Posts

THE Cooper Road Mini, Jemal’s 66 MK1 Cooper S For Sale?

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

I have to admit, this one might never be truly finished. I’ve been building it since well before this website or YouTube started even! As a recognized expert and builder of show winning classic Minis, this has been my “proof of concept” showpiece for improvements to the classic Mini Cooper. There is far too much to “list”, but you’ll get a good idea after you watch the 20 or so videos in the playlist below! Then you’ll still have questions.

It’s an intense and demanding car to drive. It absolutely will not be for everyone. The driver must understand and manage the high compression engine with skill and attention to avoid destruction. The close ratio gearbox is geared for ‘reasonable’ RPM at highway speed. First gear is tall making slow driving or starting on a hill challenging. More so with said high compression engine!

The pay off? This is one of the most exiting and exhilarating classic Minis to drive without resorting to Honda power (and weight). It sounds and revs and builds power like few classic Minis could imagine. The legendary Mini driving experience, enhanced with nearly two decades of my relentless (and documented) improvements make this one of the most remarkable MK1 Cooper S cars on the road today.

The trade off? It’s not original. Before you start telling me I shouldn’t have done this or that, or that it is a “hodgepodge” of parts, you better see a few “before” photos. You will notice how straight and rust free the body was even then.

That’s right, it came from a barn! And mostly before every phone had a camera. My lovely assistant had one of the first iPhones in 2006 for those pics. I might have some dusty prints of the original acquisition around 2002!

I never had any intention of being restrained by originality. Indeed I wouldn’t bother. Dare I admit that to a performance enthusiast like myself, most standard classic Minis are quite pathetic! There’s not much appeal in winding through several gears just to get through an intersection! No such trouble here.

This also could be a never-ending-post. I already have a long playlist of videos on YouTube, and dozens more to be edited of recent work as I built the car to it’s current state. There are a number of improvements to the suspension, steering, sub-frames, brakes, and engine that I have not yet mentioned. This playlist goes back many years, so I hope you’ll forgive the quality of my early “single take” clips. There is a lot of history here:

This is a chance to own this car and finish the interior to suit your taste, not mine or anyone else’s. It turns out that I’m much better at building the mechanical side and would much rather change sub frames than install door panels! You can see that I do not have the door sliding windows installed…. I personally find them absurd in our Summer climate! You can see that the velocity stacks are open to the sky. Another reason to avoid rain!

It also turns out I’m better at building cars and have several more in the works. Passing stewardship of this one will give me the attention span, the time and space to work, and some financial bandwidth for the next project. I built every single piece of this authentic California Cooper S, and the next owner will have my ongoing technical support and advice. And should you want the next engine to have the latest Multi-web crank and make even more power, we can do that too!

Found a video on YouTube with one of my engines

/0 Comments/in /by

You may have noticed I’m paying overdue attention to this website and my YouTube Channel with lots of new content. I found a short clip I hadn’t seen with one of my engines doing rather well at the 2019 Mission Raceway BC Historic Races this past August. I hope to post the stories of some of these engines, and other builds here, but there is much more from the last few years on My YouTube channel with the same name. In fact, I’ve shown so much of my work that if you look for “Jemal shows” in any search engine (or “jemal mini” I’m told, tho I don’t care for that one as we do so much more!) you should find me and my videos.

Meanwhile, enjoy the sound of this beast and Karlo’s driving to first place!

Let Fate Decide

/1 Comment/in , /by

Some of Jemal’s cars FOR SALE!

I know I’m the type that never wants to get rid of anything. When it comes to cars, that becomes a bit of a problem! I’ve hung onto survivors for decades, sometimes with the intent of restoring them, but always for the pleasure of owning and driving (and fixing!) unusual and interesting vehicles that become more so with the passage of time.

But with a just-turned-five year old, and with (very) long time horizons for my projects, an honest assessment of what I can hope to accomplish requires I narrow my focus, and perhaps give someone else a chance to take over stewardship of the history I have preserved.

This page is for profiling and “perhaps” offering for sale some of my collection of cars and parts. Fate is who might come along and hear the story, realize the value and really want one of these unique vehicles… or not! If some find homes that can give them more attention, I will have time and space for other projects.

1974 Mazda Rotary Pick Up

Jemal’s 1974 Mazda Rotary Engine Pick Up (REPU)

One of the most unusual vehicles anywhere – in more than 15 years of driving this truck, I’ve only SEEN one other on the road! Don’t take the owner’s word for it… Both Google and YAHOO place the Mazda REPU in their Top Ten most unusual vehicles list!

Of course it has a story! I spotted it in the mid 1990s in the driveway of a nearby property. I don’t think I’d ever seen one, but knew it had the big 13B engine which I craved for my Gen 1 RX7. So I went a-knockin’. Turned out the original owner had moved from Bakersfield in Southern California to Nevada City to start a Winery. But no, he wasn’t ready to sell his truck to a long haired kid (remember… 25 years ago…) who wanted to swipe the engine out of it!

Nearly 10 years and a couple of RX7s later, I was working on my green Cooper S (tho it was reddish then) listening to our small town radio station “Swap Shop” when a raspy sounding caller said “74 Mazda Pickup”. My Rotary Radar must have activated, and I heard “it’s got some kind of rotor engine”. That afternoon, I was testing the warning beeper in the tach. It still worked at 7000 RPM!

Turned out the fellow had just bought the same truck from the same original owner. Right away he hated it! The rotary was hard to start, got horrific fuel “economy”, wouldn’t stay parked on a hill where he lived, and simply was NOT the little economy truck he thought. After flooding it the first few mornings, he called the “garage sale of the airwaves”, looking to get his money back. As I recall, he had not yet registered the truck, so I’ve always said I’m the second owner.

About 15 years later I was shopping at our A to Z hardware store when I was paged! “Would the owner of the yellow Mazda Truck come to the front of the store”. I though oh no, I forgot to set the brake and it rolled out into the road… but no, it was the ORIGINAL OWNER who spotted it and wanted to say hello! He was amazed that the truck still looked just as good as when he sold it.

It runs a lot better though! The original 13B had nearly 140,000 miles on it and was still driving a dead AC compressor and one of those absurd “smog pumps”. Within weeks of buying the truck, I had the original engine rebuilt by a rotary expert with the best available parts. As it was a truck and needed bottom end torque, we only did some “street porting” to the 4-port 13B, and I kept the stock truck flywheel.

I drove it that way for many years. I added the custom exhaust system and Toyota Tundra wheels – the Rotary Pickup has the same 6-lug pattern as 1/2 ton Chevy and Toyota 4-wheel drive, so many wheels will fit. No other compact truck had anywhere NEAR the strength of the REPU running gear.

If you follow me here or on YouTube, you know that I can’t just “fix things” when I can make them better! I had trouble with the stock 4-barrel Hitachi carb (more mandated vacuum fittings and crap than any other carb EVER!), and the ignition was easy to modernize and improve (like engineers wanted but Marketing wouldn’t!) You’ll have to watch the playlist of videos I’ve put on my YouTube channel over the many, many years I’ve enjoyed owning this truck.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLf9CYi_IUYZnJEtku_xSVyLzHaJDvjFkc

Update about Morris Mini Van For Sale

/0 Comments/in , , /by

I’ve had a few questions and requests for photos of previous work. Here’s a link sent by the owner:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/a2UjazGHQfdA9YpK9

There’s more detail about the underside, dash, and even ongoing improvements in this video. If you subscribe to my YouTube channel, or check back here, you’ll get the latest updates.

1970 Morris Mini Van For Sale

/0 Comments/in , , /by
1970 Morris Mini Van

This one is very nostalgic for me as my childhood family car was a little Austin Mini Van. In fact I keep referring to this one as an Austin out of habit, but they are virtually the same. It’s been at the Cooper Road Mini compound for a few weeks after the very nice restoration, as I tended to a few details and made some improvements. Unlike my father’s old 850, this has been upgraded with a rebuilt 1275 engine, 4-synchro gearbox (now with the Cooper Remote-shift linkage as one of my upgrades), new aluminum radiator, fan, and shroud, Cooper S disk brakes and all new front wheel bearings.

I’ve been involved with the restoration for several years providing help and advice. I test-ran this engine on my stand a couple of years ago (I’m sure I have a video!) while the car was being painted. Recently, I acquired a complete “Remote” shift linkage from another project to replace the goofy 1970s “magic wand” shifter that was still in the car. Here is a short video with me talking about the work just completed, and a quick walk-around

The Mini Van has become one of the rarest Minis, as most were well used up work donkeys in jolly harsh old England. A Morris Van like this with it’s side-panels intact is even more unusual. And it’s very well equipped, unlike the bare-bones vans from the factory. Could a small business have a more memorable billboard? Too damn cute!

Here’s a list of features and recent work completed:

  • 1275cc rebuilt 4 cylinder engine
  • 4-syncro gearbox with “Remote” shift as used on Cooper and Cooper S
  • Front disk brakes as used on Cooper S
  • New Yokohama 008 tires on powder coated Cosmic wheels
  • New front wheel bearings
  • New aluminum radiator, fan, and 2-piece shroud
  • Auxiliary electric fan, auto or manual override switch
  • NOS late model 1275 cylinder head with performance valve job
  • New bronze valve guides and late model “Viton” valve seals
  • Pertronix electronic ignition
  • Alternator conversion (from old Lucas generator)
  • New SU electric fuel pump
  • Reconditioned fuel tank with new gauge sending unit (works!)
  • LCB header and new “twin box” exhaust system
  • New roof rack for mandatory surfboard
  • Pop-up tinted glass sunroof
  • New seats, carpet, and interior panels
  • New compact T7 Heater (same as my Cooper S)
  • Wood grain dash with dual glove boxes, tach, oil pressure and temp gauges
  • Nicely finished rear compartment with “Boom Mat” soundproofing installed throughout (remember, vans were bare metal!)
  • Very nice sound system
  • Black California plate “2 DM SMAL”

Now, let’s go for a drive! Oh, there is a slight exaggeration when it comes to passing power…. see if you notice it!

With snow on the way, I did not have a chance to install the grille for these photos, but I will do so and post more. I also have more video detailing the work I did over the past few weeks.

  • 2 DM SMAL INDEED!

The value of these Classic Minis is raising eyebrows around the world with the sale on “Bring-A-Trailer” of a model known as the “Beach Mini” for an unbelievable $230,000. That’s about 200 times what it cost new! The good news is that this lovely little Mini is being offered for much less than 10% of that.

The asking price of $18,500 is arguably less than the cost to duplicate this very complete restoration. The fact that it includes so many upgrades (and done properly by me!) makes it even better. Without doubt, this Classic Mini Panel Van will appreciate in value with the passage of time, and for the right person, it’s ready to be enjoyed right now, and along the way.

If you’d like more information – as much as you can stand – there are a number of ways you can reach me. You can comment right below, or on my YouTube channel after any of the videos (you can see all my recent videos from the tab above). I’ll add more photos and video in subsequent posts If you want to see something specific, just ask me!

You can reach me directly by sending me an email. If you absolutely want to buy this car, please do email me. I’ve gotten in trouble before when more than one party made full price offers, and I did not realize who was first. In such case, the date and time of the email will decide the order! Thank you for understanding!

Jemal@CooperRoadMini.com (or just go to Contact)