I bought this car because it needed saving (and who can resist a Mark I Mini?); I sold it to my friend Matt, who still has it and drives it regularly. It needs a paint job and some other cosmetic work still, but it’s a very honest old car.

Note that the image above is the right year and color scheme, but not the actual car in question, it’s a bit hard to believe I don’t have a photo.

A mutual friend of Matt and I, Stu, knew that this car was available, so he and I went to look, and I bought it on the spot for $1200. This was just before the new Rover Minis came out, and I don’t think you could touch this car for less than $3000 now because of the interest in the early cars that has come from the introduction of the newer car. The faded little machine had a blown engine but came with a spare for rebuilding. Otherwise it was pretty original and hadn’t been “boy racered,” the fate of many of these cars.

The engine was rebuilt–at greater expense than either Matt or I thought it would be–once Matt acquired it. After some fooling around with crud in the fuel tank and various charging problems, it’s turned into a nice driving machine.

Maybe one day we’ll get a chance to paint it. Right now, my painting order is: Ferguson, F250, Mini, MGB. I want to know what I’m doing by the time I get to Reggie!