Hi Guys, from Christchurch NZ, I am trying to find some more history and info on a old school mini racer by the name of Andy Foord from QLD ( spelt as is , pronounce same as ford).
he raced the circuits from apx 1965-early 70s. i am hoping there are some history gurus that may enlighten me further than the limited info i already have. As far as i know he was involved with Layland Australasia works team and had cars in the 1969,70 southern cross rally , (BLA 532, BLA 523).
He emigrated to NZ 1978 ish and set up a break and clutch service in the area i grew up. I knew his son from school who inherited his father business. i got to talking to him a few years back while getting break parts for my mini, he mentioned he had an old car out in the workshop and was looking to sell it. I ended up buying it and are now working to get it back on the road.
It was a Mk2 cooper (998) with one of his competition engines and gearbox and subframes in it, engine is an early 12Y D Ta H 1275cc engine from a 1100S, i would also be keen on info on the engine type as well, recently got a workshop manual for the 1100S and it seems to be a bit different to normal 1275. very strong engine and revs over 8000, he got his work done at Lynx Engineering back in the day who was his major sponsor as a privateer racer,
any history or info will be appreciated as i am tryng to unearth this cars heritage
thanks in advance, craig

I recall Andy Foord running at Rallycross at the Catalina circuit in Katoomba.
Actually he became quite infamous for rolling his car on a couple of occasions in the same part of the track which then became known as "Foord's Folly".

Autopics have a couple of photos.....if you haven't already found them.

Hopefully might spur some other memories from others ...

http://www.autopics.com.au/72967-andy-foord-mini-catalina-rallycross-27th-february-1972-catalina-park-katoomba-photographer-lance-j-ruting/

http://www.autopics.com.au/72972-andy-foord-mini-catalina-rallycross-27th-february-1972-catalina-park-katoomba-photographer-lance-j-ruting/

Autopics have about 6 or 7 photos of Andy at that meeting in the proofs.

In the Autopics proofs, Catalina 19/12/71.



Copyright Autopics.

Seem to recall his rallycross car painted in leyland blue and white appeared on front cover of Racing Car News mag around 1974. May have been a feature inside.

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Slide
1965 Mini Van (1360)
1970 Mk2 Cooper S (1310)
1978 Rover SD1 V8 (4.6)
1996 Land Rover Discovery V8 (4.0)

thanks for the info, i had seen auto pics files when i first googled him, i have some photos of the car and will be happy to up load them. i am good at hitting hammers but terrible on the key board, ... how do i load them up and size matters too as i have realized, can some one direct me to the tech-gumby-how-to guide.
the car is in amazing condition for its age, less than 70,000 km on the speedo, was stored in his workshop over 30 years, only driven by his son on and off for about 3 years doing about 5000 km from 1988-92.
when i bought it i pushed it out side for first time in 20 years stuck new plugs, battery and pumped some fresh fuel thru, gave it a dose of choke and it fired up, checked the breaks, and drove it home
i am aiming to have it VIN , redgd and warranted by end of the month. needs to be in original cond to avoid LV certs in NZ so adjustable suspension, seats and roll cage had to be removed, put on some skinny wheels, 2 x small rusty bits to sort and good to go and be checked by VTNZ,
This was andys personel car and not one of the many body shells he went thru in his races ( i have about 8 old removed ID plates of minis he wrecked in races that came with the car), he imported this into NZ with the famous BLA 532 ,2 x mini vans for parts and tools, and morris marina for support crew and . also a P76 layland that was given by the works team for towing.

I'm always interested in the data on ID plates.

Try this how-to here:
viewtopic.php?f=25&t=10405

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

I will dig them out and get some info off them, maybe even a photo of them. .. (will be a few days to get photos up)
when i first checked the car out i couldn't find a plate on it, i was given a box of bits and badges and told that it might be in there, as he had ripped them of and kept them, it was because the competition cars kept the original cooper plates they were registerd under and needed replacement bodies after most events as they were driven so hard
the plates all were of the more common cars and no cooper plate was found