Paddy's Garage

IMM 2017 - Brian and Paddy Hopkirk

10" x 4.75" Rose Petal Wheels vs Steel

Christmas came early for Paddy this year!   He got a set of four (4) Rose Petal wheels by John Brown Wheels, mounted with Yokohama A008 tires. Matte black finish with natural outer edge. Supplied with stainless steel sleeve nuts, washers & spacers.

Here's the BEFORE picture

And AFTER!

The true Mini enthusiast will recognize these wheels, which are a replica of the early John Cooper Racing wheels as fitted to team cars in the early 1960s. The unique spoke design was dubbed the "Rose Petal" from the flower shape, but it is a handsome wheel that looks great on any Mini, and particularly on Mk1 cars.  Available in 4.75" width x 10" diameter.  

They came supplied with 16 short and and 16 long stainless steel open-ended sleeve nuts as original, with washers and spacers included as may be needed depending on brake drums, spacers and offsets used. 

As it turned out, Paddy needed the wheel spacers on the front to allow for clearance for his Mini Sport Cooper S brake calipers.  

Paddy's Photo Shoot - Funk's Grove 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fall Tour with Illinois Flat Land British Car Group

Alan Klienschmidt set up a "Mystery Lunch Cruise" on Monday October 26th.   We formed up in Shirley, Illinois on Old Rt 66 at 10:15am.  All Flatland members were invited to participate.

We met up in Shirley, along Route 66

Leonard and Mary Lee bundled up in their Sunbeam Alpine

Keith Bess  . . . ready to head out!

We enter Funks Grove on the way to the Nature Center.

Short break at the Sugar Grove Nature Center.

 

We arrive at out "Mystery" lunch destination.  

A crowd gathers around Dave Fitch's MG TD

Let's make SURE the lug nuts are tight!

Denny and Lee Ann Elimon head out to celebrate LeeAnn's Birthday!

CARS Style Classic Mini - Paddy is READY for the movies!

Classic Minis United (CMU) Mini 56 Video - by Cole Gentry

The "Paddy Wagon" - Acme EZE-Tow Upright Garage Storage Solution

I saw on Acme's blog that a customer had come up with a "vertical position" storage solution (http://cartowdolly.com/eze-towtow-dol... ) but it only offered pictures. I thought some might like to see that type of solution in ACTION! My EZE-Tow Dolly is an older generation and the hitch is different from their current offering. Still, the principals will apply to the current version.

Classic Minis United (CMU) Mini 56 - The Rattler and The Dragon

This year Classic Minis United went back to Cherokee, NC for the base of our 3 day driving adventure. It's located at the south entrance of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and at the beginning of the Blue Ridge Parkway. As with all of our CMU events, we like to drive, and that's what we did!. We had drives each of the three days with plenty of stops and things to see.

This video is part of our drive on "The Rattler" on our way to Marshall, NC. 

Here, I'm testing out a new dash cam and photo editing software with a recent run on US 129 aka "The Dragon" in TN and NC.  The run is in a 1973 classic Mini -replica Mk 1 Cooper S.   I'm using the "Old Movie" filter in B&W, hence the shaky and scratchy video, along with Rule Britannia soundtrack. 

CMU International Mini Film Festival

Dear CMU members,

First, Happy New Years! Hopefully you can fulfill your New Years resolution of getting your Mini out more!

We're happy to announce a first for CMU, the International Mini Film Festival. To make it a little more exciting, Classic Motorsports Magazine is sponsoring the festival (And the Mini 56) with cash prizes. 1st - $250, 2nd $100, 3rd $50. The festival will take place during the Friday night party at the Mini 56, April 15-18, in Cherokee, North Carolina. But wait, you live 5,000 miles away and can't make it there?!? No problem, you don't have to be present to win. We just need your 4 minute or less video by March 13th. So, entertain us with some Mini video from your part of the world! The rules are on the Mini 56 page at http://www.classicminis.org/mini56.htm

Now you're wondering what's the Mini 56? We'll it's the biggest and most exciting classic Mini event in North America (If you like driving your Mini). People from across North America and as far as Australia (crazy people) come to be a part of the event that only happens every year and a half. The event theme is 1960's Hippie, so imagine 75-100 classic Minis full with tie dye, peace bead wearing hippies!

Based near the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains, we'll have 3 days of fun mountain cruises along with our usual swap meet, ice cream cruise, silent auction and big party. The campground and hotel are filling up fast, so go to the club website, www.classicminis.org, and see what the Peace-Love-Mini, Mini 56 is all about.

Mini Sport USA is the title sponsor to make this a quality event, but additional support through sponsorships or items for the silent auction helps us add to the event and keeps the entry fees by far the cheapest in North America. Contact me if you would like to support the event. The registration form will be added to the site within a couple of weeks. An email will be sent out to everybody when it is ready. Don't miss this one!

Then of course there's the yearly International Mini Meet just a month after our event, May 21-24. This year it will be held in Lithuania. The host club is an exciting group of younger and energetic, fun and crazy people. The event is on it's own island in a huge lake located in a small and beautiful town. I've seen and met with many club members at the past IMM's, I hope to see some of you in Lithuania! Here's the info http://www.imm2015.lt

Get your Minis out this year and enjoy the unique/special happiness and fun that a Mini and Mini crowd can bring! I hope to see you at the Mini 56 or in Lithuania, or both!

Mini regards,

Mike Guido - Classic Minis United

Mini Sport USA

2014 MINIS In The Ozarks (MITO) Group Photo

The MITO Group Photo is FINALLY available for download!  They are kind enough to allow the Classic Minis a front row spot in the picture.   Paddy - #37 - Takes a nice picture . . . don't ya think!?  Click the photo to enlarge.