This might go very good, or very bad.

DannyC

DannyC

0
I was surprised today to be contacted by text and e-mail about an online raffle I entered last week (I had forgotten all about it).
Apparently I was the winner and this will be delivered to me on Monday.

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It is 49 years old, but has had some work done (like many ladies of that age).
Here's the spiel that went with the promotion....
Meet Gwen. Some of you will know this Mini as it was won by Alan Barton 2 years ago. Now she's back.

Having had a small fortune spent on her over the last few years which includes a full restoration with floors, inner & outer sills, boot floor, rear arches, rear valance and all the usual front end panels being replaced. Then freshly painted in Nardo grey to an extremely high standard with black contrasting accessories, this includes, painted stripes, roof, arches and all the chrome being matched. Paired with a 10 inch wheel conversion also finished in black (spot the orange painted insides) and brand new Yoko A008 165/10 rubber she's a GUARANTEED show winner! Has recently been fully Lanoguarded again.

Under the bonnet is a nicely modified 1275cc engine, everything was replaced when it was built. Has a stage 2 head with 21cc cambers etc that has literally just been re done. A nice lumpy cam with upgraded pistons and paired with an AC Dodd HIFF 44 carb, 3 branch LCB and full side exit Playmini exhaust system which of course sounds epic. The gear box has just been totally rebuilt meaning that this Mini wants for nothing. A full rolling road set up, resulting in a great 83.2bhp & 83.5 ibft, she will now be more like 90 bhp with the head just being redone. Upgraded 4 pot callipers and rear super fins plus braided hoses take care of all the stopping requirements. Of course everything underneath is adjustable and includes upgraded Gmax shocks, Hi-Los, tie bars & camber. The subframes have been removed and freshened and Alan every weekend after using her, had her up in the air with the wheels off for an intense clean, she's as good underneath as she is on top.

Internally you'll see the same attention to detail everywhere you look. The Mini SPi seats are a thing of beauty and like new. Union Jack door card and rear parcel shelf with contrasting orange stitching tie in very neatly with the splashes of orange around the car and cabin plus the black carpets. An alloy gear knob, black leather 3 spoke black painted Mounty steering wheel and alloy door furniture finish this mini off perfectly. This is somewhere you will happily spend lots of miles.

In summary Gwen is one of our best to date, this Mini is stunning, perfect in every way, she has it all. This is one of the best Mini builds I've ever seen and will WIN whatever show it attends in my opinion.

Now it would be rude not to have a play with it wouldn't it? :) I suspect the insurance will be horrendous.
 
I wouldn't worry to much about insurance ?

I doubt if either you or your wife could get in and out of it with any dignity ? ;) :D:D:D:D

I'll get my coat ........

Paul
 
stormbird said:
I wouldn't worry to much about insurance ?

I doubt if either you or your wife could get in and out of it with any dignity ? ;) :D:D:D:D

I'll get my coat ........

Paul
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Well, we will give it a few "entry/exits" on the driveway before bothering to insure it then. :)
 
Am I right in thinking it will be £0 and Clean Air Zones (CAZ) and Low Emission Zones (LEZ)exempt ?

That could be worth a bob or two ?

Paul
 
At first, I thought you were kidding, Danny - And then I realized you weren't, you dirty dog, you :oops:
I had one, oh so very, very long ago, my favorite car ever!
Mine was a yellow '63 Austin, with only the 1100, but with a "special" cam, a slightly milled head, and a single SU, just like yours - I loved it so much.🥰

I could tell stories, but I won't, seeing as some of them were illegal, as well as dangerous, but at least I survived to remember them.
I drove mine like I stole it, as they say - But we are all older and wiser now ................................, Ain't we?

Oh, and Congratulations, BTW !😁
 
Congratulations, I think.

I had a 1275GT. Hated it. Steering wheel like a bus despite having a steering column lowering bracket. Burnt as much oil as it did fuel. If you went on the overrun down a hill it put out a James bond type smokescreen behind. The wheel studs were made of gorgonzola and could be snapped with just a spider. The gearbox whined like a teenager because it's sat in engine oil and doing anything in the engine bay was an exercise in dexterity. It rusted like an automatic rusting machine and the A series engine was, I believe, originally fitted to Noah's ark and it works like it's that age too. There's also about 1 inch of suspension travel before dentures depart their orifice. Did I mention I hated mine?
 
Popshot said:
Congratulations, I think.

I had a 1275GT. Hated it. Steering wheel like a bus despite having a steering column lowering bracket. Burnt as much oil as it did fuel. If you went on the overrun down a hill it put out a James bond type smokescreen behind. The wheel studs were made of gorgonzola and could be snapped with just a spider. The gearbox whined like a teenager because it's sat in engine oil and doing anything in the engine bay was an exercise in dexterity. It rusted like an automatic rusting machine and the A series engine was, I believe, originally fitted to Noah's ark and it works like it's that age too. There's also about 1 inch of suspension travel before dentures depart their orifice. Did I mention I hated mine?
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But other than that you loved it and it looked cool right? :cool:
 
Doing some checking up on the car today and it is all unravelling gently.
The DVLA thinks the reg # is a Blue Morris Mini 998cc.
So I will have to correct that an declare both an engine swap and a respray.
I suspect the current/previous owners have just let these minor details slide. I won't. Sigh.
 
I'd do one change at a time to the log book. Too many changes and they may decide it's of indeterminate age and put it on a Q plate.
 
DannyC said:
Doing some checking up on the car today and it is all unravelling gently.
The DVLA thinks the reg # is a Blue Morris Mini 998cc.
So I will have to correct that an declare both an engine swap and a respray.
I suspect the current/previous owners have just let these minor details slide. I won't. Sigh.
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Don't go there , it will end very badly for you !
Go to the raffle people and tell them it cannot be registered for the road in it's current V5 status.

If you try and do anything it will end up with it being scrapped !

Paulh
 
I am watching this, to see how it will go.
But Paul might be right, in that the current owner should really be responsible for having correct titling / registration.
It's too valuable to chance to some over-zealous registration office droid.
Sometimes you get a clerk that's genuinely helpful, but sometimes, very much the opposite. :mad:

I know nothing of British registration protocol, only from my experience here, all T's must be crossed, and all I's dotted.
It seems, sometimes, that the state of Florida assumes that the vehicle / boat, whatever, is stolen, and they want you to prove it's not.
 
It's already registered, it just needs amending. The Q plate needs avoiding as it'll drastically affect value If given one. There's no chance of being scrapped. Of also concern is that it's modified from an insurance viewpoint. Only a handful of insurers touch modified cars. Adrian Flux being the biggest. Fortunately it's not a powerhouse and the brakes are upgraded though still inside 10" wheels. Ie micro discs.

It may be worth contacting the raffle organisers and requesting the correct details on the log book before you accept it. A read of the raffle terms before doing anything would be wise. I'd word any request for them to get the log book changed such that it's a discovery on your part and what do they plan to do about it type conversation rather than a request or demand they could use against you If it goes belly up. Better still get on piston heads and relay the tale there. There'll be loads with recent experiences there to advise.
 
Popshot said:
It's already registered, it just needs amending. The Q plate needs avoiding as it'll drastically affect value If given one. There's no chance of being scrapped. Of also concern is that it's modified from an insurance viewpoint. Only a handful of insurers touch modified cars. Adrian Flux being the biggest. Fortunately it's not a powerhouse and the brakes are upgraded though still inside 10" wheels. Ie micro discs.

It may be worth contacting the raffle organisers and requesting the correct details on the log book before you accept it. A read of the raffle terms before doing anything would be wise. I'd word any request for them to get the log book changed such that it's a discovery on your part and what do they plan to do about it type conversation rather than a request or demand they could use against you If it goes belly up. Better still get on piston heads and relay the tale there. There'll be loads with recent experiences there to advise.
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I agree it is already registered and changes want gently introducing.
The colour change is probably not that significant, people have been respraying cars since god was a boy.
The engine is a bit more significant, and I see 3 options currently.
1. Ignore it and act dumb if questioned and say I thought it was a 998cc.
2. Rip that lump out and put a 998cc engine in ASAP.
3. Use it quietly and gently (like a 70 YO would) and stay off the radar.

As I understand them the rules do say that alternative engines commensurate with the model can be used, and the MK3 did have a 1275cc option.
I will ask on Piston Heads and also my Landy Forum where people are always trying to keep old Series Landy's on the road with various engine upgrades (td5 etc.).
 
OK, hunting around on the web and a mini specific forum got me this snippet, which may mean its all OK anyway and I just need to get the paperwork straightened out.
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Doesn't the block and head have the same outward appearance and size, in all the different displacements?
I mean, it could be an 850, and the block look the same.
If it had a 48 DCOE Webber and a supercharger, you could still say it was 998cc, and they'd have to take it apart to measure displacement.
Anyway, it sounds like it being a historic vehicle, it's exempt anyway, as it should be - There's few enough of them out there.
 
undertoad said:
Doesn't the block and head have the same outward appearance and size, in all the different displacements?
I mean, it could be an 850, and the block look the same.
If it had a 48 DCOE Webber and a supercharger, you could still say it was 998cc, and they'd have to take it apart to measure displacement.
Anyway, it sounds like it being a historic vehicle, it's exempt anyway, as it should be - There's few enough of them out there.
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In general terms yes, the engines all look much alike.
I think from the DVLA (DMV for US folks) perspective the engine is going to be immaterial for an historic vehicle.
The insurance company however will want to have the real info so they can gouge more money from me.
 
How bad could the insurance be?
Only 90hp, and <1300cc - Most new cars, even the smallest, have more than that.
Tell them about the super powerful, upgraded brakes :)
 
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Exempt is for mot and tax purposes. Registration applies equally to all vehicles. The engine number will give away the size though finding them can sometimes be awkward.

It's not the power that will cause insurance hassle but that it is not standard. 90% of insurers will outright refuse to insure it as it falls outside their logarythms and they have no understanding of what a lumpy cam is. The specialists such as Flux will fully understand what the car is and what the mods mean and will have no problem quoting. If running it as an extra vehicle then specialist insurers are fine. The real grief is if it's going to be your only vehicle as a current insurer is likely to say no and changing the car at some future point is going to leave a specialist wondering why you are asking to insure a Mondeo with them.
 
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