Very special Mk1 for sale

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Very special Mk1 for sale

Postby Alan D. » Mon Oct 22, 2018 3:42 pm

This car was built by a gentleman called. Richard Brabbins, who was a very talented engineer. I think he worked at technical collage teaching students to be engineers. He built several different cars including bike engine Minis before they became fashionable. He even built his own kit car called the Brabbini which was featured in the Kit Car magazines. Try a Google search and you will see what a talented engineer he was. Sadly, he passed away at a young age, he was in his 50’s I think. I’m pleased to say that I meet him twice and had several conversations with him on the phone.
He built two Midas’s back in 1980-81. A red car and a black car. The black car was sold to Ireland along with the moulds for the bonnet modifications. This car he built for his wife and just had a standard Metro 1275 engine and gearbox.
The red car, which is in my possession he built for himself, he modified as far as he could, from the components available in 1980-81. The car has adjustable and heavy-duty suspension on the front subframe, with 4 pot brake calipers. I've also added coil springs in place of the normal rubber cones, making the suspension a little softer for my old bones.The rear beam he re-engineered and made it much stronger than the original Midas factory beam, he also made it slightly wider than the standard beam. The engine was tuned to fast road status and he modified the cylinder head to produce torque, making it a comfortable fast road car. The gearbox is the much sort after 1275 GT which was close ratio and has a 3.7 ratio differential. The car has only done about 29000 miles (about 49000 Kms) since 1981. I think the front subframe and engine would be quite valuable in the classic Mini world. There are lots of little modifications on the car, making it superior to the normal Midas built car.
The most interesting thing to me is the removable bonnet, which would make it very easy to fit a modern engine. This is of course why I purchased the car. To fit the modern engine you would need the appropriate modified Mini subframe. The bonnet would have to be hinged from in front of the windscreen. I have Rover 75 boot hinges to do this task and I would supply them with the car. The headlights would need to be moved forward about 50-60mm, you could try some more modern LED headlights.
So, what’s wrong with this car? The car in its later life has been parked outside and the red paintwork has faded, the sunroof has leaked and destroyed the carpets. The previous owner to me removed the clocks (again 1275 GT) to fit a new wiper rack, but never put it back together again. Some of the parts were lost so the car needs new clocks (dashboard). All. the original fiberglass trim panels are there, and it has some rather nice Corbeau period bucket seats. The car looks very scruffy but would be easily made smart again. The car starts and drives, but has fuel leak somewhere near the fuel tank, as normal with Midas cars the window winding mechanism is poor, but I have Rover 75 rear electric window winders which could be fitted with modification. The whole car looks pretty sad, but it is structurally sound and is the best option in the Midas world to fit a modern engine! The car mechanically is fine, in fact it was M.O.T.ed when I purchased it, but since then its just sat in one of my garages. Mechanically as far as I'm aware the car is sound. The interior needs a tidy up and new carpets are needed, and dash need renewing. It will need repainting. But the expensive mechanical work is all sound.
I'm interested in offers around £2500, as sadly if I broke the car the engine and front subframe would be worth a lot of money. The car is located in Newcastle upon Tyne.
PM me if you are interested.
Regards Alan


[img]http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb284/alandonowho/BSrGpwBGkKGrHgoOKicEjlLmZ3G2BKGG-1.jp[URL=http://s205.photobucket.com/user/alandonowho/media/BSrOyBGkKGrHgoOKjEjlLmYmWCBKGGV3-1.jpg.html][IMG]http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb284/alandonowho/BSrOyBGkKGrHgoOKjEjlLmYmWCBKGGV3-1.jpg[/img]g[/IMG][/URL]
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Alan D.
 
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Re: Very special Mk1 for sale

Postby Alan D. » Mon Oct 22, 2018 4:30 pm

Some pictures of the interior, note the unusual heater, Golf I think! The oil pressure was good when I last ran the engine. All in all a relatively simple restoration, as the mechanical components don't need any work.

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