Hello,
looking at getting back into playing with mini's over here in Oz, spent years playng with them in Scotland and sold my hillclimb mini too get here and still miss it!
Looking around Ive seen the obvious differances, external hinges, quater lights and lift up door handles, but what are the other differances between the Aus mini's and UK?
Have found a rolling shell 73 clubby that we might be buying as a resto project but it will be needing a fair number of parts, where is the best place for parts over here?
Is is still cost efective to buy the parts over the web from minispares etc?
Does anyone know a tame sprayshop?
Does any one have a garage to rent out in the Newtown area of Sydney?
and finaly are there any jobs going in the Mini garages over here in Sydney?

While I can only help with part of your questions I'll have a go , welcome to the group too by the way . The main differences between Aussie and English mini's were the fact that we didn't really change the basic shell from what you would know as Mk1 mini's up there . Our next change kept the basic body the same but with Aussie designed and built doors using windup windows and quaterlights as opposed to sliding windows . The sliders weren't exactly suited to out climate . These doors stayed the same till late 71 when they changed the handles to lift up and the latches to burst proof to cover our laws at the time . We didn't go to the internal hinges like the English mini's did , we also kept the Mk1 sized rear and side windows rather than go to the bigger windows used in the Mk3 onwards . Our local clubman had the later door handles and latches , taillights , different front (of course) and interiors but didn't change the general shell otherwise . Mechanically our's were very similar to the English range up until 1978 , when our production of mini's stopped .
Good luck with your clubby resto , maybe best if you can find a rusted out parts car as well and also put an add in the wanted section here . I've found most of the local mini specialists have most parts you need although if you are chasing something odd or in the performance field then check the prices to buy it from England and ship it over yourself , sometimes cheaper , sometimes not .
Any pic's of your hillclimber , what were it's spec's ?

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Ahhh, a makes a bit of sense!
My old mini (sniff) was a mk3 shell, full cage perspex windows, 1380 with big valve head rally cam and fully ballanced with a webber 45, HiLo's, Spax, neg camber arms, adj tie bars and camber plates on back, fiberglass bonnet and bootlid, 6/10 revolutions had about 125bhp and a short diff. Went like stink Then the flywheel shattered and put bits of flywheel through the bulkhead, bonnet, end case and damaged the end of the crank.
Bugger.

That sounds like a very well sorted out car , shame it had to stay up there but still , money is money and it sounds like it helped you get here . So did you end up with any bits of flywheel in you or just in the cabin with you . I've only ever seen the results of a clutch plate explode and that did enough damage , I dread to think what a flywheel would do . I suppose they were never designed to be race cars but it does seem dangerous that the items most likely to explode and fly outwards are just in front of the drivers feet .....
Hope you can find the services you're looking for , I'm a bit far away and out of the Sydney loop to help there mych I'm affraid .

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i got heaps of second hand pasrts for sale
makka

where are you based?

yeah i'm out at bossley park ....... wetherill park area
not far from were the officer got shot
makka