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I bought my Mini soon after going to the “Mini 40” Festival at Silverstone in 1999. Originally a standard Rover Cooper 1.3spi, I had extensive modifications done by Gerald Dale Racing in Hastings. Using a Swiftune 1293 block and a Longman head, the uprated engine develops 100bhp through a Jack Knight 5 speed gearbox.
I used the mini extensively until 2008, when rust began to get the better of some of the body panels. In 2009 I started what I thought would be a fairly quick job to fix the rust. In fact this job turned out to take more than three years. The full restoration, as it became, resulted in numerous body panels being removed and replaced. My brother and I spent countless hours angle-grinding panels, shaping, welding, filling, rubbing down - culminating in a fantastic paint job by Ben Robins at Finish First based near Horsham. By far the most difficult job was replacing the headlining!
My Mini is now back to showroom condition with all the interior refitted, including the modified custom dashboard, and ready for Mini events next year such as the London to Brighton run in May.
The images above show how the restoration was reported in Mini Magazine and Mini World (in 2012). I was a bit miffed that after three years of work, I only got a half-page entry in each magazine.
The full restoration was extensively photographed at every stage. Take a look at the restoration photo galleries HERE
