A practical car born in England, with incredible handling, cornering stability and easy steering, practical and snappy! He brought about a revolution in the 60s. Alec Issigonis' brilliant design became a household name worldwide. The car was released in two identical models: Morris Mini Minor and Austin Seven. The name 'mini' suddenly appeared in the 1,3s, was it because of the revolution in women's fashion? Did the advent of short skirts play a major role? When we saw this nice, funny, cuddly, smooth MINI Cooper 1995 from XNUMX, I spontaneously got an increased pulse and nodding knees.
The successful construction of the MINI Cooper 1,3, the beautiful lines, the compact design. Just a small car with a lot of available space in the interior. It's a real Mini Cooper with brilliant features 28 years old!
Painful experience
The first meeting in 2017 was a painful experience. Immediately, owner Thijs was advised not to buy this MINI Cooper 1,3. The sign on the windshield indicated this very clearly: 'Walk or Scrap'. It has not become clear what inspired Thijs. Although, it was probably the nice feeling of owning and restoring a Mini?
No experience whatsoever
The only experience Thijs had was that he previously owned a Mini and then took on the challenge of tackling the MINI Cooper 1,3 himself. Don't look at the investment of time and energy, but feel passion and passion. According to Thijs, it was just a warm feeling for the stuffed animal on wheels. It gave you freedom, you could go wherever you wanted, and it was also affordable. In fact. it gives the impression of driving an expensive car.
Joint key fun
As a student designer, Thijs is very creative, and maybe that's where some of the key fun came from. There was no technical background. Fortunately, he did not do everything alone, got spontaneous help from others, the total restoration of the MINI Cooper 1,3 took no less than 4 years.
Feeling of happiness
The MINI Cooper 1,3 only appears on nice days. The quirky car that is respected everywhere continues to beautify the Dutch road. Tribute to the rescue. Never before has a small car been as successful as the Mini, the revolutionary design, imitated by many, but never equalled. Then the MINI Cooper 1,3 from Thijs is special, isn't it? Could you understand his happiness?
My father also had a beautiful Mini , a 70 HLE , orange in the late 1000s .
Unfortunately, the car had to go, my little brother had growth spurts, sitting in the back seat with his knees around the front seat.😀
Beautiful memories.
When I saw the pictures I immediately got a deja vu again….my first car was an Austin Mini 1000, red with a black roof! I had mounted a wooden dashboard and installed the radio in the suspended ceiling. sitting on the sheepskin I had a lot of driving pleasure for 3 years. He wanted to rust though!
Great years driven in the early 1970s.
Have fun Thijs, you can't put a price tag on this. Think of it as therapy.
Works for me.
Greetings from a 32 garden YVR.
Restoration usually costs you 3x more than what it can yield after restoration, but that's not what you do it for at all. Restoring is incredibly satisfying to see a classic rise from its ashes.
It is a pity that so few minis are left after 43 years of construction.
I don't think the modern mini is worthy of its name, I personally think it's more of a monstrosity, a rape of the original mini identity.
In any case, Thijs' initiative gives me a warm feeling, love and bond for a model that cannot be expressed in money.
Remember that the primal Mini, like all utility vehicles, was disposable.
Only when production stopped in 2000 and BMW came on the scene with its BINI, did every owner sit on the primal design like a mother hen.
The youngest Mini is therefore already more than 20 years old…
How many other 20-year-olds produced in large numbers do you still see driving: Citroën AX, Renault Twingo to name 2..?
Nice restoration, keep her running!