Here's a summary our local club anorack (
) put together...
In September 1960, BMC launched their estate version of the Mini. As always, both Austin and Morris versions were available, known as the Austin Seven Countryman and the Morris Mini Traveller. Although many believe the estates were based on the van, there are good reasons to believe that it was in fact the other way round and the estates were developed first. We can come to this conclusion if we look at the minor but important differences between the two. These are mainly due to the presence of the rear seat. Firstly the rear floor, or load area, of the estate is much shorter than on the van to provide the foot well needed for the rear passengers. On the van, the battery and the spare wheel had been placed directly behind the front seats, but the need for legroom in the estates made this impossible. A totally new hiding place had to be found for these essential but unsightly items. The answer was to place them under a hinged panel in the rear floor, effectively placing them in the same place as on the saloon. The estates also used a saloon style fuel tank, fitted on the nearside of the loading bay. We can now see that the layout of the estate is very similar to the saloon and the van seems to be very different. This suggests a logical evolution from saloon to estate and then on to van, the opposite of what most people believe. In truth they were probably developed together as variations on a theme. Prototypes were actually being made before saloon production was under way. Interior view with back seat folded down, note the covered petroltank and the access hatch for the spare wheeland battery.
The more obvious differences between the estate and van are the addition of the sliding rear windows and the use of a separate chrome grille. Both Austin and Morris versions came fitted with a wooden frame glued around their rear half’s. Unlike the Morris Minor Traveller, this was a totally non-structural and purely cosmetic addition, (a fact proven by the introduction of an all-metal estate in 1962). It will be no surprise to hear that Issigonis hated it. Personally I think it gives the estates a quirky appearance and makes them one of the few Mini variants that actually look old. The trim level chosen for the estates was equivalent to the De luxe saloon and a pair of wing-mounted rear-view mirrors came as standard, this was a legal requirement for estate cars. However, an interior mirror was not and this was placed on the options list. In January 1962 the Austin model was renamed Austin Mini Countryman. Mk1 estates were only available with the 850cc engine and very few changes were ever made. At some point in the first two years of production the fuel tank was moved under the rear floor in an effort to maximise the rear load space, just like on the van and pick-up. Unlike the van and pick-up, the estates were given the Mk2 treatment in October 1967, although only at the front end. This basically meant the introduction of the new style grille and a change of badges. Again, all-metal and wood-trimmed versions were available in both Austin and Morris guises. The big difference was the introduction of the 998cc engine. The small increase in power was very welcome on these load-carrying Minis. The 850cc unit was never available in a Mk2 estate. The cost of the woody estates was around £630, only slightly more than the top model saloon. The wooden trim was the main reason for the increase as the all-metal versions were available for £610. The early estates are very rare these days, especially the all-metal type. The Mk2 only lasted for two years and was replaced in October 1969 by the Clubman estate. The names Austin Countryman and Morris Traveller were lost forever. Only 161,000 Mk1 and 46,000 Mk2 estates were made, making the grand total of round-nose Mini estates a mere 207,000 units.
so I explained to him about my 3 minis and what i'd done/was doing to them and then he says to me that he has a mini... 
( I thought that was cool already so I asked him to tell me about it) He went on to tell me it was a mid sixties woody wagon. 
So I asked him what his plans for it were..... that's where things turned sour.... he told me that he was planning on cutting it in half (down the middle of the bonnet, roof etc.) building brackets for it and hanging it on the side of his garage at home. 
