ABOUT US
My first mini was purchased in 1990 . It was a mini van with a
1071 Cooper S engine. At the time, l did not really appreciate this
combination of power and style.
My
father, C M (RED) Guest with my original mini van a 1969 model with
a 1071 S engine
taken in front of the Harvard Memorial at SFTS #6 , Dunnville, Ontario
in 1998
As l studied it and found out what
it could do / or not do. I started to learn all about minis. There
were very few minis in and around London, Ontario as the last minis
were imported into Canada from the UK in 1980. Certainly there were
lots of people who would come up to you and tell you, "Yes",
"I owned one 20 years ago" or my Dad owned one.
The two closest mini parts dealers
were 60 miles away and finding parts was difficult. Keeping it running
was also a problem. Stalling, sputtering, overheating were common
problems. The stalling was eventually cured when a mechanic found
out the mini was operating with a un vented gas(petrol) filler cap.
Who put it on, no one knows for sure but the moment a proper one
was put on, voila, it ran like a dream.
The overheating was eliminated when
a new plastic fan was added instead of the existing metal fan .
It had cooper disc brakes and it needed them with the power the
engine produced.
After acquiring the bronze mini
van, l felt, l needed something to compliment it. While attending
a Brit car show and auto jumble (flea market) . in Toronto, Ontario
in 1991, l spotted an ugly, ugly truck. It turned out to be a 1949
Austin Cab Over Engine (COE) gas powered Lorry. In a bad state of
repair. The vendor said it did run but barely. The cab was solid,
the tires shot, the interior non. existent and the deck rotted off.
So, because it was so ugly and rare, l bought it. Now l had two
Austins, both of the commercial category. Over the next 6 months,
l rebuilt the lorry from the ground up. When finished, it looked
great but the engine was suspect, so, in went a 4 cylinder diesel,
that solved the problem. It was still running on the original rubber,
40 years old as new ones were non. existent.
The first big run for the Mini Mover
came in 1992 when I carried the mini van to Mini Meet east in Columbus
Ohio. It did just fine but the tires started to give out and then
a search was launched to find tires that would fit. Finally 4 .
900 x 16 Uni. type tires were located in three different spots and
installed(no easy job). The same year the truck went back to Ohio
for the Mini. Sprite Challenge race at Mid. Ohio.
The MINI MOVER has been a fixture
ever since and is a legend in Eastern Canada and the North East
United States. It still goes out on runs and attends a myriad of
car shows, always carrying a mini or pulling a couple on a trailer.
In 1998 while attending Mini Meet
East in Seekonk Mass, l sold the original bronze mini van. After
having it for 8 years and as l was approaching retirement, l wanted
to become a little more active in the mini world.
I then started looking for minis
to buy and soon had acquired a half a dozen, mostly finding them
in barns and sheds in the area. As soon as people found out, l was
looking for them, they started coming out of the bushes. Of course
these minis had to be restored and l was lucky to have the two mini
parts dealers in my immediate area as l had now retired and had
moved to Lake erie in the Niagara area.
I continued to attend Brit Car Shows,
mini meets, National and regional, meeting many fine people along
the way.
Because the supply of good minis
soon dried up in Ontario, l had to start importing them from the
U K and Europe. Also oddly enough, several were found in the U S
A and 3 in particular were mini coopers.
At this point, l am selling a mini
a month on average and still can't keep up with peoples request
for good quality minis, be they top dollar cars or Daily Drivers,
were l try and specialize in.
Canada still has the advantage of
allowing minis to be imported into this country at the 15 year old
level. This 15 year rule, rolls over every year so now we are looking
at 1988 production year minis coming into Canada. My trips to Halifax
Nova Scotia to the docks to pick up minis from overseas are legendary,
snow storms, white outs, missing documents, missing boats, everything
that makes owning a mini fun.
I have owned many minis over the
last 12 years and although l have had favourites, everyone of them
is unique in one way or another. So not to fall in love with any
one of them, l still have my 1934 Morris Special Touring 10/6 Roadster
to fall back on.
In 1999, l stumbled across a weird
bus. It turned out to be a 1963 Morris badged British Motor Corporation,
Support Vehicle, built by BMC and bodied by Marshall of Cambridgeshire
U K. This was one of two Left Hand Drive vehicles known to exist.
The following year l sold the unit in the U K, and went after the
remaining unit. I was successful in purchasing it and took on the
renovation work myself. It is now a fully functional Motor Home,
traveling to all the Brit car shows, Car meets and anything mini.
It hauls two minis behind it, weighs 13,000 pounds, is 30 feet long
and is powered by a 6 cylinder Perkins diesel. The vehicles were
originally outfitted as technical support vehicles for the BMC dealerships
around the world. They also attended race meets supporting the British
race drivers with parts and technology. We just call it the "
BIG BMC" that's all.
BACK TO THE TOP
|
