The Mini Clubman estate was a brilliant little car. It had all the practicality of the Mini saloon, but with a decent sized loading area. Also the battery was hidden under the back seat, out of the way. My late missus had a red one, KJA 415P (1975 reg), for 2 1/2 years, from May 1987 to November 1989, before the rear sub frame gave way. It gave us over 2 years of trouble free motoring, at little cost. The surviving ones, in decent condition, start at around £10K, concours condition ones fetch £15K to £20K. A great little motor.
I had a 1978 clubman 1100 as my first car in 1991. I bloody loved that thing. Sadly I found it under a stack of cars in a local breakers yard a few years after I'd sold it. I was totally gutted. :(
I also had a 78 clubman 1100 it was brown. Sold it for scrap in 1994 for £30. It literally fell apart with corrosion and was a complete death trap. 1st car so I loved it though and tbh the engine was great.
My 78 Clubman was bright blue and an estate! My 1st car in '93 EPV512T :D I managed to carry 8 people 3 miles in it once, that could have gone horribly wrong :S I'd love to drive it again now just to remember how much fun it was at the time.
I have a '78 clubman 1100 that I am just about finished restoring. Needs re-certification and new number-plates to get on the road legally, but almost there. It's a lovely car to drive. Always wanted a classic mini(none of that yukky BMW modern thing, thank you!), and always wanted a clubman model. Mine is in dark-green with white roof.
It's a little bizarre, but I loved the old-school Mini, I had a '68 deluxe (998 cc, windup windows, mid-tunnel shifter, hydrolastic suspension) and a '75 'panel van' (that's what we called the estate here). I still have a soft spot for them. Thanks for this one, most enjoyable. Greetings from down under - Adelaide, Australia).
My first driving experience was in an orange Mini Clubman estate with poor brakes at Beccles Heliport, UK, in the summer of 1989. I was 16 at the time doing a work experience over the school summer holiday. It was used by the ground maintenance guy. I remember I had to pump the brakes to make it stop. Happy memories of driving on the old World War 2 era runway.
The Aussie version of the Clubman was unique in that in addition to the Hydrolastic suspension of the MK1 it retained essentially the entire Mk1 chassis from the A pillars back
Terrific! Has anyone noticed how amazingly long Ruairidh's sentences are? He could be used in schools, for lessons in syntax and punctuation and suspended clauses.
Ruaridh is not a person, but AI. I can’t help it, but those long sentences make me lose focus on the subject. And the voice sounds VERY artificial, intonation of certain words always sounds exactly the same.
Fantastic memory-jogger, this film. My first car ws a Mini, which I bought from my neighbour for £75 cash. In those days young guys like me could only afford old bangers! A year later one of the doors fell off in a pub car park, and my friend had to lean across me holding it in place while I drove home. It's number was 76EXC and I managed to get a "trade-in" deal for it on the basis of the numberplate. I then had a Mini Clubman Estate - SYG196R - which was one of the best cars I ever had in terms of fun and driving experiences. The double doors at the rear were great, such a cool idea for those days. Me and my mates used to go camping in the Lake District and Galloway and easily fitted all the gear for the four of us in the rear - we didn't need the roof boxes everyone seems to need nowadays for all their holiday luggage. Great stuff Ruairidh as always, thanks.
I owned one of these back in the 80s - the traveller version. The brakes were awful and any sustained cruising at around 55mph caused serious overheating. Notwithstanding, I loved it!
My Mum had a 68 Mini 1000, and I later had a couple of Clubman estates, for the extra boot space. Great cheap cars, that stick to the road like the proverbial brown stuff to a blanket. Fun fun fun!
I had a 998 mini Mk 3 and it was great but decided to with help of David Vizard's book How to Modify your Mini, with racing cam, double valve spings , 40 Sidedraught Weber Carburetor. Head porting etc. Top speed when asked was between E-F on fuel gauge which was at the bottom so in the region of 160 km/h . It could beat 3L Fords. Since moving to Australia my second BMW mini (first was R58 Cooper S) is a Clubman JCW ALL4 . Also sticks to the road but very quick. As to space under the bonnet the BMW ones are even more difficult to work on
My first car in 1981 was a 1100 mini clubman in bright yellow BET490T. I loved the car and travelled all over the North of England visiting my friends at their different universities often with 3 or passengers. I changed the head lights, the gear stick knob, steering wheel and the radio. I cried when I sold it.
Bought one second hand in 1972. 89 ARP. Guess that number would be worth a bit nowadays. First car was a 1953 Ford Popular. PKD 561. You never forget the first car number.
I went to Cornwall with Dorothy who worked with tempest of Cornwall I was 14 a long drive overnight from central Scotland and deep down the m5 at one of the services I heard Jerry rafferty baker st for the first time we drove in a mini clubman estate Dorothy was my second mother I miss her greetings from Scotland 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
Went to Cornwall often from Glasgow in the late sixties as dad was from Devonport. First time was from Dundee seemed to take forever(2 days almost) not a mini though Hillman Minx,Brilliant Cars. My first car was 1959 Austin 7, I changed it for an Austin Champ in 1972. The Champ was in better condition than the Mini having only done 25000 miles on its Rolls desighned Austin 2'800cc engine,despite being built in 1952. The Minis Flexitor Rubber Suspension collapsed. I never lost my fondness for them though,and hired many later. Funny to think Alec Issigonis desighned both vehicles. Personally I think he was Britains best car desighner.The man was a genius, his x9 project could have saved Leyland I reckon,it was years ahead of its time,and the way things went eventually
The Mini Clubman version is to be honest was the only Mini Model i remember growing up in The 80's and i always thought that this was the same version in The UK as it was here in Australia at the time. How wrong i was when i watched The Italian Job for the first time Rory now i know what this example model is dubbed. Though i vaguely remember riding in The Mini Clubman once as a child. Overall this is another cracking clip Rory especially now the said model here in Oz examples of which are rare to say the least outside of a classic car meet.
I had a 998 version, slow as a pudding, terrible brakes, crash protection of a tin can, how I survived as a 17 year old no idea. Mine was a 73 and dated , how it sold until 1981 I have no idea.
Learned to drive in one of those. I managed to pull the hand brake clean off the chassis pulling it up too hard. This did not impress the driving instructor, but I passed first time....which was nice :)
I started in 1972 with a 1959 850cc Morris Mini Minor, followed later by a 998cc Mini Clubman Estate identical to the thumbnail, and much later on a 998 Mini with the classic nose. All were secondhand, the first and last costing just £60 each, and the estate was about £300 if I remember correctly. So much fun to be had for less than £500, and now a new bodyshell will set you back £10104. The first was wrecked when a Vauxhall failed to notice the traffic had stopped, and I was the one in front of him. The second was exchanged for an Opel Manta, and the last was an interim replacement after my car was stolen, before the insurance paid out. That Manta became known as the £36 car, because just about every replacement part I bought for it cost £36 at the time, exhaust, headlight, doorskin, tyres etc
I've owned three Mini's over the years. Two Mini Clubman's. I passed my driving test in my first Clubman in 1974 which was an orange colour with dark blue vinyl interior. Later years I owned a red Mini Clubman Estate with a beige cloth seat interior with the 1098cc engine which performed well and packed quite a punch but the all drum brakes weren't too good. My third Mini was a metallic green Mayfair with brown cloth interior with the Clubman dashboard fascia. This one had the Metro 998cc engine but performed very well and had disc front brakes. I've had several different makes of cars over the years but the Mini was always a personal favorite of mine. I loved their handling and economy. I can't say that I like today's BMW Mini's which are almost as big as my present Ford Focus.
when I was a nipper, our family of 4 (me & my brother 10 & 6½) went to Belgium on the ferry, in our dad's brand new WAXnnnJ Clubman estate - the rectangular rear with the double doors. roof-rack for luggage & supplies in the boot zone. When I was in college my dad bought me his pal's white mini-clubman and that lasted me until my first job, 3½ years later. (we also had a variety of Allegros, Maestros & Montegos over the years! - pretty much the same engine except for my turbo-diesel montego saloon.)
@8:40 . . . . . what is the purpose of the rib line in the body at both the front and rear panel lines that meet the center body? It just screams aerodynamic 'fail' let alone the fact it looks similar to somebody not trimming the excess plastic from an injection molded model car.
The external ribs enable the body shell panels to be welded together from the outside. Easier and cheaper at the time. The welded exposed edges were concealed behind trim strips.
@@gilzor9376 There was a story that Ford Motor Company bought a Mini in the early days, took it apart and coated how much £££ it took to produce. They found the mini costed more ££ to produce than it was sold for. Ford wrote to BMC (or whatever it was called at the time) to advise their findings but never received a reply. So production costs really did matter for the very successful, popular and much loved technically ground breaking anachronism. Brilliant engineers led by rubbish management..
It is commonly said that the external seams were to help spotwelding/assembling in overseas plants where welding facilities were more basic. According to Wikipedia the front seams also increased space in the footwells.
Nice vid, liked the clubman, especially the extra room under the bonnet! Can’t beat an original design Min tho, I’ve still got a 98 sportspack cooper…. Great work as ever👍
Australian Mini Clubman S models which featured nicer trim & dash w/tacho, & were fitted with the 1100cc engine & Hydrolastic suspension. About 1980 I purchased one minus its motor to transfer the mechanicals from Mini Cooper S, which appeared to be one of the last to be built with Hydrolastic suspension. While it was even more of a brick aerodynamically, it was certainly superior in cooling & feeding air into dual 1.5" SU carbs on the modified 1310cc Cooper S engine running a rally-camshaft, headers, & straight-through sports-exhaust! Even though I liked the Hydrolastic suspension, the fore/aft pitching became annoying even at full height, so I bolted on a pair of front shock-absorber brackets, drilled the suspension-arms, then bolted on a pair of gas-shocks. Along with aftermarket adjustable suspension for negative-camber, & much wider rims, this setup made it handle like a go-cart!
@@philiptownsend4026 If you're referring to the Cooper S, I picked it up cheap because while the engine & running-gear were good, the body was banged up too much to restore!
Hi! I was curious. I noticed that after the push pull trains video, but before the Picc Vic video, you uploaded a rail video in between those that has since been deleted. I know it was deleted, but, what happened?
My first Mini was a very tired and one with a body that had more than its fair share of metal moth 1000 poverty spec but was a brilliant first car. The second was an old Clubman estate 1100 that was absolutely brilliant, so much better than my 1000 in almost every way..... apart from the look but really the benefits more than made up for that. Back in those days I used to service my own cars and distributor access was so much easier on the Clubman and never had to fit it with a new marigold rubber glove to keep the water out after adjusting the points and timing. If the Clubman had succeeded it may be that the new Mini as we know it may not have been born.
I had a '72 round nose 1000, a '74 1275 GT Clubman with 10" wheels, and a '93 1.3 saloon, with 12" wheels and larger discs, all with rubber springs. The one I really wanted was a 1275 GT Clubman Estate. I note that you carefully omitted mention of the Austin Allegro and jumped straight to the Metro. Oh British Leyland !!
@@Phiyedough It was designed as a hatchback as was the Princess but the management didn't want any other cars in the range with hatchbacks because they wanted the Maxi to be the car to sell with that feature - really short sighted idiots when you think that most cars would have hatchbacks not long after this and not everyone wanted or liked the Maxi. The Allegro actually drove like a bigger Mini as per folk like Project Nigel test drives and these were actually excellent reliable cars as well contrary to the Top Gear numpties - we had two in our family at the same time - my mothers 1978 Allegro 1500 LE and my 1980 Allegro 1750 TC Equipe and both weer excellent reliable cars and that Equipe was a very quick car for bak then as well.
My aunt had one for her first car, turquoise was the colour it was in. Was a rapid little car for its age 60mph felt like it was doing 90mph that's how rapid the mini was in its heyday.
Funny you should say that. In the history of the mini I read that the prototype in 1958 was driven on the test track and went straight up to 90mph. It was decided that Production models would have the engine reversed, ie manifold, carburettor and exhaust to the rear. That meant the drive had to pass via an idler gear in the transmission. Top Speed reduced to just over 70mph. Should have left as designed, although it would be a bugger to adjust the points.
@@davidk3729 yeah could picture the test drivers reaction when the speedo went 70, 80, then topped out at 90 mph wonder what his colleagues made of that after the test runs.
I had no idea the Clubman came in anything other than estate form! Though I must say, is this a new mic? The top end is missing, the bottom end is so pronounced. Maybe you’re just sitting too close for it though, if it’s more sensitive than your old one. Sounds very heavy on the proximity effect. There’s definitely less environmental reverb though, so I think you could get this one sounding good.
You could literally build a brand new mini as there’s a firm that can supply all the body parts, including the body shell, all you’d need to find is running gear and engine. I believe there’s an electric conversion model available too out there.
Austin made the "Futura" model, which had a backdoor to open!! My new 1966 mini was a Production Disaster, which never made me buy another British car, though I loved it highly. But when buying a new BMW 2002 I was showed how a car should/could be made, without having to bend the sliding window frame, with knee between the door and body, to be able to meet the rubber sealing on the body (The BMW didn't even have a frame round the windows)! And the paint peeling off round the outside hinges, + water coming in from the corners of the wind screen + several other places!! And don't drive too close to a car in front, during rain, because it will cut because an uncovered distributor in front.
For my first car in the mid 1990s I really fancied a Mini Clubman Estate. Ended up with a conventional round nosed 2 door saloon with the 998cc engine built in 1979. Still preferred the look if the Clubman though, I am somewhat biased towards 1970s era cars.
I was an original Mini owner and lover. I always liked the new nose on the Clubman, but I could never get comfortable with the old original rear end. Front and rear of this thing did not match and together looked totally ridiculous. Besides, as a setting of priorities, I would have changed the rear first, most importantly to finally get a hatchback in there. I don't care about the nose, since the radiator was still in the left wheel well.
I had 5 minis over the years. 2nd was a 998 clubman, 3rd was a 1098 clubman. That 1098cc engine was the best for a mini I felt. The last mini I had was a 1996 cooper & the 1275 just seemed so noisy compared to the 1098 & 998.
The later cars had a lot more sound deadening. By comparison my own 1980 Clubman was hilariously loud compared to my mate's 1997 Cooper. The Cooper also had a 'built' (and therefore thrashed) MPi engine which spent a lot of time thraping up and down the Yorkshire Moors.
I foresee an excellent story by you chronicling the botched Mini Metro update after BMW’s acquisition. The BMW chairman, later fired, was nephew of Sir Alex Issigonis. Corporate soap opera.
Just saw this.Thank you, sir. Will do in the AM. I believe the ill-fated BMW CEO was Bernd Pischetsrider. Will find the correct spelling before tomorrow.
The Elf and Hornet should have been the ones evolved to even higher trims. I wonder if the corporate executives ever realized the errors that they made when looking back from years later.
This vehicle was my favourite mini. I even managed to move house with my mini clubman estate. It was blue in colour and it even drove well in snow. Miss that car have had nothing like it since and the modern Mini is not really amini👍
Another fine video - although I'd take issue with the mini ever being used for the "school run", simply because that wasn't even a thing back then as children used to walk to school or take the bus.
@Retired Bore At the time - near Watford at a big comprehensive school. I was school age at the time. The idea of "the school run" being normalised would have been inconceivable. We cycled to school as well, although this was actively discouraged - I suppose that was a warning sign of the impending era of publicly condoned enforced car dependency. Back then though you only got a lift into school only if you were sick.
Yep even into the 70s/80s here in Scotland kids managed to walk to school or get the bus. Now teh parents are driving their kids to school because they are scared their kids get knocked down by the heavy traffic too dumb to think that they especially are a big part of the cause of that traffic.
The Austin A40 Farina was a hatchback of sorts as I recall, why didn't BL take the cues from that model? A Elf hatchback might have been possible and wouldn't have looked as ugly as the other attempt.
My dads mini LKP 101F was seen by him modified by a an engineer at Austin or leyland or whatever it was. Could have been the clubman in testing or that photo from ARonline
i would love a clubman, but, it would have to be in either of a few specific colours, its arse in the air and 10inch wide rim 4 spoke revolution wheels, typical 70s brown tan red interior.
Thanks for explaining a confused and illogical story so logically. My mum had a classic blue Mini whose steering and brakes failed on more than one occasion.
“Mediocre facelift” says it all. My first car was a maroon and white Riley Elf Mk 2 (998cc and Hydrolastic) so I drooled over the one in your video. It had a useful increase in power and boot space over the standard Mini and the Mk 3 had wind-up windows. When it was replaced by the Clubman it seemed like an inferior model losing the extra luggage space and gaining the longer front end. Style over substance although a more accessible engine bay was probably good for some. No doubt the Clubman was more profitable and in the 1970’s lots of old Minis had Clubman style fronts stuck on them. Sadly, by this time Riley and Wolseley (sic) had had their day but a hatchback would have been a real improvement.
Speaking of proposed hatchback versions of these mini style cars, Australia developed the Nomad hatchback as an option for one by 1970 as part of updating the Morris 1100. Called the Morris Nomad 1500 although more of the normal sedan versions were produced. A test of one, but not fitted with the normal 1500 E series OHC engine but the 1275 A series that was the only version for automatic transmission : th-cam.com/video/TB-r2JTsTmk/w-d-xo.html After a few years replaced by Australian Marinas with E series four and six cylinder options : th-cam.com/video/kpBCJJ3TFbc/w-d-xo.html
Your videos, whether the cover cars or planes, are always such a joy! Thank you.
Excellent film. Congrats on 100K
My favourite channel, i could listen to Rory speak about doorknobs for hours.
Aunt Barbara adores you!
😅
We had an blue 1100 Clubman in the 80's, never done as many repairs and replacments as on that car, we all loved it to bits,
The Mini Clubman estate was a brilliant little car. It had all the practicality of the Mini saloon, but with a decent sized loading area. Also the battery was hidden under the back seat, out of the way. My late missus had a red one, KJA 415P (1975 reg), for 2 1/2 years, from May 1987 to November 1989, before the rear sub frame gave way. It gave us over 2 years of trouble free motoring, at little cost. The surviving ones, in decent condition, start at around £10K, concours condition ones fetch £15K to £20K. A great little motor.
My first car was a 1098cc R reg Clubman in tomato soup red. Great fun and plenty of rust. I still miss it.
I had a 1978 clubman 1100 as my first car in 1991. I bloody loved that thing. Sadly I found it under a stack of cars in a local breakers yard a few years after I'd sold it. I was totally gutted. :(
I bet it was gutted too
That eventually happened to mine as well! MRF488V... gone but absolutely never forgotten.
I also had a 78 clubman 1100 it was brown. Sold it for scrap in 1994 for £30. It literally fell apart with corrosion and was a complete death trap. 1st car so I loved it though and tbh the engine was great.
My 78 Clubman was bright blue and an estate! My 1st car in '93 EPV512T :D I managed to carry 8 people 3 miles in it once, that could have gone horribly wrong :S I'd love to drive it again now just to remember how much fun it was at the time.
I have a '78 clubman 1100 that I am just about finished restoring. Needs re-certification and new number-plates to get on the road legally, but almost there. It's a lovely car to drive. Always wanted a classic mini(none of that yukky BMW modern thing, thank you!), and always wanted a clubman model. Mine is in dark-green with white roof.
I did a 2 week trip to the isle of Wight in 85, and I have fond memories of the estate
It's a little bizarre, but I loved the old-school Mini, I had a '68 deluxe (998 cc, windup windows, mid-tunnel shifter, hydrolastic suspension) and a '75 'panel van' (that's what we called the estate here). I still have a soft spot for them. Thanks for this one, most enjoyable. Greetings from down under - Adelaide, Australia).
Had one myself - a '66. Damned fun little car to drive!!!!
Nothing bizarre about owning one of the best cars ever!
My first driving experience was in an orange Mini Clubman estate with poor brakes at Beccles Heliport, UK, in the summer of 1989. I was 16 at the time doing a work experience over the school summer holiday. It was used by the ground maintenance guy. I remember I had to pump the brakes to make it stop. Happy memories of driving on the old World War 2 era runway.
The Aussie version of the Clubman was unique in that in addition to the Hydrolastic suspension of the MK1 it retained essentially the entire Mk1 chassis from the A pillars back
Not forgetting those cool flush-fit door handles though.
Terrific! Has anyone noticed how amazingly long Ruairidh's sentences are? He could be used in schools, for lessons in syntax and punctuation and suspended clauses.
I can’t unhear them. The sentences just keep going! Every time I think a sentence is over, there is more to come.
It's a life sentence. A long stretch.
When you talk about Mini, you have no choice but to maxi your sentences.
Ruaridh is not a person, but AI.
I can’t help it, but those long sentences make me lose focus on the subject.
And the voice sounds VERY artificial, intonation of certain words always sounds exactly the same.
Yes, and absolutely enjoy listening to a bloke speaking proper English!
Fantastic memory-jogger, this film. My first car ws a Mini, which I bought from my neighbour for £75 cash. In those days young guys like me could only afford old bangers! A year later one of the doors fell off in a pub car park, and my friend had to lean across me holding it in place while I drove home. It's number was 76EXC and I managed to get a "trade-in" deal for it on the basis of the numberplate.
I then had a Mini Clubman Estate - SYG196R - which was one of the best cars I ever had in terms of fun and driving experiences. The double doors at the rear were great, such a cool idea for those days. Me and my mates used to go camping in the Lake District and Galloway and easily fitted all the gear for the four of us in the rear - we didn't need the roof boxes everyone seems to need nowadays for all their holiday luggage.
Great stuff Ruairidh as always, thanks.
How about the story of the Mini Innocenti? A great and informative video as ever. So we'll researched. I always look forward to your latest releases.
I owned one of these back in the 80s - the traveller version. The brakes were awful and any sustained cruising at around 55mph caused serious overheating. Notwithstanding, I loved it!
Love how the guy was just spraying his colleague more than the car! 🤣
I saw that too. Not a goggle or mask between them. Hope they had good industrial injury doctors later on.
My Mum had a 68 Mini 1000, and I later had a couple of Clubman estates, for the extra boot space.
Great cheap cars, that stick to the road like the proverbial brown stuff to a blanket.
Fun fun fun!
I had a 998 mini Mk 3 and it was great but decided to with help of David Vizard's book How to Modify your Mini, with racing cam, double valve spings , 40 Sidedraught Weber Carburetor. Head porting etc. Top speed when asked was between E-F on fuel gauge which was at the bottom so in the region of 160 km/h . It could beat 3L Fords. Since moving to Australia my second BMW mini (first was R58 Cooper S) is a Clubman JCW ALL4 . Also sticks to the road but very quick. As to space under the bonnet the BMW ones are even more difficult to work on
My first car in 1981 was a 1100 mini clubman in bright yellow BET490T. I loved the car and travelled all over the North of England visiting my friends at their different universities often with 3 or passengers. I changed the head lights, the gear stick knob, steering wheel and the radio. I cried when I sold it.
Bought one second hand in 1972. 89 ARP. Guess that number would be worth a bit nowadays. First car was a 1953 Ford Popular. PKD 561. You never forget the first car number.
The old Mini cars were so ideal for almost anything including showing off. And how they were made was so British.
I went to Cornwall with Dorothy who worked with tempest of Cornwall I was 14 a long drive overnight from central Scotland and deep down the m5 at one of the services I heard Jerry rafferty baker st for the first time we drove in a mini clubman estate Dorothy was my second mother I miss her greetings from Scotland 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
Went to Cornwall often from Glasgow in the late sixties as dad was from Devonport. First time was from Dundee seemed to take forever(2 days almost) not a mini though Hillman Minx,Brilliant Cars.
My first car was 1959 Austin 7, I changed it for an Austin Champ in 1972.
The Champ was in better condition than the Mini having only done 25000 miles on its Rolls desighned Austin 2'800cc engine,despite being built in 1952.
The Minis Flexitor Rubber Suspension collapsed. I never lost my fondness for them though,and hired many later.
Funny to think Alec Issigonis desighned both vehicles. Personally I think he was Britains best car desighner.The man was a genius, his x9 project could have saved Leyland I reckon,it was years ahead of its time,and the way things went eventually
What a wonderful video. What happened the sound? Very muffled.
Probably sitting inside a mini 😂
The Mini Clubman version is to be honest was the only Mini Model i remember growing up in The 80's and i always thought that this was the same version in The UK as it was here in Australia at the time. How wrong i was when i watched The Italian Job for the first time Rory now i know what this example model is dubbed. Though i vaguely remember riding in The Mini Clubman once as a child. Overall this is another cracking clip Rory especially now the said model here in Oz examples of which are rare to say the least outside of a classic car meet.
I had a 998 version, slow as a pudding, terrible brakes, crash protection of a tin can, how I survived as a 17 year old no idea. Mine was a 73 and dated , how it sold until 1981 I have no idea.
Please go back to the old microphone.
Very muffled sound.
@@decretumdeluxe9670 Lossy compression artifacts...
Yes, whatever happened here wasn't good.
Furthermore, you won't eq this away. Just get rid of whatever new mic or setup you used here and go back to what you were doing before.
@@decretumdeluxe9670yes, I previously mentioned the poor sound quality, a few weeks ago but I got shot down…
I had a 1980 clubby estate 1100 as my first car back in the 90's, lots of fun, wish I still had it.
Learned to drive in one of those. I managed to pull the hand brake clean off the chassis pulling it up too hard. This did not impress the driving instructor, but I passed first time....which was nice :)
Your driving instrutor was probably scared that you'd rip his head off if he failed you. 😁
I had a Maxi and a Clubman. Great cars. I turned my Clubman Estate into a pickup. It was much more than a side-note in Mini's history.
The commercial models really should've had the Clubman front. Imagine a 1275GT pickup, a British El Camino!
@@nlpnt well mine was stage one tuned, along with being chopped, great fun, it was!
@nlpnt I disagree, clubman front looks nice with bigger wheels and arches 🤤
@@deanosaur808those Weller 8 spokes with some fat Bridgestones on, looked great. And of course I had the arches 😊
Built and sold in Australia. Relatively popular especially when it came with the 1275 motor.
I think that the first British hatch-back was the 1959 Austin A40 Farina Countryman.
Great vlog as always! Keep up the good work!
I started in 1972 with a 1959 850cc Morris Mini Minor, followed later by a 998cc Mini Clubman Estate identical to the thumbnail, and much later on a 998 Mini with the classic nose. All were secondhand, the first and last costing just £60 each, and the estate was about £300 if I remember correctly.
So much fun to be had for less than £500, and now a new bodyshell will set you back £10104.
The first was wrecked when a Vauxhall failed to notice the traffic had stopped, and I was the one in front of him. The second was exchanged for an Opel Manta, and the last was an interim replacement after my car was stolen, before the insurance paid out. That Manta became known as the £36 car, because just about every replacement part I bought for it cost £36 at the time, exhaust, headlight, doorskin, tyres etc
An excellent video, as usual!
Very interesting. Thanks a lot!
I've owned three Mini's over the years. Two Mini Clubman's. I passed my driving test in my first Clubman in 1974 which was an orange colour with dark blue vinyl interior. Later years I owned a red Mini Clubman Estate with a beige cloth seat interior with the 1098cc engine which performed well and packed quite a punch but the all drum brakes weren't too good. My third Mini was a metallic green Mayfair with brown cloth interior with the Clubman dashboard fascia. This one had the Metro 998cc engine but performed very well and had disc front brakes. I've had several different makes of cars over the years but the Mini was always a personal favorite of mine. I loved their handling and economy. I can't say that I like today's BMW Mini's which are almost as big as my present Ford Focus.
I actually marginally prefer the "facelift" look of the Clubman over the Classic mini...such icons of design 🤩🇬🇧
My youngest brother's first car in Australia was a yellow Leyland Mini Clubman saloon. My first two cars were Morris Mini 850 saloons (1963 & 1965).
Audio is quite muffled on this one.
Perhaps he used a mini mic?
I had an knacked 1275 G.T. Clubman back in early 1990's, the styling might have been a bit off but was great fun, rebuilt it with MG Metro engine.
a video on the electrostars and turbostars would be fantastic !
My dad had a Mini Clubman estate , it was an amazing little car , we had it packed to the gunalls when going on holiday and it was a plucky vehicle
I had one it was a blue estate we took it to spurn head loved the mini
when I was a nipper, our family of 4 (me & my brother 10 & 6½) went to Belgium on the ferry, in our dad's brand new WAXnnnJ Clubman estate - the rectangular rear with the double doors. roof-rack for luggage & supplies in the boot zone.
When I was in college my dad bought me his pal's white mini-clubman and that lasted me until my first job, 3½ years later.
(we also had a variety of Allegros, Maestros & Montegos over the years! - pretty much the same engine except for my turbo-diesel montego saloon.)
@8:40 . . . . . what is the purpose of the rib line in the body at both the front and rear panel lines that meet the center body? It just screams aerodynamic 'fail' let alone the fact it looks similar to somebody not trimming the excess plastic from an injection molded model car.
The external ribs enable the body shell panels to be welded together from the outside. Easier and cheaper at the time. The welded exposed edges were concealed behind trim strips.
@@philiptownsend4026 Well, I guess cost mattered more than looks.
@@gilzor9376 There was a story that Ford Motor Company bought a Mini in the early days, took it apart and coated how much £££ it took to produce. They found the mini costed more ££ to produce than it was sold for. Ford wrote to BMC (or whatever it was called at the time) to advise their findings but never received a reply.
So production costs really did matter for the very successful, popular and much loved technically ground breaking anachronism.
Brilliant engineers led by rubbish management..
It is commonly said that the external seams were to help spotwelding/assembling in overseas plants where welding facilities were more basic. According to Wikipedia the front seams also increased space in the footwells.
Nice vid, liked the clubman, especially the extra room under the bonnet!
Can’t beat an original design Min tho, I’ve still got a 98 sportspack cooper….
Great work as ever👍
Australian Mini Clubman S models which featured nicer trim & dash w/tacho, & were fitted with the 1100cc engine & Hydrolastic suspension. About 1980 I purchased one minus its motor to transfer the mechanicals from Mini Cooper S, which appeared to be one of the last to be built with Hydrolastic suspension. While it was even more of a brick aerodynamically, it was certainly superior in cooling & feeding air into dual 1.5" SU carbs on the modified 1310cc Cooper S engine running a rally-camshaft, headers, & straight-through sports-exhaust!
Even though I liked the Hydrolastic suspension, the fore/aft pitching became annoying even at full height, so I bolted on a pair of front shock-absorber brackets, drilled the suspension-arms, then bolted on a pair of gas-shocks. Along with aftermarket adjustable suspension for negative-camber, & much wider rims, this setup made it handle like a go-cart!
I bet you regret breaking that S now ?
@@philiptownsend4026 If you're referring to the Cooper S, I picked it up cheap because while the engine & running-gear were good, the body was banged up too much to restore!
@@stevie-ray2020 What a shame :-(
I had the regular shaped mini as my first car, which I preferred. Classic
Quite brilliant, thanks again 👍
The green Clubman near the end of the video is an Australian version with exposed door hinges and a vintage registration
Best motoring channel on TH-cam.
Hi! I was curious. I noticed that after the push pull trains video, but before the Picc Vic video, you uploaded a rail video in between those that has since been deleted. I know it was deleted, but, what happened?
My first Mini was a very tired and one with a body that had more than its fair share of metal moth 1000 poverty spec but was a brilliant first car. The second was an old Clubman estate 1100 that was absolutely brilliant, so much better than my 1000 in almost every way..... apart from the look but really the benefits more than made up for that. Back in those days I used to service my own cars and distributor access was so much easier on the Clubman and never had to fit it with a new marigold rubber glove to keep the water out after adjusting the points and timing. If the Clubman had succeeded it may be that the new Mini as we know it may not have been born.
I had a '72 round nose 1000, a '74 1275 GT Clubman with 10" wheels, and a '93 1.3 saloon, with 12" wheels and larger discs, all with rubber springs. The one I really wanted was a 1275 GT Clubman Estate. I note that you carefully omitted mention of the Austin Allegro and jumped straight to the Metro. Oh British Leyland !!
Yes, mention of the hatchback idea made me wonder why they didn't make the Allegro a hatchback.
@@Phiyedough It was designed as a hatchback as was the Princess but the management didn't want any other cars in the range with hatchbacks because they wanted the Maxi to be the car to sell with that feature - really short sighted idiots when you think that most cars would have hatchbacks not long after this and not everyone wanted or liked the Maxi. The Allegro actually drove like a bigger Mini as per folk like Project Nigel test drives and these were actually excellent reliable cars as well contrary to the Top Gear numpties - we had two in our family at the same time - my mothers 1978 Allegro 1500 LE and my 1980 Allegro 1750 TC Equipe and both weer excellent reliable cars and that Equipe was a very quick car for bak then as well.
My aunt had one for her first car, turquoise was the colour it was in. Was a rapid little car for its age 60mph felt like it was doing 90mph that's how rapid the mini was in its heyday.
Funny you should say that. In the history of the mini I read that the prototype in 1958 was driven on the test track and went straight up to 90mph. It was decided that Production models would have the engine reversed, ie manifold, carburettor and exhaust to the rear. That meant the drive had to pass via an idler gear in the transmission. Top Speed reduced to just over 70mph.
Should have left as designed, although it would be a bugger to adjust the points.
@@davidk3729 yeah could picture the test drivers reaction when the speedo went 70, 80, then topped out at 90 mph wonder what his colleagues made of that after the test runs.
I had no idea the Clubman came in anything other than estate form!
Though I must say, is this a new mic? The top end is missing, the bottom end is so pronounced. Maybe you’re just sitting too close for it though, if it’s more sensitive than your old one. Sounds very heavy on the proximity effect. There’s definitely less environmental reverb though, so I think you could get this one sounding good.
I thought something sounded different…
Maybe he was sitting in a mini while recording the audio :D
My first car was a brand new Mini Clubman Estate It was great little car.
Basically they were go carts with a body. (the audio had not treble, very muffled)
Recorded in the boot of a mini 🤣
My Mini 1275GT was the most fun car I have ever owned.
Great mini documentary
I see what you did there,
and that is no small accomplishment!
@@KenanTurkiye ditto!
Is that Metro promotional clip filmed at Rufford Ford?
Great video, but the audio is rough. What happened to your mic?
one of the main benefits of the clubman was the much larger engine bay, so modern twin cam engines fit much nicer.Ive a turbo k-series in mine.
and now im at 13 minutes into the video and its covered .
But they can also fit in the round nose too.
Most conversions are now done on the round nose because more of them exist.
You could literally build a brand new mini as there’s a firm that can supply all the body parts, including the body shell, all you’d need to find is running gear and engine.
I believe there’s an electric conversion model available too out there.
All true. There is a whole industry around the Issigonis Mini.
I had Mini Clubman as 1st car, It was a great wee car!! A Hatchback would have been excellent!! Another opportunity missed!!
My first car (1984) was a bright red 1972 Morris Mini Clubman Estate 998cc.
Austin made the "Futura" model, which had a backdoor to open!!
My new 1966 mini was a Production Disaster, which never made me buy another British car, though I loved it highly. But when buying a new BMW 2002 I was showed how a car should/could be made, without having to bend the sliding window frame, with knee between the door and body, to be able to meet the rubber sealing on the body (The BMW didn't even have a frame round the windows)! And the paint peeling off round the outside hinges, + water coming in from the corners of the wind screen + several other places!! And don't drive too close to a car in front, during rain, because it will cut because an uncovered distributor in front.
Austin A40 Countryman in the UK - the very first 3 door hatchback - although it was marketed as a small estate car.
The distributor problem was an easy fix 😉
As for the 2002.. ugly long boot 😱
Good stuff 👍👍👍
For my first car in the mid 1990s I really fancied a Mini Clubman Estate. Ended up with a conventional round nosed 2 door saloon with the 998cc engine built in 1979. Still preferred the look if the Clubman though, I am somewhat biased towards 1970s era cars.
I was an original Mini owner and lover. I always liked the new nose on the Clubman, but I could never get comfortable with the old original rear end. Front and rear of this thing did not match and together looked totally ridiculous. Besides, as a setting of priorities, I would have changed the rear first, most importantly to finally get a hatchback in there. I don't care about the nose, since the radiator was still in the left wheel well.
1275 had 12" wheels with Dunlop Denovo run flats as an option
I had one of those. Got rid of them very quickly and fitted 12" ,Minilite look alikes with proper tyres.
I had 5 minis over the years. 2nd was a 998 clubman, 3rd was a 1098 clubman. That 1098cc engine was the best for a mini I felt. The last mini I had was a 1996 cooper & the 1275 just seemed so noisy compared to the 1098 & 998.
The later cars had a lot more sound deadening. By comparison my own 1980 Clubman was hilariously loud compared to my mate's 1997 Cooper. The Cooper also had a 'built' (and therefore thrashed) MPi engine which spent a lot of time thraping up and down the Yorkshire Moors.
I foresee an excellent story by you chronicling the botched Mini Metro update after BMW’s acquisition. The BMW chairman, later fired, was nephew of Sir Alex Issigonis. Corporate soap opera.
Just saw this.Thank you, sir. Will do in the AM. I believe the ill-fated BMW CEO was Bernd Pischetsrider. Will find the correct spelling before tomorrow.
The Elf and Hornet should have been the ones evolved to even higher trims. I wonder if the corporate executives ever realized the errors that they made when looking back from years later.
I had (as my 2nd car) a 1965 Morris Mini 850, and followed later with a 1967 Morris 1275 Cooper S. Guess which was more fun? 🙂
4.04 Westgate Towers, Canterbury. Much has changed but the Roman structure is still there😄
This vehicle was my favourite mini. I even managed to move house with my mini clubman estate. It was blue in colour and it even drove well in snow. Miss that car have had nothing like it since and the modern Mini is not really amini👍
Out of curiosity what happened to the Super Chief video?
In one respect, the British model policy of the time was sustainable: naming all the variants makes you dizzy even today 🙂
6:50 - Nash Metropolitan being assembled in the background.
Did you record this with your mic behind a door?
Boot of a mini 😉🤣
The BMC/Leylandmerrgeris an object lesson in how not to merge two companies with widely differing management styles and cultures.
Another fine video - although I'd take issue with the mini ever being used for the "school run", simply because that wasn't even a thing back then as children used to walk to school or take the bus.
@Retired Bore At the time - near Watford at a big comprehensive school. I was school age at the time. The idea of "the school run" being normalised would have been inconceivable. We cycled to school as well, although this was actively discouraged - I suppose that was a warning sign of the impending era of publicly condoned enforced car dependency. Back then though you only got a lift into school only if you were sick.
Yep even into the 70s/80s here in Scotland kids managed to walk to school or get the bus. Now teh parents are driving their kids to school because they are scared their kids get knocked down by the heavy traffic too dumb to think that they especially are a big part of the cause of that traffic.
The mini 1275cc 5 speed is on another level. You could fly along the fast lane in one.
They never made 5speed 1275GT, if you wanted an extra gear the only option was to buy a complete Jack Knight 5sp gearbox
The Austin A40 Farina was a hatchback of sorts as I recall, why didn't BL take the cues from that model? A Elf hatchback might have been possible and wouldn't have looked as ugly as the other attempt.
I like your videos but I think you need a better mic, always sounds so muffled and small dynamic range
My dads mini LKP 101F was seen by him modified by a an engineer at Austin or leyland or whatever it was. Could have been the clubman in testing or that photo from ARonline
i would love a clubman, but,
it would have to be in either of a few specific colours, its arse in the air and 10inch wide rim 4 spoke revolution wheels, typical 70s brown tan red interior.
Anything less than 12inch is no good. Even the wife agrees 😅🤣
Small point: the round-nose mini didn't get the Clubman binacle across the range until the mid 80s
The 1979 1100 special had it, but that was a limited edition.
Thanks for explaining a confused and illogical story so logically. My mum had a classic blue Mini whose steering and brakes failed on more than one occasion.
I had the clubman estate 998cc in damask red an M reg back in 79 then later an 1100cc java green saloon a T reg 79 !
Am I the only one hearing muffled sound?
the british botch another potentially promising design? never saw that coming!
Colour me astonished!
Nothing wrong with the clubman!
It just needed bigger wheels and arches 😉
please go back to the previous video type audio :(
love your videos Ruairidh, but you talk really fast, so when i reduce the speed to 0.9 it sounds so much more relaxed. Keep up the great content 👍
“Mediocre facelift” says it all. My first car was a maroon and white Riley Elf Mk 2 (998cc and Hydrolastic) so I drooled over the one in your video. It had a useful increase in power and boot space over the standard Mini and the Mk 3 had wind-up windows. When it was replaced by the Clubman it seemed like an inferior model losing the extra luggage space and gaining the longer front end. Style over substance although a more accessible engine bay was probably good for some. No doubt the Clubman was more profitable and in the 1970’s lots of old Minis had Clubman style fronts stuck on them. Sadly, by this time Riley and Wolseley (sic) had had their day but a hatchback would have been a real improvement.
The boot didn't suit the standard mini or the clubman, plus it looked dated in the 70s 🤷♀️
The 9X (from front) looks like the MK 1 Ford Fiesta.
Looks like a dogs dinner to me 🤣
The big thing with the clubman was that it had the fantastic 1100cc engine, which gave it masses of grunt.
Still the greatest car ever made.
Any chance of a class 47 episode?
Hey. Great video. But sound very bass heavy and muffled.
Speaking of proposed hatchback versions of these mini style cars, Australia developed the Nomad hatchback as an option for one by 1970 as part of updating the Morris 1100.
Called the Morris Nomad 1500 although more of the normal sedan versions were produced.
A test of one, but not fitted with the normal 1500 E series OHC engine but the 1275 A series that was the only version for automatic transmission : th-cam.com/video/TB-r2JTsTmk/w-d-xo.html
After a few years replaced by Australian Marinas with E series four and six cylinder options :
th-cam.com/video/kpBCJJ3TFbc/w-d-xo.html
Remembered frustration . . . I shouldn't have watched this. Well done, thankyou.