Mini 1275GT Mk III
The Mark II, III, IV, V, VI, VII Mini’s and Mini Variants:
The Mark II Mini featured a redesigned grille which remained with the car from that point on. Also, a larger rear window and numerous cosmetic changes were introduced. 429,000 Mark II Minis were made.
The Mark III (introduced in November 1969) had wind up windows with internal door hinges except for the van and pickup models. The boot lid lost the original hinged number plate and its recess shape and a large rear colour coded lamp was fitted in its place, along with larger rear side windows.
The Mark IV (introduced in 1976) had a front rubber mounted subframe with single tower bolts and the rear frame had some larger bushes introduced. Twin stalk indicators were introduced with larger foot pedals. From 1977 onwards, the rear indicator lamps had the reverse lights incorporated in them.
The Mark V (from 1984): all cars had 8.4-inch (210 mm) brake discs and plastic wheel arches (mini special arches) but retained the same Mark IV body shell shape.
The Mark VI (from 1990): the engine mounting points were moved forward to take 1275 cc power units, and includes the HIF carb version, plus the single point fuel injected car which came out in 1991. The 998 cc power units were discontinued. Internal bonnet release were fitted from 1992.
The Mark VII was the final twin point injection with front mounted radiator
From the Mark IV onward, many special limited-production editions of the Mini were offered. These included models that were created to commemorate racing victories or to celebrate an anniversary of the Mini marque. Limited editions generally came equipped with a unique combination of interior and exterior trim and special decals. Examples include Mini 1100 Special, Mini Rio, Mini Mayfair, Mini Park Lane, Mini Italian Job, Mini Cooper RSP, Mini Flame and Racing etc.
Mini Variants
The popularity of the original Mini spawned many models that targeted different markets.
Wolseley Hornet and Riley Elf (1961–1969)
Built as more luxurious versions of the Mini, both the Wolseley Hornet and the Riley Elf had longer, slightly finned rear wings and larger boots that gave the cars a more traditional “three-box” look. Front-end treatment, which incorporated each marque’s traditional upright grille design, also contributed to a less utilitarian appearance.
The cars had larger-diameter chrome hubcaps than the Austin and Morris Minis, and additional chrome accents, bumper overriders and wood-veneer dashboards. The Riley was the more expensive of the two cars. The name “Wolseley Hornet” was first used on a 1930s sports car, while the name “Elf” recalled the Riley Sprite and Imp sports cars, also of the 1930s.
The full-width dashboard was a differentiator between the Elf and Hornet. This better dashboard was the idea of Christopher Milner the Sales Manager for Riley.
Both cars went through three versions. Initially, they used the 848 cc engine, changing to a single carburettor version of the Cooper’s 998 cc power unit in the Mark II in 1963.
The MKIII facelift of 1966 brought wind-up windows and fresh-air fascia vents; also concealed door hinges two years before these were seen on the mainstream Mini.
30,912 Riley Elfs and 28,455 Wolseley Hornets were built.
Morris Mini Traveller and Austin Mini Countryman (1961–1969)
Two-door estate cars with double “barn”-style rear doors. Both cars were built on a slightly longer chassis of 84 inch (2.14 m) compared to 80.25 inch (2.04 m) for the saloon.
The luxury models had decorative, non-structural wood inserts in the rear body which gave the car a similar appearance to the larger Morris Minor estate which had some of the look of an American-style 1950s Woodie.
Approximately 108,000 Austin Mini Countrymen and 99,000 Morris Mini Travellers were built.
The Mini Panel Van (1960–1982)
A commercial panel van rated at ¼-ton load capacity. Built on the longer Traveller chassis but without side windows, proved popular in 1960s Britain as a cheaper alternative to the car: it was classed as a commercial vehicle and as such carried no sales tax.
A set of simple stamped steel slots served in place of a more costly chrome grille. The Mini Van was renamed as the Mini 95 in 1978, the number representing the gross vehicle weight of 0.95 tons. Despite this renaming, the motoring public continued to call it the Mini Van, as a result of which the class of vehicles known as minivans in other countries are referred to in Britain as MPVs.
521,494 Mini Panel Vans were built.
Mini Moke (1964–1989)
“Moke” is archaic British slang for a donkey.
Originally to be a single engine 4WD utility vehicle intended for the British Army, a few twin-engined versions were also built.
The 4WD Moke could climb a 1:2 gradient, but it lacked enough ground clearance for military use. The single-engined front-wheel-drive Moke enjoyed popularity in civilian production. About 50,000 were made in The UK, Australia and Portugal.
The car was featured in the 1967 cult TV series The Prisoner, and was popular in holiday locations such as Barbados and Macau, where Mokes were also used as police cars.
Mini Pick-up (1961–1982)
A pick-up truck, 11 ft (3.4 m) from nose to tail, built on the longer Mini Van platform, with an open-top rear cargo area and a tailgate. The factory specified the weight of the Pickup as less than 1,500 lb (680 kg) with a full 6 imperial gallons (27 L; 7 US gal) of fuel.
As with the Van, the Pickup did not have a costly chrome grille. Instead, a simple set of stamped metal slots allowed airflow into the engine compartment. The Pickup was spartan in basic form, although the factory brochure informed prospective buyers that “a fully equipped Mini Pick-up is also available which includes a recirculatory heater.” Passenger-side sun visor, seat belts, laminated windscreen, tilt tubes and cover were available at extra cost. Like the van, the Pickup was renamed as the Mini 95 in 1978.
A total of 58,179 Mini Pickups were built.
Morris Mini K (March 1969 – August 1971, Australia only)
Built in the Australian British Motor Corporation factory at Zetland, NSW using 80% local content, the Morris Mini K was advertised as the “great leap forward”. The Mini K (‘K’ standing for Kangaroo) had a 1098 cc engine and was the last round-nose model to be produced in Australia. It was originally priced at $1780 (AUD).
Mini Clubman and 1275GT: 1969–1980
In 1969, under the ownership of British Leyland, the Mini was given a facelift by stylist Roy Haynes, who had previously worked for Ford. The restyled version was called the Mini Clubman, and has a squarer frontal look, using the same indicator/sidelight assembly as the Austin Maxi. The Mini Clubman was intended to replace the upmarket Riley and Wolseley versions. A new model, dubbed the 1275GT, was slated as the replacement for the 998 cc Mini Cooper (the 1275 cc Mini Cooper S continued alongside the 1275GT for two years until 1971). The Clubman Estate took over where the Countryman and Traveller left off.
However, British Leyland continued to produce the classic 1959 “round-front” design, alongside the newer Clubman and 1275GT models (which were replaced in 1980 by the new hatchback Austin Metro, while production of the original “round-front” Mini design continued for another 20 years.)
A new Mini Cooper named the RSP (Rover Special Products) was briefly relaunched in 1990-1991, with slightly lower performance than the 1960s Cooper. It proved so popular that the new Cooper-marked Mini went into full production in late 1991. From 1991, Coopers were fitted with a fuel-injected version of the 1275 cc engine, and in 1997 a multi-point fuel injected engine was introduced, along with a front-mounted radiator and various safety improvements.
In 1971, the Mini Cooper design was licensed in Italy by Innocenti and in 1973 to Spain by Authi (Automoviles de Turismo Hispano-Ingleses), which began to produce the Innocenti Mini Cooper 1300 and the Authi Mini Cooper 1300, respectively. The Cooper name disappeared from the UK Mini range at this time, as British Leyland (as it was by then) supposedly did not want to pay John Cooper royalties for the use of his name, so it was not seen again on Minis for nearly 20 years.
History continues with part 5 of 7: Original Mini Cooper and Cooper S
Sources:
www.wikipedia.org
www.MiniCooperWeekly.com
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