9 minute read
EVENT DIARY
British Mini Fair takes place on 29 January.
2023 January
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12-15 Autosport International
Annual multi-marque event celebrating everything motorsport at Bimingham's NEC. Traders, clubs, displays and a live-action arena. www.autosportinternational. com
29 Wirral to Llandudno Mini Run
Annual Mini event organised by Wirral Minis. Starts at Bromborough, Wirral and travels to the spectacular scenery of the Great Orme and ends at Llandudno Prom where Minis are displayed for the afternoon. Non-club-members are very welcome to join in. www.wirralminis.com
29 British Mini Fair
Fantastic event at Bingley Hall, Staffordshire County Showground. Perfect shopping day out for Mini fans due to the large amount of Mini-specific traders and autojumblers plus club stands, British Mini Club's Show 'n' Shine and the Premier Concours final. +44 (0)1384 897779 www.britishminiclub.co.uk
March
UK. Starts at MINI Plant UK, Oxon and finishes at Silverstone Interactive Museum. £35 per two-person team includes breakfast. Extra people £14. www.italianjob.com
24-26 Classic Car & Restoration Show
Multi-marque event at Birmingham's NEC. Demonstrations, food outlets, live restorations, club, trade and autojumble stands. +44 (0)7500 695 531 www.necrestorationshow.com
26 Brooklands Mini Day
Annual event at the excellent Brooklands Museum, Weybridge, Surrey. Club stands, traders, food outlets and café. Run your Mini up the legendary Test Hill. Ticket includes entry to all the museum's attractions. +44 (0)1932 857381 www.brooklandsmuseum.com
April
21-24 Cotswolds Charity Classic
Classic car tour raising funds for Ovarian Cancer Action. Based at Puckrup Hall Hotel, Tewkesbury, participants will visit Highnam Court, The Classic Motor Hub, Broadway Tower and Barn and Chavenage . The tour finishes near Tetbury. £610 per crew, including some food, plus accommodation. www.bognor-regis-mc.co.uk
29-1 May Riviera Run
Excellent Mini weekender at stunning seaside location of Pentewan Sands Holiday Park in St Austell, Cornwall. Entertainment, rocker cover racing, fancy dress contest, show 'n' shine, glow show, kids' entertainment, displays, local crafts, Mini traders, scenic Mini cruises. Static caravans and camping pitches available on-site plus restaurants and watersport facilities. Day visitors are welcome to attend the show and cruises. No dogs are allowed on site. www.cmcrivierarun.co.uk
30 Mk1 Action Day
Original Mini track day at Blyton Park, Lincolnshire. Supports Macmillan Cancer Support. www.mk1-performanceconversions.co.uk May
7 British Marque Day
Multi-marque event at Brooklands Museum, Weybridge, Surrey. Clubs, traders, food outlets and café. Ticket includes entry to all the museum's attractions. www.brooklandsmuseum.com
21 London to Brighton Mini Run
Mini run organised by LSMOC from London to Brighton's Madeira Drive. Starts at Cheam Recreation Ground, Sutton, Surrey. Camping available on Saturday night, with entertainment and food stands. Traders, displays, club stands and show 'n' shine on Madeira Drive. Individual tickets available online from 15 January at £45 per Mini. www.london-to-brighton.co.uk
25-29 International Mini Meeting
Every year the IMM is hosted in a different country. In 2023 it will be organised and hosted by Mini Owners Club Italy and will be based at Norcenni Girasole Village which is a campsite near Florence, Tuscany, Italy. Expect Mini runs, and visits to local attractions. www.imm2021.it June
4 National Metro & Mini Show
At the British Motor Museum, Gaydon, Warks. Club stands, displays and trade stands. Entry to the museum is included in the ticket price of £14.50. Camping available the night before at £35 per pitch. www.britishmotormuseum. co.uk July
9 BMC & Leyland Show
Multi-marque event covering BMC, British Leyland, BL, Leyland, BMC and Rover vehicles at the British Motor Museum, Gaydon, Warks. Trade stands, club stands, displays. Entry to the excellent museum is included in the ticket price of £14.50. +44 (0)1926 895300 www.britishmotormuseum. co.uk
15-16 Italian Job Re-enactment
600 Minis will gather in in Stoke Aldermoor, Coventry, to drive the sewer tunnels originally used by stunt driver Rémy Julienne in The Italian Job. Club stands and traders. www.coventryitalianjob.com August
24-27 Mini Beer&Bretzel
Classic Mini camping event at Kembs Campsite, Alsace, France. €50 per person includes welcome pack with T-shirt. Free for under 12s. minibeerbretzel@gmail.com
25-27 Silverstone Festival
Multi-marque historic racing festival at Silverstone Circuit, Northants. Track action, displays, food stands, stunt shows, live music, traders. www.silverstone.co.uk October
9 The Italian Job
Fantastic annual touring event to raise funds for Buttle UK kids' charity. Starts in Imola and finishes in Turin. www.italianjob.com
TIME CAPSULE
Alain Waksenboim from Connecticut, USA, is proud to be the custodian of this very low-mileage 1967 Mini Cooper.
Words and photos: Alain Waksenboin
I've been a British car guy since I bought a 1973 Triumph TR6 while in college in 1988. I later went on to own numerous British cars, from several
MGs to a TVR to a 1970 Jaguar XK-E in
British Racing Green which, to me, is the epitome of British classic cars. I did an amateur restoration on the Jag in my parents’ garage in New York City and kept the car for over 11 years. I even got to enjoy driving it when my wife and I moved to Connecticut, the perfect place to enjoy classic British cars in the US. For me, it was the closest thing to driving the scenic country roads in the UK; on the wrong side of the road, of course.
I bought my first classic Mini in 2018. I had casually looked for one during trips to London and Paris over the years. It was a 1970 Morris Mini 1000, in Bronze Yellow, which had been restored in the Netherlands and brought to the US. It was a rebuilt, modified car which was great to drive. I sold it a couple of years later and regretted it almost immediately. I was then on the hunt for another Mini. As I’ve gotten older, I have become more interested in unique cars, regardless of mark or the condition, and a Mini was on the top of the list.
Mini enthusiast Alain is enjoying taking his Mini to events but tries not add too many miles to the odometer.
The spotless interior looks brand new. Note the rev counter on the dashrail.
Fast forward to October 2021 when I drove my 1971 TR6 to what I believe to be the best car show in New England: Caffeine and Carburetors. It’s held at Waveney Park in New Canaan, Connecticut. The owner of the Connecticut Classic Car Gallery, Steve Landau, found me at the show. He knew I was looking for a Mini and told me he had just acquired the lowestmileage, unrestored Austin Cooper in the world. It belonged to a retired 86-year-old attorney and car collector who was downsizing his collection. Steve said the car was purchased new in Germany in 1967, was shipped to Boston, Massachusetts, later that year where it was stored for 55 years. This was backed by all original paperwork and shipping documents.
The next day I went to the shop where the Mini was being ‘gone over’ to be made roadworthy. When I arrived, it was on a lift and I could see the undercarriage had mint original paint as nice as the paint on the body. It was unbelievable to see. It had a 160kph speedometer with 7,700 original kilometres on the clock, which was
backed up with its documents. That is about 4,800 miles. Is my Mini the lowest-mileage Mini which is registered and on the road in the world?
The Classic Car Gallery refurbished the fuel system and rebuilt the original carburettors. The original gas tank had rotted from the inside out due to condensation caused by being stored with very little fuel in it for 50 years. It was not salvageable so they sourced an OEM tank from Mini Mania. They checked the brakes and found no issues. The Hydrolastic suspension was pumped up and a full tune-up and fluid change were performed.
I was told that the car was started yearly and driven a couple of miles. The Massachusetts title showed that it had covered fewer than 500 miles since the 1990s. While it hadn’t been restored, it had been maintained by the original owner. Any repairs needed had been done. From my research, it looks like the alternator was rebuilt and, based on the date code, new tyres were put on about 30 years ago. Hoses and rubber parts were replaced as needed. The rubber hoses, tires and battery are not original, nor are the grille quick-release knobs, an aftermarket tachometer and an upgraded Smiths water temperature gauge in Fahrenheit.
What is great to me about this Mini is all the original things. First, it's a rust-free Mini and has the original tool roll and owner’s manual. Other than a
Alain has been lucky to find a Mini in such original condition. The 998 engine has covered fewer than 8,000km.
The documents
Alain’s Mk1 Cooper came to him with plenty of documents including the original purchase order and receipt from Frankfurt, Germany, a receipt for extra items ordered, German registration information, details of shipping to Boston and then its title when registered in Massachusetts, USA.
Alain is a classic car enthusiast through and through so the Cooper is clearly in good hands.
Alain wonders why the Cooper has a boot board for a twin-tanked Mini.
few chips, the paint and interior are in near-new condition. German-market cars had locking steering columns and I have the original keys with a leather fob. The key has serial numbers which match the ignition and are shown on the Heritage Certificate which I acquired to verify all serial numbers.
Other cool details include the door hinges which still have factory pen markings which helped the factory installers identify upper and lower hinges and whether they are the left or right side. If you tilt the seats, they still have evidence of the plastic wrap the seats were delivered with. All factory stamps and tags are present and match the Heritage Certificate. Even options like the amber turn signal lens and 4Kw heater are correct. All glass and the wiper motor and boot latch are date code correct. What I'm slightly stumped by is the boot board which is for a Cooper S and leaves room to add a second tank. I don't know if the original owner ordered it that way or the factory just threw it in because they had one ready at the time.
According to the purchase order the original owner had ordered a red car with a black roof but took Tweed Grey with an Old English White roof upon delivery. He traded in a 1961 Sunbeam Alpine for US$400 towards the US$1,515 purchase price of the new Mini Cooper. The build date verifies it was a late Mk1 Mini, built mid-January 1967.
After purchasing the car, all I have done is cover the original carpets and add period-correct lap belts. Now I use it for local ‘cars and coffee’ events and car shows. I believe that, with a car like this, there needs to be a balance between being driven and preserving the low mileage. It's amazing to drive an almost new factory Mini and feel how tight and fresh the car feels. Having driven a few other classic Minis, the first time I drove it I thought: “Wow, this is what a new 1967 Mini feels like” . Every time I see it in the garage or take it for a drive, I still think to myself that this car should be in a museum. So now I am the curator of the world’s smallest Mini museum in Connecticut.
