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Hi all,
I hate to be a grump on my very first post but I only just discovered this site (which I'm very happy about) and also just had my pride and joy stolen a week ago and I thought I'd take the opportunity to share my story with anyone who?ll care to listen.
A bit of history about the car first if it's ok:
77 Clubman S - Brown (OH FUDGE) purchased from B & G MYERS LEYLAND in Ballarat. Date of delivery 18 November 1977. The car was purchased by a gentleman by the name of Albert F Tucker from St Arnaud. Unfortunately I?ve never met the man but he?s an absolute legend from what I can tell by the meticulous maintenance log he kept of the vehicle. He did all of the maintenance to the car himself, changed the oil every 1000 km?s or so and polished his car every week. He purchased all parts from his local mechanic and they built up an excellent relationship as a result. ?Bert? as he was known locally carried out a complete overhaul of the engine at 28,100km in 1984.
In 1985 he was forced to sell the car due to old age. His mechanic, knowing the history of the car bought it for his wife and they kept it for the next 15 years. His wife used the car as her ?shopping trolley? for that time and they both loved and cherished the car for the time they had it. So for the first 23 years of its life the car was rarely (if ever) driven out of St Arnaud. In 1999 the car was entered in ?the concourse d?elegance and display? at Mini?s at Mt Cooper. The car won 1st prize in its class ?most original? that year. For the record the car was towed down to the mini meet on a trailer. It was at that very event that the car would change hands for the second time. A young chap from Noble Park bought the car with grand plans for some serious ?mods?. He owned the car for around 12 months and thankfully never did make any of the mods planned. Although he continued to maintain the vehicle mechanically it was parked outside during this time and the paint faded considerably. Most likely this was due to the original owner polishing his car every week rather than washing it.
It was at this time (2001) that the car was to be advertised for sale once more. I saw the add on-line on the trading post website:
?LEYLAND MINI S 1977 mod, 1100 66,500 orig klms, great orig cond, feels, drives like new, full history since new, heaps of spare parts, no more petrol worries, reg, RWCert, $5000firm Noble Park?
(I even kept the ad!!)
One drive of the car and I knew I had to have it. I bought the car and did my best for the 4 years that I had it to do justice to its original two owners and look after it as best I could. I even took it ?home? to St Arnaud to its 2nd owner (Bert had passed on) on a couple of occasions ? much to his delight and surprise.
One week ago today my mini was stolen from a public street near a train station. Needless to say my family and I were shattered by this as most mini owners would probably understand. A week had passed and I had almost given up hope, then I got a phone call from the Police at 7am this morning. They told me they found the car (about 5k's from where it was pinched) and had it towed to the nearest wreckers. As I got dressed and ready to head off to see it I couldn?t help but be excited at the thought of getting my mini back, although in my heart of hearts I knew I would be disappointed when I saw it I still had hope that it would be in reasonable condition. Needless to say the car was stripped bare. They obviously had had an eye on my car for a while. As the paint was quite faded it?s obvious that it wasn?t the body they were after - it was the interior. The interior was perfect. Seats, door trims, dash instruments, original AM radio, 5 near perfect clubman mag wheels (the spare had NEVER been on the ground) and leather bound steering wheel ? all perfect - all gone. As if that wasn?t bad enough, to add insult to injury they replaced my front seats with a pair of dirty, worn seats with the same trim as my original seats. They also hand painted the entire car in white undercoat. I couldn?t believe my eyes.
I suppose I?m lucky to have got it back at all! At least the engine ?appears? mostly intact. It?s hard to tell what sort of treatment the little donk was exposed to until I can get it running. I?m now waiting on my insurance company to get back to me with the salvage value of the car. I hope to get it back and slowly restore the car back to its former glory. I know the car will never be the same again but hopefully I can get it back on the road again for at least one more trip to St Arnaud.
So next time you come across a mini clubman with a near mint brown interior maybe just give a second thought to where it may have come from. And to the low life who did this ?.. well, what more can I say. I hope you?ve read this story and now have some understanding of the damage and consequences of your selfish, pathetic actions. You have no right to call your self a mini enthusiast. No true mini person would do this to a fellow mini owner. Nor do you have any right to any of the praise you will no doubt receive for the great ?job? you did of restoring your mini.
Thanks for listening.
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In some ways it might have been better not seeing it after it had been stripped..what a sad thought.