MiniWorld June 2019 27
finished restoration, with regular visits.”
Astonishingly, Rob managed to
overcome the teenage bad-boy
imperative and did not go large with this
well-preserved, classic GT. “Originally,
I wanted to fit big wheels, brakes and
oversized arches. After some careful
thought, I wanted to preserve the
originality of the car and decided
against this. Any modifications I did
needed to be reversible so the original
spec could always be returned to.”
It was a mature decision. It is estimated
that 110,673 UK GTs were produced at
Longbridge between 1969 and 1980
and they had been introduced as the
successor to the Mk1 and Mk2 Mini
Cooper (of which around 80,620 were
produced at Longbridge). It was a
shrewd move by BL to use a cheaper-
spec 1275 engine for the replacement
Cooper and the GT became far more
popular, selling at the average rate of 845
vehicles per month, over approximately
131 months, compared to the Cooper
997/998 at 798 vehicles per month for
around 101 months. It’s not surprising
that the GT is now carving its own
niche as a collectible so Rob’s caution
This is the one-owner 1275GT's bodyshell as it
was when sold to Rob by its first owner. The GT's
last tax disc expired on the last day of 1989 so it
may only have done 10 years of service before
being taken off the road to be restored.Now there’s pretty... Could a dynamic colour
like this really have come from the 1970s? Yes,
and from British Leyland too. Rob got the GT's
subframes powder-coated in a matching hue
and some of the suspension arms as well.This is the worst bit of the bodyshell. The wings
had to be cut off but the inner wings were
repaired. You may just see the long rusty line
on the sill seams and the classic Mini rust patch
behind the damper upper mounting plate.With the interior complete, the yellow-coated
front subframe could be refitted. All the black
plastic components, such as the air ducting, have
to be totally clean when reused as used parts
can look really scruffy against new paintwork.The Real Mini Company didn’t take long to get
the metalwork repaired and replace the front
panel. Here the bodyshell's exterior has been
painted in etch primer. The sunroof had already
been fitted when Rob bought the 1275GT.The Oselli-built engine is believed to be the
original for this Mini. A new HIF44 carb, yet to
be bolted on here, replaces OE HS4 carb. The
original loom is being refitted and you can also
see a Hi-Lo through the subframe aperture.The b uild
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