

The Khahn family in their element: a complete transparent and inflatable interior!
Picture Jeroen Booij archive

More inflatable Khahn seats here - but not in the car. Only the prototype used these
Picture Jeroen Booij archive

That's it. The prototype used an unusual (fake?) number plate 'TP 45F'. I wonder if it survives?
Picture Jeroen Booij archive

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It's Castle Combe again

October 8, 2015, 8:53 am
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Castle Combe surely was the place to be for us folks, last weekend and the weekend before. First we had the Mini Marcos' 50th Anniversary party (Stuart Watson's lovely picture report here); then Gary Marlow and Pete Flanagan took their cars (Mk1 Mini Marcos and Janspeed Unipower GT) to the Autumn Classic at the same venue. And photographing Stuart was there, too! Pete wrote: "We had a great day and drove the Unipower round the track that it spent most of it's early racing life for the first time in 48 years. The Marcos suffered from a dodgy fuel pump so didn't make the track for the racing car parade but Gary's done a fine job of recommissioning a very original car that's essentially the same as it was when it last raced 45 years ago or so! The crowd were very appreciative of both cars. We met a guy who was working on one of the Jag Mk2s entered in one of the races who had owned two Unipowers back in the day which he remembered very well. Commentator Marcus Pye was also very complementary about both cars and pointed out that BTCC star and now TV commentator himself Tim Harvey is actually Brian Harvey's nephew (who owned my Unipower). Small world eh?" Indeed. Thanks Pete!

Dynamic derivative duo: Pete's Unipower and Gary's Marcos at Castle Combe
Picture courtesy Stuart Watson 

Castle Combe was local to where this Unipower spent much of its early life
Picture courtesy Stuart Watson 

Gary's Mini Marcos is a very early car and is basically unchanged since being built
Picture courtesy Stuart Watson 

It's a racer, so like Pete's Unipower no registration plates here. And tiny lights!
Picture courtesy Stuart Watson

Note the front air dam at Pete's car, which was added after the Spanish GP in July 1967 to stabilize the front end. The aero development was done in the MIRA wind tunnel and is reportedly one of the first uses, if not the first use of a front air dam on a production car
Picture courtesy Stuart Watson 

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