Project Memoirs from the Hard Shoulder - May the 16th be with you.

[wesacosa]

mini looking great 

If you go back to a points set up I'd recommend an gammatronix power driver (about £30 ) which replace the condenser (so no worries about trying to find a non Chinese shit condenser) and also mean the points only carry a low current so last much longer. And unlike a full electronic ignition if it fails you can just swap the condenser back in , swap a wire and be on your way

 

[Joey spud]

Can I just say Daniel I really enjoy your writing style it's gentle humour always gets my attention and raises an inward smile.

Oh yeah the Mini's ok too especially its rear number plate.

[BorniteIdentity]

2 hours ago, wesacosa said:

mini looking great 

If you go back to a points set up I'd recommend an gammatronix power driver (about £30 ) which replace the condenser (so no worries about trying to find a non Chinese shit condenser) and also mean the points only carry a low current so last much longer. And unlike a full electronic ignition if it fails you can just swap the condenser back in , swap a wire and be on your way

 

Thank you very much indeed. That looks like a good idea should the need arise. My perma-semi for marketing guff was aroused into full engorgement with just a glance of their website too…

Weren’t ‘Magnetic Flux Dump’ the band that SuperHans and Jez from Peep Show had before ‘Curse These Metal Hands’ ?

 

[SiC]

10 hours ago, BorniteIdentity said:

That distributor - a proper accuspark unit - lasted an entire three years and 700 miles.  Fucksake.  Anyway - the car and I have had a bit of a chat about it all and agreed that if this one fails in a similar fashion then it'll be treated to an OEM MINUS downgrade to points and that'll be the end of the matter.

123 Ignition and be done with it. Not cheap but about the best out there.

I've said this before but accuspark dizzys are utter crap. Mine lasted about 1k on my BGT before it started causing backfires and rough running. 

[captain_70s]

My Accuspark dizzy on the Dolly also died after a couple of years and maybe 1,000 miles.

I reverted back to points and have yet to have any issues. I know repop parts can be a bit shit but buying bits via Distributor Doctor should see you trouble-free for years. Set the gap once a year and occasionally drag some sandpaper between the contacts, spare set in the glove box can be fitted in under 5 mins.

[Dj_efk]

I always found their kits that use the original dizzy on an A series to be totally reliable - but I'm talking 20 years ago when I put one on a Series 1 Allegro! They may  have Chinesed up good and proper since then.

I would agree in this case, 123 dizzy, combined with uprated coil and ignition leads - with NGK plugs gapped slightly wider for extra POW-WAH.

Then again, I'm a tinkerer - I very nearly pulled the trigger on a Peter Burgess "Econotune" head for the Allegro! 

[BorniteIdentity]

39 minutes ago, SiC said:

Not cheap 

I'm not a cheapskate by any stretch of anyone's imagination - but you certainly weren't lying!

I'll run whatever thing just got put on until it too dies.  I think it was the pickup that failed in the end.  As and when it too snuffs it I'll have a rethink.  I can't help but think that one of those Gammatronix things or a decent condenser/points is the path of least resistance.  

For now, attention turns to the wheel arches.  I've still got 0.97 litres of Cinnabar paint to use so this can go up in there too with a healthy few coats of Dynax UC over the top.  I also need to sort these wheels out too.

[SiC]

4 minutes ago, BorniteIdentity said:

I'm not a cheapskate by any stretch of anyone's imagination - but you certainly weren't lying!

I'll run whatever thing just got put on until it too dies.  I think it was the pickup that failed in the end.  As and when it too snuffs it I'll have a rethink.  I can't help but think that one of those Gammatronix things or a decent condenser/points is the path of least resistance.  

For now, attention turns to the wheel arches.  I've still got 0.97 litres of Cinnabar paint to use so this can go up in there too with a healthy few coats of Dynax UC over the top.  I also need to sort these wheels out too.

Keep an eye out on eBay. Often go much cheaper than new. Iirc the last one I bought (currently on my Spitfire) was £120 with postage.

[BorniteIdentity]

Yesterday I found myself very much at a loose end, so did that thing we all used to do when we were young, free and single - and when petrol wasn't £7.67 a gallon...

...going for a drive for the sake of it.

I'm fortunate to live on the fringe of one of the prettiest parts of England.  One of the most Englandest parts of England.  On my doorstep is Southill Park, an estate which was bought by Samuel Whitbread back in the late 1700s and is one of the most impressive places I've ever had the privilege of seeing.  As you drive into the village, you can feel the pace of life slow and the air begin to clear.  The grounds of the estate have had the Lancelot 'Capability' Brown once over and it's all-together a wonderful place to spend an afternoon.

Southill Park is lso the one fixture of the summer that I'm always available to play cricket, because THIS is how it looks.

The Picturesque Southill Cricket Club, Bedfordshire.

There is no finer way of wasting a summer's afternoon than chasing after an unnecessarily hard ball in preposterously vain attempt at stopping its progress.  All cricketers of all standards will agree.  It's folly, but brilliant.  This is, I think, the only place I've ever played at with a thatched scorebox.

No cricket today, so #4 and I head for The White Horse at Southill.  

Serving refreshing ale for over 200 years, The White Horse at Southill

Even a 10 year old child dwarfs a Mini.

Beautiful surroundings, almost spoiled by a cavalcade of monochrome and a modern Citroen.

Ghost Ship and Coke consumed (not in the same glass you understand) we headed for an even more English part of England - Ickwell.  A rural Hamlet just a mile or so from Southill, it has one of the largest and most impressive village greens you're likely to see.  So we decided to take the football (and the Mini) to spoil the view.

Ickwell. The village green (and the cricket pitch outfield)

So posh is it here, that they actually have their own permanently installed maypole!

Before heading home, as the shadows got long, I parked the old girl outside a house which has likely never been sold (only passed down from generation to generation) and snapped.

Springtime has officially arrived

Spoiling the view

So. How did the car do? Very well in fairness.  The oil leak is becoming a bit more impressive now, so I've been out to buy two of those 1m long seed trays to park underneath the car whilst at home.  There's also some (brand new) carpet under the trays which should save my blushes and my landlord's concrete floor.  Otherwise we bombed along very happily; bouncing up and down as we bimbled from village to village.

I guess it'll all have to come apart at some stage to have new gaskets here and there but, for now, it's fine.  Next job? Dunno.  Service probably.  I've got all the bits so why not.  I have a very modest amount of money coming from my Mother's probate which I'd like to buy something tangible with.  It might be a set of wheels, it might be a turntable. I dunno.  The wheels can wait for now though.

 

[Dan302]

1 hour ago, BorniteIdentity said:

Yesterday I found myself very much at a loose end, so did that thing we all used to do when we were young, free and single - and when petrol wasn't £7.67 a gallon...

...going for a drive for the sake of it.

I'm fortunate to live on the fringe of one of the prettiest parts of England.  One of the most Englandest parts of England.  On my doorstep is Southill Park, an estate which was bought by Samuel Whitbread back in the late 1700s and is one of the most impressive places I've ever had the privilege of seeing.  As you drive into the village, you can feel the pace of life slow and the air begin to clear.  The grounds of the estate have had the Lancelot 'Capability' Brown once over and it's all-together a wonderful place to spend an afternoon.

Southill Park is lso the one fixture of the summer that I'm always available to play cricket, because THIS is how it looks.

The Picturesque Southill Cricket Club, Bedfordshire.

There is no finer way of wasting a summer's afternoon than chasing after an unnecessarily hard ball in preposterously vain attempt at stopping its progress.  All cricketers of all standards will agree.  It's folly, but brilliant.  This is, I think, the only place I've ever played at with a thatched scorebox.

No cricket today, so #4 and I head for The White Horse at Southill.  

Serving refreshing ale for over 200 years, The White Horse at Southill

Even a 10 year old child dwarfs a Mini.

Beautiful surroundings, almost spoiled by a cavalcade of monochrome and a modern Citroen.

Ghost Ship and Coke consumed (not in the same glass you understand) we headed for an even more English part of England - Ickwell.  A rural Hamlet just a mile or so from Southill, it has one of the largest and most impressive village greens you're likely to see.  So we decided to take the football (and the Mini) to spoil the view.

Ickwell. The village green (and the cricket pitch outfield)

So posh is it here, that they actually have their own permanently installed maypole!

Before heading home, as the shadows got long, I parked the old girl outside a house which has likely never been sold (only passed down from generation to generation) and snapped.

Springtime has officially arrived

Spoiling the view

So. How did the car do? Very well in fairness.  The oil leak is becoming a bit more impressive now, so I've been out to buy two of those 1m long seed trays to park underneath the car whilst at home.  There's also some (brand new) carpet under the trays which should save my blushes and my landlord's concrete floor.  Otherwise we bombed along very happily; bouncing up and down as we bimbled from village to village.

I guess it'll all have to come apart at some stage to have new gaskets here and there but, for now, it's fine.  Next job? Dunno.  Service probably.  I've got all the bits so why not.  I have a very modest amount of money coming from my Mother's probate which I'd like to buy something tangible with.  It might be a set of wheels, it might be a turntable. I dunno.  The wheels can wait for now though.

 

Lovely, just lovely 🙂

[schonker]

The mini looks so good

[BorniteIdentity]

This morning was judgement day for the Trusty Avensis.  Whilst you may suspect a bit of foul play and false jeopardy here, let me reassure you that its fate was very much hanging in the balance.  I've found over the last few years that the more I get rid of - and the lighter I travel through life - the happier I am.  I've spent the last month making peace with the fact that the last year with me could very well have been the car's last year as transport.  I casually started browsing for potential suitors (finding myself magnetised to a base spec MINI R56 in the best colour) before accepting that I could quite easily manage with the two cars.  

Having been up ALL FUCKING NIGHT at work, I took the Toyota in at 0800 this morning - told the tester, quite plainly, to be kind - and drove off in their 53 plate Almera loan car.

Bought from a customer who was going to throw it away.  69k and tight as a drum

I woke up to a very unexpected voicemail and sight on my mobile phone screen.

Let's go through the advisories then eh?

I haven't looked at the front tyres but suspect it might be alignment related.  Rear tyres are just old; I think they're ones I put on back in maybe 2019.  It has oozed a bit of PAS fluid since the day I bought it (August 2013) and the steering rack is tired; not overly vague but tired.

The rear service brake binding must be very light as it still averaged 40mpg on the last brim-to-brim test I did and there's no heat there whatsoever.

Jobs for the not too distant future are front disc and pads as there's a slight warp to one which has turned it a pretty shade of blue in parts.  I'm chewing the tyres over at the moment because I've always had UNIROYALS but, going forward, this car's most likely to just do town/short distance work with the Mondeo the long distance cruiser. I have absolutely no problem buying good tyres if one gets to wear them out, but having to throw them away because of degradation  rather than wear is frustrating and - in my opinion - wasteful.  The last few cars I've bought from TRUSTED SHITERS have all either had death rings or budgets on and they've all been just fine. I drive like an old woman anyway.   Amazingly they were able to price up some chinese death rings at £46 still; cheaper than I was buying shit tyres for 25 years ago!

So. success.  Because I was outrageously bored one night I decided to start logging the service history and expenditure on a Google Sheet.  More than anything, I was curious to see if one can still run a car cheaply.

So - April 2025.

• Purchase price £450 (thanks to @Spottedlaurel) adjusted to £375 because it was literally full to the brim with E5.
• Maintenance costs this year £810.74

Top one includes the purchase price divided by months owned.  The bottom one is just bills and bits.

 

In summary - £375 to buy the car and £67.56 PCM since in maintenance.  I'd call that a resounding result.

Let's leave with both a picture from earlier this year and a reminder that you can't buy anything worthwhile for under £1000.

January Snow

[Noel Tidybeard]

what about putting innertubes in the mini tyres?

proper old skool

[Popsicle]

1 hour ago, BorniteIdentity said:

In summary - £375 to buy the car and £67.56 PCM since in maintenance.  I'd call that a resounding result.

I would agree, amazing value for money - I understand the angst about ending your run with the car, but I'm glad to see it soldier on. 

[High Jetter]

Great result with the MOT, plenty more life left in it.

[Dj_efk]

“It’s always cheap er to keep er”

Quote from that septic nutcase "Project Farm" who tests random automotive and DIY stuff to death on YT - Love watching his stuff.

[greengartside]

What a result. She definitely wants to live on forever. Great stuff.

P.S - might want to change the year on your spreadsheet 😉

[BorniteIdentity]

This must be an historically quiet time in motoring woes.  Touch wood, everything's just working at the moment.  

The 'season opener' this year was a trip out to Jack's Hill Cafe at Towcester.  The New Me now even washes the car before putting it on parade, and here we can see the Mini looking a nailed on 8/10 in the spring sunshine.

Bessie cleaned up pretty well, with a flotilla of early 21st Century Ford rammel beyond.

@alf892gave me the nod, and we spent a good few hours perving over some rather lovely old tin.  Some bloke off of the telly was there and, by all accounts, was great company. 

Alf892 holding court with Derek Mathewson off of the telly.

Look at that reflection in my paintwork.  I've never had a shiny car before!

Elswhere, the Mondeo continues to be incredibly useful.  The boot swallows just about anything; evident here with the provision of a Persian cat for scale.  

Maggie and the Mountain Bike Wheel - coming to Netflix this Fall.

The Mondeo will need a couple of tyres over the next few months.  One pair (weirdly NSF and OSR) are date-stamped 2018 and beginning to perish.  The others are 2020 and probably have about 3-4mm left.  If I'm feeling flush I'll do a full set, if not I'll put the 2020s on the back and a new pair on the front.  Quite how I've ended up with two pairs of matched tyres on different axles I've no idea.  Otherwise it's perfect.  I've even discovered that the air conditioning works too.  Along with a perfectly functioning sunroof, it's my go-to car for warmer days.  However I drive it and wherever I drive it, it returns 30mpg.  At the moment it's 23pence per mile so it's rarely first choice, but it's such a useful thing that I forgive it its thirst.

Obviously this thing steadfastly refuses to die.  307,000 miles and just as happy as it was in March when it passed its MOT.  At the current average score, it'll need a pair of tyres sometime this year but I'm going to try and nurse to the end of the set - then send it off to 'the man' for some paint and a bit of tidying up.  There are some niggly little welding jobs that need doing (above the screen where it lets a bit of water in and also on the rear wheel arch) so will probably chuck him the keys at the end of the year and ask him to call me when it's done.  This thing does 38mpg mixed which, for a 27 year old 2.0i with 300k on the clock is mad.  

Readers of the The Last Photo You Took on your Phone thread will know I spend my leisure time dicking about on lawnmowers at our local cricket club.  Last week, I was allowed to pilot this beauty.  You have to understand that, as a Suffolk Bumpkin (born and inbred) I have a real affinity and affection for these old things.  This is an Atco B20 which we use to keep the square looking smart.  I've decided that when I buy my next house, it'll have a garden of sufficient size to necessitate ownership of such a vehicle.

Not the first Stowmarket girl with iffy bodywork that I've ridden in my time.

Stripes largely straight.  Same can be said of the artist.

Finally, a delicious twist of the knife called Irony.  You'll remember that I let the Sierra go at the end of last year because, no matter what I did, I couldn't find anywhere dry inside to keep it.  Well - five months after selling it and six years after first applying, well - you've probably guessed.

I'm now the proud tenant of a very dry and very pleasant council lock-up.  Unfortunately, I am no longer the proud owner of a car to put within it.  Having waited so long, and knowing that this is probably the first time a garage has come up here in over a decade, I took it on regardless.  It's a pretty decent size at 16ft long but fairly wide at over 9ft.  Amazingly, it also has a two parking spaces directly in front so there's a lot of scope to collect more old tat.  For now, I'm happy just sticking a few boxes in it and telling the van owner that if he parks there again I'll be knocking on his door at 3am.

Really, I'd like to buy another Mercedes 190.  To me, they are the perfect car.  I keep re-reading @Conrad D. Conelrad's thread and hoping he'll let me buy his beautiful Beryl at some stage.  Otherwise, I keep having naughty thoughts about a Minor 1000 (but I suspect it'd be a short-term affair with their similarities to the Mini) and something floppy top. 

[danthecapriman]

Mini is certainly looking Magnifique (reference to the old Corgi toy there!). Lovely shine on it.

Definitely a good idea bagging that garage while it was going👍

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

On 16/05/2026 at 15:54, BorniteIdentity said:

Really, I'd like to buy another Mercedes 190.  To me, they are the perfect car.  I keep re-reading @Conrad D. Conelrad's thread and hoping he'll let me buy his beautiful Beryl at some stage.  Otherwise, I keep having naughty thoughts about a Minor 1000 (but I suspect it'd be a short-term affair with their similarities to the Mini) and something floppy top. 

You've inspired me to fire up the VPN and grab all the images that can't be accessed in the UK anymore, and maybe update that thread later. 

[alf892]

Lawnmowers that leave stripes are for winners…….and allow you to sit down after with a beer whilst admiring your work and contemplating the universe

[Matty]

10 hours ago, alf892 said:

Lawnmowers that leave stripes are for winners…….and allow you to sit down after with a beer whilst admiring your work and contemplating the universe

I just need to figure out how old colonial cars hoover stripes into carpets now and my worlds complete 😄