A trip to the legendary Le Mans Classic weekend in France is a dream event for petrolheads and classic car fans. It’s made even better if you throw a couple of Minis into the experience.
My friend Scott returned from the Le Mans Classic in July 2014, having completed it using his TVR Cerbera. He showed me the photos and regaled me with some amazing stories. It was definitely a road trip I wanted to experience! We hatched a plan to take his Mini Equinox LE to cover the 1,500 miles or so. During the intervening two years, until the 2016 LMC, Scott busily readied the unsuspecting little Mini for its adventure.
It was treated to a Specialist Components fuel injection setup, Piper cam, Duplex timing gear, Gaz adjustable dampers, a custom stainless steel exhaust and modern creature comforts were fitted such as a USB port and a couple of high-powered fans for those times that we might get caught in traffic during the height of the French summer.
Along the way we also managed to recruit a couple of our friends, Gavin and Alex, who were more than up for the challenge too. There was a slight snag: they didn’t have a road going Mini to add to the convoy. Not to worry, Alex runs his own business maintaining and restoring all manner of cars and happened to a have a couple of projects lying around. The time constraints of running your own business, as well as a family life, leave very little time for personal projects. After a couple of busy periods working on the two projects, and realising time was running short, an alternative plan was hatched. A Volcano Orange MPi Cooper was found which needed very little attention to make it road worthy.
Unfortunately, Alex’s perfectionism took hold and the little Cooper ended up with lots of new panels and a full respray. Always one to cut things close, he completed the Cooper at 4.30am the day we were set to leave for France! We had arranged to leave around 6.30am and this was the first time the Cooper had been on the road in 10 years. Talk about having faith!
This story is from the January 2018 edition of MiniWorld.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the January 2018 edition of MiniWorld.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Skin Deep
Scott Whitmore raced Mini Stox from the age of 10 and bought his first road Mini at 14. He already knew he was going to work in car body restoration. Just as well really...
Master Class
Back when concours restos were on the fringe of the mainstream scene, Roy Gudge joined a small band of visionaries who made their Mini Coopers better than new. He tells us about his stunning twice-restored 998cc Mk2 Cooper.
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.
Tyred & Tested
Martin Hockley took what was a relatively plain-looking Mini Van and turned it into an eye-catching homage to a great British brand.
The Italian Job 50th Anniversary With Art
Bex Celebrates The Iconic Italian Job Anniversary With Her Exclusive Signed Artworks.
Mothballed Revival
Even though Michael Gill’s humble 1972 Austin Mini 1000 had been unused for eight years when he bought it back in 2015, it still required a thorough restoration.
A Mini Addiction
Gary Pearson, of SELKent Mini Club, is a self-confessed Miniholic…
Rylstone Classic
Rylstone Classic
Goodwood Revival
Goodwood Revival
Legendary Grand Tour
Legendary Grand Tour
