Hey All,

I posted this on a mini facebook group today, but thought it might get more responses on here, so here goes.

My local Mini Mechanic in Ballarat, Neville Purdue, has been in the business of racing and fixing minis for many many years, he is your classic "old timer"

anyway, he told me a while back when talking about one of his mini's that the reason the Models with the Vinyl roofs (LS?) have Vinyl Roofs was because a huge pile of them got damaged in a massive hail storm in Sydney in the 70's
They put the vinyl on so that they didn't have to repaint them.

Does anyone know if this is true?

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1975 Hairy Lime/White Clubby
Build Thread: http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=80657

It is a story that has done the rounds before, there was some big hail storms at that time.
Watto said that he asked Leyland people and they say it is a myth and no bodies were ever stored outside at Enfield...

But...it was, a common, cheap, way of tidying up hail damaged vehicles for sale in the period

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"Show me the Mini!"

Funnily enough I have never seen a hail damaged Mini roof from that era. I know that Datsun and Valiants copped a flogging in those hail storms and some were repaired with vinyl roofs.
I have seen quite a few SS and LS that have had the vinyl removed and there is never any dents.

Maybe Leyland thought everyone else is doing it so we may as well

Knowing Leyland they had a heap of roof vinyl left over from the P76.

I certainly saw hail-damaged Minis in car yards when I lived in Sydney...and that's what I was talking about above, the white shoe brigade in car yards used a lot of vinyl after storms which was supposed to be an "upmarket" improvement to your car (which I never ever understood)

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"Show me the Mini!"

My theory... which is just a theory, is that they initially used Vinyl to cover up some damaged cars, (calling them LS / SS "special models") and after they sold well/decently they made them a standard option

meaning that while there would be some damaged ones out there, there would also be plenty of perfectly good ones which simply had a LS/SS updates on them as ordered.

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1975 Hairy Lime/White Clubby
Build Thread: http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=80657

Nice theory...but what you have to remember is that the styling wally's at the time were trying to dress up cars to make them "attractive" for sale as "luxury" models...it wasn't just Mini...there was a bunch of cars running around with vinyl rooves. Take a look at a Holden Brougham for example...yeeeech!

The car yards, I am sure, just used it as a way to reduce the cost of tidying up or repairing hail damaged cars.

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"Show me the Mini!"

Vinyl roofs were very trendy at one stage. I had a Fiesta Yellow S with black vinyl roof in the UK.

Cheers, Ian

there would be enough vinyl in a P76 roof to do 6 mini's.

Years ago you could by a special kit for doing fake vinyl roofs. It consisted of a special thick textured paint that gave the appearance of vinyl and, for large cars, two self adhesive strips that you applied down each side of the roof before applying the paint, to give the appearance of stitched seams. Total class!

Tim

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1951 Morris Commercial J Type Van
1955 BSA C11G
1961 Morris Mini Traveller
1969 Triumph TR6R
1977 Leyland Moke Californian

I suppose the modern equivalent would "carbon wrap" !

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Find a job you love and you will never have to go to work !

Indeed, but I bet its easier to get off!

Tim

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1951 Morris Commercial J Type Van
1955 BSA C11G
1961 Morris Mini Traveller
1969 Triumph TR6R
1977 Leyland Moke Californian