"New" baby

[elansprint72]

Rick's first car, arrived today.

[earleygallery]

Who's Rick? I take it the new car is the Mini?

Pity it didn't arrive earlier and Rick could've joined the London-Brighton Mini Run (I didnt' realise it was on and spend the day in a dusty hall full of dusty cameras on Sunday!)

I miss my Mini...........

Now, stick on the nudge bars, some spotlights, a set of Minilites..................

[elansprint72]

Rick is his father's son. I don't know how much his photography will suffer as a result of this new acquisition (paid for entirely from his paper round and birthday/Christmas money) but he has a year to go before he is old enough to drive it, so maybe I'll have to exercise it for him.

I love real Minis.

[cocker]

Very nice - and its has a roof!

[azzo]

Nice indeed. I love Minis too.

[stuny]

Pete -

What a little beauty -- It appears to have been treated well. Lovely shot, and posing it with your Elan, it really makes it clear that the mini is exceptionally well named.

[Rona|d]

Get rid of THESE hubcaps, Pete. Somehow. It´s a question of taste Maybe he can save some money over the year for Minilites.

[roguewave]

Pete, nice work all around. What happens when wants to swap for the night?

[rf382]

We own one of the last of the proper Mini Coopers.
Love it to bits; super car.
I entirely agree about getting rid of the hub caps!

David.

[flatfour]

Never been a fan of Minis after seeing the Thatcham crash test results and experiencing the pitchy ride on a long journey. They are great fun for short journeys but what was wrong was rectified by BMW's version which is a delight to drive. I ran a BL dealership for a while many years ago and they were very profitable for us in the workshops. The customers were in love with them and it didn't seem to matter how many times it broke down - they just paid up. Yummy. They did get better over their life and in the end wer much more reliable.

[elansprint72]

Originally Posted by Rona|d

Get rid of THESE hubcaps, Pete. Somehow. It´s a question of taste Maybe he can save some money over the year for Minilites.

He's already on to that- good thing mine will not fit, or he would have nicked them.

[andybarton]

Nice clean example - what is it, 20 years old?

I'm afraid I am with Tony re Minis (funny - was discussing these with colleagues on the way to the office this morning). I could never get used to having an accelerator pedal the size of a two bob bit, about half an inch from the brake pedal, similarly well endowed. I am also with Tony on the ride...

Ron's right - buy him some wheels for his 17th Birthday - the hub caps are an abomination

[flatfour]

As an aside when I was a management trainee with Ford I was told by an engineer that the company was offered an FWD layout with integral transmission before the second world war. Ford engineeers rejected it as being too complicated and too expensive to manufacture - those were the days of sidevalves, three speed gearboxes, solid rear axles, and cable brakes. Alec Isigonis's design was almost a copy of it but I certainly wouldn't accuse him of plagiarism.

[elansprint72]

Originally Posted by flatfour

As an aside when I was a management trainee with Ford I was told by an engineer that the company was offered an FWD layout with integral transmission before the second world war. Ford engineeers rejected it as being too complicated and too expensive to manufacture - those were the days of sidevalves, three speed gearboxes, solid rear axles, and cable brakes. Alec Isigonis's design was almost a copy of it but I certainly wouldn't accuse him of plagiarism.

As with almost everything to do with motor-cars, this set-up was most probably designed by Frederick Lanchester, or one of his brothers. Name any motor engineering "innovation" from the last 100 years and Lanchester had already been there.

[steed]

I'll take the Lotus...Mrs. Peel, we're needed...
John W

[earleygallery]

Originally Posted by flatfour

Never been a fan of Minis after seeing the Thatcham crash test results and experiencing the pitchy ride on a long journey. They are great fun for short journeys but what was wrong was rectified by BMW's version which is a delight to drive. I ran a BL dealership for a while many years ago and they were very profitable for us in the workshops. The customers were in love with them and it didn't seem to matter how many times it broke down - they just paid up. Yummy. They did get better over their life and in the end wer much more reliable.

Can't argue about the pitchy ride or the crash protection (although I never crashed one!) but FUN FUN FUN to drive. I had a Jaguar XJ6 at the same time as my Mini's and they made a great pair of cars to own.

I had a Clubman 1100 first then bought a Mini 1000. Amazing what a difference the extra 100cc made.

The great thing with Mini's is how much you can mod them and personalise them. I got a bit sentimental seeing the Mini's around at the weekend and thought to myself I could maybe buy one again as a 2nd car to do the Mini runs...............

[flatfour]

Pete - The design was not Lanchester's but came from an Englishman who raced at Brooklands. I forgot to mention that it also had a transverse engine layout and that Ford did not reject it till they had fully costed it. A pity that BL didn't as I was told that over the life of the Mini BL never made a profit from the model. I don't know how true this is but it came from a BL director.

[Rona|d]

Originally Posted by elansprint72

He's already on to that- good thing mine will not fit, or he would have nicked them.

[flatfour]

i saw on the Andrew Marr programme last night that the Mini was a disaster for BL financially. It made a great film though !

[biglouis]

Lovely mini shot and, of course, a wonderful counterpoint to the Elan. Mine was so old it was an Austin Seven :-). And I wish I'd never sold it.

Many years later I also owned a Fiat Uno. Heresy, I know, but the Uno was a helluva lot better thrown into corners and and accelerated out than the mini ever was.

LouisB