1974/92 Mini British Open Classic

CLICK HERE TO SEE VIDEO OF THIS CAR

This is a near perfect, highly collectible, Rover British Open Classic.  This is a very rare car.  They only made 1000 of these and only 10 are known to exist in the USA.  Jay Leno has one of them.  Make sure to watch my video on Youtube

 

History

The Mini British Open Classic was a limited run of 1000 cars for the UK market. And two limited runs for the German market, 1st run in 1992 and the 2nd in 1999, the last run was based on the Cooper MPi Sportpack

ENGINE & TRANSMISSION

# 4 cylinder, transverse OHV, 1275cc. 50 PS (EEC) @ 5000 RPM with 3 way catalyst.

SUSPENSION

# All independent, rubber cone springs, telescopic dampers.

STEERING

# Rack and pinion.

BRAKES

# Servo-assisted, dual circuit system, discs front, drums rear.

WHEELS & TYRES

# 12” Sports style alloy wheels with 147/70 x 12 low profile tyres.

ELECTRICAL ( 12 volt negative earth system )

# Two column stalks for indicators, horn, headlamp dip/main beam/flash, 2 speed wipers with flick wipe and electric screen washers. Hazard warning lamps. Heated rear window, side repeat flashers. Rear fog guard lamp. Twin reversing lamps.

IN-CAR ENTERTAINMENT

# Electronic tune 3 band stereo radio/cassette (R552) with two speakers and wing mounted aerial.

INSTRUMENTATION

# Twin pack binnacle incorporating speedometer and fuel level and water temperature gauges.

# Warning lights for direction indicators, main beam, ignition/no charge, low oil pressure, brake circuit failure, heated rear window and rear fog guard lamp.

INTERIOR FEATURES

# Countryman Tweed and leather seat facings (Stone Beige) with green piping and sewn in badge.

# Upholstered front seat head restraints in Countryman Tweed.

# Rake adjusting front seat squabs.

# Countryman Tweed trimmed door and quarter casings (Stone Beige) with chrome mylar strip.

# 3-spoke leather trimmed steering wheel (Stone Beige) with “Mini” badge on centre pad.

# Full width front parcel shelf, with trimmed and padded rails ( colour-keyed).

# Fresh air/demister with face level air vents.

# Fascia mounted ash tray.

# Colour keyed front and rear seat belts.

# Anti-dazzle rear view mirror.

# Twin sun visors with passenger’s vanity mirror.

# Rear combination boxes.

# Twin Door bins.

# Cut pile carpet.

# Gear lever gaiter.

# Handbrake grip

# Tinted glass

# Opening rear quarter windows.

BODY FEATURES

# Power operated fabric sunroof with switch.

# Body colour door mirrors/number plate lamp cover.

# Chrome bumpers, door and bootlid handles and tailpipe finisher.

# Chrome effect grille.

# Black wheel arch extensions and sill finisher.

# Laminated windscreen.

# Locking fuel filler cap.

# “British Open Classic” decals on rear wings and bootlid with side coachline.

# “Mini” shield bonnet badge.

# Comprehensive anticorrosion treatment with six year warranty.

ECONOMY

# Imperial mpg.

    * Urban                            37.3 mpg

    * @ 56 mph                     54.2 mpg

    * @ 76 mph                     33.8 mpg

# Metric 1/100 km

    * Urban                            7.6 l/100 km

    * @ 90 km/h                    5.2 l/100 km

    * @120 km/h                  8.4 l/100 km

PERFORMANCE

    * 0-60 mph                       13.4 secs

    * 30-50 mph (4th gear)   10.9 secs

    * 50-70 mph (4th gear)   14.9 secs

    * Max Speed                    87 mph

    * Torque (EEC)               89 NM @ 2600 rpm

INTERIOR TRIM

# Fabric: Countryman Tweed and Leather.

# Colour: Stone Beige.

EXTERIOR BODY COLOURS

# British Racing Green Metallic.

 

The 1992 advert featured in Mini World

The 1999 advert for the 2nd production run in Germany

My Weekend with the Zapata team

CLICK HERE TO SEE VIDEO OF THE RACES.

I had so much fun this weekend.  I saw cars I have never seen in person before, and to top that we saw them doing exactly what they were designed to do.  Carl, is my partner with the Minis and is a racing enthusiast.  I am going to Road Atlanta in October to film again and can't wait.

Welcome to America

IF YOU NEED A REMINDER AS TO WHY THESE ARE LEGENDARY, CLICK HERE.

They are in America.  Not quite to Nashville yet, but they have cleared Customs and are on a train headed here.  We will have the grand unveiling on Friday.  We are so excited.  We will open the container for the first time and really see what we have gotten on Friday.  Keep checking the site because we will have video of the unveiling soon.

I'm sorry, this car has been sold

Below this picture is a link to the video.  Click the purple high lighted sentence.  It is the second car in the video.  We are also importing six classic minis from New Zealand that will be here shortly.  Scroll down to the bottom and click older posts to see the NZ cars.

CLICK ME TO SEE THE VIDEO

Click me to go to the Ebay auction

First pictures of parts

So here is a little taste of what parts I have.  All of the parts that I have are on the videos below, just click on the high lighted sentence.  I am going to start listing on ebay, but if there is something you need or want you can email me and I will get back to you the price.  The previous owner was meticulous in the care of his parts.  Please email ben@rocketown.org for more info.  TO SEE A VIDEO OF THE PARTS FROM MY FIRST TRIP CLICK HERE.

TO SEE A VIDEO OF PARTS FROM OUR SECOND TRIP CLICK HERE.

TO SEE A VIDEO OF THE TWO ACTUAL COOPER S CARS CLICK HERE.

Our first load of parts

My nephew, a co-worker and I drove this big rig from Nashville TN through some of the prettiest scenery America has to offer.  Our journey ended in Boone NC where we bought a rather large collection of MINIS and parts.  I will sort everything this weekend and start selling the individual pieces.  I will have pictures posted on this blog this weekend with some prices. They are in the Vintage Classic Garage.  This is an extensive collection with some great performance pieces for your MINI.  Email me if you have specific parts you need and I will see what we can do.  ben@rocketown.org  THE RACE CARS YOU SEE HERE ARE NOT FOR SALE, THEY ARE IN GOOD HANDS.

Are you as excited as we are?!?

Here they are!!--Being loaded into a forty-foot container on a beautiful Saturday in the middle of Summer, in the Garden City of Cristchurch New Zealand.  Don't they look like they can't wait to get in the container to move to the USA!  It is a long tedious process to carefully pack these cars. 

Which one is your favorite?  Feel free to leave a comment.  The KIWIS are also including some spares in the deal.  Along with the six MINIS, they have packed some roll-up doors, carbs, bumpers, some wheels and tires, LCB exhaust extractors, and a fresh 1275 engine and transmission. 

Please scroll down and look at all the cars on both pages.  Click HERE 

to see videos of MINIS in action.