The first car I remember as a little tacker was a Brown A70 (came after the cream Vauxhall) That was followed by not one but two cars at the same time A Dark Green A30 and a Fawn A90. When my Dad died in 1957 Mum kept the A90 and my brother had the A30 as it was a delivery vehicle for the family business. Mum got the A90 up to 100mph on a trip to Mildura that year as well. The A90 was changed over to a Austin Lancer and the year I turned 18 (Feb) Mum went overseas for 6 months and I was left to 'look after' the lancer A year later I got my Mini 850 and Mum bought a new Morris 1100 which she had from new in 1967 till she died in 1989. I traded the Mini on a new Morris Nomad. That was traded on a new HQ Holden trimatic in 1973 ending the continuous run for me. Two years later I bought a Clubman Van as a delivery vehicle for about 3 years

Thats around 40 years of BMC/Leyland ownership.

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David L


My greatest fear in life is that when I die my wife will sell my Mini and tools for the price I told her I paid for them!

My grandparents had a low-light Minor, which was traded on a Minor 1000, which was traded on a Mini 850, which was traded on a 998 Cooper, which was then traded on a Torana.

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Brett Nicholson
Greendale (near Ballan) VIC.
1971 Morris Mini Moke
1966 Austin Mini
1965 Morris Mini Traveller
1973 LR Series 3 88
2007 LR Freelander 2

The "other" side of the family (big wigs at Berger Paints) had two successive BMC products bought within months of each other:

1st was a 1965 Wolseley 24/80 - White duco with blue leather interior (Replaced a late 50's Humber Snipe) Sold in late 1980's.

2nd was the 1965 Morris Mini Deluxe - Toga White with blue vinyl interior (Replaced a 1957 Fiat 500). Still here (now mine).


My side have French cars and now the Mini too.

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YDO005 1965 stock standard MORRIS MINI DELUXE

My grand parents had an A90 and a Sheerline (later other brands but we dont talk about them). My father had an 1100, a Mini windowless van, a MGB and a P76 Super V8 Manual (yum) as well as other Britmobiles and me da Moke.

A few of my uncles had lots of 1800s and some Tasmans thrown in later on.

If you include Jaguar (well they were in there for a while before Leyland) you could include my 67 E-type,

If you include Leyland - well then the Rovers all come in P4 110s, P4 90s, P6 2000s, P6 2200s, P6 3500, SD1 which my dad has had.

1979 Got Morris 1100 #1. (threw out bare rusty shell in about 1993)
1981 Got Cooper S.
(during the 80s I bought and sold and wrecked about 3 morris 1100s and 15 Minis but none of them were keepers)
1984 Got 1275 LS.
1998 Got Morris 1100 #2
2003 Got Morris 1100 #3
2004 Got Austin Montego.

So in 29 years I have always owned some sort of BMC product.
But there would have been ten years when I didn't have one of them as a road car.

i don`t think it would be quite fair for me to answer this question, but still,,, I`ve basically never been without one , since i was nearly born in the back of a mini van & have owned them my entire life & now i`m nearly 46... i think they call that being a Gluten for punishment,,, nearly a half a century of mini ownership,,, dam !!!... Now that made me realise how old i am,,, Thanks a lot David

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

Dad started it with an Austin A40 ute in late 50's, which became Austin A50 sedan which then became Austin Freeway wagon in 1964. Also had a Freeway sedan with all finally sold in 2002. In mid 60's came the Morris Minors & 1000's. Had sedan's and a ute. Probably had about 5 of these over time. Sold the ute in about 1985. Then came the minis in early 70's. We had a series of these, including a clubby windowless van that my younger sister drove all over Qld showing her dogs. Couple of Mokes too. I bought my first Cooper S (a 1970 Mk 2) in 1977 off the original owner. I sold that in 1990 when I bought the Black Mk 1. Been sorry ever since for selling the Mk 2 as it was an original and unmolested car. Car is still in Cairns and the guy who bought it won't sell it back to me
It is all my dad's fault!!

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Steve

That would drive me nuts!!!

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http://www.youtube.com/user/Hanras

As when I lived in Malta I worked for a Fiat Dealership I never had any interest in anything but FIAT. I still have here in Australia the 1936 Topolino I had in Malta which I shipped here in 1982. My father had a Morris minor Traveller (woody) which he bought new in 1971. may dad's sister and brother both had a Morris 1100 each. Then when I came to Australia and found an interest in Minis I bought a 1963 Van which I later on used as my first service Van when I started my Auto electrical business. In 1982 I got encouraged to build a speedway race mini from a $40 deluxe I bought and since then I have just been a sucker and they just keep following me home. I recon I have owned as many as 100 at least. I used to buy morris 1100Ss for a hundred bucks or even less those days just to get the 1275 donks out of them and dump the rest. Some things we did with good cars those would be sacreledge today. How many 1275 Auto blocks did I throw away at the tip ? That is a sin on it's own. I even remember I bought a speedway mini from a friend and it was actually a MK 1 Cooper with the little discs and still had the compliance plate on it. Someone bought that plate off me too ! The block from that car I remember, did not have the fuel pump hole at the back. I dumped that too as I never had any interest in small bore blocks (silly things we did). What is one of them things worth today ?

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DID I MENTION THAT I AM THE BEST SUPPLIER FOR MINI ELECTRICAL PARTS AND REPAIRS?
"Let us remove your "SHORTS"

My first Mini was a hand-me-down 850 in 1987 I think, and I've had one or more continuously since then. 21 years.. has it been that long!?

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Simon

The adventures of an owner builder in the Tallarook Ranges

Me personally - I had a Morris Major Elite which I got in 1966, then followed many minis over the next 42 years. Brief affairs with fords ( I had a small ford fetish for probably twenty years) but had a mini or two during that time as well. I currently own one registered mini - a few "under restoration" and a registered MG Midget as well as several tons of parts. My wife owns a Morris 1100S, also registered.

My family - My father until his later years had only ever driven Peugeots. My mother had a couple of minis and a Morris Nomad.

My three brothers and my one sister each have had minis at one time or another. One brother owned the Rauno Altonen mini that was raced in the 1967 bathurst race. Currently only myself and one brother (1310/71) own minis.

Mike

I think the total count of mini's by the byron family would be over 20.

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not sure of the years, cos I was born in '76 and don't really remember the details, but it started for my family in 1973-74 with a Triumph 2000 for mum, which was upgraded to an Iridium green 2500 in 1981. Dad bought a '66 S type Jag in about '83, and a Minor 1000 around the same time. The Minors became dad's 'thing' and he's had a string of them - various sedans and a pair of convertibles. I got into minis when I was about 9, and Dad and I bought a yellow 'K' together when I was 12 or 13 (paper round money). I think dad planned all along to roadworthy and sell it, cos it was gone soon after. I sorta forgot minis for a while, and dad bought me a rusty minor when I was about 15, which we fiddled with then wrecked, and then another when I was 17 which I got as far as painting and sitting an engine in, before I turned 18 and bought a rough but cool Mini K, then Mini's took hold of me properly and have had only 4 registered drivers, but several others that I've sold/wrecked/given away etc. In the last few years I've infected my dad and he's had a couple of K's, and now a MK 1 S

Mum still has the Iridium 2500 (TC) and a couple of years ago bought a very original 2500 PI, Dad also still has the S type and 3 minors - the 2nd sedan, and the 2 convertibles

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?