My love for Minis began many years ago, before I was of an age to drive on the road I was driving on private land, from the age of 13 years. My first Mini experience came from a very early Mini Van which a pal of mine and I got running and abused severely in a field for a few years. When I turned 17 bursting to pass my test and get driving on the public roads, a Mini was the obvious choice of cheap car to buy. Money was tight so my father and I looked around and found a 1959 Austin Seven Mini for £25, it was 10 years old and needed some bodywork repairs, this was all done on a DIY basis, (not very pretty)! However the little 848cc car got used daily and stood up to the continual abuse I gave it. It lasted for a couple of years then it was sold and I beleive the poor little thing ended its days "Grass Traking" until it went on the scrap heap.

I have very fond memories of my first Mini, but time moved on and what a contrast my next car was, a 1968 Ford Corsair V4 1700cc, a lovely big car. After many years past my next relationship with a Mini began very briefly when we had a Mini Van as a firms vehicle in my business around 1988, then when I retired in 2004, wanting to rekindle my love affair for a Classic Mini I came across the Grand Prix. Unaware at the time of it being such a one off special Mini I made a silly offer for it and then became the proud owner. From the Grand Prix came a Tahiti Blue Cooper Sport 500, which I have now sold March 2009 to make space for the Clipper Blue 1959. Once we got the Tahiti Blue 500 back to the island we wanted to try and get a registration number with 500 in it, unfortunately there wasn't anything available, so my wife Mary suggested I tried for a number somewhere near the blue Italian Job Mini's registration. Low and behold MAN 809G was available, so I immediately reserved it. On the request of Mary I asked if MAN 146G and MAN 729G were available, and yes they were, so they were reserved too. Now all I had to do was to find a red Mini and a white Mini to go with the registration numbers.

I was intending to do the 2007 "Italian Job Charity Run" to Italy so a white Mini was acquired, that is another story told here. Next the opportunity to own the red 500 came my way and so we now have the set, not 1968 Mk2 Mini Coopers as were used in the film, but still brilliant Classic Minis. All three were used in the making of the film "The Making Of The Italian Job" based on a book written by Matthew fields, which will be out June 2009. Needless to say the registration MAN 809G has been tranfered to the Clipper Blue 1959 Mini.

The 1275GT was a car I always desired, it goes back to before I was on the road myself, my elder brother had a friend who had a 1275GT from new. He was a bodywork specialist who made some really top level modifications to the car, I said then, "one day I'll have one of those".
The Clubman Estate, well it found me, a friend of a friend was executor of an estate and hey presto here I have a Clubman Estate.
Being a close knit community here on the Isle of Man people do get to know what you are doing, and that was the case for the British Open Classic. I was approached by a guy and the rest is history again.

MINI 1959 - 2000