Paddy's Garage

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

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.

 

MITO - MINIs In The Ozarks Autocross 2014

 

MITO - Minis In The Ozarks photo album - click here

Fire Extinguisher Installation - Classic Mini Cooper

Everyone has their opinion of where the BEST place is to store or mount a fire extinguisher in a Classic Mini.   Some will mount them under the front seats, to a roll cage (if fitted) or simply place one in the rear storage bins.   The latter is where I stored mine until this morning!

My Mini (Paddy) is not a daily-driver . . . nor is it a race car.  It's primarily used on weekends, club events, and for running errands on perfect days.   My British cars have always been known to leak fluids and maybe even overflow fuel from time to time, so having a fire extinguisher gives me a level of comfort.

For my purposes, I only need a light duty extinguisher that is designed for use in automobiles and marine applications.  The Kidde Auto/Marine extinguisher is under $20 and fills the bill.  According to the Walmart page:

The Kidde Auto Fire Extinguisher offers a durable, reliable and secure option for preventing and eliminating a variety of fires. This sodium bicarbonate fire extinguisher features a regular dry chemical formula, making it suitable for use on both liquid and energized electrical fires for added versatility and security. Additionally, the Kidde fire extinguisher is U.S.C.G. DOT approved, and features a six-year limited warranty.

 

The Kidde Auto Fire Extinguisher offers a durable, reliable and secure option for preventing and eliminating a variety of fires. This sodium bicarbonate fire extinguisher features a regular dry chemical formula, making it suitable for use on both liquid and energized electrical fires for added versatility and security. Additionally, the Kidde fire extinguisher is U.S.C.G. DOT approved, and features a six-year limited warranty.

MOST of the electronics (sparks) and fluids are in the front of the care under the bonnet or by the dash.    For that reason, I opted to place the fire extinguisher at the other end of the car . . . in the boot!

Conveniently, in Paddy, there was an unused bracket near the bottom of the right inner wheel well (inside the boot).   All I needed to do was buy a 6-8" length of pre-drilled metal and a few bolts and I was ready to mount the extinguisher. 

Here are some photos of the process.  To begin with, I mounted a classic BMC decal to my new fire extinguisher

Next I assembled my "mounting bracket" and attached it to the existing bracket on the RH inner wheel well of Paddy's boot.   It's simply a pre-drilled metal bar, that I purchased from the hardware store, and the plastic mounting bracket that came with the fire extinguisher.

 

Here's what the final product looks like . . . . 

    


  

Rust and Paint Repair to Classic Mini Door

Paddy is being treated to a week at Bob Zook's Auto Body for some minor rust and paint repair to the driver side door.  From the time that I brought Paddy home, there had been a line of paint "bubble" at the very top edge of the door where the stainless window trim meets the painted surface.  

I originally thought that it might just be a buildup of paint, but after returning from Mini 54 I notice that the bubbles were cracked and there was some rust underneath.  Yikes!  I didn't want THAT to continue.

One body shop thought it might be from improper paint preparation from a prior re-spray and thought I might be opening a can-o-worms if I tried to paint just the affected area.  I didn't agree and decided to take it to Zook's.

Paddy was welcomed into the "Zook Family" of car restorers and they agreed with me that the issue was not paint prep, but rust starting from where the window meets the trim.  We thought we could just pop off the trim, sand, and paint . . . but as the pictures show, all the hardware needed to come off along with the entire door.

I stopped out to check on the progress and the door is sanded and primed.  Looks like I'll probably get him back nest week in time to tuck him in for the Winter.