65 replies to this topic

[mab01uk]

I think it's made of wood

These were the wooden mock ups below......note the interior but the orange boxes with A30/35 grilles were runners built of steel.

Edited by mab01uk, 30 January 2013 - 11:26 PM.

[Black.Ghost]

I am very glad some of those designs did not make it. They might be worth a fortune now if they were one of a kind models, but to me they were ugly as, and the actual design they chose was definitely the best one. The person responsible for making that decision alone should be rewarded.

[998dave]

To be honest it's not surprising that 621 AOK was sold, I work for Ford and all our prototypes are scrapped (mainly because once they've done 150,000 miles plus they're getting tired so end up being crash tested or stripped down for inspection). Also, we normally sell the first cars of the line of each type, they're not considered special at all.

[joeyfinneran]

Where is the alternator on that A30 ?

[Shifty]

I remember seeing 621aok at a car museum at alton towers many many years ago. There was a drip tray under it then. Also wasn't it given away in a competition as well??

[mab01uk]

Where is the alternator on that A30 ?

It is a Dynamo, low down on bottom left, look carefully as engine was turned opposite way round on the prototypes with carb at front.....as used for charging the battery before Alternators became more common in the 1970's.
The car is not an A30.....it is a disguised early Mini prototype with Austin A30 grille known as an 'Orange Box' due to their colour.

Edited by mab01uk, 31 January 2013 - 01:00 PM.

[Mini_Magic]

I guess many potential buyers were also putting their deposits on the New MINI's waiting list due for launch a few months later in early 2001.

Surely anyone considering buying a MPi Mini at the time wouldn't seriously be debating whether to buy the new Mini instead? Even before it was launched, people must have known they would be very different cars. I doubt anyone was thinking they're the same cars, just one is a new model. I think we'd all agree that the new Mini was a "reboot" of sorts.

[joeyfinneran]

Lmao i thought that was the starter
Blonde moment

[Algordo1100]

Fascinating looking at the 'orange box'. Also of note which can be seen on those pics is the lack of a subframe and the engine being the other way round. The Mini wasn't going to have subframes, just strengthened sections in the shell. It was found that the suspension mountings where breaking on the 'orange box' prototype, so subframes where developed.
The engine was spun round because of carb icing apparently. Although John Cooper said it was really because the prototypes kept eating their synchromeshes and since there was no time and no money to develop a new set of stronger synchromeshes they flipped the engine and used transfer gears to allow using smaller gears, with less inertia, to cut the stress on the synchromeshes. They still break though don't they? Crunch crunch! :-D

Anyway apparently with no subframes, (lighter), the engine the other way round (less power loss through gear box) and the 948cc A series from the Moggy, the 'orange boxes' went like poo off a stick! especially for 1957 and far too fast for the intedned market. I'd love to have a go in one if they still existed. I bet they where scary!


Al

[mab01uk]

I guess many potential buyers were also putting their deposits on the New MINI's waiting list due for launch a few months later in early 2001.

Surely anyone considering buying a MPi Mini at the time wouldn't seriously be debating whether to buy the new Mini instead? Even before it was launched, people must have known they would be very different cars. I doubt anyone was thinking they're the same cars, just one is a new model. I think we'd all agree that the new Mini was a "reboot" of sorts.

Many buyers even in the final years when classic Mini's were still available new were not necessarily diehard Mini enthusiasts, yes they wanted a Mini which by the time of the MPi Sportpacks was a very expensive small car but were then tempted to wait for the completely New MINI only a few months later.....and for not much more if anything in price. There was also the fact that owning the long awaited New MINI in that first year or two was a sure fire way to gain attention on the roads, due to the novelty factor of the replacement of an icon and which surrounds many newly launched new cars with a waiting list of eager buyers.

[g-dog]

Going back to the last mini off the line, it was built by a small team in the New model centre at longbridge. I worked with a few of them at Cowley as they came down for training on the rover 75 before it went up there and they said they were gonna be involved with the run out of the original mini.
Not sure if the bodyshell or the paint was done any different but the "last" mini didn't go thru the cab assembly lines. This wasn't a big secret up there at the time.
Classic mini production actually stopped in September 2000 and the whole Oct 4th day with lulu etc was just staged (like they always are)

So whoever brought the last but one mini actually has or had the last full production mini. G

[miniman3003]

I did pay a visit to Gaydon some years ago and X411JOP was on display. I think the VIN was 188766 and so from previous posts, we are saying that whoever has 188765 actually has the very last Mini built?

Would this Mini have the highest Body Number as well? Or was it the case that when they were building the cars, they just grabbed the nearest body and so the bodies that went down the production were not in strict numerical order as re Body Number and much the same as engines where the nearest one was grabbed. (Some manufacturers did ensure that the Chassis and Engine Numbers did match up but not Rover and the Mini).

Also it would appear that 621 had new number plates for the 50th celebrations. The '6' is clearly a different shape from the old one.

Does anyone know why this is? Did someoone pinch the old plate or was it thought that the original plate was too valuable to put on show? As we know, some people (but happily a minority) will pinch almost anything.

[g-dog]

The last red sportspack mini that lulu drove off the line will always be the last mini produced as the numbers say so. It's possible that they could have run the last production batch of minis through assembly and added the lulu one on the end but I cant see it.
It was such a special vehicle with such media attention that it was always gonna be built this way.

From my experieince of rover production at Cowley,the bodyshells were in order but this changed if there was any extra work needed along the way it would be took out sequence and added in later on. Same in the paintshop .
The vin stamping machine would be in number order going up one digit each time. But it could always do a extra one if needed.
I suppose heritage have all the details of the last 500 mini's? G

[dennismini93]

is AOKs rear valance and bumper dented in the middle? https://fbcdn-sphoto...388068478_n.jpg

[loobies-dad]

JOP is definately at gaydon, here is my mini mad daughter Lucy sittting in the drivers seat.  Lucy.JPG   82.18K   12 downloads