Mini Special help

[woodnut67]

Hello,

As stated, does anyone have any info please relating to a Mini "Special" I had in the early 80's? Google isn't my friend with this one!

1979 - JHH 96V (I think!)

1100 engine,

white in colour with a black vinyl roof,

black cloth interior with Special dashboard.

Clubman wheel trims.

I understood it was originally a hire car on Jersey???

Thanks in advance for any help.

[mini1380cc]

I thought the Special was only available in Silver or Rose with a vinyl roof?

[Phil Hill]

Hmmm, well your former car doesn't sound like a UK Mini 1100 Special to me. I had one as my first car some 22 years ago which started both mine and my sisters mini fasination !! I bought it from a lady called Clarie Francis (I don't think THE Clarie Francis, but there was a medium sized yacht in her front garden so who knows !!) with 64K on the clock as the third keeper.

The UK Mini 1100 Special (20th Birthday anniversary) was available in 1979 in either Silver with a black vinal roof or Rose Metalic with a beige vinal roof. They had some graduated stripes on the sides of the cars, about 6 inches high near the base of the doors with a garland type badge on the A-panels. Featuring Exacton 10" alloy wheels, later to become standard on Mayfair models. They had a host of both run-out and prototype parts, for example both bumpers were Mini Clubman rear items, as Mini Clubmas was due to finish in 1980, and 1275GT instruments with rev counter for similar reasons. The steering wheel was a two spoke item I believe came from the Allegro of all things and also had the garland badge. Grills with Black with a "Special" badge in sort of orangy-gold colour foil, and the boot badge simply said "Mini 1100", both of which were unique to this model. Mine had an A+ block, which wasn't due to appear until the Metro launched in 1980 and was never available in the UK as an 1100cc (some export Metro's had 1100cc for some reason), others I know had normal 1100cc A blocks, which was also due to be phased out with the demise of the Mini Clubman. All I think had a Mini gearbox and standard (i.e. not Verto) clutch. Brakes were drums all round. The interior was blue check cloth with black carpets in the silver cars and beige checks and sand beige carpets in the rose cars. It was the first and only Mini to be fitted with center console. This housed a Unipart push-button radio, a VDO clock, the speaker for the radio and a cigarette lighter. There was also a plastic under dash shelf on the passenger side. No fog light fitted as construction and use didn't require this until after 1st August 1980, although I was failed an MoT one year beacuse the car didn't have one..........

There was an older Belgian special edition called the Mini special and there was an earlier UK Mini special, circa 1976 in dark Green with deck-chair striped seats.

Phil.

Edited by Phil Hill on Thursday 22 November 12:01

Edited by Phil Hill on Thursday 22 November 12:03

[FWDRacer]

Phil's Information - brilliant!

It has a dedicated loom for that variant only due to binnacle, clock, lighter etc.

[mini1380cc]

Phil Hill said:

It was the first and only Mini to be fitted with center console. This housed a Unipart push-button radio, a VDO clock, the speaker for the radio and a cigarette lighter.

Oh the luxury! A singular speaker, what an experience that must have been.

[FWDRacer]

Whaaa? If you hear it...

[woodnut67]

Thanks for the info Phil, BUT, it even had 1100 Special badge on the boot, 3 dial dash, and "plush" black interior. I know it wasn't a "bitsa" - but I do know there was a link to Jersey (so the owner told me!)

Thanks

[Phil Hill]

Do you mean this one ??



This was the badge fitted to the Belgian Special not the UK Special, I'm not sure if it was also used on the 1976 UK Mini 1000 special as well.

This is the one from a UK 1100 special :



Phil.

[Plank]

Interesting. I had a Belgium import special in the mid 80's It was yellow with a black interior, 1098cc, clubman bumpers, black vinyl roof,3 dial binnacle and centre radio console. Ohh and it had a grill with spot lights mounted in it, a proper job not cut out by someone.
It was allright, except for the roof rusted through, there was only primer under the vinyl and the damp from the gutters crept under.

[Phil Hill]

Plank said:

Interesting. I had a Belgium import special in the mid 80's It was yellow with a black interior, 1098cc, clubman bumpers, black vinyl roof,3 dial binnacle and centre radio console. Ohh and it had a grill with spot lights mounted in it, a proper job not cut out by someone.
It was allright, except for the roof rusted through, there was only primer under the vinyl and the damp from the gutters crept under.

That sounds more like the OP's car then, and mystery solved !! I don't know what colours the Belgian specials had, but I suspect a range of solid primary colours so entirely possible to be yellow, white, black, green, red and blue at a guess.

Phil.

[woodnut67]

Phil Hill said:

Plank said:

Interesting. I had a Belgium import special in the mid 80's It was yellow with a black interior, 1098cc, clubman bumpers, black vinyl roof,3 dial binnacle and centre radio console. Ohh and it had a grill with spot lights mounted in it, a proper job not cut out by someone.
It was allright, except for the roof rusted through, there was only primer under the vinyl and the damp from the gutters crept under.

That sounds more like the OP's car then, and mystery solved !! I don't know what colours the Belgian specials had, but I suspect a range of solid primary colours so entirely possible to be yellow, white, black, green, red and blue at a guess.

Phil.

Good shout......apart from the grill with spotlights! Shall we keep trying? If it was Belgian, maybe that's why it ended up in Jersey??

Thanks all.