Greetings fellow Mini enthusiasts, well once again I find myself less than prolific in my additions to Craig’s Corner , but so much cool stuff has been happening I had to make a new entry. Overall I am very excited about the amount of new customers and minis coming out of the woodwork, Vans, Clubmans, Japanese imports and old Canadian Minis it seems the interest for the iconic Mini is just as strong as ever and I see way more minis on the road than any other British car!

   As always I am trying to keep my stock fresh with new products and parts for the Mini. I am excited about getting fiberglass spoilers for the Classic Mini, 2 different styles , a simple front spoiler always seems kind of hard to find but i will have some samples here in a couple of weeks. As well I am excited to offer some products from a friend down south in Portland   JET motors, they have been cooking up some neat new products made and developed right in Oregon, things like alloy front hubs that use the massively superior Metro screw in Balljoint, a adaptor that allows you to run a aftermarket temp guage in your Mini ( usually the Thread pitch is way different)  as well as super light weight plastic front subframe mounting kit. Eliminates all the rubber mounts that will cause front subframe movement and a weird floaty feeling in the handling, all cool stuff and we are looking at developing more neat accessories. Plus a ever growing selection of wheels, tires, body sheetmetal and more!

  Have been really proud of my involvement in a real special Mini here in Victoria, owned by a Automotive enthusiast in Banff. This mini started as a RHD 1300cc JDM import bought for Solo or AutoX action. Started out just by adding adjustable suspension, new Shocks, wheels and tires. And now it has been developed to be a A- Series powered  monster, routinely beating cars with double or more the horsepower. All the work has been done by a local mini guru who I have worked with to provide the best choices for this car in combination with a owner willing to go the distance and create a  real special mini.See the pics and read the spec sheet and I am sure anyone would be impressed by this car’

1992 Mini Cooper 1300

1360cc engine with Hypatec Pistons

Calver RE13 cam

Calver Supersports stage 3 head

Quaife limited slip diff

Quaife Close ratio gear set

Weber 45DCOE with steel Maniflow manifold

Aldon Dizzy

Radtec alloy rad

KAD quick shift

Alloy 4 pot calipers

Mintex pads

Slotted rotors

Rear finned drums

Fully adjustable rose jointed suspension

GZ adjustable shocks

Rear KAD Swaybar

12x6 Ultralites

Yoko A048R tyres

Carbon front hood and boot lid by Bob Beauchemin in Kamloops BC

Paint by Trevor Black , Sooke BC

Corbeau seat

Custom interior and dash

Rear Harness bar by Phil Sommerard , Victoria BC

All work done/ all design and “technical advice” done by Dennis Obee , Victoria BC

I have also been very proud of my involvement with the Vintage race minis in BC, 2   

 (soon to be 3) are right here in  Victora. Vintage racing is a ever growing sport where a fan of a particular car or Marque has decided to display his favourite car in its more pure form, and that is Motorsport.  The races are a weekend of spectacle and history with a large field of interesting Historic and vintage race cars , including saloons , sportscars and dedicated single seaters. And I tell you the Minis never disappoint the crowd!! Usually they are found right on the tail of the “big banger” V8’s  and the crowds cant believe that a little mini can be that fast .the car is the star in these races and even though Most of the drivers are giving it their all , the safety of the cars or the drivers is never put at risk  and having a good time and putting on a good show is way more important than winning. It’s a great weekend where old racers can relive old glories and kids and new fans can see the cars driven in anger and they way they were intended.

   One of the local Vintage race Minis is going thru a heart transplant and we have been rebuilding it with quite frankly the very cutting edge of A-Series development. The old A-Series is a tough power unit and can be reliable and lots of fun, but to make it live through a half hour of 8500 RPM shifts  and  tons of torque/ horsepower and heat it needs some help to make it live. Things like windage trays ( keeps the oil from sloshing up the side of the block during hard acceleration and braking) centre main caps ( to keep the crank from flexing during high RPM use) oil coolers ( to keep the oil temp and the viscosity up during competition)  and incredibly detailed fine machining and block prep to keep oil where its supposed to be is vital to engine longevity. Here are some pics showing the block with the central main strap ready for prepping and machine work. Next pic  is the connecting rod from Swiftune a UK Mini tuning firm ran by Nick Swift with a great reputation for extracting power from the Mini engine , then a slipper piston from Swiftune , super light and coated to create minimum friction , all this is part of a complete rotating assy combined with a brand new crank ( see pic) that is counterweighted and designed to give smooth power to 8000 RPM . All these items will be combined with a brand new billet Swiftune race camshaft and accompanied with a KAD lightened flywheel and front pulley (Pic)  plus a SH Engineering belt drive kit( replaces the old rattly timing chain) and a new head will give this car maximum power and be reliable in the long term, pricey, but worth it when compared to replacing cranks at 700 GBP every year or two! These parts may not be on your mind or be even in your intended use of your mini but its cool to see firms still doing the R&D and design and creating cutting edge items for the old mini.

  And lastly my car, I have fallen  hard for a 1995 Mini Tartan (see pics), 1300cc SPI injection, these cars were a Japanese only edition and boast a complete Tartan interior!! With a Wood dash and red seatbelts, this car is quite immaculate and has low mileage and no evidence of rust or corrosion any where. It will be the new “Hunter” demonstator and I have already removed the A/C unit ( thanks to my friend and Mini “technical advisor “Dennis) done all the BC Compliance work installed rear camber /caster brackets and will be installing new shocks, adjustable suspension, new tires and wheels ( thinking the Starmag) and painting the roof a dark red. Want to make the horn play the bagpipes but haven’t quite figured that out yet. I am hoping in the future to add a Supercharger kit , which make the car a blast to drive and will be offered by me as a bolt on kit.So now I will have my own mini licensed and ready to drive to give potential buyers a feel for What a Mini drives like.

Well that is what is new and fun for me at Hunter Clasic Sportscars. Still have lots of Minis for sale LHD and RHD 998 and 1275cc ( including my Tartan’s twin) so if anyone is looking or if anyone asks where they can get one pls keep me in mind , every mini I sell is a new member for the club and another  Mini on the road and keeping the cars alive.

Happy Mini motoring , Craig