The Mini Cooper Has Rockstar Status
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- Опубликовано: 2 окт 2024
- There are certain cars that define a place and time. Cars that are so part of the culture that they helped to define it. The Mini is one of them. But why is that? Well, as Mr. Sumner Norman explains, it's because the Mini was ubiquitous-everyone bought one, be it moms shopping for groceries or international recording stars like the Beatles who recognized its universal appeal. And just like Beetles (the VWs mind you, not the boys from Liverpool) and Ford Model Ts, people began modifying Minis for racing almost as soon as they hit the marketplace.
Sumner's 1971 Morris Mini was not immune to this trend as it sports the Cooper's 1275cc engine along with its disc brakes. But the Mini was never really about horsepower, it's more about the handling and according to Sumner, the bends are where the Mini really comes alive for you courtesy of its rubber cone suspension. And raising your spirits is what the Mini is really all about.
In fact, if you're ever feeling down all you need to do is jump in the Mini and go for a drive. Peoples' response is just amazing according to Sumner, they cheer you on. Folks wave or flash the thumbs up or ask questions so often that it's by the time you get home you'll be in a better mood. Whether your day job is rockstar or not, a jaunt in the Mini turns you into one.
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Drive Tastefully®
Here is a young man who understands style.
+Andrew B. Yep +1
beautifull car, I am looking forward to by me one, jus like the one on the video.
"If you want to be in a better mood, just take the mini for a short drive".
That is sooo true.
I wanted a Mini ever since because I just felt attracted to it. After finally buying my Mini at 22 as my first car and then working on it a full year to get it running the attraction became a connection. And it is sooo true, driving it (on empty roads) is like the best way to get down, relax and better my mood
Why do people have to be such jerks with comments? He seems like a nice kid, and he obviously loves his car. And it's nice to see someone his age taking care of a vintage machine apparently on his own. More than most people twice his age can do, I am willing to bet. Most people can't even drive a manual 'box anymore, let alone properly, let alone one on the "other" side of the car. Keep it up, Mr. Norman.
Thanks for the words of encouragement, Thomas! There's only been one or two negative comments among hundreds and hundreds of good ones, including some great discussion about the cars. All in all, people have been wonderful like yourself! There will always be that one guy.
Sumner, My pleasure. Best of luck to you in all that you do, and keep the shiny side up! Tom
A refined and fantastic video and a young owner who truly understands what he has. Brilliant
Great to see a clued-up young fellow with as much character as his car. Loved the line where he says "it goes British on me ", haha !!
Great car, and the owner is a very well-spoken young man, which is a LOT more than I can say for many of the younger kids these days. This guy loves his car, has a lot of insight into it as well as background knowledge about it, and truly appreciates it! On the other hand: Bieber driving his LaFerrari acting like a gangsta is a perfect example of a twat!
Young folks like this give me a bit of hope for the future of our (obsession.) Well done!
Man congrats, You drive a pretty nice car. I drive a 1966 VW beetle in Brazil and I know how amazing is to have fun with a vintage car and make friends because of him.
Thanks for share this with us
I don't see anything wrong with changing the steering wheel to improve the driving experience. Just keep the original in case you ever want to bring it back to stock. Same goes for any other modifications. As long as you can easily bring the car back to stock, you may as well tweak a couple of things to make it more enjoyable.
+maprow It has a riveted wood steering wheel now ;) I've hung the original on the wall of my garage.
KillgoreES88 I'm 20 and I have a 87 mini with a metro engine :)
+smmer152 ....its rare (in fact almost impossible) to find an original CooperS Mini that does not have the much smaller wooden steering wheel! I actually passed my driving test in a very similar car to yours (except it was Orange colour), my mother had a Mini van and my girlfriend had a Mini Countryman!
Yes ... Unless you like driving it stock...
I agree, I took the original 1989 steering wheel off my wife's Mini City and put a wooden aftermarket one I had from a Triumph Vitesse that I used to own, and it improved the handling no end. A great little car. Good to see the young man has thought outside the box instead of buying the usual modern car. I saw a young man driving a 1965 Ford Mustang along Bedford Road in Sandy (UK). Made me smile!
I had a beautifully restored mk1 Morris mini minor up until a few years ago. Here in the UK I'd get stopped by strangers, waved at by kids and smiles from everyone. It was a rare sight then and we're 50-ish miles from Longbridge!! Can only imagine the interest you get!!! Love the J registered British number plate too. Loved the boom from the 850cc engine...you drive that Mini exactly as I used to!! Take good care of her.
+6ettinold Thanks for watching and the kind words! I'll keep enjoying her for years to come!
+6ettinold are restorations and maintenance cheap?
I passed my driving test in 1989 in a Mini. My mum also had a white Cooper years ago, my children used to love going out in it. They would say it was 'Nana's bouncy car'
Always brings a smile to my face when I see one on the road.
Such an awesome car! 75hp has never looked so fun.
Give that kid the ten thousand dollars!
Cool to see such a youngster with good taste in cars! Not like I'm old, but you know...
I had a 1963 bright yellow..a real blast to drive
Don't change anything on it! 😎 Throw it in the garage and only drive it on the weekends 👍 Beautiful, virgin Mini my friend 😆😆
The dude is the shit!! His passion for the uniqueness and history of the car really comes through.
this is at least the third car i see that is filmed in my home backroad santiago canyon, CA. its AWESOME! i wish i could meet you ***** guys when you do a shoot, also, nearby there are other little amazing windy stretches. thanks and keep it up
BRAVO, nice job on video, good to see that someone of your age LOVES this great car, first car was a mini, then another, and another.........., the last was a ex race cooper S turned back to the street ( sort of). I do still miss it, and like any mini owner who sell's one will allways say they will have another before they die, AND I WILL
The old race-turn-street cars are really fun and unique! I came across a couple in my search but could never afford the ones that were worth owning. Thanks for the compliments, and thanks for watching! I'm so glad you enjoyed the video! Make sure to share your next mini with us! ;)
This video makes me want to go and hug my classic mini.
I worked for British Leyland at their Canadian head office and plant in 1974, 75 and 76 as a university student...a great summer job. I confess I have mixed feelings about the Mini but I'm pleased it gives you such pleasure. By the way it's "Hydrolastic" suspension...
Really? That's incredible! Can you share more about your feelings on the mini? I am sure your point of view is rather unique having seen the political and literal machines behind their making. Yeah I stuck to just hydro rather than hydrolastic for the sake of brevity in the interview. Maybe it's an American thing to shorten words with more than 3 syllables hahaha!
Those are some really cool memories to hear! Thanks for sharing. It's interesting to hear the manufacturing/logistics problems associated with a small car. When I think of such a small car, it's easy to focus on all the manufacturing processes that would be made easier. Hearing how they would drop between the ramps is funny, but I can imagine how it could be a pain! Regarding the build quality, that's pretty remarkable to hear from someone who saw the build from the inside. I can imagine the frustration. Frankly, it's surprising that the mini was as reliable as it was all things considered. Again, thanks for sharing. Super interesting!!
sumner152 Jaguars were shipped in 3 to a container but the rest of the vehicles got a heavy wax coating to protect the paint from the salt air on the sea voyage over. One of my first jobs was steam cleaning that wax coating off. Those badges you noticed are misplaced were usually stuck on...badges and racing stripes, etc. got applied here because they might get damaged in transit and the steam cleaning could loosen them. So your badges got shoddy British application but if you had a North American Mini it would be shoddy American labour that applied them. Your car, of course, is purer because it's missing the headrests and upgraded bumper and seatbelts I remember. I assume you've got the battery in the trunk that's a bitch to change or boost...at least you don't have all the power accessories that would fail on their upmarket cars. Enjoy! Too bad you don't have one with the wood dash trim...one of their efforts to jazz up the car...give it a little Rolls Royce polish...at least they never put any vinyl roof package on that car!
Neb Omashin It's so fascinating to hear about the production and division of labor of an international car like the mini. Funny you mention the dash. I actually avoided the wood or any panel style dash with resolve when searching for my mini. I absolutely love the center mount bubble-style speedo and gauges along with the open dashboard like mine has. For some reason, I find the wood panel style dash to be intruding and to take away from the minimalist character of the mini. I think most customers of the mini in period would be inclined to agree with you in favor of the wood dash, though. You're right that mine definitely has no "upgrades" like the bumbers etc. that the NA market required for import. I really love it the way it is, and was very happy to find a british example. What a cool experience. Feel free to keep sharing! I love to hear about it.
Neb Omashin That's a very interesting first hand account that would seem to agree with the general consensus on the bureaucratic mess of the time. It's a shame, really. British Leyland seemed to often have good designs and/or engineering, but manufacturing and execution seemed to be the downfall. I can't imagine we'd even remember their name if the mini hadn't come along.
I've seen this car in real life. It usually goes to the coffee and cars meet in Also Viejo!
Come say hello next time! :)
I love it when ordinary people's love for his or her car is evident.
Its not about how fast, or how economical. Nor even how it look.
None of that matter, when you love that one particular car.
A terrific video and your parents must be very proud of you it was great hearing that you didn’t want to change the interior or muck around with what is a truly immaculate mini which are very hard to find, shows your maturity. I really enjoyed watching your video and it bought back memories of when I had one well done kind regards John Tasmania Australia
Thanks for the kind comments, John!
Came in for the mini but man those waves in the background!
Shares many reasons why I love my Datsun 510. Great video!
One funny fact about mini cooper s is that in 1967 finnish rally driver Timo Mäkinen won high-speed Ouninpohja stage with his bonnet open.
First
Can never get enough of these videos
Lovely little car and a delightful young gent too. Cheers!
Lol, the Mini looks so weird outside of Europe. God bless Alec Issigonis.
Mine was an 850cc I called Missy, orange and full of rust. The previous owner had full Spax shocks and coilovers fitted... I put on 12x6 Ultralight alloys on, it stuck to the road like shit on bedsheets. Eventually the rear subframe rusted out and I let her go :O(
Picking up one of these tomorrow for my first wheels littetaly can't wait
looks awesome from your profile pic ✌️
Made me get my 1964 running
Very cool! Are you a supra owner as well?! I had to comment, because I also own a '94 supra tt.
sumner152
yeah =) my daily drive. But the sad thing i lost my mini keys in a pile of old keys. do you have picture of your ignition key and the door key? dont want to end up paying 300-400 lol
Oh that can be really frustrating. The ignition and door key are one and the same. I made a few copies of mine. There were a few different keys through the years, so you'll have to look into that. You can buy blanks here: www.minimania.com/Search_Results/key/Parts . Maybe you'll see something familiar on that page. Good luck!
you think you know what a 1964 would look like? lol
(and some people said they were different hmmm)
From what I understand, the '64 would have the FS series key, same as mine: www.minimania.com/part/KEY1/Key-Blank-Fs-Series-Mini--Moke--Morris--Sprite--Midget. I'm by no means a mini key expert, though. I would look for something similar to that style (it's quite small) in your pile of keys. If it's not showing up, you may be able to start a thread on the minimania forums. By posting a picture of your doors and/or ignition, someone may be able to identify the tumbler type, which would tell you the type of key to look for. There's always the possibility of replacing the locks/ignition if you can't find the key, but that can be expensive. Good luck!
3:30
The one picture to sum up British Leyland...
hahaha! You're not wrong. I find it charming for some reason.
sumner152
It is charming, I love British cars.
Many cars are perfect for people without any own taste...
Cool guy, nice landscape and a Mine ... perfect video :-)
Its cool how much its appreciated in the US - you see them all the time in the UK; they're not really appreciated as much
Oh yes they are!
Not true at all, anybody who owns an older Mini very likely appreciates it. There are so many cheap cars to buy, if someone wants something they don't need to care about then a Mini is probably one of the last cars they'd consider.
3Point Beats every easter down in Devon hundreds of minis gather..that's one small example. Not appreciated my ass
3points you're a prick
Beautiful, like all Petrolicious videos. And Sumner is articulate and intelligent and interesting and really beautiful as well. *sigh*
In other news....I didn't know about Hydrolastic problems, but by linking the front and rear suspension it made the wheelbase seem like it was twice as long. I don't know why no one else has ever done anything like this, particularly on cars like the Smart or Fiat 500, or that matter the modern Mini. Packard did it mechanically in its last year or two, but they were already long and heavy.
In either case with rubber stretchy bits I'm guessing you have to replace them with fresh stretchy ones every few years.
☼Another Perfect example of an Affordable economical Classic.☼
▬Thanks Petrolicious, and Thanks Mr. Sumner Norman!▬
No, thank you for watching!! So glad you enjoyed the video!
Not so affordable now, in 2022 !!
Great car and video! I remember watching a Mini in police livery oval racing against American saloons in Stockton, California back in the late sixties. It won its race and did the lap of honor siren blaring and lights flashing. I'd never seen one before and my English dad told me what it was. I think safety issues such as having a gas tank in the trunk prevented it being imported into the States..
i
Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. That's a great story! Thanks for sharing.
sumner152 Likewise Sumner, thanks for telling yours! (I once had a John Player Special 1275, quite a revelation when I entered a roundabout in it for the first time after driving Galaxies and a '55 Chevy ;-)
long live the mini!
Oh man... totally awesome video. My 1st car was a Austin Mini Mayfair. 998cc, lightened, balanced, stage 1 tuning, cooper s wheel spacers, alloys and brakes. Seeing this mini hooning around those twisty US roads makes me want to do SB to SF up the PCH next time i'm over there.... the only thing that would make me bottle it would be mini V SUV. Its such a small unsafe car compared to whats on roads today :(
I'm glad you enjoyed it! The mayfair sounds like it was an awesome car!
sumner152 forgot the cherry bomb exhaust that I could set car alarms off with on narrow streets, the rusty A pillars, the wet carpet and the heater didnt work for shit lol
I love my mini clubman. She's my daily driver here in Italy. I'm sure once I get back to the states it'll still be the same. Great video! I was starting to wonder when you guys were going to make one of a mini.
I have a 72 mini and this video is 100%true
My mini in 1981 great for parking in restricted places,
"Going British" :D
Nice cheeky car. Love the wheels. On my way home, there is a nice example parked on busy street. A daily driver from all indications.
Love em, just don't crash em.
another video shot in trabuco canyon CA that place is alot of fun to drive in. grew up there for 14 years i know those roads well
What a beautiful place to grow up! Thanks for letting us drive through!
What a great little ride! Nice to see a true enthusiast owning it. Congrats! Thanks for Sharing Pertolicious
Really enjoyed this! Great car! I spent
my 20’s in SoCal and really miss balboa,PCH & Laguna. I was running these hills back then in my 1972 BMW 2002. Thanks again for the video. Makes me miss those days!
This is definitely one of the better episodes so far! Not only to I love the car but the owner seems to be a pretty cool lad as well :-)
As a side note, FMP is a British Leyland paint code for Primula Yellow paint.
"It goes a bit British now and again"? So it should, young man, so it should.
This is my favorite channel on RUclips. You put out quality content. What a sweet looking mini! I've always wanted one
so cool! I love your car AND your name!
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the video (and the name). :)
Old cars rule. Nothing like wot in a nice corner. :)
I love these cars. There are two in my neighborhood (I live in the USA) and once this summer they pulled up at opposite ends of the main intersection. All we needed was a Triumph or Norton bike to pull up and it would have been full-on surreal.
Yeap, find the twistiest road you can think of and this will leave most other cars for dead if they aren't modified.
Great stuff. I had a 1973 mini in the late 80s. It was such a fun car and great in the City traffic. Congratulations for keeping the dream alive.
This was my dream car when I was a kid, and still it is. Now I own Citroen 2CV, but I hope someday I'll have this beauty. Great car!!!
I have always wanted a original mini cooper, mostly because it's so small and people make conversion kits to convert it to rwd with a Honda engine.
This is great.
We own 3 Mini Mokes (same drivetrain, different body).
Would absolutely recommend that you do a rear disc brake conversion. Makes a hell of a difference.
They're great cars, though. I just wish they had the money to put the 4wd Moke into production (one of our cars is the prototype).
I'd recommend rear brakes conversion on any car to be honest..it would just make it that bit easier and more fun because you can keep the speed up for a bit longer.
Ben McCarthy I find that it makes driving through traffic so much less stressful. Means that not every stop is an emergency stop.
I'm so glad you enjoyed the video! Yes, I know the moke well! I have considered a rear disc brake conversion. Honestly, even the fronts alone have pretty decent stopping power which is why I've forgone that upgrade thus far. I think if I drove a mini with rears I might change my mind ;)
Plus I think it reduces the weight of the car a bit as well
sumner152 It makes a massive difference. I didn't think that the rears would change it that much, being that the fronts do almost all the braking, but wow.
But yeah. Great cars, it's awesome to see one getting around in places they don't usually (I'm Australian and we have them out the wazoo).
I'm happy to see this car is in good hands.
Amazing video production and post-production, as always! Thank you!
I had a J reg Mini 850 when I was serving in the Air Force over in England. I LOVED that little car, 27 Liter gas tank, and mileage would push 40 MPG. Mine was black, with the silver stripes just like the car in the clip. Yeah, Lucas electrics plagued these cars.
I wished I had another one. Maybe some day.....
That is a very nice Mini.
I live in Brighton & Hove in the UK and each year the Mini owners club has a big event in our city and the place is full of minis.
In the early 70s my mother bought a red Mini with the 850 engine. It was second-hand. I was too young to drive at that time. Our Mini was very reliable actually and it was a much loved car. We kept it for many years. It was the most basic Mini. The door windows were the sliding type and the door handles on the interior were not handles at all but cables that hung across the door. You pulled down on the cable and the door opened.
It strands him every 6 months....AAA card!
I can relate to just about everything said in this video including the last part where he 's talking about how people smile, wave, and give a thumbs up, but I don't drive a Mini, I drive a CRX.
Awesome car.
Nothing strikes that chord like classic cars do. I'm glad there's other young guys like me that are into these things. Cars like this mini embody a period when automakers had soul built soul into their products.
First car I bought in 1979 was a mini 100. 4 cars later I got a mini 850. My God.....I wish I'd kept them. Brilliant cars and this channel is great. Keep it up you American mini enthusiasts. Britain is watching and really enjoying the content.
I like it!.. Had a 2007 S,.. hated it. Biggest POS I've ever owned (I should have persued a lemon-law buyback). I bought it because I fell in love with the original Minis in the 60s & 70s. I should have bought an original.
No.... People didn't immediately start putting the 1275 engine into their minis, that didnt come until much much later. The 1275 was introduced in 1969 when a new model, dubbed the 1275 GT, was slated as the replacement for the 998 cc Mini Cooper (the 1,275 cc Mini Cooper S continued alongside the 1275 GT for two years until 1971).The Minis that were claiming victory in the 60's were also not 1275's they were 850's. 997's, 1071's etc, like 33EJB, Paddy Hopkirk's 1963 Morris Mini Cooper S 1071cc and 737 ABL , Pat Moss's 997 Cooper at the 1963 Monte Carlo Rally.
Excelent video! Nice story, nice character and good shots! Makes a lot of fun to watch. And than watch it again :) Makes me want to buy a Mini. Well done!
Its great to see the young generation embracing the classic :)
Nicely summed up, young man! Please keep it original! Maybe find one that's been modified already to play with for autocross, time trials, etc, but keep this as your almost stock driver:)
Big mini fan. Nice to see an 1000 with a 1275. Would be nice to see it with some twins SU's just like a Cooper.
Cool video. My first car was a 1974 mini, my dad deseamed it and sprayed it gun metal grey. It did have plenty of British moments after it had rained as the distributer was at the front of the engine and would always get wet. I always remember my grandad telling me about wd40 in the distributor cap and cutting the fingertips off a marigold, feeding each of the ct leads through a finger and putting elastic bands round them to keep the wet out. Lol ahh good times.
Such a funky looking car. Absolutely love it.
On the other hand... am i only one who think that new ones are ugly and those "wagon" models are literally terrible? I mean, mini should be.... mini, right?
I had an 850 mini and apart from the dizi on the front of the engine that meant the car would stop every time it got wet and the single circuit brakes that occasionally just didn't work it was okay very chuckable but I think if I had one now I'd put a roll cage in it . Not all that safe. I think it shows that car are much too big now and don't need to be huge or have 600hp to be fun.
Good all round appraisal. And you're right, one of the best things about these cars is that, despite its celebrity status, no-one feels intimidated by its presence, so everyone just smiles right back at you! ;-)
sumner152 Hi Sumner. Nice to see it on its UK license plate. Here's some geeky UK plate info: pre-1973, UK plates were silver-on-black. Cars registered post 73 were required to black-on-white plates on the front, and yellow-on-black (like your car) on the rear.
The new-style plates were available before the changeover, so it could be that your rear plate is original to the car, despite it being J-suffix (1971 registration letter).
Your car would have also had a black-one-white front plate. Most plates of this era were pressed aluminium, but yours are plastic digits riveted onto aluminium, known as ACE lettering. That was posh, and looks very cool 40 years on.
If you want a matching front plate, send me a message and I will give you the name of a couple of places that sell them here in the UK.
The car looks fantastic. Look after it!
Hi James. Thanks for watching! I am glad you enjoyed my mini. I must thank you further for all of the info regarding the license plates on my car! I had often wondered about the age of the rear plate. It sounds like it may be as old as the car, and the ACE version, no less! I have a picture from many years ago when it still had its front plate. It was black-on-white; you are correct! I am not sure why or when it was removed, but I have been trying to replace it. I would be very grateful if you could point me in the right direction to have a new one made. Thanks again, and happy holidays to you!
sumner152 Good stuff. Try searching for Polar Plates. I had good results from them. Also heard good things about Framptons, although they were a bit more pricey last time I checked.
Some earlier Minis had stick-on plates on the front, split into two parts, one either side of the badge. Looks cool, although I think only correct on cars from the 1960s
James Lipman Thanks for the info! I will check out Polar Plates and Framptons asap.
Gotta love Live Oak. If I see you on it, Ill give you a thumbs up for sure, sweet ride
The image of glamrock himself, Marc Bolan, died at the wheel of his mini. If its good enough for T-rex, it's good enough for anyone
Such a nice and cute looking car to look at...Happy to see a pristine conditioned car to drive around and enjoy every minute of it...Long live this beauty..
I've always had an affection for Minis after seeing them easily go 1st, 2nd, 3rd in an SCCA race many years ago.
What a cool experience!
You should get some 10 inch wheels
apart from that nice mini!!
Do you have a real Cooper S engine?
Or just any 1275?
Awesome.
Did you import it from England? I believe that safety & emission standards don't apply to imports greater than 25 years old.....
+Jeff Wilson Yes, this is a British car. Cars older that '74 don't require safety/emissions in CA. Unfortunately, it's not a rolling exemption like most other states.
Dude I knew I seen that Mini it was filmed in my neck of the woods Newport Beach Lido Island and Laguna Beach area ; )
Yes! A REAL Mini!
The steering should always been on the right. There's sound science to backup why the right is the right side.
***** when are you going to do a film for the VW Mk1 Golf/Rabbit? :)
Iv got a 1985 mini 1000 which im restoring ' the mini is a legendary car most modern cars owe the existence to the mini
Absolutely great video. I wish I'll own one just like this one day.
I could probably step on the roof and the whole car would buckle. Very cool steering wheel!
Excellent video, love the Mini and this guy has some talking skills :)
This was all filmed in Orange County!!! I literally knew where all the places were!
I only saw one in my city,probably just going to the store.
Great car, great guy, great video.
hahaha "the car does go British once in a while"
Love the vids gents !
that sir makes you also a legend...
Mini Austin car is my childhood crush love mini.....❤️❤️❤️
Only ever seen one of these and it was red never new what it was but never saw it again): it was like 3 years Ago
Just found out about this channel today and have been watching some videos. Not only are the videos of great quality but the owners are so passionate about their cars. Fantastic videos and cant wait to see more. If you get a chance to make a similar video about a FJ40 Land Cruiser that would be great!
My grandma has one but when my grandpa died she left it parked in her house for 23 years, 6 Months ago she gave it to me and im restoring it lol(I even drive around from time to time, I dont have brakes, nor paperwork lo l)