This Mini started out its life as a humble Mini 1000 back in 1976 and was later modified by several owners prior to it becoming in the ownership of Ashley. This story goes back to 2017 when we were first contacted by Ashley to discuss the possibility of building a modified mini from the project that he had acquired. Back then, the Mini had what was believed to be a 1275 Turbo engine from an MG Metro but we were to find out later that this was not the case.

The Mini was collected from a huge workshop building on the site of Catterick Garrison where Ashley was stationed as a member of the armed forces. It certainly was a spectacular sight to see a Mini sat alongside the large military vehicles within that building!  Once the Mini was in our workshops, we stripped it all down and assessed what work was required to be done and we also assessed all of the parts that had been packed up into boxes inside of the Mini by the previous owner. It soon became apparent that most of the parts were useless for re-use but on the up side the body of the Mini was in relatively good condition. However, it had been fitted with a fibreglass styling kit previously and there was a fair amount of rust lurking behind it. Nonetheless, the body was a good base to work from and so a design and specifications were discussed with Ashley and the Turbo project was born.

Meanwhile on the mechanical side of the project, Ashley opted for a number of modifications not least being the rebuild of the engine. As we mentioned earlier, the engine was supposed to be a 1275 MG Turbo model from the MG Metro but in the event, we discovered that it was in fact just a standard 1275 Austin Metro engine with a Turbo bolted to it. Inside of the engine had a couple of inches of water in it too, so a full strip down was required. It was at this point that Ashley decided to “go for it” and decided upon a very high-end specification build for the engine and gearbox.

The engine build was a joint venture between us and Crafted Classics tuning who built a bespoke cylinder head for use with the Turbo from the Metro. The block was fully overhauled and bored out to 1293cc and featured a number of uprated components within. The Gearbox was overhauled in house and fitted with drop cut gears and fitted with an LSD differential. The clutch unit was specially built by an engineer in Lincolnshire and the whole unit was then re-assembled and installed here in our workshops. A bespoke DTA ECU controlled “wasted spark” electronic ignition system was built and installed by Martin Fox. The Turbo was rebuilt and refitted and a bespoke Intercooler was fitted too.

Initially Ashley opted for a rear beam axle kit but after we had fitted it, we were not happy with the quality of the product and decided that a new standard rear subframe would be better suited. We refurbished the radius arms and re-assembled these to the new subframe. There were however, no rear or front suspension cones fitted as Ashley had opted to fit a “coil over” spring set up for the suspension which eliminated the requirement for the original rubber cones. The front subframe was modified to accommodate the sliding mechanism for the front panel and at the same time was fully refurbished with all new components including extra engine steady bars fitted to the underside.

The body was refinished in Audi Nardo Grey with gloss black Miglia style wheel arches fitted. The interior was completely finished in a carpet material while a new black headlining was installed. A bespoke built dashboard built here in workshops and trimmed by Adrian Fox was fitted whilst the wiring loom was also a bespoke built by us. Two racing style bucket seats were fitted and a safety devices roll cage installed.

Once the Mini was complete it was taken to The North Wales Rolling Road Centre to be put through its paces by Steve Greenald.