17x01 - 1965 Mk1 Mini 850

[bunniefuu]

In time, we uncover a precious vintage icon
that harks right back to the swinging 60s.

This is literally my dream car.

Now it's time for this compact
classic to join the 21st century.

Ha, it's got no clutch cylinder.

But with failing components
and missing parts,

it's time to test out
those drum brakes.

Whoa!

Elvis will have to go
the extra mile to give this

garage treasure far
more than just a facelift.

A couple of guys down
in Australia took one of

these, hit 95 miles an
hour in an 8.50 minute.

Come on little car, you can do it.

Let's not run out of runway.

Oh, I love it, love it, love it.

I'm Mike Brewer and I've been buying
and selling cars for nearly 40 years.

It's rattling, it's noisy,
it's utterly wonderful.

Now I'm set up shop in Britain's
motor-inherited heartland, near Oxford.

Oh God, stop smiling.

Along with ex-Formula 1
mechanic, Mark Elvis Priestley.

Come on, hurry up.

Together we're going to buy.

I love these mate.

So do I.

And fix up.

You're right down that end mate.

Yeah, I'm fine.

The most iconic and
exciting cars on the market.

Why is it on a trailer?

It hasn't run for 30 years.

30 years?

With Elvis' engineering skill.

Oh my goodness, what a mess.

And my car-dealing clout.

I think you're being a
bit cheeky with your price.

We should be able to
make ourselves a tiny profit.

Another happy customer.

Another happy customer.

Oh yeah.

Nice one Andy.

Oh no, I'm dead serious.

It's definitely one that I'm interested in.

The problem is it's going to take
me a couple of hours to get to you.

So can you be patient?

All right then.

I'll see you then.

Thanks mate.

Bye bye.

What's all that about?

You look excited.

I am excited.

That's a dream car.

Well if it's a dream car I know what it is.

What is it?

It's a Mini isn't it?

Of course it's a Mini.

But it's not just any old Mini.

It's a Mark 1, rare, 18.

I mean these cars are
the hot tick at the moment.

And this one, if I don't get to
it, it's going to fly off the shelf.

You carry on mate.

I'll call you in a couple of hours.

Ta-da.

Now I've always been on
the lookout for Mark 1 Minis.

I love them.

There's very few in the
marketplace at the moment.

Which has got me, oh so excited.

If I remember, we did one way
back that I eventually sold for £1,000.

Today a decent Mark 1
is more than 10 times that.

The first Mark 1 rolled off
the British Motor Company's

production lines at
Longbridge and Cowley in 1959.

For a start it was clever.

The ground breaking transverse
engine and front wheel drive layout

allowed 80% of the car's floor pan to
be used for passengers and luggage.

But it was more than smart.

It was a true motoring icon.

It's low cost and fun nature meant that
the joys of motoring opened up to millions.

Over four decades
later people still continue

to Cherish, collect
and even race them.

It's safe to say the Minis
appeal has never faded.

I mean I'm definitely a
fan and always have been.

I love the Mini because
I learned to drive in it.

The Mark 1 I found is tucked away in
a garage in Chepstow, South Wales.

Now the current owner, Andy, tells
me it's been in the family since 1965.

Since it was new and all
that time it's been garaged.

He says it's never
really been out in any bad

weather and it's been
well loved and cared for.

He's asking for offers around 10 grand.

So I'm braving the
elements to get there before

another buyer gets
wise to this opportunity.

The bad news is it doesn't run.

I know, I know.

So I bought the trailer with me.

See I'm thinking ahead.

Unfortunately it's got some clutch issue.

That doesn't worry me because back in
the garage I got an ex-Formula 1 mechanic

and I'm pretty sure he can
do a clutch before breakfast.

What does worry me is the engine
hasn't been turned over for like 13 years.

So I've taken the Liberty of throwing
some tools in the back of the car

and if I can get it running then this
one could be coming back with me.

Hello there. You must be Andy.

How are you Andy?

Very good, thank you.

Yeah, good to see you.

Thank you very much for arranging for me
to have a look at this little car of yours.

I'm very excited by it.

Yes.

There she is.

I love her.

Wow.

That is fantastic.

Any chance we can get it out?

Certainly.

No problem at all.

Which is lovely.

Her name's Ethel.

Ethel?

Why Ethel?

Named after grandmother
who was Marjorie Ethel.

Hello Ethel.

Welcome to the outdoor world.

As you can see this
has been laid up a while.

A little bit of oil or petrol on the floor.

A little bit of incontinence going
on but it happens to us all with age.

Oh it's fantastic.

Tell me a little bit about it then Andy.

My grandma bought her new.

Grandma ran her as an
everyday car obviously through

till 1981 when she
then gave it to my sister.

Then three years later I
had it as a first car and started

to learn to drive in her and
then my father took her on.

and he passed away a few years ago.

So the Mini hasn't really
turned the wheel since 2006.

Clearly it's been well
cared for and garaged

because the obvious tell-tale signs
of rust which would be in this roof gully

at the bottom of the A panel here at the
bottom of the doors, rear wheel arches.

it looks like it's rust free.

Yeah it's pretty good.

It's obviously over its life.

It's had replacement sills and a bit
of paint but the A panels were original.

Do you mind if I have a
really good look around it?

Help yourself.

We're starting to boot because there's a
thing that you always need to be weary of

if you're buying little Minis
whether it's a Mk1, Mk2, Mk3

and it's the top of the rear suspension
turret because if they rusted out

it would cost you as much to repair
that as it would be to service a Ferrari.

Very nice. Let's have a look inside.

It smells.

just as I remember my first ever Mini
and it feels brilliant just being in here.

Headline is really
good the seats look nice.

It's a basic so there's no trimming
on the dash it's just painted metal.

It's gorgeous. I absolutely love it.

Wonderful. Now let's have
a look at the engine bay

which is the important
thing on this little car.

Not the prettiest. It's not?

Well you say not the prettiest.

I can see straight away
we've got no clutch cylinders.

Yeah, took that
out years ago now.

So that explains the clutch issue
but before this car gets fired into life

because it's been sat around for
for ages there's a little sequence

of things that we need to do and
need to check and I've taken the Liberty

of bringing down some fuel, some
fresh plugs I've got a battery on charge

blindly firing up a car that's
been sitting around for as

long as Ethel has risks of
seriously damaging the engine.

The old fuel would have broken
down and become contaminated.

There may be rust on the pistons
which could damage the block.

One of the things I can
do is connect the battery up

and I'm just going to jog the engine over
to make sure those pistons move freely.

To ensure the engine
doesn't start up when I turn

on the starter motor I've
removed the spark plugs.

A squirt of penetrating fluid will
help free up any seized pistons.

Then with my fresh battery
connected we're ready to get

this engine turned over
for the first time in 13 years.

Remember there's no plugs in the
engine so it's not going to fire into life.

That's all you need to do.

Little when you tap to the key.

That seems like it's moving freely to me.

Right, I'm going to be
using these new plugs.

Usually you would gap the plugs
to make sure that the gap is correct

but I'm just going to go with the factory
setting which should be good enough.

Screw them in.

Pop the HT leads back on.

Ethel's had the same petrol.

stagnating in her
tank for 13 years which

could be causing
blockages in the carburettor.

So it's out with the old.

and in with the new.

Leaded, of course.

So that's enough new fuel.

How are you getting on?

I'm alright, how are you getting on?

Do you know what, I
think I've done everything

in preparation to almost hit
the button and try and start it.

I found a few bits and pieces.

Some old MOT's
going back to 1988.

I always say a car's
history is as important

as the car itself but
will it fire into life?

Give us a try.

This little car comes with a
start motor on the solenoid.

Fingers crossed, ready?

I don't know what to say.

Sweet, sweet, sweet.

It's definitely shrunk, this car.

Minis have.

Minis have shrunk.
Nothing to do with us, Mike.

As we get older, minis have shrunk.

Well listen, I have to say to
you just how honoured I am

that you're giving us this
opportunity to buy this family heirloom.

It would be nice to see her go to someone
who gives her the next stage in her life.

With the amount of work that he's
doing to this car I think it's worth.

£10,000.

What do you say?

I think that's a very fair offer.

Thank you so much.

I really hope that
Ethel will look after you.

I can't tell you just from the bottom of
my heart how much this means to me.

Thank you so much.

And I've just gone and
bought myself a Mini 850.

Ethel, meet Mike.

So there you have it.

Slung out behind me sitting
on that trailer is a 1965.

Mark 1

Mini and I can't be
any happier honestly.

Elvis,

get the doors ready sunshine.

I'm on my way back.

That is an old one, look at that.

This is literally my dream car.

This happens to be
the rare little 850 as well.

Why is it on a trailer?

Because I'm driving
it yet, it doesn't drive.

It starts up, but I can't drive it.

It's got no clutch cylinder.

That's what you're here for.

How much have you paid for it?

Ten grand.

For a car you've never even driven.

It's going to drive fine.

All you need to do is to pull
the engine out and tidy it up.

It's a mess isn't it?

But once you tidy it all up it's
going to drive a little sweeter.

Let's hope so.

No rust at the bottom of the doors.

All the seals are good underneath.

Original interior.

That's not bad.

Some really nice design touches.

A bit of a clean up.

That will come back to
almost showroom condition.

Look, you're starting to
smile about it now aren't you?

The wheels are a little bit tatty.

Has it got the original?

It has.

That was one of my
favourite little touches on these

because they did it so that you could
open the boot put a full sized suitcase in

strap it down and drive along and
you could still see the number plate.

Now you can see the value can't you?

It's starting to grow on me.

If we can sort the engine
out and get it running

that's the first thing but what
else do we plan to do with this?

These days things are just
made better than they were

back in the 60s and I
think if we improve the car

and get it running and driving right
I think that's as much as it needs.

It's so original. A lot of
people they'll buy a car like this

they'll put it on the trailer drive
it to a car show and show it off.

where if we turn this into
a nice little driver's car.

something that somebody
could use every single day.

that's the best way to drive
profitability and get this there's only 81

850 Minis registered in the
whole of the UK at the moment.

That's all there is? That's all there is.

This will be number
82 if we do the right job

by it and that makes
this car so exclusive.

That is incredible. Well listen

let's get it in the workshop
and see where we go from there.

Leave it to me I'll reverse it in.

Mike's gone and bought one of his all time.

favourite cars. A beautiful
original 56 year old Mark 1 Mini.

It's not seen the outside world for
nearly two decades and with only

81 of these cars left on the roads
we're determined to revive this classic.

You know I love the idea of
turning this great little non-runner into

a daily driver and that we're not just
setting out to create a museum piece.

There's a whole host of
work that needs to happen

under here to tidy up
this engine bay but the first

job is to fit two clutch
cylinders. One should be on

the end of this pipe here
next to the brake cylinder

and the other should be right
down there next to the clutch itself.

I need to fit the new cylinders so
that I can take the car for a test drive

which will allow me
to work out what else I

need to do to make it
a reliable daily driver.

When the driver presses a
clutch pedal the primary cylinder

converts that force into hydraulic
pressure which then forces

the secondary cylinder
at the other end of the

system to disengage the
clutch from the flywheel.

Nowadays the reservoirs
on these things are typically

made of clear plastic
but because we're trying

to rebuild this car in the most authentic
way possible I'm using a metal one

because that's how it would
have looked when it was new.

The problem is though once I drop this
through the bulkhead in the engine bay.

the pin that attaches this to
the clutch pedal itself can only be

got to from one of the most
inaccessible points on the entire car.

Our Mark 1's tiny.

compared to modern Minis.

80 centimetres shorter and 50

centimetres narrower than
the latest three door hatchback.

Luckily having worked on plenty of

F1 cars I'm used to
negotiating tight spaces. There,

got it.

So this is the clutch's
secondary cylinder, only costs

about 30 quid but with that
one this car's going nowhere.

The secondary cylinders fix
to the gearbox using two bolts.

With both cylinders fitted it's time to

fill them up with clutch
fluid and use a bleed

kit to get all the air out of the system.

Air pockets prevent the hydraulic system

from functioning properly and
make the clutch pedal feel spongy.

It's a two man job so my mate and
fellow mechanic Nathan lends a hand.

Go on then give it a press.
Pumping the clutch pedal

up and down helps force
out any air from the system.

Yep, down. Lovely.

Nice one.

Thanks mate.

And there we have it, the system's bled.

With the clutch now
installed I can finally.

get behind the wheel and get to grips with

what else I need to do to make our
Mini worthy of modern roads. Plus

it means I get to drive
the car before Mike does.

Now that doesn't happen very often and I'm

pretty sure we'll annoy
him just a little bit.

Do you know what? I love it.

Now I start to understand why
Mike fell in love with this thing.

It's an amazing
experience. I love it.

Clutch feels good. Pedal's got no
sponginess to it. It's firm, it's positive.

It's going through the gears really easily.

So that's a job well done.

Okay, time to test
out those drum brakes.

Woah.

Now I know drum brakes are not the most

efficient things in the
world but this thing just

pulled immediately over
to the right hand side.

And that is one of the tendencies
that drum brakes have. They tend to go

out of balance and that as
you just saw can be dangerous.

I want someone to be able to use

this every day and to do that I need
to bring the brakes into the modern era.

But before I get stuck
into that I'm stripping.

off our Mini's faded chrome trims and
sending them down to Kent in the southeast

where Mike has found someone who claims
they can bring back their original sparkle.

There was a time when I could
pick up the phone, go through my

contact book and I would hit a
chromers really easily. But these days.

they just don't seem to exist.

So I've found another
guy who reckons he's got a.

different way of putting
chrome on my bumpers that

doesn't involve dipping
them in nasty chemicals.

Now his name is Ernie and he reckons
he can spray chrome onto my bumpers.

Sounds like the stuff of
magic to me. Anyway he does

it all out of this barn in
the middle of an orchard.

Ernie. Mike. How you doing?

You alright? Not too bad. Good to see you.

So you've got my mini
bits which you've prepared.

Spray chrome and I've
seen it demonstrated.

People talk about it like it's this
mysterious sort of voodoo magic.

So what's the process then?

How does it work? You prep everything.

You etch everything up.

Especially if it's metal.
You sand it up to 1000

grit. Then it goes for base
coat which is an epoxy.

After the epoxy that's
when it goes into the drying

room. Gets cured at 60
degrees for about two hours.

Then we go into the silvering room
and that's when we apply the chrome.

So once the chrome is applied
how long does it last? As long as it

looks after the same as
any paint it can last years.

And I suppose the difference is with

chrome plating you can
only sort of chrome paint metal

where we spray chroming you
can spray anything. Anything.

Mysteriously my mini grill is missing.

Your mini grill is in the drying room.

So that's ready to go? Yes it is.

Nice one. Can we see it? Yeah of course.

Lovely.

The process of spray chroming
uses silver nitrate which is

better as it's greener, quicker and
cheaper while still achieving a great

finish. My little grill has been sanded
prepped with an epoxy base coat and cured for

two hours leaving it shiny
and black. So this is the magic

machine? Yeah this is the silver
machine. So it heats up all the

chemicals to around 55
degrees which guarantees

it to plate properly
every time. Gotcha.

The silvering which comes
out of this dual nozzle g*n.

Two nozzles?
Yeah I've not seen that before.

So one side is your silver

and the other side is a trade secret.

Hold on a minute. So
you've got your own magic

juice? Yes. Are we
ready to go? Yes we are.

Yeah. Fantastic.

Oh wow!

It is literally turning chrome
in front of my very eyes.

No way!

I mean it just looks like
a brand new chrome grill.

It really is chrome isn't it?

Can I have a go at doing something? Yeah.

Can I have a go? Really?
Yeah. Oh yes please.

My canvas will be
the mini's wing mirrors

which Ernie has already
prepped for spraying.

Now you said to me just keep
pressing the trigger until you see a flash.

Until it goes to prime.

I can't believe this is happening.

in front of my eyes. It's amazing.

Look at that!

Keep going.

There? Yeah. That is how.

you turn liquid into chrome. I feel
like King Midas. I can turn anything

into more valuable.

stuff. I want to do more. Let's do more.

Let's do more. Mike's Midas.

touch should have our mini looking smarter.

but all his efforts will be wasted.

if I can't sort out the
unbalanced drum brakes.

You know when I drove this thing
I got my own first hand and slightly

scary experience of how drum
brakes can cause the car to veer off

to one side when they're
not properly balanced.

Woah!

The drum brake was invented in
1902 and was the preferred braking.

system for car manufacturers until
the 1950s when disc brake technology

was adapted for car use after being
pioneered in the aviation industry.

By the 1980s practically all cars were
being manufactured with disc brakes.

The other problem with drums is that
inside these brake shoes are being forced

against the outer edge of
this drum when the driver hits

the pedal and that converts
kinetic energy into heat energy.

But that heat is constantly building.

up inside here and under heavy
braking it can get so hot it can even

boil the fluid in the system or
overheat the shoes themselves and that

will definitely grab your
attention when you're

behind the wheel when the braking
capability of the car just disappears.

We want to embrace
the originality of our iconic.

and extremely rare 1960s Mini but
enhance its weaker elements. It's tired out

drum brakes are out of balance
and prone to overheating. If we want.

our Mini to be worthy of today's roads
the challenge will be to modernise the

entire braking system
without upsetting the purists.

That overheating issue can be alleviated
with disc brakes because the rotating

disc is always in the airflow being cooled
and in fact Minis from 1985 onwards had

disc brakes on the front because a huge
percentage of the car's overall braking

capability is done on the front
axle. So I think fitting disc brakes

to our Mini is a safe
and sensible option

that won't negatively
impact its personality.

First I need to completely remove the
brake assembly. Remember to make sure you

drain the fluid before you
disconnect the brake line

or you make a mess of your garage floor.

Once the ball joints
on the track rods have

been knocked out I can
remove the brake shoes.

And then the assembly itself.

Next thing is to fit the CV or
constant velocity joint to allow the

driveshaft to transmit its power through
to the front wheels. The Mini was actually

one of the first cars to utilise a CV
joint which gave a smoother transfer

of power than the old universal joint
that preceded it because it keeps a

constant speed or constant velocity through
all angles that the wheel turns out.

The new CV joint is greased,
then knocked into place.

and I've also replaced
the rubber boot to

protect the bearings
inside from the elements.

Then I can slide the new
disc brake hub into position.

All the parts on this job
weigh in at 422 pounds.

So I'm fitting 7 and a half.

inch discs to our Mini. Larger
ones with a bigger surface

area would give us more
stopping power but to be honest

these are going to be
ample for our little daily driver.

And on top of that, anything bigger
would also mean increasing the wheel size

and that has the potential
to dramatically change the

appearance of our little 60s
icon. Don't want to do that.

Even with a brand new disc,
it's important to give it a once over

with brake cleaner to remove any
residual grease before then fitting the.

calipers and reassembly.
Cleaner brakes equal more friction.

A dab of copper grease
on the back and edges

of the brake pads will
help stop brake squeal.

Once the pads are fitted to the
caliper they're both ready to be installed.

I'm fitting two pot calipers here which
means I have two pistons inside the

caliper to help transmit that stopping
force when the driver hits the brake pedal.

And that is pretty much it.
I've just got to do the other

side and then bleed the
system and then our 20th century

Mini is well on its way to being
ready for 21st century roads.

I'm here to check what's
going on with our Mini. Look at

you, you've been busy got
the engine out. I fixed that clutch

issue. I've actually been behind
the wheel, I've had it out on the road.

You've driven a car before, I have. I know.

What was it like? Oh my goodness, what
an experience. Tell you what was terrifying

though, the brakes hit the pedal and it
just Chucks you off to one side. I nearly

ended up in a ditch and
so I hope you don't mind

I've taken the Liberty of upgrading
those front drums to disc brakes.

Oh no, it's perfect.
It's a great upgrade,

especially as they're
hidden beyond a nostalgic

wheel, you can't really see them.
But if you've got more power in a car.

you need better brakes. But we haven't got
no power in this car. It's got no power.

What can we do about that? Well, it's funny

you say that because I've been
thinking about that as well. If we want it

to be a daily driver, we
definitely need more power

and whilst doing a bit of research, I
found this old magazine from 1961.

Nice. A couple of guys down in Australia
took one of these and without doing anything

to the block, they
tinkered around the top end

of the engine but kept
it relatively standard.

They hit 95 miles
an hour in an 850

Mini. Can you believe
that? No they didn't.

That's rubbish.
No, what did they do? Throw it.

out of an aeroplane.
Well that's what I thought

because I struggled
to get anywhere near

50 but 95 miles an
hour is still the record

that still stands today. Well I mean they
have done some modifications to the engine.

Twin carb upgrade on it as well.
That's how they got

to that speed.
Well look, there's nothing stopping us

doing those kind of things.
We can skim the head,

we can upgrade the camshaft,

electronic ignition and
all sorts of other stuff

as long as we keep the block the same.
I mean look,

this is what I do.
I make cars go more quickly

and this article has given me
some pretty hefty inspiration.

The kind of person that would want to buy

this car, they're going to
want to sit comfortably on

a motorway somewhere
between 65 and 70 miles an hour.

We could actually get close to these
Australians. I mean if we can get like 80

miles an hour out of it,
that would be fantastic.

If we can get anywhere close to that
I'll be very impressed. Whatever you do,

do it but just don't ruin the
originality of the car. As in,

make it look original
but make it go a lot faster.

Got it.

Now to give our Mini engine some extra
juice I need some specialist equipment.

So, I'm taking our 850cc engine
head to a tuners in the southeast.

It's owned by my mate

and British racing
royalty Nick Swift. He

started building and racing Minis when he
was 16 and he's been doing it ever since.

Look at that, that is a bit of me,

a proper racer. Love it.

I've come here as Nick has all the kit
required to make some power boosting

modifications to our engine head.

Nick, hello mate.

Hello mate, how are you doing?

Yeah, very good.

So at the moment, bog standard
cylinder head off our 850cc.

We want to get a bit
more performance out of it.

We want this car to be a
bit more of a daily driver

in modern roads, in
modern driving conditions.

It's such a short stroke,
tiny capacity engine,

you've got to rev the
living daylights out of it.

It's got a zero torque, almost no power.

Let's put some lead free valve seats.

in it because nowadays obviously
with modern lead free fuel,

let's try and make it as compatible
to up to date spec as we can.

And perhaps get it
revving a little bit higher.

Absolutely, we can get rid of
them really weedy little single coil

valve Springs on there and put a set
of double Springs, that will lift the RPM

up like by 1000 RPM or
more. Well those are the kind of

specialist tools that I haven't
got but I know you have.

I know where most of the kit is,
so you alright if I go and crack on?

Absolutely, you go and get on with it.

Thanks mate.

First job is to enable our mini to run
on unleaded rather than leaded fuel.

To do this, I need to strip the
Springs to give me access to the ports.

Then I can use the milling
machine to de-shroud the combustion

chambers, which will widen them by precisely
3mm and allow me to fit new valve seats.

So that's the machining done, now
we can get the valve seats inserted.

The reason we're doing
this is that in the old days

leaded fuel provided an
element of lubrication between

the valve and the valve seat
itself, preventing damage.

We don't have that lead anymore,
so now we fit a hardened steel.

insert which forms a new valve

seat and essentially does the same job.

So fitting these.

means that our old little mini can
now run on modern unleaded fuel.

With the 8 new inserts fitted, I
can move on to porting the engine.

Porting's the process of smoothing
out some of the imperfections

in this cylinder head in the
intake and exhaust ports.

Those imperfections create turbulence
and inefficiencies that interrupt

the air flow and ultimately
result in less power.

By smoothing them out, we gain
even more from this tiny engine.

I'm just dropping in some old
valves that are going to act as blanks

just to protect those new
inserts that I've just fitted

and the valve seats themselves,
and then I'm going to use

this electric die grinder to
remove some of the material.

Safety first.

This aluminium oxide
grinder head is strong

enough to quickly eat
through the cast iron,

creating the smooth,
consistent surface we're after.

If you're a junior with
porting, you can use

cartridge rolls which remove
the material more slowly.

But I've got to say,

this isn't a job for any DIYer.

Right, so the combustion
chambers are now done, and I'm

now going to use a very
similar technique to smooth out

the surface material of
the inlet and exhaust ports.

If you take an old gasket here,

lay it on top, you can see

there's a big difference
in the size of the aperture

between the gasket and the openings
on the cylinder head themselves.

It almost acts like a kind of speed hump
in the road, slowing down that combustion

mixture, the charge
that we want to get inside

that cylinder head.
So, I'm going to scribe

around the holes,
giving us a bit of a guide.

Essentially, what we're doing is
matching the cylinder head to the manifold.

If you are doing this at home,

it's important to be extremely careful.

not to take off too much material
and breach one of the oil or water.

pathways inside the head itself.

Because if you do, the cylinder
head can end up being scraped.

While Elvis is focused on our
engine's head performance,

I'm doing my homework on the current
market for Classic Minutes in the UK.

Wow!

The prices of these little
Minis, they're still going up.

It's a really strong market to be in.

Mini just celebrated its.

60th anniversary, that means
that Minis are being spoken about

in the motoring press. And
there's a lot of people that

can remember a Mini when they
were kids, and now the people

that have got money to spend today.

Now, what sets our car aside from every
other car that's out there, is the fact

it's an 850. That means it's even
rarer. There were a few of those for sale.

So I've been looking online.

This one's a 1972. It's not even a
Series 1, but they want £15,000 for it.

And then there's another one, 1967.

It's an automatic, so it's about the same
kind of year but less desirable being an

auto. They want £13,500 for that.

So if we get our act together, we could.

potentially go higher than these.

Back at Swift Tune, I've finished
porting the inlets and exhaust ports, and

now air can flow through our head
much more efficiently. But, before I leave,

I've got one final modification
to try out on our little 850 engine.

Skimming the head as much as we're
about to here removes enough material to

decrease the volume of the
combustion chamber and that

in turn raises the
compression ratio of the engine.

And that should give us some
more much needed power.

The machine will do

multiple passes until the head's
absolutely flat and distortion-free.

As I've done all the
work and nixed a mate,

my bill for borrowing
the kit is only £250.

That's less than
half the usual cost.

There we go. Porting and skimming,

done. Now, there's no way of
me telling just yet exactly how much

power we've added to
this thing, but what I can say

is that we're now getting an awful
lot more out of our tiny little 850

engine, and crucially, keeping
it as original as possible.

The Mini is one of
my favourite cars.

An icon, pure and simple.

This rare and original 850
came to us as a non-starter.

Not only have we got it running,

but we've transformed the Mark 1

into a 21st century motor and even
had plans to attempt a speed record.

Is that a step too far?

We'll find out soon.

With all the work that I've done to
the top end of this engine, coupled

with a new head gasket, brand new
carburettor and exhaust manifold, I

really feel like we've might
have achieved our target

of making this little Mini suitable
for modern, everyday driving.

Plus, it still looks as
amazing as it did when

it rolled out of the factory
all those years ago.

That is what I call a
sympathetic restoration. I love it.

I don't know what to say.

Until now, our Mark 1

Mini 850 lived a very sheltered
life. Clearly, we've been well

cared for on garage. It looks
thrust free. Our challenge.

was to add a few 21st century additions
without losing its iconic 60's charm. Our old

little Mini can now run
on modern unleaded

fuel. To make this car
a dynamic daily driver.

At 95 miles an hour in
an 850 minute. If we can

get anywhere close to
that I'll be very impressed.

But have we done enough to turn

our Garage Mini into a potential record
breaker. We paid £10,000 for the car.

New clutch cylinders, 84.

Fist brake conversion,

422.

Spray chroming, 500.

Porting and skimming
of the engine head, 250.

Dual valve Springs, 48.

Camshaft,

242.

Oil temperature Gauge, 100.

Painting of the engine bay

and wheels, 250.

Giving us a grand total

of £11,896.

A bargain revival for such a
rare find. But how much life have

we managed to breathe
back into our Mini?

Here we go.

Yes!

Oh my goodness!

That sounds amazing!

Listen to it!

Oh yeah!

Listen to that!

That sounds epic!

That little car.

Elvis, look how good it looks as well.

You've been working hard haven't you?

It does look good and it does sound good.
And to hear it coming from you

mate, the Mike Brewer
seal of approval on a Mini

well that means a lot.

I'm just in love with it.
As soon as I see it

it puts a big smile on my face.
And dare I say

the bright work on the car, the
little chrome really does make it pop.

It really does. It actually came
out better than I thought it would.

So what about that engine?
Because it sounded so sweet.

We wanted to keep
some originality didn't we?

We wanted to keep it as an 850. So I've done
that. Haven't touched the block. Focused

only really on the top end.
So I reckon we might

get a decent amount of
poke out of this you know.

Sounds like we're going to get a lot
more than a decent amount of poke.

Oh already!

I'm just like, yep!

I'm in love. Or in your happy place.

I'm in my very, very happy place.

I've not driven this either. No I know.

You've driven this in front of me.

Wow! That engine though.

That is brilliant.

It feels so sprightly Elvis. And
that comes from all that work

we did with the engine. It's made such a
difference and now it means it does that.

Oh mate!

Listen to it!

It's amazing!

Would you ever take
that corner any faster

than any other car? Not with
the same smile on your face.

It looks great. It drives
incredibly well. I'm really pleased.

But what about the brakes?

Oh mate. Arrow straight.

Look at that. Stops on his nose.

Wow! We are.

absolutely going to nail
it when it comes to taking

on that speed record
that the Australians did.

What do you reckon? I mean I don't
know if we can hit 95 miles an hour but

I'll tell you what I'll be
interested to find out.

Listen I've arranged for
a scope of a test track.

I've also arranged for a sweater. A
little gathering of people to cheer us on.

Oh look at them all! That is incredible!

Isn't that cool? What a sight!

That's what the Mini community is like.

I love it.

Hello everybody! Hello everyone!

What a crowd!

What a turnout! This is our.

1965 Mark 1

Mini 850 and this is an
incredibly long runway.

And our aim today is to
take on a speed record

held by two wacky
Australians for decades.

And that's why you're here.

To cheer us on!

Right we'll see you at the finishing line.

We're going to get ready.

Why don't we use that little bit of an
apron as a bit of a wait we get 31 an hour.

Let's do that.

Take whatever we can get.

Here we go.

Go on.

Go on.

Already we're doing 30 miles an
hour as we come onto the runway.

38, 40 miles an hour.

This little 850 is banging
away up to the bottom.

70 miles an hour.

And we're still pulling.

Come on little car you can do it.

Let's go on our runway.

78. Come on!

89!

80 miles an hour!

This little things got some
guts isn't it? Well it's not quite 95

but that's done alright. I reckon if we
were to shed a bit of weight in this car

we might have a chance of
actually going a little bit quicker.

Take all the tools out.

Take the spare wheel out.
Light the car right up.

Those Australians must have done that.

I still think we could maybe do a bit
better than that. Oh I've got a great idea.

Why don't I get out of the car?

It's a good idea. It's a great idea.

I like it.

Right so.

other ideas I've got.

why don't we.

think about aerodynamics
so we can fold in the mirror.

Yes good idea. I like it.

Make the contact patch as small as you can
that way you're going to go a lot faster.

Right I'll tell you what
let me leave you with that.

You can do the others.
Pump them all the way up.

I'm going to get down the other end

and I'll be there ready to tee you on.

Alright mate.

Wish me luck.

No excuses this time.

I'm going to give it a proper good run up.

47 miles an hour.

Come on.

55 miles an hour already.

That's the earliest we've
hit 60 along the runway.

68.

70 miles an hour.

Come on this is the one.

75.

Yes come on.

80 miles an hour.

This is fast.

85.

Come on.

And I'm pleased to say that
those brakes work a treat.

Come on.

The sound of it coming down the runway.

That was amazing.

Put us out of our misery our fast.

90.

Now 90 miles an hour is as far.

as those Australians but they spent
months trying to achieve that record

and that car didn't
start a little while ago.

No and from 90 miles an hour it
stopped with those new brakes as well.

For both me and Elvis to say goodbye to
this little mini is really going to be hard

because we've utterly
fallen in love with this little car

but we do need to sell it.

Now I've put a call out on social media
for this car. I've got a queue of people.

who want to buy it. The first person

who's made it all the way here

from Newark to come and see it is
this chap behind me. He's called Richard

and I've got a funny
feeling with the interest

I got he's just going
to have to buy it.

Let's find out.

So then Richard, what do you think?

Looks stunning. I mean there's sunlight
this paintwork looks amazing. So why a mini?

Well I've got a classic mini
already but it's one of the last ones

the Cooper Sport and I think it
would just be nice for you know

to have one of the early ones
as well. Yeah lovely. And a mini

was my first car. My first car was a mini
and once you get bitten by them you just.

never forget do you? Exactly. So much
character and so much fun to drive these

things. This is going to be tough for us to
say goodbye to this one but my emotions

can be overridden if you
was to pay me every penny.

of the £14,000 I'm asking

for it. Well the only thing I wanted
to change Mike was the acid price.

Well unfortunately

for you the world is clambering at the
moment for Mark 1 Minis. They're few and far

between. For that money I think
it's worth it. So what do you say?

Let's go for it Mike.

Congratulations you've
put yourself a cracking

little mini Mark 1
well done. Thank you.

You bought Ethel. Lovely.

Ethel belonged to just
one family since 1965

and then Ethel come and joined
the Wheeler Dealer family and I

think me and Elvis have turned
around a very special car. Not only

did we take it to 90 miles an hour
it's off for pastures new and you can't

say fairer than that. If you
want to see more iconic

cars like this being turned
around by me and Elvis.

then join us again soon
on Wheeler Dealers.