Catch up with the latest happenings with the team's Minis in Mini Magazine each month
Tim Harber - Minimag Contributor
Tim has had Minis since 1968 and, since moving from London to a farm in the sticks in 1989 he seems to have collected a few more. Tim loves the car in all its shapes and sizes, and if you think he’s being greedy, the sum total of what they cost to buy is £2670! Tim also works hard supplying Mini fans with bits and pieces from his small business – MiniMail. Take a look and see what is available at www.minimail.co.uk.
1961 Morris Mini Super (Test bed/Toy/Sometime racer)
Body: Brand new wind-up window shell in mid-‘80s, all steel bodywork, all singing and dancing Safety Devices cage.
Running Gear: Old school 1380 A-Series; Innocenti rods; ;lightened standard flywheel; 649 cam; S rockers; 45 Weber; Duplex gears; S/Cut drops and gearbox 3.9 CWP with cross pin Diff = 99bhp; Metro four-pot brakes with Aeroquip hoses and servo; fixed negative camber front and back; 6x13 Minilite copies with A048 Yokahamas; soon to have seven-port (37/31 valves) 1380 A+ Motor with twin Weber 45s; Vernier Duplex, S/Cut rod change gearbox with LSD and 3.9 CWP. Hoping to have genuine 135 bhp!
Character: No soundproofing + Weber + S/cut drop gears = ear defenders on the road. Huge fun as it’s got enough grunt to amuse and not too precious to worry about.
1967 Austin Mini Estate (Wife’s daily driver)
Body: Refurbished and upgraded with some modern bits late ‘80s including new Wood.
Running gear: 1275 A-Series motor on remote four synchro gearbox; S discs with servo; 5x10 Minilite copies; late wiring loom; Riley Elf dash and wood Mota-Lita wheel.
Character: Olde charm with some modern practical additions. Rebuilt for my wife to use transporting children and dogs, it began to rust in some areas in mid ‘90s and was taken off the road for a slight rebuild and change of colour. Due back on the road early 2008?
1971 Morris Mini Clubman Estate (Wife’s other daily driver)
Body: Refurbished very original shell before we upgraded it in 1990 and put Wood on; had two welding sessions since.
Running Gear: Nearly all ‘90s running gear - late engine and box, late braking set-up with 12 inch wheels; Paul Smith style leather front seats and vinyl elsewhere for practicality with muddy dogs; late style wood dash with matching Momo wheel (cancelled order in posh shop £40 new!).
Character: ‘70s box meets ‘90s running gear with ‘60s wood to add vintage flavour. Has done seven years of daily use, which is good as it was my Estate and was just put together while we bought time to do the ’67 car up again.
1974 Mini Marcos (Wife’s toy - maybe )
Body: Original ’74 paint, faded and peeling in bits. At least it’s plastic so no rust.
Running gear: No engine as someone made an offer I couldn’t refuse; S discs and standard type running gear; 6x10 Cosmic wheels; The rest is in need of lots of love – mechanical, wiring you name it; not been on the road since 2002.
Character: Spud-ugly as they are, they are a teensy bit cute and do have pedigree.
GTM Coupe (My poor-man’s GT car)
Body: Original orange that’s nearly as tired condition as the Marcos’s.
Running gear: 1340 modified motor but with drum brakes at the front so the prospects are going to be interesting if I get this on the road in the near future; 13 inch Revolutions bring the general looks more up-to-date.
Character: At least this one runs! It hasn’t been on the road for some time but like all my cars, it turned up in the wash for the right money at the right time. Looks are far and away the cutest of any Mini-based kit car which is why I fell for it.
1992 Rover Cooper (Racer)
Body: To Super Mighty Minis specification: Original steel shell with minor mods and fibreglass boot and polycarbonate windows; basic level of comp-spec rollcage.
Running gear: Lightly tuned fuel injection motor (modded cylinder head, roller rockers and duplex timing gears) 3.65 diff in standard gearbox; rose-jointed suspension with adjustable camber, caster and height and Gaz shocks; wheels are original alloys with Yokahama A048R tyres.
Character: I started racing in 2002 as my ’61 racer wasn’t eligible for anything in particular in its existing state, so I bought my first Mighty Mini car ready to race for £3000. I knew that this would be close racing with low stressed running gear, so it wouldn’t need as much mechanical love (not my cup of tea) and it’s the friendliest Mini racing series there is. I sold the first car after two years and used a home-built one after, but I bent it badly in 2005 so elected to move to the next class up (Super Mighty Minis) from 2006. The cars look fairly plain as we have to run pretty much standard bodyshells, wheels and running gear, but the lap times that are achieved with such modest modifications show that this is a package that makes the most of the original design.
