RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted January 15, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 15, 2023 The 'Twini' Moke. https://www.facebook.com/mini.britishlifestyle/videos/931654481153584 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 4 minutes ago, PhilJ W said: The 'Twini' Moke. https://www.facebook.com/mini.britishlifestyle/videos/931654481153584 John Cooper watched that and made the Twini Cooper which was very nearly the last thing he ever did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted January 16, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 16, 2023 11 hours ago, PhilJ W said: The 'Twini' Moke. https://www.facebook.com/mini.britishlifestyle/videos/931654481153584 Separate gear levers, seems an odd thing to do. Would imagine it not being hard to make one levers operate both boxes 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Dunsignalling Posted January 16, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 16, 2023 13 minutes ago, russ p said: Separate gear levers, seems an odd thing to do. Would imagine it not being hard to make one levers operate both boxes Possibly done so that it could be used as Fwd, Rwd or 4wd for comparative purposes? John 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted January 16, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 16, 2023 1 minute ago, Dunsignalling said: Possibly done so that it could be used as Fwd, Rwd or 4wd for comparative purposes? John Must have been a pig to drive though John 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Dunsignalling Posted January 16, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 16, 2023 (edited) 8 minutes ago, russ p said: Must have been a pig to drive though John Certainly if one had to go all that far! I imagine you'd develop a habit of putting one in neutral, changing the other then "catching up" with the first. With one lever each side, the only alternative would be steering with ones knees! John Edited January 16, 2023 by Dunsignalling 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugd1022 Posted January 16, 2023 Share Posted January 16, 2023 17 hours ago, 30801 said: John Cooper watched that and made the Twini Cooper which was very nearly the last thing he ever did. In 1966 Cooper got into hot water with Sir George Harriman, the top man at BMC, when he tried to launch his own 'special edition' Mini - he'd sent a '65 Mk1 Austin Cooper S over to Bertone in Italy for an Italianate makeover, Harriman put an immediate block on it and only one was ever made... Initially it had this odd arrangement at the front, but a standard shaped grille was later fitted... 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 16, 2023 Share Posted January 16, 2023 3 hours ago, Rugd1022 said: In 1966 Cooper got into hot water with Sir George Harriman, the top man at BMC, when he tried to launch his own 'special edition' Mini - he'd sent a '65 Mk1 Austin Cooper S over to Bertone in Italy for an Italianate makeover, Harriman put an immediate block on it and only one was ever made... Got burnt again with the Metro Cooper I only heard of it because a picture of it appeared on a car spotting page a couple of years ago. https://www.aronline.co.uk/cars/austin/metro/cooper-monaco/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugd1022 Posted January 23, 2023 Share Posted January 23, 2023 Earls Court motor show, October 1967... Charles Ward of Mulliner Park Ward greeting Giovanni Michelotti... The October 1968 show... 13 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve1 Posted January 23, 2023 Share Posted January 23, 2023 And all those young lovelies adorning the hip new models are now on their 70s… steve 2 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve1 Posted January 23, 2023 Share Posted January 23, 2023 Where’s the Sweeney when you need ‘em? steve 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted January 23, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 23, 2023 On 16/01/2023 at 20:19, 30801 said: Got burnt again with the Metro Cooper Enabling one magazine to have a news item headed "Cooper knocked out". 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted January 24, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 24, 2023 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium OnTheBranchline Posted January 25, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 25, 2023 Just reading more and more about British Leyland - is it possible that it's the worst run British company from 1968 on? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted January 25, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 25, 2023 12 minutes ago, OnTheBranchline said: Just reading more and more about British Leyland - is it possible that it's the worst run British company from 1968 on? Have you never heard of transpennine or network rail? 1 1 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium OnTheBranchline Posted January 25, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 25, 2023 51 minutes ago, russ p said: Have you never heard of transpennine or network rail? How about from the BL period it was active to broken up? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted January 25, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 25, 2023 1 minute ago, OnTheBranchline said: How about from the BL period it was active to broken up? I don't deny BL made some pretty stupid decisions but I think you are asking the wrong person as I'm a massive BL enthusiast 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium OnTheBranchline Posted January 25, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 25, 2023 18 minutes ago, russ p said: I don't deny BL made some pretty stupid decisions but I think you are asking the wrong person as I'm a massive BL enthusiast Look mum, I found a needle in a haystack! 😆 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugd1022 Posted January 28, 2023 Share Posted January 28, 2023 Swanbourne Goods Yard on the Bletchley - Bicester line... 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcredfer Posted January 28, 2023 Share Posted January 28, 2023 5 hours ago, Rugd1022 said: Swanbourne Goods Yard on the Bletchley - Bicester line... Any news as to when the Motorail car transporters might be due, to pick them up?? 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobby Posted January 29, 2023 Share Posted January 29, 2023 (edited) On 25/01/2023 at 19:30, OnTheBranchline said: Look mum, I found a needle in a haystack! 😆 Two, actually! 🤣 There were lots of things that caused them problems, not least of which was they had multiple brands but weren't allowed to rationalise as that would have meant factory closures (which were desperately needed) but would have been out of bounds for the Governments of the time... Had they be allowed to go down to one or possibly two makes (a run of the mill and an upmarket one) and cut down the factories to the most efficient ones for mass car production they would probably have been ok, but that was never going to happen. So we just saw one section taking sales off another with other manufacturers able to concentrate on one model eating into their market, only at the beginning of the 80s did we start to see a more rational approach but even then it was too fragmented... I always feel it was a shame the Rover/Honda collaboration wasn't allowed to continue, but once they sold it off to BMW that was the end... There were some good cars in the Group but they tended to be underdeveloped, the Maxi being a good example, way ahead of it's time but strangled by internal politics (though much of that is down to BMC rather than BL, but continued by BL), even the Metro was kept going too long... Edited January 29, 2023 by Hobby 2 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Dunsignalling Posted January 29, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 29, 2023 (edited) The Maxi may have been ahead of its time in the UK, but was essentially a de-quirked take on an interior layout pioneered in the Renault 16 using mechanicals scaled up from the mini/1100/1300. Edited January 29, 2023 by Dunsignalling 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
APOLLO Posted January 29, 2023 Share Posted January 29, 2023 Such confidence that the 3.5 V8 will have an oil leak !! I have a tray under my P5B, but then again in June this year she will be 50 years old. Brit15 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 29, 2023 Share Posted January 29, 2023 41 minutes ago, Dunsignalling said: The Maxi may have been ahead of its time in the UK, but was essentially a de-quirked take on an interior layout pioneered in the Renault 16 using mechanicals scaled up from the mini/1100/1300. With styling compromised by the need to re-use the doors from the Austin 1800... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BernardTPM Posted January 29, 2023 Share Posted January 29, 2023 Though there weren't exactly lots of other 5 door hatchbacks introduced between the R16 and Maxi. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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