Weekend Warrior

This early Clubman was destined for a tough dual-purpose life as a daily driver and international competition car but a thorough restoration has given it a surprising third role, as a prize-winning show car.

- Patricia Käsehagen Webb

Malcolm Milne has been surrounded by Minis for most of his life. Starting with the 1969 Antelope Clubman that his mother owned, learning how to drive in a Mini and then getting his licence in one. In fact, the first car Malcolm ever owned was a 1966 998 Morris Cooper. By 1991, when he was only 23, that all came to an end. His car, by that time, was a 1976 Mini 1000 that had evolved into a 1380 tarmac rally car. He’d entered it in a single-venue rally at Prestwick Airport and managed to triple roll and destroy it during the competition. Fortunately, he was able to walk away from the incident but the Mini was beyond help.

Over the past 30 years Malcolm has either owned or borrowed competition cars, successfully competing in sprints, autocross, tarmac stage rallying and forest rallying. As a self-trained mechanic, he was able to do a lot of hands-on work with his cars, which keeps his running and modification costs to a minimum.

By 2008 the Mini bug was still there though. After 17 years Mini-free he decided it was time to start looking again. By then he was a family man and was looking for something that could cause a bit of stir in hillclimbs but remain roadworthy. “I’d been looking for a classic for a short while. It didn’t necessarily need to be a Mini. It later transpired that my wife had considered finding me a Mini for my 40th birthday, the year before, but had scrapped the plan when I’d bought myself a 1600 Vauxhall Astra rally car.”