10 replies to this topic

[PeterN]

Hi there,

 

Thanks for accepting me to the forum. I've owned a 998 Cooper and a Mk1 hatchback in the distant past. Hoping I might get another at some point!

 

 

[Aly-g]

Hi and welcome to TMF, the hatchback mk1 looks a smashing car bet you wished you still had it.

 

Allan

[mab01uk]

Tell us more about the Hatchback if possible, most seem to be 1960/70's Radford or Wood & Picjkett coachbuilt conversions and are much sought after now.

[Chris1275gt]

Ditto.

[PeterN]

The car was inspired by an Innocenti 1300 hatchback which I saw photographed in a magazine. I have never seen any reference to the car since.

 

My car was given to me by a friend; it had one week's MOT and was pretty rough. That was in the 1980s. I bought a Clarke hobby mig (no previous experience of welding!) and decided to have a go at the conversion. I began with the scrap rear end of another car, building the panel frame before cutting around the outline. The shell was then cut to accommodate it. I also fitted new sills, A panels, scuttle top and a steel sliding sunroof.

 

It became my everyday car covering 50000 miles in 5 years. It was then sold to a wealthy German collector who planned to restore it to concours condition. Sadly he left it out to rot for 30 years and I would be surprised if it still exists.

 

I would post more images (from an Imgur account) but don't seem to be able to in my reply. Help appreciated

[mab01uk]

Such a shame so many classic cars seem to get sold, bought and then left to rot.....

 

Would love to see more photos of your hatchback Mini, the link below may help with posting photos from Imgur.

 

Uploading Images onto TMF:-

https://www.theminif...-tmf/?p=3674732

Edited by mab01uk, 01 March 2023 - 02:56 PM.

[PeterN]

Thanks for your interest. That's the instructions I used to post the original photo and it worked fine. With the reply I'm not able to paste the line of code into the message. I'll try again later in the week when I have more time.

[PeterN]

Success with the images at last...

 

 

[Aly-g]

You certainly done well considering you didn't have any previous experience with welding, but then that's mini owners for you always willing to try anything, top marks from me, the car looked really good.

Allan

[mab01uk]

Looked a great job. What happened to the Mk2 Cooper? Untaxed since 1994 on the DVLA website.

 

Your Mk1 hatchback and build photos would also be of interest on the Mk1 Forum, link below:-

http://mk1-forum.net/index.php

 

[PeterN]

Thanks, I was pleased with how it turned out though if I did another I would start with a better car and keep it more factory looking. Not sure I can justify the cost of building another but I do miss it. Made some great friends in The Mini Cooper Register and "The Mini Spares Centre" at the time.

 

I only kept the Cooper for a couple of years then sold it to fund the hatchback build.It passed through several owners after that. A great little car; very solid and useable but a bit tatty. I bought it for £750 in about 1985 and sold it for £1050!

 

I'll look at the Mk1 forum. Still finding my way around the site.