OWNER PROFILE
MiniWorld July 2019 35
the 1959 Mini Register Facebook page
in September 2014. The Mini in need of
a new home was a Clipper Blue Morris
Mini-Minor De-Luxe which was built
between 23 and 30 November 1959. On
1 December it was sent to Dickinson and
Adams Limited in Luton, Bedfordshire,
and registered in Buckinghamshire. “It
wasn’t in very good condition at all. In
fact, it was in a fair mess,” recalls Dave,
who is this Mini’s fifth owner. “It was
very weak. The rear subframe folded in
half when I tried to strap it to the trailer
when I collected it. When I got it home
and put it in the single garage next to our
house I thought: ‘what have I done?’”
Having restored Minis before, and
working in the motor trade as a mechanic
and workshop foreman, Dave was well
aware of the epic task ahead of him and
didn’t want to rush it. He was keen to
enjoy the process with his six kids. “There
was rust all over the drive when I started
blasting it all off. My partner Clare wasn’t
too impressed. “The first job we did was
take the engine out of it, to take the
weight out of it, and then brace it all up
so it didn’t fold up. I stripped it because
it doesn’t cost any money to strip it and
we’d spent all our spare money buying it.”
The bodyshell was put on a spit for
easy access during repair. “I’ve had that
for a while, obviously because of all the
other cars. As I got further into doing
the restorations I then bought myself a
plasma cutter and a spot welder to do it
properly.” Work then stopped for around
a year while he saved up to buy panels.
“I wanted to do it in sections really and
put the strength back into the car.”
His aim was to preserve as much as
possible of the original Mini. “It needed
a complete floor. M-Machine are very
good. They do a thing called a Special
Floor, which is for a ’59, so I bought one
of those and a boot floor. I managed
to save the original front panel but I’ve
changed the bottom half under the
bumper. I’ve kept the same A-panels
but chopped sections off and replaced
them. I re-made the steps and replaced
about an inch or two all around the
rear. It needed some second-hand
doors too. It also needed inner wing
repairs and the inner front arch section
replaced.” He even reinstated design
faults. “Where the toeboard meets
the floor it was the wrong way round,
as it was when new, which caused
water to run in, so I’ve put it back that
way again!” He fitted new front inner
wheel arch deflector plates which were
a sensible feature of 1959 Minis.
In order to save money he painted
some areas of the car in two-pack
paint in his garage but left most of it to
professionals. “I do inside, underneath,
boot and bonnet but, when it comes
to on top, I get someone else to do it. I
would like to have a go at spraying on
top one day but when you spend out
for the paint you don’t want to make a
mistake and have to do it again.” Father
and son Mike and Dale Tyler painted the
Mini in its original colour of Clipper Blue.
Dave has patiently sourced parts atautojumbles. Fellow ‘59 restorers from
the 1959 Mini Register have been helpful,
with some becoming firm friends. “There
were big holes in the floor which I cut
out to be the same as what they should
be. Ian Matthews helped me out there
as he’d got a few spare caps for the
holes. We bounce off each other a bit.
He’s a lovely lad and it’s good to have
the support. He taught me things that
some might think it stupid to replicate,
like that some round holes in the front
panel should be square so I filed them
out square. No-one’s ever going to see
them but I think it’s good to get it right.”
(You can read about Ian Matthews’
lovely restored ’59 in a future issue of
MiniWorld). “There’s an autojumblerDave Rippard
Would like to own: All
the Cooper S range
Hooked up: to Claire
for 18 years
Children: Five sons
and one daughter
Fave food: Mixed grill
Most hated Mini task: Fitting the
engine when you’ve resprayed it.
Does your Mini have a name? Freddie,
like the Flintstones’ car, as it had no floor
Other Minis owned: 1960 Morris Mini-Minor;
1961 Austin Seven; 1961 Morris Mini Minor; 1962
Mini Cooper; 1978 1275GT; 1982 Mini Pick-up»
Dave fitted a correct floor
pan complete with Issigonis'
design floors and the right
type of non-fluted sills.