TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION
1959 Morris Mini-Minor De-Luxe
Engine: 848cc A-series. OE 2A628 cylinder head, faced,
new valve springs. OE camshaft. new oil pump. points
ignition. Lucas C40 dynamo. positive earth. single 1¼” SU
carb. dynamo. NOS cast iron water pump. PD fuel pump
. 4-blade steel mechanical fan. single-box NOS exhaust
. early-type radiator. reconditioned wire hose clips. OE
wiper motor. Autosparks wiring loom. Wingard glass
washer bottle. Gearbox: 22A104 aluminium casing.
3-synchro manual four-speed wand-shift box. early type
clutch master cylinder, removable top nuts. early 1959-
1964 second-hand coil-spring clutch. Brakes: Non-servo
assisted, single-circuit system. early type brake master
cylinder, removable top nut. single-leading-shoe drum
brakes front, rear. refurbished OE brake back plates, riveted
adjuster brackets, shot blasted, painted. new steel brake
pipes. OE wheel bearings. Suspension: Refurbished OE
front subframe. replacement later rear subframe, modified. replacement dampers. refurbished OE top arms, bottom
arms, tie bars. refurbished OE steering rack. replacement
suspension cones. original trumpets, cleaned, painted.
early OE steel radius arms. Wheels/Tyres: OE 3.5x10”
riveted steel wheels, refurbished. Esso E-110 crossply tyres
. oblong-hole early DeLuxe wheel trims. Interior: 1959 Mini
front seat frames. Newton Commercial replacement vinyl
Grey Fleck/black seat covers/trim. Newton Commercial blue
carpets. OE handbrake, refurbished. dash panels trimmed
with OE door card Grey Fleck. remanufactured early door
pulls. OE steering column, cowling. refurbished OE heater
. second-hand 5.5-gallon fuel tank. remanufactured
boot mat. refurbished steering wheel. OE headlining,
cleaned. Exterior: November 1959 Mini-Minor bodyshell
. M-Machine ‘Special Floor’ with flat sills. M-Machine boot
floor, modified in rear seat area to look like OE. front
valance repaired below bumper seam. OE wings, repaired
. OE A-panels, repaired. OE door steps, repaired. OE boot
hinge panel, repaired. new rear valance. replacement
second-hand doors. repairs to inner wings. replacement
toe board. new front inner wheel arch deflector plates. OE
grille, painted OEW (WT3). AA badge. high-build primer
. Clipper Blue (BU14) two pack paint. Waxoyled. original
lock barrels. Lucas 700 headlights. remanufactured long
bumpers. single-hole glass in doors, one piece re-made.
clean it in the week leading up to a show
and, when you get there, you are still
cleaning it. I will alter a few things to
keep improving its chances. I am always
trying to make it better. Even though it
doesn’t look dirty I still clean it. I start at
the top, have it all on axle stands and do
underneath. We don’t use it a lot but it
still gets dirty. I try not to get water on it.”
Dave has a preferred polish. “I’m
an Autoglym fan so I use a lot of their
stuff, as well as Meguiar’s. I have a bit
of a fetish for buying polishes. A lot
of it is elbow grease really. Clare says
she’s surprised it doesn’t melt as there’s
more wax on there than on a candle.”
And how is the next generation of
Rippards shaping up in terms of keeping
the Mini connection alive? “They are
a good help although my daughter
thinks they are a heap of rust. They are
learning all the time. They respect the
history. They like to watch the videos
on YouTube and see the early days
of BMC and all that. The knowledge
they pick up is incredible. They are
getting a bit geekish and looking out
for inaccuracies on other cars, which is
good until they say it out loud at shows.”
What is the next Rippard familyproject? “I’d be hard pushed to do
another one like this. At times it
physically and mentally broke me,”
admits Dave. If you see Dave and
his Mini at a Mini show give him an
encouraging word or two about his
1959 Mini as, when a Mini restorer
is this good we need him to save
another one, or two, or three...Dave Rippard would like to thank: “Clare
and the kids; Allan Thomas for parts;
Mike and Dale Tyler for the spray job;
Newton Commercial; my late uncle Donny
Littlehales for my Mini knowledge.”40 July 2019 MiniWorld
[ 1959 Morris Mini-Minor De-L xe ]
The original 848cc motor
was refurbished and mated
to a replacement gearbox.