What will happen to the Mini that time forgot?

IT'S like Indiana Jones meets The Italian Job. This story is so intruiging, I thought it needed bringing out of the classic car forums and onto these pages.

It begins deep underground, in a network of tunnels beneath one of Britain's biggest car factories, the former British Leyland plant at Longbridge. For years, a rather battered old Mini has sat down there, lonely and unloved, gathering dust for decades. It's been stripped of almost all of its useful bits and the roof's been bent in like a banana, but this Clubman version, not a million miles from the Seventies Minis you see above, is quite unlike any other. The Mini which nobody wanted is the last ever Mini to leave the factory.

How did it end up down there? Well, the story goes that when this Mini was being made, it fell off the production line at the factory, and rather than repair it the Longbridge workers ran it around the factory for a few miles and took whatever bits were useful off it to use on other cars.

When it was no longer deemed useful it was bundled off into the tunnel, which had been built in the 1940s to protect the factory workers - who were busy making ammunition rather than cars for a change - from the Luftwaffe. The Clubman that never was stayed in the tunnel right through the bitterest days of British Leyland, right through Austin Rover's tenure, remained unloved when BMW took over the reins and even remained ignored when MG Rover finally went bust in 2005. It's only now that a Mini enthusiast has had the tenacity to fish it out, and it's caused a bit of a fuore in the process.

Should the crumpled old heap, which had its roof stoved in after an unfortunate encounter with a shipping container, stay in that tunnel for posterity's sake? Should it be moved to a museum somewhere? Or should the car's saviour restore the old girl back to her former glory, even though for all sorts of boring legal reasons it can't actually be used on the road?

For what it's worth, I reckon it should come out, but I can't see many museums wanting to take on an exhibit that can't even be moved on its own wheels.

It'd take many of thousands of pounds to mend it properly and keep it original, but if someone's up for the exhaustion and expense then they've got my backing. It'd be great to see one last Mini - the Mini that time forgot - rev up its little A-Series engine in anger.

It's too good to be left abandoned in a tunnel forever.

FEATURE: CALL ME BUGGY

An unplanned trip had brought me to this beauty during my study life in Selangor, which was nicely parked in front of the faculty. To be specific, it is 1967 BMC Moke Convertible. From my observation, this 50-year-old body shell was still great and no major rust can be found. A very ideal platform for weekend leisure; drive straight to nearby beach with your Rayban on, roll down the top and enjoy evening breeze.

To me, one word best describes this Sir Alec Issigonis’s creation; “Unique”. Long time ago, it was not the best selling vintage during its era compared to its smaller brother, the Mini Austin. Today, the exclusivity of Mini Moke is priceless.

Surprisingly, collectors and hardcores start to hunt this chassis down for restoration in the late 90’s. Some rich fella would not even think twice to purchase a mint condition one with a price tag of a new Perodua Myvi 1.5 Extreme, which is twice the price of fully-restored Mini Austin.

A very good friend from Pakistan, Mansoor looked happy with the Moke. Hope he was sufficiently ‘poisoned’ to get one classic ride once he back hometown.

Bye.

EVENT: A GREAT WEEKEND IN PUTRAJAYA PART 1

In Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, the last weekend of May is about Millions of Youth Gathering, and most importantly for me, they organized a classic car show and invited Royal Selangor Club members to cheer up the moment with their precious rides. This time, lets approach things a little differently with more classics from west side, starting with this solid red MGB Roadster convertible.

But that doesn’t mean that every car was from western side. Some came from the land of JDM. Next to the MG was this striking yellow Civic CRX on stock OEM wheels.

Things became more serious with this super clean Mercedes Benz vintage, looking good on white wall.

Just around the corner, I was amazed with this unique Alfa Romeo…

...and more importantly, it is the original Alfetta GTV version. A very handful unit in Malaysia.

All types of the breed could be seen, including second-generation type cars like this Jaguar MKII.

And the event would not be a success without some Japanese classics…

...so one of Royal Selangor Club member brought his 510 Bluebird to impress JDM lovers.

One of my favorite vintage on that day, this Amazon 123GT was so attractive that I can’t resist falling in love with.

Hunting for hot babes anyone? This BMW 635C SI is a good weapon.

More French goodies on that day with this Peugeot 404. It may looked average from this view…

…but those pointing and sharp curves turned it into something.

If I am not mistaken, this was the car model that the Allahyarham P. Ramlee drove in ‘Madu Tiga’ movie, the Triumph Spitfire.

And this unknown vintage (apology for my ignorance) , but the design is pretty unique with the taillight at the same level to the wheel.

I don’t think this beauty needs a caption, and it is your lucky day to find a stock condition 280ZX…

...which it looks like just stepped out of dealership in 1980’s. You envy Fairlady enthusiasts?

Another pristine condition marque by Ford, meet this Escort MKI 4 door sedan.

With shiny and sparkling color, I just admired how they managed to keep their car up to this condition.

The icon of the world, and you are not living on earth if you do not know this bug.

Amazingly, this Beetle was restored with original Volkswagen parts. I believe the owner is a VW purist.

Undeniably yes, and it’s the matter of right foot…

The cutest little thing ever produced, this Mini looked business in brownish-purple color.

One of my findings from the event and looks like someone drove over this vintage Fiat 1100 from 1960’s. Another time machine? Ask the owner perhaps.

Along with much more from this amazing event in Part 2. Stay tuned.

SPOTTED: SWAN CITY HUNTING PART 2

'Poison' mode again, this is the predecessor of Part 1 and I am gonna start with this Corolla KE20 2 door sedan. A good alternative for KE25 (Mango) and undoubtedly, I started to fall in love with this model.

The chassis was still in a good shape with essential parts were still attached.  And importantly, it was covered by a canvas and parked on pavement. So this helped to slow down the rust formation.

A late model (kouki) peanut based on the tail light.

This was what I found hundred meters from the KE20, a candy blue 3 door hatchback Charade G11. Super rare!

It seems that the owner was a Charade hardcore, and he had the outlook improved with Charade Turbo kits. The outer shell was pretty rusted, but it looks salvageable.

Surprisingly, a Celeste was spotted at a junkyard with most of the parts had been dismantled. No hope to make it road legal, plus it is a rare model too.

More cars were sacrificed for parts and metals.

Sad but true, a first gen Honda Prelude was chopped, and a wagon Corolla KE36 as well.

This time, spotted a Mitsubishi Tredia, KE70 GL and Subaru Leone, and few other unrecognized models.

Looking for a sunroof? A hope for 323 hardcore, this Mazda BD was left unchopped and the parts were still there.

More and more sacrificed oldskools such as Starlet KP, KE70 DX, Charmant, second gen Accord, Corolla liftback and few others.

And I bet this is the most disappointing panorama, you can not resist feeling hollow upon seeing the 323 GLC, Mazda 808 4 door sedan, KE35 hardtop and second gen Civic, were the members of the junkyard paradise.

Is that you Mr. Bean? I believe the junkyard owner knows the sentimental value of this Mini, so he put it on top of the container; or intentionally waiting for a potential buyer. OK that's all for now and will 'poison you guys with more pictures sooner. Chow!

SPOTTED: SWAN CITY HUNTING PART 1

I do love hunting oldskool cars whenever I reach new places, since they are packed with some nice cars that may not be found at my hometown. The first car that caught my eyes from last vacation; this Celica coupe on Magnum wheels, next to a workshop.

Sitting around the corner from the Celica was this poor Jimny. The chassis was actually in a good shape, only few parts missing.

Spotted few bumpers and parts on top and surroundings of the Jimny, apparently no parts that caught my attention since they were for modern cars.

As I walked around, there was a Pajero undergoing extensive facelift conversion. Not a big fan of this kind of modification, but I can imagine if the effort was spent on original restoration, fully slammed ride height and installing chrome parts.

Mini anyone? This particular model is pretty rare in Borneo, I have only ever seen a handful of these. If only someone could save this chassis and put it back rolling on the road.

Sadly, another one. But this time with most of the parts attached. If you noticed, there was a nice yellow Suzuki Jimny behind there, undergoing some repair process, and a modern T230 Celica.

Oldskool Prelude fans would not happy to see this. Famously known as second generation Prelude and it was pretty popular for the pop-up headlights design.

I go weak at the knees when I spotted this stock to the bone Starlet KP61. The frames are still in good shape and the lines are straight. It was nice since to see the owner maintains fender side mirror. Sorry for the crappy image as my camera fails at night shot.

See you guys in Part 2. Chow!

The Mini is back...until it breaks again

DEATH, taxes and the car you see me crouched next to at the top of this page breaking down - those are the few things in life you can guarantee will happen!

Last time you saw the Life On Cars Mini - quite possibly the least reliable motor I've ever known - it was 2009, the ground was covered in snow and the thing had stopped working altogether, after a never-ending series of mechanical maladies left it confined to the garage and me glad I didn't have the chance to crash it on the ungritted roads. But now it's back!

Going for a spin in the Mini is like going for a pint with an old mate; they might well have fobbed you off or left you with the bar tab before, but you don't care because you haven't seen them in ages! I might drive lots of different cars and many of them are fantastic, but in my eyes they'll never beat my Mini because it's MY Mini. A car that's literally corroded around me.

Since I bought the car nearly 18 months ago the brakes, the steering, the distributor, the tyres, the fuses, the wiring, the lights, the starter motor, the sills, the floorpan and the body have all broken, and for weeks at a time it's been off the road, stubbornly refusing to start and asking me why I didn't buy a Nissan Micra instead. The 26-year-old motor is so unreliable it's actually a running joke at The Champion, but it doesn't stop me loving it.

After months of hiding from the winter I finally got the chance to get reacquainted with it, and on the roads around Churchtown the sublimely communicative steering and point 'n' squirt handling were an absolute revelation. The tiny drum brakes are still as hopeless as ever, but you shouldn't have this much fun in something this small and cheap.

In fact I was so pleased with it that I took it across town to see one of my colleagues and proudly boast that a brilliant car was now a reliable one. At which point it immediately broke down. Again.

Say what you like, but I adore the little Mini. Until the next time it stops working, anyway.