The Green Mini
Frank, my old school friend, had a thing with Minis. He was 6 months older so, as a car enthusiast wanting to get the drivers’ license as quick as possible, he got his license 6 months before I got mine. He immediately bought a car. It was a cheap rusty Mini, he fixed some things and sold it on for a bit of profit. Then he found his (then) dream car, a 1974 black Innocenti Cooper 1300.
Innocenti was an Italian car company which during the 60s and 70s assembled BMC (Austin or Morris) Minis. They put in many Italian sourced parts and these cars were sold as the Innocenti Mini, which were also exported to the Netherlands. The fastest version was the Cooper 1300. This was still available long after the British Cooper S was dead. It had many unique Innocenti details like Carello headlamps (not Lucas) and rear lamps, quarterlights and a stainless steel post in the doors, stainless steel door frames, a rectangular number plate at the back, thicker seats and a unique dashboard consisting of many round dials. These cars were genuinely quick, I remember driving one on a motorway at 160 kmu (about 100 mph), overtaking other cars. Scary in an old type Mini 🙂
Standard 1974 Mini left, 1974 Innocenti Mini Cooper 1300 right
Early 80s, even these rare, fast cars could be found cheap because like all Minis they rusted while-u-wait. Frank found one which needed work. He also was working at the Volvo specialist on Saturdays but was there for many evenings as well, always repairing or upgrading his Mini. He always carried all of his tools in the back of the black Innocenti. One day we went to a scrap yard, he needed something. I joined him because I loved being at scrap yards. On the forecourt of the yard I saw a little green Mini. It was old because it was of the type you did not see anymore (in 1981): horizontal sliding door windows, outside door hinges. I examined the car but apart from a little rust here and there, could not see why it should be scrapped. OK it did lean a bit to the side but that was probably the tires. A little worrying was that there were no number plates attached. On the other side, it did have rare aluminium wheels.
Frank agreed, this one was far too good to scrap. So we asked the yard owner about it. He said it was not for sale as the registration already was turned in. Which meant it could not go back legally on the road. Or maybe it could but then I would have to apply for a rigorous new test.
I discussed with Frank what to do. We agreed this unique car should be saved so I offered the scrap man scrap money which he agreed.
The next day I was back with Frank and the car of my father. We pumped up the tires (the yard had an air line). I still had not my drivers license but Frank could drive the towing car. I would sit in the green Mini. The hand brake worked so we saw no trouble in towing the car the 5 miles home carefully. Thinking about this now I cannot believe my father approved to do this! Probably we did not say as much and did not ask for permission.
At home I checked the car over. I saw it had cords to open the door from the inside, what a neat solution. From reading classic car magazines I knew this old type of Mini had the Hydrolastic suspension system instead of just rubber blocks, hmm. That looked pretty difficult and was probably the reason why the car still leaned to one side even though the tires had pressure. Frank got to work at the engine and after some fettling said let’s try. We tried but the battery was near dead. We picked up a battery at the Volvo specialist and put it in the Mini. After a few turns, and Frank spraying ethanol in the carburettor, the engine started!
Next to my parents home was a big field. We drove the Mini in the field and tried how fast it would go. Not too fast, it did run but not very good. Brakes did not work but the hand brake did. Also the car was very bouncy, it was clear something was wrong with the suspension.
After returning home and putting the car away in the garage, I got thinking. Was it realistic to repair the car? I needed the help of Frank of course. The work would need to be done at the Volvo specialist which was a little problem because he was just moving from one building to another.
Frank knew the address of a local Mini specialist. I invited him over to see what he would say about the car. He got to us and said he would take over the car, probably for spares. He offered me a little more than I had paid so the car went to him.
Still, I was sorry to see the car go. It has a nice color, I liked the early specification details. But I was not ready yet for difficult repairs likely needed on the Hydrolastic suspension. The fact that I had saved it from the scrap yard just to sell it on for scrap did not leave me with a good feeling.
About ten years later I came across someone who drove the same car as I did at the time (Triumph Herald 1200). He lived in the next town and said he also had an old green Mini, the type with the external door hinges. Surely this would not be… ? I went over and recognized my old car. I knew it really was my car because of a typical tear in the backside of the passenger seat. The strange thing is that the car had a 1972 registration. In 1972 no Mini had horizontal sliding windows. The owner said he bought it from that Mini specialist a couple of years earlier. A bit fishy, how could the car have received a 1972 registration? Whatever, I was glad to see the car surviving. Had I not bought it all those years before it would have been scrapped.
The black Mini
Sylvia said that if she ever would buy a car, it would have to be a black Mini. She did not really need one but I remembered the green one a few years earlier and thought it would be fun to experience a Mini alongside my white Chamois. Weeks later Tom, the Volvo specialist, announced he had traded in a 6 year old black Mini. He offered to sell it to Sylvia cheap because she was my girlfriend. Deal!
The Mini was a special, really. A 1100 Special. This was a version only available for a couple of years on the Continent (not in the UK). Apart from the bigger engine (more common was 850 or 1000 cc) it had a vinyl roof, sports wheel covers, small dashboard in front of the driver, plush black velour seats, wooden gearshift knob, tinted glass. It also had a rare option: spotlamps incorporated in the chrome grille. In black this really was a classy, even luxurious looking car.
Of course I had to test drive her car as well and we ended up at my parents place, parking behind the Mitsubishi Galant of my father. Everyone admired the smart car and said it was a lovely car. When Sylvia left to go to her parents later that afternoon, she stepped into the car and then disaster struck!
I always left a parked car in gear, usually first. This made sure the car would not roll. Not on the handbrake because in freezing weather there was a chance the handbrake would freeze and make the car immobile. Sylvia, with a fresh drivers license, was taught to leave a car in neutral with the handbrake on. To start, switch on the key, engine runs, then press the clutch and put in gear (forward or reverse), release the hand brake and the clutch. Dear reader, you already guessed what happened next, and yes, it did happen.
She started the car which instantly lurged forward, hitting the rear of the Mitsubishi. To make things worse, the Galant had a towing bracket. The tow ball was forced straight into that nice special Mini grille.
That grille with the spot lamps just visible
Luckily that was just the damage: a broken grille. And that special grille was not made of plastic but from tiny stainless steel U bars. I removed the grille from the car and Sylvia’s father dismantled it, drilled out the spotwelded bars and straightened the damaged ones. Then fitted them again using not spotwelds but tiny bolts and screws. These were invisible because the grille surround covers these. He needed a few evenings but then the grille was as new again!
We used the car once for a holiday to the UK. The first thing we did after arriving in Dover, was trying to get some sleep in the car. We had taken the cheapest ferry available (of course) which meant arriving very early, like 5 or 6 in the morning. During the night we had the three hour ferry and the hour or so wait before the ferry, so you could say we had a broken night without real sleep. In case you wonder: it is not very comfortable to try to get some sleep in a Mini, with two persons, even with reclining seats. It all adds to the fun of having a holiday in a Mini.
The second thing we did was to look out for an British Leyland dealer to buy a right hand exterior mirror. By default cars then were not fitted with two external mirrors, just the drivers’ side. Then we went searching for scrap yards. I had a thing with scrap yards and I wanted to visit UK yards. I was not disappointed, many species to be found of the cars I loved most, from the late fifties, sixties and early seventies. These cars I had seen in the UK magazines but not for real. I had made a list of parts I would want and got into the yard with my tool bag.
Overflowing river at Zutphen (or Deventer, I do not remember)
We also went to two or three Imp parts specialists. I had found their addresses in the UK Imp Club magazines where they advertised. There I bought many new parts. The most clumsy parts were three new bumpers, they only just fitted in the Mini starting between the front seats all the way to the top of the rear windscreen.
A main thing about the Mini was the discomfort. It was okay on smooth roads but anything else you got bounced all over the place.
Another main thing I did not like in a Mini was its inaccessibility. I once had to replace the radiator bottom hose which was a nightmare. Same for the gearstick joint to the gearbox. And the rear subframe.
It was the eighties, it was the Netherlands, the cars lived on the street so it was inevitable the Mini gained rust everywhere. Being a black car, it was easy to fill in the rust spots with a paint pen. After a few years the rust got worse, the car just got through the yearly inspection with the remark that it would need a new rear subframe next time. So I got a second hand rust free subframe from somewhere. I do not recall where, but Minis were everywhere and parts likewise. In our small rented garage (just big enough for one normal sized car) I managed to replace the subframe in one long weekend. I remember thinking Never Again!
After the successful change the Mini never stood straight again. The left rear wheel was just a little higher than the others. I had not the guts to investigate why. Everything worked, mounting rubbers had been renewed, so why? Could it be that I had bought a wanky subframe? It was not much, it did drive as well as before, others probably would not see it but I noticed it every time.
At our students’ apartment
We lived in a student apartment with a small parking area. This parking area was not completely level. I found out that when the Mini was parked at the right most parking spot, it looked good! No visible leaning.
We decided to sell the car. I did not want to go through another inspection a few months later with the possibility to fail on the subframe. So an ad was made and a young man came to see the car. He looked on the outside (which looked pretty good), loved the inside (as new) and asked if he could hear the engine. He was not interested in taking a drive because he did not have a drivers license yet. I asked what he thought of the car. He said he liked it but it was too expensive. We did what buyers and sellers do and agreed on a price. His father picked up the car the next day. And no, we never heard again from him. In all, a success maybe but I was never really happy about the selling process.
The yellow Mini
In december 1993 I spoke to a neighbour. He had a friend whose wife had gotten a new job, and a company car. This meant her current car needed gone, quickly. It was an old Mini, he knew I was into old British cars so maybe was I interested?
Now I did not need another car. But if opportunity knocks, cheap, nearby, known history for the last 5 years, then I am weak. Why not buy it and sell again after a few months? Anyone else would say why the trouble? And they would be right of course.
Not our car but very similar
It was a good 10 year old rust free Mini. Unlike Sylvia’s previous 1100 Special, this was a no-nonsense 1000, nothing special. A single big speedo in the centre of the dash. Blue-ish striped cloth seats. Immediately after buying I regretted it. It did not have the special things the black Mini had. I made me remember why I was not a huge fan of Minis. No comfort! We only had the car for a couple of months after which I sold it again, no profit made but happy to see it go. I never even took any pictures of it, which shows I never cared much about it.
The last year Mini
We came close to buying another “old type” Mini. In 1989 the end was announced for the production of the Citroen 2CV. I had no money then but if I had, or so I thought, I would buy one of the last 2CV new. And keep it for the rest of my life. What better to be the first owner of an already classic car?
Eleven years later, the same happened for the old type Mini. They were to be discontinued so if you would want one, be quick. Even though I was not a big fan, I discussed with Sylvia about buying one. A British car from the sixties era – which brought many great British cars – still available new. I visited a dealers showroom and was not impressed. Too expensive, too much gadgetery, cheap on details, the wooden dashboard looked out of place, the thick leather seats were too much for the car. I was never a fan of Minilites wheels either. It was an old car tarted up.
An example of a last year Mini
We could come up with the money even though it would be more than we had ever spent on a car. We decided it was not worth it, we were no die hard fans. If I would ever buy a Mini again, it would have to be one from the sixties.
” I always left a parked car in gear, usually first. This made sure the car would not roll. Not on the handbrake because in freezing weather there was a chance the handbrake would freeze and make the car immobile. “
Yea, you and me both.
And probably most – if not all – CC readers.
I think the greatest safety related muscle memory is the gear shift shuffle where a drive giggles the shifter right and left a few times to be sure it is in neutral before starting the engine with the handbrake and/or the foot brake applied.
The ubiquitous clutch safety switch in modern vehicles solved some of these concerns but there’s still the issue of what happens if the transmission is still in gear when the clutch is let up and you weren’t planning at that moment to be moving.
And my father was the one who warned me (in the mid-1950s) about the parking brake cable freezing; I still think about that advice on wet days facing a very cold night.
Now all we need to do is solve the issue of some people in automatic transmission cars putting them into Park on a hill and letting the vehicle slide back until the “Park Pawl” is holding the car from moving. Good luck getting the transmission out of Park with the Pawl so engaged.
I know people who have never used their parking brake. Ever.
I know people who have never used their parking brake. Ever.
If we’re talking about automatics, then you can (mostly) add me to that group of people.
Yes, one fairly rare occasions when parked on a very steep grade without a curb to turn the front wheel against, I have used the parking brake too.
As to what you describe about the parking brake pawl, in not getting the transmission out of Park, I’ve never experienced that.
Not sure where I have learned not to park with the hand brake on. I doubt it would be my father as I am sure he did not know how actually a hand brake would work. But I knew of one car from a neighbor who had to call in assistance from a garage because his car (Simca 1100) would not move one winter morning.
The use of the parking brake (or emergency brake?) seems to be one thing that seems to stick with people from when they first learned to drive.
I took driving lessons from a professional school, but the cars were automatic (1966 Ambassador), so my dad taught me to drive standard. He was an automotive engineer so I believed him when he had advice about cars. His preference was to leave the car in gear and also use the parking brake. His reasoning was that a transmission could pop out of gear (unlikely) or get knocked out of gear by someone hitting the shift lever. He also thought that if you never used the parking brake it would eventually seize up and you couldn’t use if you needed it. I live in a pretty cold place and I have never had trouble with a parking brake sticking, except for a car that has been parked for 6 months over the winter. In that situation I use a wheel chock.
On a similar theme does anyone use the hand brake when starting on a steep hill? I learned to do it when I first got my licence, but I seem to be able to get away without it now. Maybe the hills are not as steep anymore.
” On a similar theme does anyone use the hand brake when starting on a steep hill? ”
Sometimes. Especially if the guy behind me is so close I can’t afford even a little roll-back. Hand brake starting is also a good way to deal with very long red lights and also to minimize clutch slipping on the climbing start up.
Every clutch start up and shift is different (IMHO); some are better than others. I think it is a function of muscle memory verses focus and being in the moment. Hand brake starts activate a sense of focus up and away from normal stick shift driving. Sometimes, even when no one is behind me, I do a practice hand brake start on a hill – just to stay current (to use an aircraft pilot term).
Of course that’s just me.
”On a similar theme does anyone use the hand brake when starting on a steep hill? ”
Compulsory part of a UK driving test.
I did learn to do handbrake starts, but once I learnt to heel and toe for downshifts I used a similar approach for hill starts. It depends on the spacing of the pedals and it also helps to have wide feet. The only standard car I consistently drive now is my Citroen 2CV and it has what I call an umbrella handle brake. It comes out from under the dash and you pull it out to use it, but you have to twist it to release it. Not really that easy to manage.
The proper use of the handbrake on a Mini is to be able to turn it in its own length…
I will give a +1 to RL Plaut above – I don’t know that I have ever started a stick shift car without 1) wiggling the shift lever in neutral and 2) holding the clutch pedal down. And I am quite sure I never parked a manual in neutral. Oh well, different people learn different ways.
These Minis make for an interesting story – they are a car you aren’t into but that you can’t quit either. I think we all have some of these. Your description of going weak when opportunity knocks, holding what looks like a plate of candy, really resonates. I have given in to this a few times and narrowly escaped a few others.
These were never a big thing in the US, but the older brother of a buddy in high school owned one for a time. I should have paid more attention to it than I did, but that was not the kind of car that interested me then.
The yellow Mini is one of the few cars I gave in just because they were cheap and available. I have learnt since that this is not a proper reason to buy a car. Still now and then you meet people who’s main reason for having a car is that is was cheap to buy.
The lure of the Mini was great in Europe among young people during the time you describe. When I was in Austria in 1980, there were a surprising number of them there, invariably driven by that demographic. My cousin had just recently traded his in for a Simca 1100; that seemed like a vastly larger and more comfortable car to him.
Minis were quite rare in the US; they just didn’t sell. The VW Beetle seemed to define the low end of the acceptable spectrum for vehicle size in the US; cars like the Fiat 600/850, Mini, and of course the numerous little critters sold here during the import boom of the ’50s just never caught on, and that’s hardly surprising. Why bother? And sitting in a Mini among the giant American cars of the time was a bit disconcerting.
I loved the idea of the Mini, but never felt any actual physical attraction, as I was tall, and demanded that my cars be suitable for long, extended American travels, and be able to navigate rough and off-road conditions (hence my two VWs). The idea of taking a Mini off the pavement was of course absurd, as it sits so low.
But in the cities of Europe, the appeal is all-too obvious.
I don’t what the relative sales figures were, but Minis seemed to be quite popular in Canada, especially in the 60s and early 70s. Maybe it was just the crowd I hung out with. I certainly wanted one (Cooper S if possible) and several friends have owned them over the years. One is a professional cello player and drove a hotted up Mini for years. He is a bit over 6 feet and always had his cello in the back seat.
Yup, I remember a couple from my high school days in Hamilton. One guy who had one was a friend of a friend, and his was hopelessly rusty and terrible in winter, being so low.
This was the mid 80’s and there were still British cars to be seen on the streets, but they were disappearing fast!
During my month in England in 1994 it was a pleasant surprise to see so many of them on the road.
Being tall might well be the good reason not to be interested in a Mini. I am not sure you would actually fit.
A friend (Guus) who is around 2 meters got into Sunbeam Imps because he has no problem driving these, not so much in a Mini.
A coworker was 6′ 11″ and had no issues getting into and out of Type 1 Volkswagens, the only subcompact he would tolerate riding in.
I had read numerous times how “spacious” these Mini’s were, for their size. That was the catch “for their size”.
While on a business trip to the UK a fellow J.I. Case employee offered me a ride in his Mini from the olde Engineering building down to the tractor plant. Well sure, after all I had read about them I certainly couldn’t pass on the opportunity. I soon discovered, as I hit a knee getting in, that the “room” was indeed relative! Given that I was 6’4″ the seating position was simply cramped!
Yup: understand the fine print, so to speak. OTOH the BMW designed (current) Mini has gr8 front room for 2 people, not to mention a much higher level of performance with the S model. The styling of the new Mini (as first presented) struck my jaded eyes as a very clean, timeless design as well. 🙂 DFO
The new Mini was still a British design I believe, not by BMW. They owned Mini and produced the car of course (probably for the better).
We had a modern Mini for a while too. I am into two camps – one that say it should not wear the name Mini because it is so big compared to the classic Mini, the other camp saying it really is the modern version of the Mini using the same cues (similar like styling etc). I think both cannot be compared, as is often the case between different car generation models.
Frank Stephenson – whilst at BMW!
Also did the FIAT 500.
Definitely not British – born in Casablanca, of all of the bars in all of the world…and now a US citizen.
Thanx for the detailed writeup .
I’ve never had a Mini in spite of my foolish love of LBC’s .
I’m guessing Europe has better roads than the U.S.A. as I remember a lot of bumpy roads here .
IIRC Minis were quick rather than fast .
When I vacationed in the Isles of St. Lucia and Jamaica I spotted more than a few old Minis / Coopers sitting forlornly in the weeds rusting quietly .
-Nate
I would not go as far as I did in my 2CV COAL, saying that every car enthusiast should at least have driven a Mini once. But they are a fun car, and so different compared to any new car. If you ever have the chance take it!
Loved reading this!
I had a ’74 Innocenti 1300 Cooper at the end of the ’90s. One of my favorite cars ever – i can only liken its character to being like a drivable Jack Russel terrier. In other words, hyperactive and fun! Mine had a super smooth tuned and balanced motor with LCB/RC40 exhaust system and would top out at a genuine 180kph (110mph), as kindly verified by the Mainz police. At that speed it was doing 6,500rpm, which you didn’t want to hold for long, but its acceleration was enough to embarrass some of the local GTis.
Innos differ from British Minis in many ways, both bodily and mechanically – the rear trailing arms have negative camber, for instance, which gives a bit more roadholding at the expense of some understeer. The interior has lovely Italian bucket seats and a Porsche – like array of instruments.
This shared daily driver duties at the time with my along with a 427/425 C2 Corvette – quite the contrast, but each of these did exactly what it said on the tin – I loved driving both of them!
One day I definitely want another Inno – all Minis are fun, but these are pretty special.
Good to hear from a former Innocenti owner! I have only driven the 1300 Cooper of my friend a few times and it surely was the hardcore version of the usual Mini.
Dion, if you had test driven that late Cooper, you would have been even more disappointed in it.
The 12″ (or, even worse 13″) wheels raised the car and added un-sprung and rotational mass, ruining the handling and the fuel injected 1300 motors were gutless with horrible throttle response. All the extra equipment added weight, too. a whole bowl of not good….
I’m enjoying your COAL as it seems we have many parallel automotive experiences – my parents had an Imp and I had many Minis and Triumphs too…
A friend bought one of the last Minis. As you say I was not impressed. All the newer additions probably made the car more interesting for the average buyer (I doubt there were many average buyers in the end though). A bit too much for me.
The funny (tragic) thing is that when the Mini was introduced it was a modern concept predicting the future of small cars, but when those last ones were produced it was sold as “classic”, “retro” product looking backwards to the wood and leather pipe smoking ’50s England that most were glad to escape during the Mini’s heyday in the ’60s.
That was a time when Britain was optimistically forward looking and all about modernity – Mary Quant, Concorde, The Beatles, Stones, etc.
I’m glad you enjoyed BMC’s finest (an arguable rating position) and the car that is surely the most recognised British car across the world.
Being run on a budget by young drivers, students and (newer) as second cars is what Minis were doing in the UK at the same time – every family had one somewhere in the mix, except ours which never had a Mini, though my wife had one as her first car, pre-me. We had an Imp, and then Austin Metros, and I will admit a soft spot for a current Clubman.
But they do get you, and get every Brit one way or another. Just try a car show with a tidy old Mini.
Roger, I agree with your implication that the Mini was not BMC’s (or Issigonis’s) finest.
I would argue that the ADO16 (Morris/Austin/Wolsely/Riley/MG/VDP/Innocenti 1100/1300) should have that title – it was a best seller for years and set the template for compact family cars (along with the Autobianchi Primula) that can be traced to the present day.