1969 Mini Cooper S - How Does An Italian Job Mini Actually Drive?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 มิ.ย. 2023
- Where did the Mini Coopers from the Italian Job film actually end up and were they as good to drive as legend would have it? Today I drive a 1969 Mini Cooper S and talk about how three 'restored' film cars are around even though all the cars in the film were destroyed.
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The registration plates were never issued which is why they were still available from DVLA. The plates were tenuously chosen as LGW 809G (London GatWick flight 809 ... their booked return flight) / HMP 729G (Her Majesty's Prison with 729 being Charlie Crokers prison number) and GPF 146G (Grand Prix Flag with 146 being the number of F1 points that Jackie Stewart had accumulated to date).
Brilliant!
Strangely enough…the funeral segment of The Italian Job also had HMP 1 as the registration on the hearse. This was done for a laugh by the set crew and was missed in the post production. This is mentioned on the directors version (talk over) available on the DVD as an ‘extra’
Thankyou for this information👍
Wow, I never knew that. Very clever.
Wowza..! Great information. 👏
What a gorgeous example you got to try out Jack. 90% of the comments are going to be from all of us who owned minis - I had 4 and they never failed to put a (sometimes terrified) smile on my face.
Sadly, I also lost 2 close friends who died in a mini back in 76, so they are a car I love dearly but with some remorse too.
My sister crashed an Alfasud against a big pole at high speed and walked away from the scene. The engine and gearbox are designed to absorb and distribute the forces around the bodywork. If you need a 70s sporty front wheel drive thats fairly safe, then Alfasud (rust free) is the way to go.
No extra charge for the rust?
@@tvaatakt1 Plenty of cars safer than a Mini in a big crash. I don't want any of them.
@@phildavenport4150 yeah, and if you want to travel safest - take a tank!
I absolutely adore the size, simplicity and sheer uncomplicated fun the Mini Cooper represents. I WANT ONE❤
Better start saving bigtime.
Mini Cooper S, you think you are going twice as fast as you really are! Lovely little cars I think. Thanks Jack for folding yourself into that one. 👍👍
I actually outran a toronado on the 101 freeway.
When you owned a modified 1310cc Cooper S like I did, it was actually very tempting to drive twice as fast anyway!
Mine had an intake manifold that had stud-locations for the larger dual SU carbs, so I also fitted 1.5" SUs, but in addition the rebuilt engine had a lumpy rally cam fitted along with headers/extractors and straight-thru sports-muffler!
The hydrolastic-suspension was also pumped up, and along with widened-wheels, adjustable suspension-arms (to give negative-camber), and shocks were added at the front!
Thanks Jack for the memories. I was 18 years old, I had a Mk1 Lotus Cortina with the A frame rear end and raced at club level. These bloody little things would slip past me in the corners while my inside front wheel waved in the air. We were all on German Dunlop Roadspeed crossply tyres. Crossply sounds terrible but these tyres were built on a race tyre carcass. there is a special sound that the A series engine had and as you drove away it all came back to me. Wooohooo!
18 years old with mk1 Lotus Cortina ! I’m 69 and can still only dream of one .
@@alanthomson1227 I shake my head in disbelief when I think about those years. I worked in the family business 7 days a week 12 -15 hour days. 4 days off over Easter and half day off Christmas day. We catered for weddings too and there were events that had me on my feet for 30 hours. I raced 6 times a year (and had to fight for those days), lost 3 girlfriends, and Saturday night was hell. I walked out at 25 years old, went back to study and became a lecturer in maths. 5 day week, 7 hour day, weekends, public holidays and annual leave. I have a 10 year old Skoda and I hillclimb a 21 year old 2002 MGTF. I am 77.
@@murrieteacher still mk 1 Lotus Cortina !
Remember the Groundhogs when they came out?! Happy days.
@@Ralph2 Blues obituary , Thank Christ for the bomb and their greatest Split
Love these little things. I had an original mini about 30years ago. A246 UOK...Will never forget it. Just a 1000cc but it was brilliant. Never owned anything since, that went round corners like it! Brakes were rubbish on mine too, drums all round. Still, memories that'll never leave me
Great video, thanks. I Learnt to drive in my Mum's 1970 850 Mini (at age 13, in 1974, as I pestered her so much), NZ assembled model. These NZ cars were a parts bin model, same as the Cooper S re sliding windows, door latch, dash with oil and temp gauges, fold down number plate, hydro suspension and the long wand gear stick. Many fun memories!!
So glad you've gotten around to this absolute classic. It brought back memories of bombing around Europe's narrow two-lanes in a Cooper S in the early '70's. No radio so we had to install a cassette player to listen to "Derek And Clive Live". I loved the handling. On longish trips one got beat up a bit but it was worth it for the 'road feel' through the seat of your pants on the twisties. Thanks for a great trip down memory lane!
If I was listening to Derek and Clive I think I would crash ! Lol .
Great video! Have recently got my sound but patinated 1979 Mini back on the road (after 25y in my dad's garage :) I think your comments about the ride, handling, driving position etc. are right on the money. Nothing else quite like it.
Another trip down memory lane for me. One of my first cars, after I obtained my license back in the early 70s, was a Mini Deluxe with the 1-litre engine. Shortly afterwards after selling the latter, I bought a Cooper S that a previous owner had fitted with the 850's gearbox. Revved like stink in the lower gears and was fun to drive around town by somewhat noisy out on the highways. Fond memories indeed and such a lively chuckable car. Time to dig out the original Italian Job and watch that too. Thanks, Jack. 👍
Looks like a trip down Harry Metcalfe's lane to me 😏
Small in stature, but what a giant of a car. Fantastic exhaust note too
If you haven't had white knuckles driving a Mini, you didn't drive it properly!
I had many Minis back in the day. I had a fully balanced bored out 1275/1293 Cooper S that reved to 7500 no probs. It's now in Hong Kong I believe. Took it all over Europe on various holidays and the Italians absolutely loved it. We've even raced around the back streets of Monaco back in the day must have been about 1972. Superb little cars but I'm hopelessly biased😂
You and Paddy Hopkirk Brian! - those were the days mate, kind regards.
7500 holy moley
A mate had a 1293 bored-out engine in his Mini with bigger valves, a hot cam, gas-flowed head and so on. I had a Mk1 Lotus Cortina A-frame. One weekend we swapped cars to drive to Croft Circuit for the races there and I could not believe the revs his Mini would pull in all gears. The power just kept on coming for ever!
My fried mother had a 1000 auto mini which she lent me after I had a broken leg, she insisted I needed my own transport while I was off work. Amazing little car and was fitted with larger SU carb and was quite fast and very nippy. Wish I had it now! 😎👍🙏
We used to say that driving a Mini Cooper was the most fun you could have with your clothes on🙂 A brilliant little car. Interesting that Australian Mk2 Coopers S had a wider track with flared guards and spacers built in to the drums and discs, also had twin fuel tanks.
Interesting fact is the Australian New South Wales police used the Mini Cooper S as a pusuit vehicle in the late 1960s.
@@georgebettiol8338 Yes and they were modified, twin 1.5" SU, different cam and ported and polished head. Wife's brother used to work for a BMC dealer and he got a copy of the Police specs, we then built his engine to those specs, it went rather well.
@@georgebettiol8338 NSW police cars back then didn't have police lights or siren; when they wanted to pull a driver over, they tooted their horn and pulled alongside showing a 'police' sign; Doug Mulray, the radio personality tells a funny story; he was a speed freak as a young tear-away in Sydney and got pulled over on occasion - he decided to have some fun, so the next time he was shown the 'police' sign, he put up his own sign 'lout'..
_All_ Cooper S cars had twin tanks, whichever country they were sold in.
@@georgebettiol8338 Many police forces used them.
In the early 80s, I spent a summer in Portugal at a friend's villa. There were quite a large bunch of us aged between 17 and 70, I think. A local car hire company specialised in Cooper S Minis. They were cheap to hire so we hired five of them for the whole summer. Where we were was an area which is now heavily developed. But at that time, the massive developments were in a very early stage. There were kilometers of dusty, hardly used roads. We took these Minis everywhere. It was so much fun. And the few times we went as a group down to the coast, the five identical Minis got far more looks than even the Ferraris were getting!
Watching you sling that little jewel around made me think of the line "get your skates on, mates!" Great review, and story.
I rewatched the movie a few months ago - and noticed that the Alfa Romeo Guilia's (the cop cars) were being deliberately driven slowly, so as not to catch up with the Mini's !
Thanks Jack, that brought back some great memories! I loved my mini, brilliant fun.
They just make you smile, simple! And you get lots of smiles back when driving.
The original Mini Cooper was a 997cc, long stroke design. This was eventually replaced with the 998cc Cooper. The first Cooper S was 1070cc. There was a 970cc short stroke Cooper S to homologate for under 1000cc saloon car racing. The final version was the 1275. One of the reasons for those capacities was that a 10thou over bore released a lot more power and took the overall displacements to 999cc, 1099 and 1299cc so staying legal for 1-litre, 1100cc and 1.3 litre racing classes.
Thanks. I was just wondering about all the different engines and here you are! :)
That was a 1071
Great info, when did the Cooper S get a 1275?
Don't forget the Innocenti Mini Cooper 1300 (export model). That was powered by an over-bored 1275 Cooper S engine which retained the 12G940 cylinder head. Apparently, the reason for its 1303cc displacement was in order to render the car ineligible for the 1300cc racing class of the day...not sure if that's correct but it was what I was told years ago. That car had a really stunning dash for the day.
You're right about all that, it may be worth mentioning that hydroelastic suspension was introduced in 1964. The works rally cars had competition units, there were several options to choose from. At that time I was working in the BMC competition department and was involved in preparing the Monty cars.
I used to have one in the 80’s while at University. I swapped the steering wheel for a chunky small one.
It made the mini feel so much faster! 😅
It was an experience to own a Mini and perfect little car in its day. I had one in the 60’s.
Isn't it strange how there were so many and now there are none and the very few survivors are massively expensive. If you had bought a dozen minis at their lowest price point and stuck them in a barn you would be quids in now.
As the article is from the Daily Mail, I'm not surprised that it is not entirely accurate
A blast from my past , with all the mini’s i had back in my younger days . Fond memories , thanks
EXCELLENT as always fella! Great filming, great comment. Love that exhaust sound! Driven/owned many cars but still not an 'original' mini at 50yrs old!
The Daily Mail printing lies? Well I never
Beat me to it.. 😂
The Daily Mail is not a newspaper, it’s toilet paper 🧻
@@venenareligioest410it's useless as that too
@@alexanderstefanov6474 🤣👍
Why let the truth get in the way of a good story.
In 1966 my friend Eric and I went on a trip in his Austin Mini Cooper with an engine that he had built. Beginning and ending in downtown Montreal, Quebec we travelled around North America driving through some 6 Canadian Provinces and 17 American States logging some 12,640 miles. Expecting mechanical issues we carried a multitude of spare parts and had made arrangements with a local company to ship us major items (head, engine block or transmission) if needed. The experience was life-changing and we encountered many people that had never seen the car before. We had purchased seats salvaged from a TR-6 to replace the standard Mini seats and slept in the car when money was tight. The highest speed we reached was 108 mph (175 kilometers) west of New Orleans chasing some girls in a big American car. We had stopped at a weigh scale in Saskatchewan to check our weight which turned out to be 1,142 pounds for us plus the spare parts and luggage; not good for the suspension. Major repairs included replacing a valve which burned entering Death Valley and a front wheel bearing that failed as the result of an incident at night where in trying to avoid a dog on the highway west of Houston, Texas we ended up hurtling off the freeway backwards at about 65 mph, very fortunately between a steel post and the end of a guardrail into mud. I drove Minis for years afterwards and they were a lot of fun and very durable. In 1970, I purchased a new Austin Mini 1000 with hydrolastic suspension which cost me Canadian $1,575 including registration. Being six foot four I did install extensions that moved the seat back a couple of inches.
That exhaust tone is pure music to my ears. Now, 60yo, I grew up around Mini's, Morris', Austin's and a few other English cars with my uncle being initially a mechanic and working his way up to an engineer for BMC Australia. Talking to him recently (he's now in his 90's) he had the most sheepish grin when I was asking about the super charger he up on a Austin A30 for a race at My Panorama way way back then... I love this channel and so miss the era of these cars.
The Mini brings back loads of happy childhood memories for me, my parents had one when i was a kid in the 80's .... We used to travel all over the lake district and Scotland in it also trip's to Devon to visit my uncle..... It was just the standard 1000cc in a lovely metallic light Green..... Happy memories!
Cracking stuff as always Jack buddy 👍
Thank you old boy!!
Proper Minis in those days, not BMW rehashes .
@@gazzertrn No it was a proper Mini ..... The BMW version I'm not a fan of at all! Bloated and overpriced!
@@Number27 you're welcome Jack 👍
@@ryanmccormick2150 Cool cars in the day , i remember in the sixties everybody wanted one .
One thing that can never be questioned about these mini's is the Handling ... i owned many Minis from my teens to my mid 20's ... and they all put a smile on my face
Hi Jack, I see the Mini as the most practical Motorcycle ever built. It has a fully enclosed cabin and a bit of room for a passenger. It has 4 wheels for more stability and an actual Steering Wheel instead of all that leaning left and leaning right B.S. There is no need for Saddle Bags and you rarely get bugs in your teeth or rain up your ass on highway trips. Quite an improvement over an old BSA etc.
Like that you say you 'rarely' get water up your arse in a Mini. You really can't be more definite than that.
Mind you - you can easily get four people in a Mini.
@@hackdaniels7253and 50 mpg😂
from Canada: I have a LHD 1967 Traveler (wood delete option, sadly) with the 1275 conversion - minibags more space - you can actually weekend in it
@@coldlakealta4043 That sounds like nice car, wtg. I used to sneak in to the Cold Lake Airbase and look at the CF104's, VooDoo's . CF5's etc. Also flew in for a big Air Show and we departed two abreast on the runway with a flagman rather than ATC clearance. Great fun. I miss Cold Lake.
Back in the mid-70's my indy Jaguar mechanic in California had a 1275 Cooper painted in JPS black/gold that was setup solely for track/autocross. It had a stripped interior, super wide front tires, roll cage, Lexan windows and two Weber carbs. The carbs were so long he had to cut a rectangular opening thru the firewall/dashboard to install them!
Daily mail. Titanic sunk, no loss of lifes. Accurate and coherent as always
My original Min was welded up by a guy called Ken, who was a welder on The Italian Job set. My Mini was an H-reg 850 van, bought new by Dad in 1970 (he was also 6'2" tall). He gave it to me as a non-runner and I rebuilt it mechanically from the ground up, replacing synchro cones and everything, but alas after Uni it wasn't practical for everyday transport and I couldn't afford to store or restore it, so I sold it in 1989.
You don't drive a Mini, you wear it.
Also worth watching: Iain Tyrell authenticated the original Miura from the film, and was allowed to drive it along the Great St. Bernard Pass. There's a video out there of him driving it, accompanied by a recording of him singing "on Days Like These". A good day at the office!
Great video! Great review of the late 60s/early 70s mini. Mine was not quit the same and heavily modified, but I drove it to and from work regularly and flogged it though hilly, rural B roads and lanes for several years. It was an absolute blast to drive. It is hard to describe the feedback from riding inches off the road, good steering, good handling, light weight car. It was different from, but as much fun as my 1968 Porsche 912. Everything you said in the review is spot on.
Its amazing the amount of speed you feel your are doing when going through a corner in a mini! 😅
They are pure fun! Thats Such a, beautiful speciman you got to drive there Jack Sir. I bet you had to perform a bit of contortionisim to get into a reasonably comfortable position!
Thank you for the interesting story of the Italian Job cars! I love that movie original and remake✌👍
Great review of the car and loved the info on the movie cars. I miss my old mini!!!
The Mini Cooper S was used by NSW Police as highway patrol pursuit cars. And the cops loved em. They were also brilliant performers at the world’s most demanding race track Mount Panorama at Bathurst.
Love it. Check out the truck 9.55mins into the video, thought it was the “you’re only supposed to blow the bloody doors off” truck for a moment 😂😂
Ha ha! That has to be one of the most memorable lines of any movie made. 🚚
Had quite a few minis 850s 1000s great fun tinkered with cylinder heads and off set rockers, carbs etc always sold for more than I purchased for so smiles on miles rust the main problem, great videos Jack keep them coming
The Beatles , Carnaby Street, girls in Mary Quant dresses and the original Mini. Absolutely iconic. I bet the interior of that car smells glorious too. I also love the fact that the Mini was always a classless car. It was driven by pop stars, aristocrats, housewives and window cleaners. An absolute legend never to be repeated. And listen to that glorious exhaust note. Sorry mate but I'd take that over any V12 Italian exotica.
There was a Mary Quant limited edition Mini brought out in the 80's.
I've had 13 Minis over the years. Loved every single one of them.
I'd love another one but prices are rocketing.
If I don't get one soon they'll be well out of my price range.
Crazy, especially when I remember a good friend buying a Mini pick-up with six months tax & mot for £60. The same car would be £1000's today.
Back in 1986, I had a quick drive of a workmates Mini1275GT. I was used to bombing around in the family 2Ltr Mk3 Cortina GT. But, just a quick drive in that little beast had me smiling for the rest of the day. Yes, it was like driving a big Kart but a helluva lot quicker!
Miss my 1980 998 Mini City - bare bones, seized suspension and drum brakes all round - it was absolutely EPIC!
Jack, you are absolutely bang on the "alien" way that Mini goes through the corners. I had the pleasure of driving one for about a year, and the smiles that thing brought to my 18-yr old face were immeasurable! I can still hear the induction roar of those SU carbs, and the whine of the 2nd gear syncros. On the other hand, it had introduced me to the Dark Lord of electricity named Lucas...oh boy, how many times the starting sequence involved cursing and jump starts. I would own one today in a heartbeat (as a 3rd or 4th vehicle)
The Prince of Darkness cast his shadow on many a motorbike too.
Love the sound!
My favourite TH-cam channel by far.Thank you.
Had a 1969 Mini „S“ while stationed at RAF Lakenheath from 1984-86. Paid 300 quid for it. Super fast and fun to drive. Due to US safety requirements I couldn’t ship it back to the states without major modifications so I sold it to a young coworker for 50quid when I returned to the states. That car had the most leg and head room of any car I have owned. I’m 6‘3“ and with the drivers seat all the way back I couldn’t reach the pedals! My best handling car was a 1976 Fiat X-19 Bertone. That mid-engine really made the car. I can see why most of the „super‘ cars have mid-engines and are priced out of most normal peoples range. I believe Lotus and the new Chevy Corvette are the only 2 mid-engine cars prices below $200 grand.Cheers
You Sir have driven True Engineering Genius. Nothing Drives Like a Mini, nothing Ever will. Re Start Production now I say, its never been so relevant.
When you owned a modified 1310cc Cooper S like I did, it was actually very tempting to drive fast like in the movie!
Although the mechanicals of my 1967 Cooper S were transferred to an Aussie Clubman S Mini after a collision, had an intake manifold that had stud-locations for the larger dual SU carbs, so I also fitted 1.5" SUs! In addition the rebuilt engine had a lumpy rally cam fitted along with headers/extractors and straight-thru sports-muffler!
The hydrolastic-suspension was also pumped up, and along with widened-wheels fitted, adjustable suspension-arms (to give negative-camber), and shocks were added at the front!
My first car was a 1969 standard 850 Mini MK 2 (same colour as this one) bought second hand in 1972 in New Zealand for $1600 NZ. I used to say if someone gave me a Rolls Royce I'd sell it and buy a Mini!! I still feel the same way. I LOOVED it! Still mourn for too, and I'm 70 now.
Thanks for the trip down Memory Lane. My first car was second big brother to the original Mini. It was an Austin 1800 (Canadian Edition) and it did have the hydrolastic suspension system. Nothing spectacular in terms of power but it had plenty of interior space. And, yes, the driving position and steering wheel orientation were definately like that of a bus (coach) but the handling and snow traction (with FWD) were superior to most vehicles of that time.
I had a 1070 Cooper S with a full race tuned engine that I used as my daily hack. It was benign up to about 3,750 rpm, when it turned from Dr.Jekyll into Mr. Hyde. Twin Weber DCOEs gasped in air from right behind the original central speedometer position and the over-width wheels (which extended beyond the widened wheel arches) screamed and scrabbled for grip before launching me towards the horizon - which felt far more like the horizon launching itself towards me! Memory plays funny tricks on us all, but even today, I would approach that old Mini with real caution!
I like your style .great video
Passed my test in a mini 1000 in 1981 still a lovely little car 😊
Me too, in the same year in a Morris Mini 1000 Traveller.
the italian job mini. they became a part of our lives as kids we all wanted one an iconic film does it really matter if the rebuild didnt have the original parts the three cars look great
This reminds me of how Carroll Shelby used to conveniently "find" a handful of original Cobra chassis' and build them into cars whenever he needed to top up his bank account.
I bought a newly restored 1967 Mini Minor 850 as my 1st car. I remember having a play with a 205gti on the A6 in the Peak District one sunny afternoon. Obviously the 205 sat on my rear bumper most of the time, but couldn't match the Mini through the bends. Immense fun.
I owned a '74 1000 for a while. It was a restored '92 body shell on the original '74 mechanicals, and, it actually had factory A/C. I never used it, because, when the A/C compressor kicked on, the car would automatically lose about 10-15 mph. Driving one in the States is quite an experience. You have to be prepared to answer a ton of questions any time you stop anywhere.
😆😆😆🙌 yes.. that’s all part of the ‘character!
"You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!" lol. The original Italian Job has always been one of my favorites. Too bad none of the Minis survived filming.
My 6‘6“ late brother in law had one of the original mini coopers. He also had a „pot“ leg after a motorcycle accident. He always said that he was more comfortable with the seat NOT in ist’s rearward position. The geometry thus was more comfortable.
My Dad's favourite the Mini Cooper he owned 3 Mk 1 Mini's back in the 60's when he originally lived in Gloucestershire in his early 20's his last one was an early Morris Mini Cooper great memories of it XDL861 in green and white roof
Superbly cool machine on a twisty road!
Thank you again for your in-depth explanation. May I had that all four Beatles owns Mini!
I’ve only had 80s and 90s Minis, but this one looks absolutely gorgeous and sounds perfect.
Yeah I started driving in 89 and loved minis. I reckoned they went downhill after 68, mostly on account of adding more interior trim, and using larger wheels
Very interesting. Ive just ordered a JCW John Cooper Works, with 230 bhp. Cant wait to get it !
I remember the magic wand gearstick on my old 850 min. It would rattle away, changing gear was like stirring porridge and it would flex an inch or so if you tried changing too quick. Later had a 1275 Cooper S. The right front wheel would bounce up and down like mad if I took off too quick and when the engine stabiliser bushes went, which happened more than once, the engine would rock back and forth so much that the exhaust occasionally detached from the LCB manifold I fitted and fell on the floor. Them cars had character.
A little bit of trivia for you that you may not know. NSW, Australia Police Force commission the mini cooper s, in the late 60's early 70's to use instead of the police bikes. At the time minis were the young crowds favourite car and there were always many in country towns to compete with the police. I had 4 myself over the years when I was young and loved driving them, 'though a little bit scary when you were caught between 2 "B" double trucks going down the Blue Mountain's windy road. What fun it was!
Great video, thanks.
I had a variety of minis. They all handled better than any other car especially with good quality tyres❤❤❤❤
I bought a 1967 850 Mini in 1969. I was so envious of two of my friends who drove a Cooper and Cooper S. I loved my little Mini, but damn that car was slow.
Splendid!
First car as a 17 year old back in 1967. Not a Cooper S but an 850 with a Cooper grill, white roof and badges. Next up was a Mk2 Austin Healey Sprite 1071cc this was a teenagers dream car I loved it. I couldn’t tell you how many cars I’ve had in 55 years of driving but my next dream car was my first ever new car in 1981 a Ford Escort XR3. I’m all electric now and wouldn’t go back but I still love to see new and classic cars. I suppose I’m an electric petrol head. 😂
Jack Your car reminds me of my old 1965 1275 mini Cooper S which I bought in 1969 for the princely sum of £260. It smoked a bit and was rather tired so I took the engine out and rebuilt it. the block was rebored to 1340 cc and used oversize pistons. It was pretty quick and had great handling. I found the best improvement I got was fitting new jets to the SU carbs as the old ones were worn by the needle valve. Unfortunately I wrote it off after some spirited driving 2 years later. They used a lot of oil. they commonly used between 150 and 300 miles per pint, so regular checking of oil levels was essential. Now some 50 years later I have found by chance a car that has much of the same feeling of performance and handling. We bought a newish second hand car as a runabout and I didn't even check the specs before we decided on it. It is the suziki swift sz5 boosterjet shvs 998cc 3 cylinder mild hybrid. It has a higher top speed but much the same acceleration but twice the fuel consumption. It is low down and hugs the road like the old Cooper S. Might make an interesting comparison for you. John
Twice the fuel consumption ?
@@AJ-qn6gd Well spotted, sorry slip of the pen. I meant twice the mileage per gallon. The Suzuki gives me 54 mpg. Not sure what the stated figure was for the Cooper S but recall it was about 30 mpg. John
I passed my test in oct 1977 then a month later bought a 1968 mini mk2 F reg. I kept it for 7 years. I loved the mk2 & see it as an improved mk1. I replaced the 848 cc with a 998 in 1978. Then in 1981 I bought a Morris 1300 mot failure. Took the engine out & put it in my mini. Never a cooper I know but it went well. I went all over the place in that car. Cornwall & back, Ayr in Scotland. Leeds & back, 180 mile round trip to watch leeds united. Wish I'd kept it & restored it.
FINALLYYYYYYY!!!!! Should really be restoring mine... so many cars, so little time. You did not go absolutely bonkers with it though!
Drive them absolutely flat out, tires screaming!
I noticed the sedate manner Jack was driving also. I was hoping to see him lift an inside rear wheel at some stage, which is always a good indicator of the driver having fun. 😁
@@Laz_Arus No problem I'll solve that: @Jack when you're over in Holland and my Mini is running I'll give you a demo (and scare you sh*tless). I can get TWO wheels off the ground on a roundabout.
As a Yank it was always a dream of mine to own a mini. Thanks for the fun look back . When I lived in Europe I was taken by all the small cars that were such fun to drive .My buddy had a Simca that you only had to push about 1 foot to start ! He never bought a new battery. ! I liked both Italian Job movies... but I question the possibility of hauling all that heavy gold in these small cars.
Great video.....by the way, the 3 main minis that were used in the Italian job were MK1 Cooper 1275 S's .....not MK2 cars.
I thought he said that? Maybe?
Yes that’s correct.. think I got a bit confused but they used registrations from 69 I think for when the film was released
@@jamesengland7461 no he said mk2s (8:30) but I get the confusion, mk1 cars with mk2 year plates
I've owned 4 Minis; 2 Rover Cooper 1.3i's and 2 Rover Cooper Sportspack's. Only sold my last 1 to buy a new Mk2 MG ZR back in 2005. I still have that ZR, but would absolutely love another Rover Sportspack.
I've always found it impressive that a 6'1" man like you or I can fit into such a tiny car. Some bigger cars should be ashamed of their lack of headroom.
My favourite car ever, I have missed mine ever since I left the UK
I had 3 mini vans & 2 clubby estates. Great handling, Crap drum brakes, (didn't know what way they would pull you) Brilliant for handbrake turns !
As I remember, from my days of driving a Mini...
They were a bit slow building up speed.
But once they have gathered momentum, then they really feel alive and racey.
No way would one of these with a boot full of gold could outrun the Alfa Romeo Giulias police cars.
Agree!!
Italian Police tho - they probably also had a boot full of gold
A timeless classic the original Mini is!
I managed to scratch the Mini itch a few years ago - I bought a 1989 Racing Green (or Racing Flame? - anyway, it was metallic BRG with a white roof), which was in a pretty neglected state - it needed quite a lot of work to get it suitable for use as a daily driver - but when it was useable, it was tremendous fun to drive. It seemed quite rorty - the cylinder head wasn’t original - it was replaced to make it suitable for unleaded petrol - and it drove really well. We took it to a few Mini shows, which were great fun. Sadly, after 3-4 years use, an MOT showed it to be quite rotten, and as I can’t weld, I reluctantly sold it to a mechanic for a knock-down price. I’d quite like another - maybe a Paul Smith LE, but it would only be a weekend or show car - driving one in today’s traffic would be too hairy! My (now) wife nearly died as a passenger in a crash in a Mini Clubman when she was 18 - so if I did buy another, I can guarantee that I’d never persuade her to ride in it - in any case, she prefers Morris Minors!
First saw a mini in Mr Bean as a kid and fell in love with them since then it always been my dream car 🚗
for 18 yrs i was a main dealer mechanic, i hated fixing those rusty, leaky minis with a passion
but, behind the wheel, they were quite good...
My first car was an Aussie-assembled '71 (I think) Mini 997cc not-quite-Cooper. I even remember the name of the colour: "mustard". Great close feel with the road, and forgiving steering. It did like going around corners, something I never grasped until several cars later when I had something else that loved corners: a Porsche 924.
i had a '64 morris 850 with the gearshift mounted right up at the firewall, replaced tha with the gearshift next to the seat, fitted an 1100cc engine oversized 20 thou, put a 30/70 cam in it, twin SU's, headers and a straight through 2 inch exhaust - i also remove the mechanical advance stopper pin in the dizzy and tuned her by ear
it was a beast! it idled at 1500rpm and sounded like rotary (people asked if i had a rotary in it), the back of the car bounced at idle and you could hold your hand 5 feet behing the exhaust and feel it blowing hard, at idle - she revved to 6,500 in every gear and could pull over 160kph - it also had rubber cone suspension, so she handled like nothing!
wish i still had it, but it was stolen in the 80's
I had a Mk1 1275cc model. The head had larger intake and exhaust valves than the later Mk2 variant, which unfortunately led to cracking between the valve seats in each cylinder. The fix was a modified 998cc Cooper head (12G295 casting from memory), requiring from memory an additional head stud to be drilled. This resulted in less power but at the time replacement Mk1 heads were like hen's teeth. An absolute joy to drive with my fondest memories accelerating up to 75mph behind a car infront and then dropping into fourth gear and accelerating away with the gorgeous exhaust note of a Mk1 at high revs as the car in front was overtaken. Drivers of the larger V8 Holdens and Fords hated the Mini as it was really just a modified go-kart and the "performance" V8 cars little more than shopping carts when it came to cornering.
I had a Mini. I loved it handling.
What a fine, evocative video! Focusing on the Minis featured in the original Italian Job makes it extra special. 'Very well done. Jack's engaging narrative and the shots taken from outside drew me in so much that now I want to buy a Mini and tear up the beautiful English countryside. Would anyone know which country roads Jack is driving on here, or at least which region of England?
Thanks chap! The roads are in the Cotswolds but my Wes route is pretty short so not really worth driving up unless you’re already very close
@@Number27 A lovely looking and sounding Cooper S, was a Ford fan when l was a lot younger with a 1971 Mexico but enjoyed all the hot cars of that time.
@@Number27 Thank you for your reply! 'Will make my way to the Cotswolds when I visit Holland, my own country. Cheers!
Best car i ever owned , miss it very much , wish i still had it , it was a 1.3 fuel injection model anthracite black metalic , silver stripes , silver and black leather interior and a strsight through pipe , brilliant
My first car was a mini 850 with an 1100 engine. The engine mounts were a bit dicky and every time I'd accelerate, the speedo would pop out of it's mounting and I'd have to push it back before it came out completely, I loved it though. The cornering was sublime to the extent I could trounce almost anything on twisty country roads. I get the same results in my Elise now.
I had an arosa a few years back same size as a mini but only 1.0l. Was dropped on coilovers and my god did it handle. One of the best handling cars I've ever drove and I liken that to the original mini
Its so cool when Jack drives a car you have...
It would be really interesting for you to do a review of the difference in ride and handling between the rubber spring cars and the hydrolastic ones. I don't know the dates, but I think the Mk1 cars were rubber, Mk2 were hydro. Later cars reverted to rubber springs, due to cost of the hydrolastic system.
Beautiful !!!!!!
I love small cars. You have to work at keeping your speed up. Some have pretty good handling. Too much power and speed can be a lot more dangerous. Instead a little work and some speed and handling make it fun. My most fun car was a 79 Pinto. Wider and lower tires and a exhaust header made it fun!
Having raced Minis for a long time, I can safely say that you can never get too much power from the A series motor. I was always down on power compared to other makes, the only time that I could happily say was an exception being on a wet track. Yeah, that brought the bloody V8s back to where they belonged.
Thanks for this Jack, will we see you at bicester flywheel this weekend?
I had a 1970 Austin Mini while at university. Fun fact, in 1972 a new Austin Mini cost $1972 in Ontario, Canada. It was a blast to drive, got incredible gas mileage and constantly needed tinkering to keep it running. I enjoyed it very much until the oil pump seized up. British Leyland cars of the time had horrible mechanical reputations, but the Mini was such fun to drive.
i never knew the italian job from 2003 was a remake, always took it for a rather bad copy of ocean's twelve which came out around the same time if memory serves. thank you so much alerting me to it. i love michael caine movies from that era.