Tell us a little bit about your Mini history.
I have a couple of other Minis. My first car
was a Mini, a ’79 called George... I still own
him. I’ve also got Pixie - a ’72. I got her in
2004 as a 30th birthday present.How did you come across this car?
It used to belong to a friend of ours, who we
met through the club. Richard had the
Clubman since 2003. He was going to V-Tec
it, but when he told us of his plans the
Register collectively took a sharp intake of
breath. Richard realised that it had to be
done 100 per cent to factory spec, but after
stripping it down to its bare shell he realised
that this was too much for him to take on. So
in early 2016 he asked me to help him sell it.
I had always told myself that if an early one
came up for sale then I’d do it... Richard is
really excited that the car is getting finished.How determined were you to get it done
for the 50th anniversary?
I just had to do it, no matter the cost. I just
had to get it back on the road. This was
made especially clear when we realised how
rare the colour is. There were only two
models in Blue Royale in 1970.How much of the car will be original?
We’ve tried to keep as much of the original
parts as possible. It’s been difficult because
some of it simply wasn’t salvageable. The
rear seats are original, but the carpet was a
goner. Mini Trimmings sorted the carpets for
us. They also fitted the Newton Commercial
seat covers. There is a slight colour
discrepancy between the front and rear
seats, but once they are in the car it really
won’t be noticeable.Were some things simply unsalvageable?
Some things just had to go. For instance, the
gearbox went in the bin. We’ve kept
everything that we took off the car. Even if
you can’t use it, it would feel wrong to get
rid of it.How much effort are you putting into
ensuring all details are accurate?
We have done all we can to get the car back
to original. For instance, the bonnet stay
was fitted on the wrong side – it had
obviously been swapped over at some
point, so we swapped it back to keep it as it
would have been. I was also advised that
original engines at the time would have
been painted black. However, when Nick
looked in the engine bay it was totally green
with not a scrap of black in there. So weFinish is incredible, and the
underside is as detailed as the top.Original clocks cleaned and checked.Inner wing has been modified to early spec.A long way from where it started -
no longer a Fred Flintstone mobile.Tellusa littlebitaboutyourMinihistory.
I have a couple of other Minis. My first car
was a Mini, a ’79 called George... I still own
him. I’ve also got Pixie - a ’72. I got her in
2004 as a 30th birthday present.
How did you come across this car?
It used to belong to a friend of ours, who we
met through the club. Richard had the
Clubman since 2003. He was going to V-Tec
it, but when he told us of his plans the
Register collectively took a sharp intake of
breath. Richard realised that it had to be
done 100 per cent to factory spec, but after
stripping it down to its bare shell he realised
that this was too much for him to take on. So
in early 2016 he asked me to help him sell it.
I had always told myself that if an early one
came up for sale then I’d do it... Richard is
really excited that the car is getting finished.
How determined were you to get it done
for the 50th anniversary?
I just had to do it, no matter the cost. I just
had to get it back on the road. This was
made especially clear when we realised how
rare the colour is. There were only two
models in Blue Royale in 1970.How much of the car will be original?
We’ve tried to keep as much of the original
parts as possible. It’s been difficult because
some of it simply wasn’t salvageable. The
rear seats are original, but the carpet was a
goner. Mini Trimmings sorted the carpets for
us. They also fitted the Newton Commercial
seat covers. There is a slight colour
discrepancy between the front and rear
seats, but once they are in the car it really
won’t be noticeable.Were some things simply unsalvageable?
Some things just had to go. For instance, the
gearbox went in the bin. We’ve kept
everything that we took off the car. Even if
you can’t use it, it would feel wrong to get
rid of it.How much effort are you putting into
ensuring all details are accurate?
We have done all we can to get the car back
to original. For instance, the bonnet stay
was fitted on the wrong side – it had
obviously been swapped over at some
point, so we swapped it back to keep it as it
would have been. I was also advised that
original engines at the time would have
been painted black. However, when Nick
looked in the engine bay it was totally green
with not a scrap of black in there. So weFinish is incredible, and the
underside is as detailed as the top.Original clocks cleaned and checked.Inner wing has been modified to early spec.A long way from where it started -
no longer a Fred Flintstone mobile.