Restored Classic Mini 1.3 SPi Sidewalk 29,000 miles, 70's looks 90's reliability

Hi

It is with a slightly heavy heart that I list "Connie" who has been with us during lockdown as a bit of a plaything.

I collect classic and modern classic cars for a hobby and realised after discussing with my better half cars we had in our younger years that I'd somehow never owned a classic Mini, despite owning upwards of 200 cars over the years! I set about fixing that and found this cracking example.

The car was owned by an elderly lady called Constance (hence we named the car Connie) who used the car regularly to nip to the shops etc. Constance spent a small fortune on the car with her local garage with stacks and stacks of receipts in the history files. Everything from a changed number plate light bulb to annual servicing is detailed over an extensive time period.

When Constance finally gave up driving the garage tipped off the chap I bought the car off, telling him all the money that had been spent on it and the super low mileage. He snapped the car up straight away and set about restoring the car as a project to...in his own words..."get me out of the house and away from the Mrs"!!!

As you will see from the last picture he went to town on the car stripping out the entire interior, the engine, gearbox - everything, before putting the car on a spit and restoring the body. Now at this point lets be clear that this was a home restoration by someone with more skills than I have, but it wasn't a Wood and Pickett £60,000 restoration so please set your expectations accordingly. If you want a concours winner then Connie isn't it and your budget will have to shoot up. She would definitely suit a weekend plaything with some occasional shows and just general enjoyment without worrying about where to park her.

Shortly after buying Connie we set about tweaking a few little details to make her our version of a Mini which involved some back-dating to make her look more like a 1970's car. This included:

- buying a genuine 1971 cherished number plate (this fools everyone I have to say)

- removing the black plastic arches

- fitting 'chrome' strips around the arches and sills

- fitting a genuine super thin bakelite steering wheel

- fitting a genuine 1970's tiny gear knob

- converting the car to accept 10" wheels (down from the standard 12")

- fitting brand new Cooper brakes from Mini Sport to fit under the new wheels

- fitting brand new 10" wheels to match the Old English White roof

- fitting brand new Yokohama 10" tyres

I don't want to pat myself on the back too much but I do think the backdating has really worked and we now have the best of both worlds. On one hand we have 1970's looks and charm, whilst benefitting from 1990's (the car was registered in 1995) reliability and usability. An example of which is the fact she has fuel injection so you don't have any concerns she'll start, and run and work properly like you might with an older carb car. My view is that we seldom get to enjoy our classic cars as much as we like and when we do get the time the last thing we want is a non-starting car that scuppers your plans.

The exterior

The first thing you'll notice is the fabulously retro colour scheme. I think the pastel powder blue and Old English White roof look perfect on the classic Mini shape. Everyone that passes the car smiles or waves or videos, or all three. If you don't want to be noticed or you don't want people to come up to you and talk to you about the car then this isn't the example for you. I treat driving Connie as doing a little bit of good in the world because she spreads some fun and joy wherever she goes.

As I mentioned earlier the restoration wasn't done at some flashy garage but was done to a very competent standard - certainly beyond my capabilities. I have had several people refer to her as "mint", but I don't agree because that's a strong term. She is way better than "presentable" though so make your own mind up?

I have polished the paint and ceramic coated it for protection and longevity and the only thing I can think of that needs considering is where I removed the plastic arches there are screw holes exposed. If we were keeping her I would have them filled and painted (I have a tub of the paint to go with the car) but it might be the next owner wishes to re-fit arches of some description so I haven't bothered. It's your call from this point.

The interior

The interior is pretty much immaculate commensurate with the super low mileage.

Side Walk Minis all came with the super cool tartan trim and Connie retains that trim. I believe that the SW's were the first Mini's to come wirth rear inertia seat belts with further enhances their usability. The belts are in a ratehr natty red which sets off the tartan of the seats and door cards.

The carpets are black and brand new, the headlining is in great condition, the plastics are unmarked, everything works (there's not much to go wrong) and I spent a small fortune on turned aluminium door handles/door pulls etc made to my one-off specification.

The drive

She drives like a classic Mini should, but without the worry of whether she is going to make it or the worry that you cant keep up with modern traffic. Yes on the motorway she's a touch noisy because 4 speed gearboxes only go so far but she'll happily cruise along at 70mph without concern.

Suspension wise everything is new so no problems there.

Brake wise everything is new so no problems there.

If you've never driven a classic Mini before you're going to love it and life is too short not to enjoy one of THE most iconic cars of all time...just be sensible about how old a car you can genuinely handle and enjoy...?

The history

Well where do I start - there's reams of it. The original book packs and service book are present, plus stacks of invoices from Constance's time with the car and then invoice after invoice, after invoice from the chap that I bought the car from because he replaced virtually everything he could!! I also have receipts for the items I have replaced as per the above. You wont find better history than this surely, plus I have a raft of pics from the restoration which will also go with the car.

The deal

I don't want this to come across the wrong way, but I don't need the money. This sale is not going to make me rich, but I would welcome the car going to a home that will enjoy her in the way that we have all be it fairly briefly. I've priced the car at a sensible level at the price I want for it to save us the awkwardness of discussing money. Please don't think I'll simply back down if you come and try haggling – the price is the price.

We have the family's faithful Defender on stand-by in case the buyer would prefer to have the car delivered due to time pressures, distance pressures or just due to preference. Please do not mis-interpret this offer - I would trust Connie to get you home without issue wherever you live and that includes Europe but not everyone will want to drive a classic Mini 250 miles home. Anyway, we are based in Preston, Lancashire and the Landy chews fuel at 30 pence per mile (both ways) and a trailer costs me £60 to hire so you can work out your delivery charge easily enough. It goes without saying I will require payment or at least a substantial deposit before delivering the car but happy to discuss something that is mutually acceptable.

Worth noting I still have the original N reg number plates so if you wished for some reason to revert to that registration everything is here to do that.

I hope that helps to describe the car adequately. I'm a genuine, serious chap (see my completely unblemished feedback) and would welcome contact from equally genuine people. If you're a bit of a lunatic/prone to messing people about or struggle to make a decision, then probably best to try someone else's car? Anyone wishing to view is more than welcome as I don't bite and I will do the driving for insurance reasons, but I will happily take you out for as long as you need. No mass viewings will be entertained so come on your own or with your significant other/decision maker only and all will be fine.

Thanks for looking and feel free to get in touch.

Also published at eBay.co.uk

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