Used Classic MINI Cars Models Mini Cooper and Cooper S: 1961–2000 Parts 1

Picture Of

Classic MINI Cars

Classic MINI Cars Mini Cooper S

MINI Classic Cars Parts 1

Issigonis' friend John Cooper, owner of the Cooper Car Company and designer and builder of Formula One and rally cars, saw the potential of the Mini Cars for competition. Issigonis was initially reluctant to see the Mini Cars in the role of a performance car, but after John Cooper appealed to BMC management, the two men collaborated to create the Mini Cooper Cars, a nimble, economical and inexpensive car. The Austin Mini Cooper Cars and Morris Mini Cooper Cars debuted in 1961.

The original 848 cc engine from the Morris Mini-Minor Cars was given a longer stroke to increase capacity to 997 cc, boosting power from 34 bhp to 55 bhp (25 to 41 kW). The Mini Cars featured a racing-tuned engine, twin SU carburettors, a closer-ratio gearbox and front disc brakes, uncommon at the time in a small car. One thousand units of this version were commissioned by management, intended for and designed to meet the homologation rules of Group 2 rally racing. The 997 cc engine was replaced by a shorter stroke 998 cc unit in 1964.

MINI Cars Article -> MINI Cars Design And development Parts 1

Mini Cooper Classic Cars - Morris Mini K

Morris Mini K (March 1969 – August 1971, Australia only)

The Mini is a small car that was made by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered a British icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout (that allowed 80% of the area of the car's floorpan to be used for passengers and luggage) influenced a generation of car-makers. The vehicle is in some ways considered the British equivalent to its German contemporary, the Volkswagen Beetle, which enjoyed similar popularity in North America. In 1999 the Mini was voted the second most influential car of the 20th Century, behind the Ford Model T.

Built in the Australian British Motor Corporation factory at Zetland, NSW using 80% local content, the Morris Mini K was advertised as the "great leap forward". The Mini K ('K' standing for Kangaroo) had a 1098 cc engine and was the last round-nose model to be produced in Australia, originally priced at $1780 (AUD).

Mini Classic Cars - Mini Moke (1964–1989)
Mini Classic Cars - Mini Van (1960–1982)

Mini Classic Cars - Mini Moke (1964–1989)

Mini Classic Cars - Mini Moke (1964–1989)

Picture Of Mini Classic Cars

A utility vehicle intended for the British Army, for whom a few twin-engined 4-wheel-drive versions were also built. Although the 4WD Moke could climb a 1:2 gradient, it lacked enough ground clearance for military use. The single-engined front-wheel-drive Moke enjoyed some popularity in civilian production. About 50,000 were made in total, from 1964 to 1968 in the UK, 1966 to 1982 in Australia and 1983 to 1989 in Portugal. The car featured in the cult 1967 TV series The Prisoner, and is popular in holiday locations such as Barbados and Macau, where Mokes were used as police cars. Mokes were also available to rent there as recently as March 2006. "Moke" is archaic British slang for a donkey.

Mini Classic Cars - Mini Van (1960–1982)

Mini Classic Cars - Mini Van (1960–1982)

A commercial panel van rated at ¼-ton load capacity. Built on the longer Traveller chassis but without side windows, it proved popular in 1960s Britain as a cheaper alternative to the car. it was classed as a commercial vehicle and as such carried no sales tax. A set of simple stamped steel slots served in place of a more costly chrome grille. The Mini Van was renamed as the Mini 95 in 1978, the number representing the gross vehicle weight of 0.95 tons. 521,494 were built. Despite this renaming, the motoring public continued to call it the Mini Van, as a result of which the class of vehicles known as minivans in other countries are referred to in Britain as MPVs.

Mini Classic Cars - Morris Mini Traveller and Austin Mini Countryman (1961–1969)

Mini Classic Cars - Morris Mini Traveller and Austin Mini Countryman (1961–1969)

Picture Of Mini Classic Cars

Two-door estate cars with double "barn"-style rear doors. Both were built on a slightly longer chassis of 84 inch (2.14 m) compared to 80.25 inch (2.04 m) for the saloon.

Picture Of Mini Classic Cars

The luxury models had decorative, non-structural wood inserts in the rear body which gave the car a similar appearance to the larger Morris Minor estate which had some of the look of an American-style 1950s Woodie. Approximately 108,000 Austin Mini Countrymen and 99,000 Morris Mini Travellers were built.

Mini Classic Cars - Wolseley Hornet and Riley Elf (1961–1969)

Mini Classic Cars - Wolseley Hornet and Riley Elf (1961–1969)

Picture Of Mini Classic Cars

Built as more luxurious versions of the Mini, both the Wolseley Hornet and the Riley Elf had longer, slightly finned rear wings and larger boots that gave the cars a more traditional "three-box" look. Front-end treatment, which incorporated each marque's traditional upright grille design, also contributed to a less utilitarian appearance. The cars had larger-diameter chrome hubcaps than the Austin and Morris Minis, and additional chrome accents, bumper overriders and wood-veneer dashboards. The Riley was the more expensive of the two cars. The name "Wolseley Hornet" was first used on a 1930s sports car, while the name "Elf" recalled the Riley Sprite and Imp sports cars, also of the 1930s. The full-width dashboard was a differentiator between the Elf and Hornet. This better dashboard was the idea of Christopher Milner the Sales Manager for Riley.

Picture Of Mini Classic Cars

Both cars went through three versions. Initially, they used the 848 cc engine, changing to a single carburettor version of the Cooper's 998 cc power unit in the Mark II in 1963. The MKIII facelift of 1966 brought wind-up windows and fresh-air fascia vents; also concealed door hinges two years before these were seen on the mainstream Mini. 30,912 Riley Elfs and 28,455 Wolseley Hornets were built.

Mini Classic Cars - Mark II Mini (1967–1973)

Mini Classic Cars - Mark II Mini (1967–1973)

Picture Of Mini Classic Cars

The Mark II Mini Classic Cars featured a redesigned grille which remained with the car from that point on. Also, a larger rear window and numerous cosmetic changes were introduced. 429,000 Mark II Minis were made.

Picture Of Mini Classic Cars

A bewildering variety of Mini types were made in Pamplona, Spain, by the Authi company from 1968 onwards, mostly under the Morris name.

Picture Of Mini Classic Cars

The Mini was arguably the star of the 1969 film The Italian Job, which features a car chase in which a gang of thieves drive three Minis down staircases, through storm drains, over buildings and finally into the back of a moving bus. This film was remade in 2003 using the new MINI.

Mini Classic Cars - Mark I Mini (1959–1967) The End Part

Mini Classic Cars - Mark I Mini (1959–1967) The End Part

Picture Of Mini Classic Cars

From October 1965 the option of an Automotive Products (AP) designed four-speed automatic transmission became available. Cars fitted with this became the Mini-Matic

Picture Of Mini Classic Cars

Slow at the outset, Mark I sales strengthened across most of the model lines in the 1960s, and production totalled 1,190,000. Sold at almost below cost, the basic Mini made very little money for its owners. However, it still did make a small profit. Ford once took a Mini away and completely dismantled it, possibly to see if they could offer an alternative. It was their opinion though, that they could not sell it at BMC's price. Ford determined that the BMC must have been losing around 30 pounds per car. BMC insisted that the way company overheads were shared out, the Mini always made money. Larger profits came from the popular De Luxe models and from optional extras such as seat belts, door mirrors, a heater and a radio, which would be considered necessities on modern cars, as well as the various "Cooper" and "Cooper S" models, to be discussed later.

Picture Of Mini Classic Cars

The Mini etched its place into popular culture in the 1960s with well-publicised purchases by film and music stars.

Mini Classic Cars - Mark I Mini (1959–1967) Part 2

Mini Classic Cars - Mark I Mini (1959–1967) Part 2

Picture Of Mini Classic Cars

Until 1962, the cars appeared as the Austin 850 and Morris 850 in North America and France, and in Denmark as the Austin Partner (until 1964) and Morris Mascot (until 1981). The name Mini was first used domestically by BMC for Austin's version in 1961, when the Austin Seven was rebranded as the Austin Mini, somewhat to the surprise of the Sharps Commercials car company (later known as Bond Cars Ltd) who had been using the name Minicar for their three-wheeled vehicles since 1949. However, legal action was somehow averted, and BMC used the name Mini thereafter.

Picture Of Mini Classic Cars

In 1964, the suspension of the cars was replaced by another Moulton design, the hydrolastic system. The new suspension gave a softer ride but it also increased weight and production cost and, in the minds of many enthusiasts, spoiled the handling characteristics for which the Mini was so famous. In 1971, the original rubber suspension reappeared and was retained for the remaining life of the Mini.

Mini Classic Cars - Mark I Mini (1959–1967) Part 1

Mini Classic Cars - Mark I Mini (1959–1967) Part 1

Picture Of Mini Classic Cars

The production version of the Mini was demonstrated to the press in April 1959, and by August several thousand cars had been produced ready for the first sales.

Picture Of Mini Classic Cars

The name Mini did not appear by itself immediately—the first models being marketed under two of BMC's brand names, Austin and Morris. The name Austin Seven (sometimes written as SE7EN in early publicity material) recalled the popular small Austin 7 of the 1920s and 1930s. The other name used until 1967 in the United Kingdom (and in Commonwealth countries such as Australia), Morris Mini-Minor, seems to have been a play on words. The Morris Minor was a well known and successful car, with the word minor being Latin for "smaller" so an abbreviation of the Latin word for "smallest"—minimus—was used for the new even smaller car. It was originally going to be called the Austin Newmarket.

Design and development Part 3

Design and development Part 3

Picture of Classic Mini Cars 1

Sliding windows allowed storage pockets in the hollow doors; reportedly Issigonis sized them to fit a bottle of Gordon's Gin. The boot lid was hinged at the bottom so that the car could be driven with it open to increase luggage space. On early cars the number plate was hinged at the top so that it could swing down to remain visible when the boot lid was open. This feature was later discontinued after it was discovered that exhaust gases could leak into the cockpit when the boot was open.

Picture of Classic Mini Cars 2

The Mini was designed as a monocoque shell with welded seams visible on the outside of the car running down the A and C pillars, and between the body and the floor pan. To further simplify construction, the hinges for the doors and boot lid were mounted externally.

Picture of Classic Mini Cars 3

Production models differed from the prototypes by the addition of front and rear subframes to the unibody to take the suspension loads, and by having the engine mounted the other way round, with the carburettor at the back rather than at the front. This layout required an extra gear between engine and transmission to reverse the direction of rotation at the input to the transmission. Having the carburettor behind the engine reduced carburettor icing, but the distributor was then exposed to water coming in through the grille. The engine size was reduced from 948 cc to 848 cc; this, in conjunction with a small increase in the car's width, cut the top speed from 90 mph (145 km/h) to a more reasonable (for the time) 72 mph (116 km/h).

Picture of Classic Mini Cars 4

Despite its utilitarian origins, the classic Mini shape had become so well known that by the 1990s, Rover Group—the heirs to BMC—were able to register its design as a trade mark in its own right.

A Brief Overview Of The History Of A Mini Classic Cars
A Brief Overview Of The History Of A Mini Classic Cars Part 2
A Brief Overview Of The History Of A Mini Classic Cars Part 3

Design And development Part 1

Design And development

Picture of Classic Mini Cars 1

Designed as project ADO15 (Austin Drawing Office project number 15), the Mini came about because of a fuel shortage caused by the 1956 Suez Crisis. Petrol was once again rationed in the UK, sales of large cars slumped, the market for German Bubble cars boomed. Leonard Lord, the somewhat autocratic head of BMC, reportedly decreed: 'God damn these bloody awful Bubble Cars. We must drive them off the road by designing a proper miniature car'. He laid down some basic design requirements: the car should be contained within a box that measured 10 × 4 × 4 ft (3 × 1.2 × 1.2 m); and the passenger accommodation should occupy 6 ft (1.8 m) of the 10 ft (3 m) length; and the engine, for reasons of cost, should be an existing unit. Issigonis, who had been working for Alvis, had been recruited back to BMC in 1955 and, with his skills in designing small cars, was a natural for the task. The team that designed the Mini was remarkably small: as well as Issigonis, there was Jack Daniels (who had worked with him on the Morris Minor), Chris Kingham (who had been with him at Alvis), two engineering students and four draughtsmen. Together, by October 1957, they had designed and built the original prototype, which was affectionately named "The Orange Box" because of its colour.

Picture of Classic Mini Cars 2

The ADO15 used a conventional BMC A-Series four-cylinder water-cooled engine, but departed from tradition by mounting it transversely, with the engine-oil-lubricated, four-speed transmission in the sump, and by employing front-wheel drive. Almost all small front-wheel-drive cars developed since have used a similar configuration, except with the transmission usually separately enclosed rather than using the engine oil. The radiator was mounted at the left side of the car so that the engine-mounted fan could be retained, but with reversed pitch so that it blew air into the natural low pressure area under the front wing. This location saved precious vehicle length, but had the disadvantage of feeding the radiator with air that had been heated by passing over the engine. It also exposed the entire ignition system to the direct ingress of rainwater through the grille.

A Brief Overview Of The History Of A Mini Classic Cars
A Brief Overview Of The History Of A Mini Classic Cars Part 2
A Brief Overview Of The History Of A Mini Classic Cars Part 3