The adventures of our 1960 Mini, and our new MINI
Today Mini World arrived in the post from Great Britain.
On Page 22 was an article about our family – I had sent information to the editor, who brilliantly titled it “Survivors”.
There are three survivors here: Sharon survived cancer; Babe survived as an abandoned dog; and Mini has survived when many of her siblings have not.
The common thread: love…
(N.B.: Speaking of BMW’s and Minis, it might be noted that we have a BMW MINI – 2015 Cooper S Roadster – in the garage.)
Those early ’60’s were heady days in Great Britain, as the mini skirt was the hot fashion item, a BMC Mini Cooper S won the prestigious Monte Carlo Rally, and the Beatles ruled both the pop culture and music worlds…
The Mini was a ‘classless’ car: its owners ranged from working class to the elite…
While waiting for my radiator grille – from master painter Ed Mayer (N.B.: not one of the original Beatles)
– I perused the archives:
N.B.: always use a pressure gauge that is bigger than your heels!
Interesting jugs
(N.B.: I think the tat on the lady’s leg means the photo is newer than the Mini.)
Showing cars, etc…

Love on 14 Feb
The mini skirt was by then out of style, but used for the ad…
END OF THIS Post
I had missed a couple of local events, but today is our LocoBrits Meeting, and I decided to take Mini. I started her up – right away – and then drove around the neighbourhood, bringing the temps up.
I drove to our meeting in neighboring North Ridgeville – went well!
After the meeting, I showed the car to several members.
The ride home went well – had to make one fast stop, as vehicles ahead stopped for dear crossing!
The weather in our local stubbornly hangs on to cool!
On Easter Sunday i went for a drive, and my son Allen had a chance to drive.
As there seems to be an oil leak, I jacked up the front, and let it sit, draining any oil on the sump guard.
Today I adjusted the brakes, and went for a cruise.
Need some more front adjustment, the car ran well, and we will check for leaks.
We are looking forward to the end of a long winter…
I took care of a few details: ground wire for flasher; mounted horn; and painted the painted pushrods on cyclinders.
Ed Mayer and Nathan came over (in MG Midget and new go cart): (Nathan is about 10).
We installed the four body-front subframe bolts, and then jacked up the car
That enabled us to secure the rear trans mount, then we rebuilt the dog bone engine stabilizer mount, and installed it.
We tightened every thing, including the bracket on the offside where the hoses go.
Home stretch!
Today, we finished the painting portion of the engine compartment appearance upgrade project, and we can put it in the dictionary next to the term:
SCOPE CREEP!
Master painter and I-CAR maven Ed Mayer came over, shall we say, primed to go!
(Ed had painted the motor):
We pushed the car into the spray booth.
Mixing paint.
Applying primer.
Safety first.
Second coat.
Applying the yellow.
Unmask and unveil.
Done at last!
Back inside the garage.
We celebrated with a pair of grogs.
Hard work? Yes, but then anything really worth having is.
Next? Reassemble!
What did I do? Besides make the coffee, fetch the tools, and pour the beer, I was in charge of organization and documentation.
I left the skill work to Ed and Brad, did most of the heavy lifting on the prep, and I am always ready to fetch what is needed.
After the (painting) party was over…
We are having a major renovation in our bathroom, which has the garage cluttered with bits that have little to do with motor cars.
On Thursday the 11th, Sharon and I headed 500km west to Chicago, where our primary focus was to attend the Stephanie Miller Show.
(see http://www.sexyliberal.com/)
We stayed in the Loop, ate very, very, well, and enjoyed – see http://www.lifeofcharles.com for more.
Back home, I decided to have Mini‘s exhaust done with a powder coating for both appearance and thermal protection, so on Tuesday, I prepared same:
stayed off the road
replaced water pump, but problem may be timing chain.
set for winter: new trans; new timing gear/chain; new struts; new dampers; new spring cones
Mini 