First time experience at the 2011 Nevada City Adventure

Here is a first impression of the Nevada City Adventure.

I hope you enjoy it.

 - Mini Mania

My first experience at the NCA

This was my first Nevada City Adventure. I have been to a fair amount of car shows in my time. Im a car nut, and general petrol head. This was the most exclusive group that I’ve had the pleasure of participating in.
I woke early in the morning of June 11th to get ready for my first NCA at Mini-Mania.
7am The day was looking good.. it was slightly overcast with nice breeze coming through the trees every once in a while.

Early Morning at the 11th Annual Nevada City Adventure 2011

Everyone was all smiles while we were setting up the event area. The goodie bags were brought out, the raffle prizes and the PA was setup. The Team Mini Mania Mini’s were all out on display! We placed the race cars around the lot. The yellow #61 Unsbee Mini decided to pop a line and loose brake pressure as we were rolling it back up against the trees. I heard “No BRAKES! No BRAKES!” coming from the inside of the car. Which prompted me to sprint around to the back of the #61 car and place my feet firmly on the ground and hang on. Luckily everyone in the surrounding area were of action and swiftly came to aide the Mini back to its proper position.

The Classic Mini's getting work done at the NCA 6.11.11

The mechanically knowledgeable sprung to work. It seemed like a whole race crew was there. The car was getting attention.. immediately as people sprung into action. Both the #61 Unsbee Mini had people in the front end then Julie’s green Mini was getting its motor pulled due to a clutch disc disintegrating at over 7000rpm in her last race. People were amazed at how a engine goes in and how it comes out of a Mini.

It must have been around 10:00am when the first MINI registered and parked.
They came in slowly at first.. then in groups of two, and groups of three. The parking lot was getting filled up pretty quickly.

The MINI's packed in the 11th NCA 2011

People were walking around looking at each others MINI’s, coming into the showroom, and the Bob Woods Trio was playing live music on the grounds on Mini Mania. We were calling off raffle prizes almost every hour! It was encouraging to see so many enthusiasts together at the same time. The guys from Driving Ambition set up a Dyno and they were flogging new and old Mini’s alike. Race-cars to Daily drivers were screaming as they passed 5k, 6k, even 7k, RPM’s and the dyno spat out calculated numbers.

Dyno runs at the 11th annual Nevada City Adventure 6.11.11

Huge air circulators and intense fans kept intercoolers cooling, and radiators radiating in between runs. The smell of exhaust, sausages, and popcorn wafting through the breeze was enough to attract passerby’s and weekend touristas alike as non-MINI vehicles turned into the event looking for parking.

Radically Modified Mini's at the 11th NCA 2011

There were all types of Mini’s there.. Classic, NEW, Modified, Heavily Modified, All Original, Racecars, VTEC swaps, I saw one that had a Cosworth motor shoehorned into it. It was minimal, with anything that didn’t make it go faster, or handle better absent from the finished product. You could see the detail in the work all the way down to the DZUS Quarter-turn cam lock fasteners holding the body work snug against the custom shell.

Around noon we announced the NCA Mini cruise to the historic gold town of Little Washington. I was a little nervous about leading the tour of MINI’s on our cruise up Hwy-20. This was my first time as the leader of the pack, and I didn’t want to lose any MINI’s on our departure. Originally I was going to lead the MINI cruise in the Mini Mania Mini Cooper S but, since she got a new set of Borrani’s and was given a thorough detail by Richard Lin at Showcar Detailing,

Richard Lin from Showcar Detailing giving some advice

I was given the opportunity to drive a MINI Cooper Clubman S with SprintBooster. This would be my first time driving a MINI Cooper Clubman “S”.
Wow! The Clubman is a real joy to drive with the SprintBooster installed it takes the fun of this ordinary car to a whole new comical level. The presence of the MINI’s was known as soon as we got on the road. The corners of Hwy 20 being devoured by this serpent of Mini’s carving its way through the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The posse of MINI’s was fearsome as some 3 rows of cars over 70 feet in length came to rest at the Campground for a quick photo-op and stretch of the legs before departing back to the Mini Mania HQ.

MINI's takeover at the 11th Annual Nevada City Adventure 2011

The choice was made to take a group photo at the Vista Point on our way out of the little town of Washington.

We pulled up and dropped the back of our MINI’s down the ENTIRE LENGTH of the Vista Point. Some people that were already there started to have a case of claustrophobia or MINI-Envy stating that they “Had to go right now” Luckily there were a few MINI owners who didn’t mind moving out of the way of the escaping Ford Tempo.
It was a sight to see. There were MINI’s and their Owners all in a row with the snow capped Sierra Nevada Mountains as a backdrop. We even got a picture with everyone standing next to their vehicle.

NCA Mini Mania-c's at the Vista Point 6.11.11

When we got back to the NCA it was in full swing, the cars took their parking spots again, and we began preparing for the Peoples Choice Awards.
The PA boomed with announcements of Winners and laughter as prizes were handed out.
It was great to have so many people travel so far to come together and celebrate the joy they have for the MINI.
I had a great time in the sun enjoying the environment of true MINI ManiaC’s

Mini Mania is in MC2

Recently Mini Mania went to Hallet Raceway.
It turns out Team Mini Mania was showcased in the
magazine all about everything Mini… MC2.

>>>Read the Article in MC2 or just >>>Click HERE>>>

Congratulations Guys!!

Vintage Racing at Hallett Motor Raceway

Vintage Racing at Hallett Motor Raceway Vintage racing has very much been a part of the Racine’s life style for quite a while. And now with the whole family racing, it’s been even more special. We now field no less than for Minis out at the track. Last year Robert and Holly Hoemke brought their Mini Cooper and Formula Jr. out to California to race at the Sonoma Historics at Infineon Raceway and then down Laguna Seca for the Monterey Historics (now called the Monterey Motorsports Reunion).  We instantly really hit it off with Robert and Holly and have been great friends ever since. As such we decided since the Hoemke’s had made the trek out to California, that we should do the same, and plan a trip out to their local track, Hallett Motor Speedway. We already had quite the schedule planned for 2011, with no less than fifteen plus events, but we were determined to make this trip. As it turned out, the first CVAR/Hallett event was the following weekend of our own local Vintage Race event put on by CSRG at Infineon Raceway. This meant we had to plan on two back-to-back race weekends, 2000 miles apart! The plan, race Friday through Sunday at Infineon, return home Sunday night, condense our two RV’s, enclosed race trailers and gear into one RV and two car open trailer, and be on the road to Oklahoma by Early Monday morning. This all of course hoping that we don’t break anything at Infineon! As it turned out I had a great race weekend with the Monty Mini, with only a few minor issues that were fixed in between sessions, and were able to go on to finish out in front on Sunday after having a great battle with our good friend Paul in his Elva Courier MKII. We ended up getting home on Sunday night earlier than we had predicted but despite this, we still had a lot of work to do to get loaded and out the door on Monday, but managed to hit the road by about 12:30 Monday and made Barstow, CA by about  8pm where we stopped for the night. The next two days were quite the challenge as the winds were gusting to over 50mph in parts, so it made for some white-knuckle driving for the both of us. We rolled into Albilene, TX around 2 PM Wednesday where we met up with Robert and Holly and stayed at their place for night before heading out first thing Thursday Morning for the final leg of our trip. Thursday afternoon we went for a ‘walk’ around the track for the first time on the back of Roberts Quad/ ATV. CVAR was set to run the track in reverse, which is a rare thing so there were plenty of people wanting to see the track for the first time in reverse, which probably helped us, since it created a somewhat level playing field of experience. First impressions of the track surface were that there might be a few bumps here and there, but at the end of the day it wasn’t bad at all. The layout was very ‘busy’ with lots of sharp corners, and in the reverse direction, a lot of really late apex’s and blind corners. Tomorrow would tell. Friday was a full day of practice, and boy did we get a ton of track time. I was sore by mid-afternoon and we still had several sessions left to be able to run! I found the track a lot of fun, but it was also a lot of work, and required a lot of concentration. I really enjoyed turn 2 through turn 4 (in the reverse direction).  If Friday didn’t already give you plenty of track time, Saturday and Sunday would fill your plate as well. Three sessions on each day would round off the weekend. Qualifying on Saturday went terrific, qualified 2nd behind a Lotus Super 7 (not in our class) with Robert in 4th driving the Purple People Eater, and Don in 8th driving the Bumble Bee Mini in a field over 35 cars, which is quite a lot on this track. By Sunday, Don had moved up to 3rd overall, as I stayed in 2nd, while Robert broke out with an engine failure.  Sunday’s final race, Don and I decided to mix things up a bit, and switch cars and start at the back of the pack. This turned out to be a hoot trying to get back up to the front. Don ended up 5th, while I ended up coming in early after having a shift fork break, and thus allowing the gear box to go into two gears at once. OUCH! All in all this was a fantastic weekend. The people at Hallett were simple incredible. You’ll never meet a nicer bunch of folks out to have a good time racing all weekend. The track facilities were terrific, and the food was top notch. If you haven’t been to Hallett, I highly recommend making the trip! Dennis Racine April 14th, 2011

A letter from Corinthian Vintage Auto Racing

Don, I’m glad you had a good time running with us.We pride ourselves in good events where most everyone has a great time. A couple of things about CVAR : We are a 27 year old club started by a few guys in Dallas. They wanted a place to play with their cars.  Originally it was a pass the hat to pay for the track rental and drew 20 or so racers. We have grown considerably since then. We have about 300 members of which about 200 are racers. We have a 6 event series, starting in Feb with our winter school race at Texas World Speedway. We run at Texas World 3 times a year. It has a 2.9 mile road course that utilizes the front straight of the only super speedway in the southwest. TWS is exactly like Michigan Speedway. The road course goes out the backside and return to the infield. It is a hoot diving at full bore into T-1. It is definitely a horsepower course. Our second school is at TWS in Sept and we end the season there in Nov. Hallett Raceway hosts us in the Spring and Fall. Our fall race runs counter clockwise. Your visit was the first time we have gotten to run clockwise in dry conditions. Our first attempt was the infamous Snow race. What a mess. 12 inches of snow fell starting at 0730 Sat. morn. It stopped about 4 PM. Some of us idiots used our tow vehicles to clear the track so we could race on Sunday. I wouldn’t say beer was involved but it sure helped. I had some special decals made up for the drivers that stayed.  They are like a badge of honor among CVAR members. Our last spring race is at Eagles Canyon Raceway just north of Decatur Texas. It is about 50 miles NE of Dallas. As far as something to brag about? We have a good time and strive to put on good events. Our driver training program (schools) feature track time, classroom time and a separate instructor for each 2 students. Our rules are based on the 73 GCR with few exceptions. We hold tight to this package and  it keeps cost down  and discourages guys with big egos and budgets from going on R&D wars. Our participation has increased about 35% in the last three years. I think a lot of that is because we did nail down the rules package. That’s about it. I really enjoyed running with you. I too have done this a long time. It’s pretty easy to tell who on track has the experience. We like to live and fight another day. What happened to the car Sunday afternoon? I know I was out of tires but came up on you much faster than I thought. Saturday was a hoot. I had a ball chasing you Come back and play again soon. Keep smiling, George  Curl Click here to check out CVAR Related Articles: Vintage racing a Mini Cooper at Hallett Raceway Doing Hallett Raceway backwards in a Mini Cooper

Vintage racing a Mini Cooper at Hallett Raceway

Mini Mania Mini's at Hallet Raceway Oklahoma - Mini Mania Inc.

Vintage racing a Mini Cooper at Hallett Raceway

Vintage racing a Mini Cooper is hit, racing with old friends makes it a double, racing at Hallett raceway for the first time makes it a triple, and being a guest of the Corinthian Vintage Auto Racing group made it a home run! Almost too good to be true! And I don’t even play baseball! *yerrrr safe!*

It was on a casual note that a new/old friend of ours, Robert Hoemke asked after spending some time with us during the Monterey Historics ask if we would consider bringiMini Mania Mini’s at Hallet Raceway Oklahoma – Mini Mania Inc.ng a couple of our Minis to one of his local events. Robert races a number of different cars but of course he also does a fantastic job in the Historic “Purple People Eater” Mini Cooper of Richard McDaniels. Richard won both AARC and Trans-am races back in the ‘60s in this car.

So with too little thought, we said yes. It was just a matter of when and where. The choices from a timing stand point were between Eagles canyon in Texas or Hallett in Oklahoma.

READ MORE >>>

VDCA – Road Atlanta Feb 18-20, 2011

VDCA – Road Atlanta February 18-20, 2011 By Phil Wicks Power and torque mean everything at Road Atlanta. Suffice to say, we found much more of it in the engine and handling work we did on the Snoopy dog Mini!   After many conference calls with Don Racine at Mini Mania, I re-worked the existing cylinder head to better specifications along with slight changes to the Weber carburation, which provided the car with more torque and BHP to the new rear sway bar and brakes we had fitted, all courtesy of Mini Mania. Phil Wicks VDCA – Road Atlanta February 18-20, 2011 The result was an incredible 5 seconds a lap faster than the last race at Road Atlanta in October 2010. Friday, February 18: The weather was mild, 65 degrees and dry.  17 small bore cars – 26 total – took to the grid for the first shakedown session, bedding in new brakes, adjusting my driving style to the different handling (rear sway-bar), and playing with tire pressures.. Click Here For the Whole Story

MINI Thunder 2

Mini Thunder II, A great adventure!

Mini Thunder II has now finished the second annual event at Thunder Hill raceway outside of the small town of Willows in Northern California.

The event was conceived of by a local very active MINI club and their close ties to a local race track promoter that also owned a MINI. The first event last year was good and provided a solid foundation to make this event great! More than a simple ‘day at the track’, the event is fast becoming a real happening.

The event started Saturday evening with each entrant being treated to a buffet style real dinner complete with all the choices and deserts you could ask for.  Each entrant also received a free script of paper money that could be used at the back jack, craps, poker or 21 tables that were especially set up for the evening.  Winning could at any time be redeemed for any of the various MINI/Mini related items that were donated by numerous vendors.

The real fun began on Sunday Morning as the almost 100 strong Mini owners were divided up into groups based on their experience levels and assigned numerous track sessions.  The novice drivers of the group were all assigned driving instructors that rode with them for as long as they felt needed.  Even a number of the very experienced drivers benefited from the donated time from instructors from various forms of racing that contributed their time and talent to the effort.  It for sure would not have been possible without their help and dedication.

Mini Mania was proud to be invited to help sponsor and promote the event.  Our team of four Classic Mini Vintage Race Cars and two BMW MINIs were displayed, raced and used for demonstration rides for visitors and fellow participants.

Finding and keeping the race history of the Mini!

The history of the Mini racing in the USA includes a fantastic effort by a large of Mini lovers.  The following list was complied by Charlie Pollet of some small part of the heritage of the Mini as raced in the SCCA Championship.  If you can help in telling us anything at about these drivers or cars please e-mail me at Don@Minimania.com

	Driver	Class	Finish	Start	Laps	Status	Notes
1966-Riverside	Richard McDaniels	CS	1		24	Running
1966-Riverside	Bob Hindson	CS	2		24	Running
1966-Riverside	Hugh Grammer	CS	3		24	Running
1966-Riverside	Ted Block	CS	4		24	Running
1966-Riverside	George Oulton	CS	5		24	Running
1966-Riverside	Franz Terry	CS	6		23	Running
1966-Riverside	Keith Armstrong	CS	7		23	Running
1966-Riverside	Barry Batchin	CS	8		23	Running
1966-Riverside	Red Schimberg	CS	10		22	Running
1966-Riverside	Steve James	CS	11		22	Running
1966-Riverside	Bob Winkler	CS	12		20	Running
1966-Riverside	John Peach	CS	13		20	Running
1966-Riverside	Dave McCartney	CS	14		11	DNF
1966-Riverside	John Tremblay	CS	15		11	DNF
1966-Riverside	John West	CS	16		7	DNF
1966-Riverside	Bob Henderson	DS	6		22	Running
1967-Daytona	Richard McDaniels	CS	9	7	35	Running
1967-Daytona	Bob Hindson	CS	2	7	35	Running
1967-Daytona	Ed Spreen	CS	3	6	34	Running
1967-Daytona	Leon Murphy	CS	4	14	33	Running
1967-Daytona	Stan Brown	CS	6	17	32	Running
1967-Daytona	James Gammon	CS	7	13	30	Running
1967-Daytona	John Peach	CS	8	15	29	Running
1967-Daytona	Don Beuter	CS	9	8	32	DNF
1967-Daytona	Bruce Hollander	CS	10	3	27	DNF
1967-Daytona	hugh Grammer	CS	11	1	17	DNF
1967-Daytona	Bob Kimes	CS	12	13	13	DNF
1967-Daytona	Dick Merritt	CS	13	16	13	DNF
1967-Daytona	Ken Wilson	CS	14	4	9	DNF
1967-Daytona	Red Schimberg	CS	15	2	9	DNF
1967-Daytona	John Colgate	CS	16	11	8	DNF
1967-Daytona	Don Schmitt	CS	17	5	6	DNF
1967-Daytona	Elouise Norris	DS	2	6	33	Running
1967-Daytona	J.R. Henderson	DS	4	5	32	Running
1967-Daytona	Robert Winkler	DS	8	13	29	Running
1967-Daytona	Brad Dunn	DS	14	10	4	DNF
1968-Riverside	Richard McDaniels	CS	1		17	Running
1968-Riverside	Hugh Grammer	CS	2		17	Running
1968-Riverside	Ken Wilson	CS	4		17	Running
1968-Riverside	Ed Spreen	CS	5		17	Running
1968-Riverside	Ken Edwards	CS	6		17	Running
1968-Riverside	Ron Mulacek	CS	7		17	Running
1968-Riverside	Nephi Astin	CS	9		17	Running
1968-Riverside	Cliff Schreiber	CS	10		17	Running
1968-Riverside	Tom Mayfield	CS	11		17	Running
1968-Riverside	Roger Mitchell	CS	12		17	Running
1968-Riverside	Nick Davidson	CS	13		16	Running
1968-Riverside	Red Schimberg	CS	14		15	Running
1968-Riverside	Jack Gately	CS	15		14	Running
1968-Riverside	Don Schmitt	CS	16		12	Running
1968-Riverside	Bob Hinson	CS	17		11	DNF
1968-Riverside	Ron Moore	CS	18		7	DNF
1968-Riverside	Elouise Norris	DS	3		16	Running
1968-Riverside	R.J. Boehm	DS	9		15	Running
1968-Riverside	Claude Whitehead	DS	12		14	Running
1968-Riverside	Brad Dunn	DS	14		13	DNF
1969-Daytona	Ed Spreen	CS	2		14	Running
1969-Daytona	T. Allen Acree	CS	5		14	Running
1969-Daytona	Bob Hinson	CS	6		14	Running
1969-Daytona	Jim Gammon	CS	7		14	Running
1969-Daytona	James Dunkel	CS	8		14	Running
1969-Daytona	Danny Poor	CS	9		14	Running
1969-Daytona	Robert Clark	CS	11		13	Running
1969-Daytona	Art Sutphin	CS	13		12	Running
1969-Daytona	Gerald Brown	CS	14		12	Running
1969-Daytona	Ernest Viar	CS	15		11	DNF
1969-Daytona	Alen Berkelhammer	CS	16		5	DNF
1969-Daytona	John O’Malley	CS	17		5	DNF
1969-Daytona	Jack Baumgardner	CS	20		3	DNF
1969-Daytona	Elouise Norris	CS	5		13	Running
1969-Daytona	Robert Alexander	CS	6		13	Running
1969-Daytona	R.J. Boehm	CS	7		13	Running
1969-Daytona	Claude Whitehead	CS	10		11	Running
1970-Atlanta	Ed Spreen	CS	1		17	Running
1970-Atlanta	Jim Boffo	CS	2		17	Running
1970-Atlanta	T. A. Acree	CS	6		17	Running
1970-Atlanta	Jack Baumgardner	CS	7		17	Running
1970-Atlanta	John Sloak	CS	10		17	Running
1970-Atlanta	Thomas Cronin	CS	11		16	Running
1970-Atlanta	Ward Barbour	CS	12		15	Running
1970-Atlanta	Lee Jones	CS	15		10	DNF
1970-Atlanta	Gerald Brown	CS	17		6	DNF
1970-Atlanta	Doug Barbour	DS	3		16	Running
1970-Atlanta	John Burns	DS	6		16	Running
1970-Atlanta	R.J. Boehm	DS	6		16	Running
1970-Atlanta	Rich Starita	DS	12		15	Running
1970-Atlanta	James Christian	DS	15		14	Running
1970-Atlanta	Danny Poor	DS	16		17	DNF
1971-Atlanta	Roger Koch	CS	2		14	Running
1971-Atlanta	John O. Smith	CS	5		14	Running
1971-Atlanta	Bill Fox	CS	6			Running
1971-Atlanta	Ed Spreen	CS	8			DNF
1971-Atlanta	Jim Boffo	CS	9			DNF
1971-Atlanta	T.A. Acree	CS	11			DNF
1971-Atlanta	Jack Baumgardner	CS	12			DNF
1971-Atlanta	Irwin Beck	CS				DSQ
1971-Atlanta	Ron Moore	CS				DNS
1971-Atlanta	Bruce Nesbitt	CS				DNS
1971-Atlanta	George Alford	CS				DNS
1971-Atlanta	Chris Gross	DS	1		14	Running
1971-Atlanta	John Burns	DS	2		14	Running
1971-Atlanta	R.J. Boehm	DS	3		14	Running
1971-Atlanta	Dick Starita	DS	5		13	Running
1971-Atlanta	Jack Swanson	DS	8		12	Running
1971-Atlanta	Barry Williams	DS				DNS
1972-Atlanta	Bill Fox	CS	1	2	17	Running
1972-Atlanta	Jim Boffo	CS	2	3	17	Running
1972-Atlanta	Ed Spreen	CS	3	6	17	Running
1972-Atlanta	R.J. Boehm	CS	5	5	17	Running
1972-Atlanta	Chris gross	CS	7	11	17	Running
1972-Atlanta	Norm Dodson	CS	9	8	16	Running
1972-Atlanta	Harry Hover	CS	10	10	16	Running
1972-Atlanta	Jeff Brooks	CS	11	12	16	Running
1972-Atlanta	Jack Swanson	CS	12	4	16	Running
1972-Atlanta	John O. Smith	CS	13	17	15	Running
1972-Atlanta	T.A. Acree	CS	16	19	10	DNF
1972-Atlanta	Jack Baumgardner	CS	17	7	9	DNF
1972-Atlanta	Roger Koch	CS	18	1	8	DNF
1972-Atlanta	Bob Crawford	CS				DNS
1972-Atlanta	Bruce Nesbitt	CS				DSQ	DSQ’d from competition forunsportsmanlike conduct
1972-Atlanta	Bruce Nesbitt	CSR				DSQ	DSQ’d from competition forunsportsmanlike conduct
1973-Atlanta	Jim Boffo	CS	5	3	17	Running
1973-Atlanta	Norm Dodson	CS	7	6	17	Running
1973-Atlanta	James Meixner	CS	8	12	14	Running
1973-Atlanta	Jack Baumgardner	CS	13	8	16	Running
1973-Atlanta	George Alford	CS	14	16	13	Running
1973-Atlanta	John O. Smith	CS	15	18	13	DNF
1973-Atlanta	Roger Koch	CS	18	1	0	DNF
1973-Atlanta	Peter Dodge	CS	19	4	0	DNF
1973-Atlanta	Bruce Nesbitt	CS	20	5	0	DNF
1973-Atlanta	Paul Piper	CS				DNS
1974-Atlanta	Jack Ryersn	CS	8	12	18	Running
1974-Atlanta	Thomas Cronin	CS	9	14	16	Running
1974-Atlanta	Roger Koch	CS	10	3	13	DNF
1974-Atlanta	Damon Pleasant	CS	11	7	13	DNF
1974-Atlanta	Peter Dodge	CS	12	5	13	DNF
1974-Atlanta	Bruce Nesbitt	CS	13	8	13	DNF
1974-Atlanta	Jim Boffo	CS	15	4	11	DNF
1974-Atlanta	Norm Dodson	CS				DNS
1974-Atlanta	George Alford	CS				DNS
1975-Atlanta	Jim Boffo	CS	7	6	18	Running
1975-Atlanta	Gareth Nagy	CS	10	14	17	Running
1975-Atlanta	James Meixner	CS	11	13	17	Running
1975-Atlanta	John O. Smith	CS	19	15	6	DNF
1975-Atlanta	Hubert Duprez	CS	20	21	5	DNF
1975-Atlanta	Roger Koch	CS	21	8	2	DNF
1976-Atlanta	Bill Cooper	CS	6		18	Running
1976-Atlanta	Gareth Nagy	CS	10		17	Running
1976-Atlanta	James Meixner	CS	5		17	Running
1977-Atlanta	Doug Peterson	CS	5	8	18	Running
1977-Atlanta	John Eriksen	CS	14	20	12	Running
1977-Atlanta	Gareth Nagy	CS	17	6	3	DNF
1978-Atlanta	Roger Koch	CS	9		18	Running
1978-Atlanta	Hubert Duprez	CS	11		16	Running
1978-Atlanta	Doug Peterson	CS	17		12	DNF
1978-Atlanta	Bob Griffith	CS	20		2	DNF
1979-Atlanta	Bill Copper	GT4	4	6	18	Running
1979-Atlanta	Dan Robson	GT4	19	12	9	Running
1980-Atlanta	Doug Peterson	GT4	7	3	18	Running
1980-Atlanta	Bruce Logan	GT4	10	12	18	Running
1980-Atlanta	Jon Becker	GT4	16	16	11	Running
1981-Atlanta	Jon Becker	GT4	8	12	18	Running
1981-Atlanta	Jack Baumgardner	GT4	12	14	16	DNF
1981-Atlanta	Doug Peterson	GT4	20	1	8	DNF
1982-Atlanta	Bill Stark	GT4	13		13	Running
1982-Atlanta	Bruce Logan	GT4	15		9	DNF
1982-Atlanta	Bill Booper	GT4	19		1	DNF
1983-Atlanta	Joe Camilleri	GT5	15	17	17	Running
1983-Atlanta	Jack Baumgardner	GT5	20	10	8	DNF
1983-Atlanta	Mike Kearney	GT5	21	14	6	DNF
1984-Atlanta	Doug Peterson	GT5	1	3	18	Running
1984-Atlanta	Jack Baumgardner	GT5	19	6	8	DNF
1984-Atlanta	Hubert Duprez	GT5				DNS
1984-Atlanta	Stephen Dilts	GT5				DNS
1985-Atlanta	Ted Wollesen	GT5	11	16	17	Running
1985-Atlanta	Doug Peterson	GT5	17	2	3	DNF
1986-Atlanta	Duane Davis	GT5	1	4	18	Running
1986-Atlanta	Mike Kearney	GT5	7	10	18	Running
1986-Atlanta	Ted Wollesen	GT5	13	11	18	Running
1986-Atlanta	Bill Brower	GT5	12	15	18	Running
1986-Atlanta	Bill Gilcrease	GT5	14	11	18	Running
1986-Atlanta	Jon Becker	GT5	18	13	6	DNF
1986-Atlanta	Peter Zeckert	GT5	19	17	5	DNF
1987-Atlanta	Bill Gilcrease	GT5	6	12	18	Running
1987-Atlanta	Ted Wollesen	GT5	7	15	18	Running
1988-Atlanta	Jon Becker	GT5	10	10	17	Running
1988-Atlanta	Bill Gilcrease	GT5	11	16	17	Running
1988-Atlanta	Ted Wollesen	GT5	13	11	15	Running
1988-Atlanta	Joe Camileri	GT5	14	17	14	Running
1988-Atlanta	Peter Braun	GT5	16	14	13	Running
1989-Atlanta	Doug Peterson	GT5	1	1	18	Running
1989-Atlanta	Bill Gilcrease	GT5	8	11	18	Running
1989-Atlanta	Ted Wollesen	GT5	11	13	18	Running
1989-Atlanta	Omer Norton	GT5	13	15	16	Running
1990-Atlanta	Travis Duder	GT5	3	2	18	Running
1990-Atlanta	Bill Gilcrease	GT5	11	18	17	Running
1990-Atlanta	Joe Camileri	GT5	14	14	17	Running
1990-Atlanta	Ted Wollesen	GT5	15	12	17	Running
1990-Atlanta	Ross Becker	GT5	16	17	16	Running
1991-Atlanta	Richard Kraus	GT5	3	8	18	Running
1991-Atlanta	Ted Wollesen	GT5	8	12	17	Running
1991-Atlanta	John Boyte	GT5	9	13	11	DNF
1991-Atlanta	Joe Camileri	GT5	10	11	10	DNF
1991-Atlanta	Bill Cooper	GT5	11	1	5	DNF
1991-Atlanta	Bill Gilcrease	GT5	12	3	3	DNF
1992-Atlanta	Bill Cooper	GT5	2	1	18	Running
1992-Atlanta	Joe Camileri	GT5	7	12	18	Running
1992-Atlanta	Keith Maloney	GT5	8	15	17	Running
1992-Atlanta	Jack Holdaway	GT5	12	19	17	Running
1992-Atlanta	Bill Gilcrease	GT5	14	4	11	DNF
1992-Atlanta	John Boyte	GT5	15	17	10	DNF
1992-Atlanta	Richard Kraus	GT5	18	6	5	DNF
1993-Atlanta	Richard Kraus	GT5	1	1	18	Running
1993-Atlanta	Bill Cooper	GT5	3	2	17	DNF
1993-Atlanta	Joe Camileri	GT5	8	8	17	Running
1993-Atlanta	Bill Gilcrease	GT5	10	11	7	DNF
1994-Mid Ohio	Bill Gilcrease	GT5	2	4	19	Running
1994-Mid Ohio	Joe Camillari	GT5	10	9	18	Running
1994-Mid Ohio	Larry Janzen	GT5	11	16	18	Running
1994-Mid Ohio	Bill Brownlee	GT5	14	18	17	Running
1994-Mid Ohio	Jack Baumgardner	GT5	16	6	14	DNF
1994-Mid Ohio	Richard Kraus	GT5	17	7	14	DNF
1994-Mid Ohio	Joe Huffaker	GT5	18	1	9	DNF
1995-Mid Ohio	Joe Huffaker	GT5	2	1	19	Running
1995-Mid Ohio	Bill Gilcrease	GT5	4	10	19	Running
1995-Mid Ohio	Nigel Pervis	GT5	6	9	19	Running
1995-Mid Ohio	Jack Baumgardner	GT5	8	20	19	Running
1995-Mid Ohio	Larry Janzen	GT5	16	19	19	Running
1995-Mid Ohio	Mary Wollesen	GT5	18	24	18	Running
1995-Mid Ohio	Bill Brownlee	GT5	21	26	18	Running
1995-Mid Ohio	Richard Kraus	GT5	25	4	8	DNF
1995-Mid Ohio	Joe Camillari	GT5	27	11	5	DNF
1996-Mid Ohio	Gilcrease	GT5	3	6	19	Running
1996-Mid Ohio	Ted Wollesen	GT5	6	14	19	Running
1996-Mid Ohio	Joe Camillari	GT5	12	9	16	DNF
1996-Mid Ohio	Larry Janzen	GT5	15	15	13	DNF
1996-Mid Ohio	Jack Baumgardner	GT5	16	13	12	DNF
1996-Mid Ohio	Keith Maloney	GT5	17	10	11	DNF
1996-Mid Ohio	Mary Wollesen	GT5	20	16	5	DNF
1996-Mid Ohio	Ted Phenix	GT5	22	7	4	DNF
1996-Mid Ohio	Richard Kraus	GT5				DNS
1997-Mid Ohio	Jack Baumgardner	GT5	4	3	19	Running
1997-Mid Ohio	Ted Phenix	GT5	8	12	19	Running
1997-Mid Ohio	Joe Camillari	GT5	10	10	19	Running
1997-Mid Ohio	Robert Tarzwell	GT5	11	15	18	Running
1997-Mid Ohio	Joe Huffaker	GT5	13	8	17	DNF
1997-Mid Ohio	Larry Janzen	GT5	18	18	15	DNF
1997-Mid Ohio	Bill Gilcrease	GT5	19	7	9	DNF
1997-Mid Ohio	Paul Oelrich	GT5	20	20	8	DNF
1997-Mid Ohio	Ted Wollesen	GT5	21	14	7	DNF
1998-Mid Ohio	Joe Huffaker	GT5	2	2	19	Runiing
1998-Mid Ohio	Ted Wollesen	GT5	8	12	18	Runiing
1998-Mid Ohio	Keith Maloney	GT5	9	20	18	Runiing
1998-Mid Ohio	Chris Kopley	GT5	10	15	18	Runiing
1998-Mid Ohio	Chris Riley	GT5	13	25	17	Runiing
1998-Mid Ohio	Bill Brownlee	GT5	17	28	16	Runiing
1998-Mid Ohio	Jack Baumgardner	GT5	21	4	10	DNF
1998-Mid Ohio	Joe Camillari	GT5	22	14	8	DNF
1998-Mid Ohio	Bill Gilcrease	GT5	24	8	6	DNF
1998-Mid Ohio	Ted Phenix	GT5	25	9	5	DNF
1999-Mid Ohio	Chris Riley	GT5	5	27	19	Running
1999-Mid Ohio	Keith Degauque	GT5	6	21	19	Running
1999-Mid Ohio	Jack Baumgardner	GT5	15	6	17	Running
1999-Mid Ohio	Ted Wollesen	GT5	19	14	17	Running
1999-Mid Ohio	Ted Phenix	GT5	20	11	16	Running
1999-Mid Ohio	Joe Huffaker	GT5	21	1	15	Running
1999-Mid Ohio	Bill Gilcrease	GT5	22	10	15	Running
1999-Mid Ohio	Keith Maloney	GT5	23	18	12	DNF
1999-Mid Ohio	Chris Kopley	GT5	27	20	8	DNF
1999-Mid Ohio	Doug Peterson	GT5	28	4	8	DNF
1999-Mid Ohio	Bill Brownlee	GT5	29	31	6	DNF
2000-Mid Ohio	Joe Huffaker	GT5	1	1	20	Running
2000-Mid Ohio	Doug Peterson	GT5	2	3	20	Running
2000-Mid Ohio	Jack Baumgardner	GT5	3	8	20	Running
2000-Mid Ohio	Bill Gilcrease	GT5	6	5	20	Running
2000-Mid Ohio	Ted Phenix	GT5	9	11	20	Running
2000-Mid Ohio	Ted Wollesen	GT5	11	19	20	Running
2000-Mid Ohio	Keith Maloney	GT5	13	22	19	Running
2000-Mid Ohio	Chris Riley	GT5	17	26	19	Running
2000-Mid Ohio	Joe Camillari	GT5	28	20	3	DNF
2000-Mid Ohio	Chris Kopley	GT5	31	13	3	DNF
2001-Mid Ohio	Joe Huffaker	GT5	1	2	20	Running
2001-Mid Ohio	Doug Peterson	GT5	2	3	20	Running
2001-Mid Ohio	Bill Gilcrease	GT5	5	5	20	Running
2001-Mid Ohio	Chris Kopley	GT5	9	10	20	Running
2001-Mid Ohio	Ted Phenix	GT5	10	13	20	Running
2001-Mid Ohio	Chris Riley	GT5	11	14	20	Running
2001-Mid Ohio	Larry Janzen	GT5	13	20	19	Running
2001-Mid Ohio	Jack Baumgardner	GT5	16	6	19	Running
2001-Mid Ohio	Ted Wollesen	GT5	17	11	18	Running
2001-Mid Ohio	Keith Degauque	GT5	25	22	4	Running
2002-Mid Ohio	Joe Huffaker	GT5	1	1	20	Running
2002-Mid Ohio	Doug Peterson	GT5	2	3	20	Running
2002-Mid Ohio	Bill Gilcrease	GT5	4	5	20	Running
2002-Mid Ohio	Ted Phenix	GT5	9	7	20	Running
2002-Mid Ohio	Keith Maloney	GT5	12	12	20	Running
2002-Mid Ohio	Ted Wollesen	GT5	14	17	20	Running
2002-Mid Ohio	Chris Riley	GT5	17	20	19	Running
2002-Mid Ohio	Jack Baumgardner	GT5	23	11	7	DNF
2002-Mid Ohio	Chris Kopley	GT5				DNS
2003-Mid Ohio	Doug Peterson	GT5	1	2	20	Running
2003-Mid Ohio	Jack Baumgardner	GT5	2	9	20	Running
2003-Mid Ohio	Ted Phenix	GT5	8	12	20	Running
2003-Mid Ohio	Ted Wollesen	GT5	10	14	20	Running
2003-Mid Ohio	Chris Riley	GT5	11	18	19	Running
2003-Mid Ohio	Larry Janzen	GT5	17	17	19	Running
2003-Mid Ohio	Bill Gilcrease	GT5	21	8	8	DNF
2003-Mid Ohio	Joe Huffaker	GT5	24	1	5	DNF
2004-Mid Ohio	Doug Peterson	GT5	1	2	20	Running
2004-Mid Ohio	Jack Baumgardner	GT5	5	8	20	Running
2004-Mid Ohio	Bill Gilcrease	GT5	6	6	20	Running
2004-Mid Ohio	Ted Phenix	GT5	9	7	20	Running
2004-Mid Ohio	Chris Kopley	GT5	10	10	20	Running
2004-Mid Ohio	Ted Wollesen	GT5	19	13	17	Running
2004-Mid Ohio	Joe Huffaker	GT5	23	1	0	DNF
2004-Mid Ohio	Mark Kearney	HP	14	20	19	Running
2005-Mid Ohio	Ted Phenix	GTL	8	12	20	Running
2005-Mid Ohio	Chris Riley	GTL	14	24	19	Running
2005-Mid Ohio	Ted Wollesen	GTL	18	18	13	DNF
2005-Mid Ohio	Chris Kopley	GTL	22	13	3	DNF
2005-Mid Ohio	Bill Gilcrease	GTL	24	9	9	DNF
2006-Heartland Park Topeka	Bill Gilcrease	GTL	2	5	18	Running
2006-Heartland Park Topeka	Ted Phenix	GTL	12	13	13	Running
2007-Heartland Park Topeka	Bill Gilcrease	GTL	8	8	18	Running
2007-Heartland Park Topeka	Joel Hipp	GTL	15	21	17	Running
2007-Heartland Park Topeka	Ted Phenix	GTL	17	23	17	Running
2007-Heartland Park Topeka	Jon Becker	HP	18	23	16	Running
2008-Heartland Park Topeka	Bill Gilcrease	GTL	4	11	19	Running
2008-Heartland Park Topeka	Ted Phenix	GTL	10	18	18	Running
2008-Heartland Park Topeka	Chris Kopley	GTL	12	17	18	Running

Do Mini Coopers Leak?

It’s my understanding that nearly all mini’s leave their mark.  Do most just drip oil or some anti-freeze as well?

You’ll probably get more reasons for leaks than their are Mini owners. But it all has to do with how well and carefully various gaskets and seals are installed and maintained. For example, tighter isn’t always better. Take for instance rocker cover gaskets. Putting them on is generally easy but you have to be meticulous. The metal sealing surfaces have to be absolutely clean and free of any trace of oil. Then you need to get a good, reliable bonding agent such as Permatex spray adhesive and get the gasket to sit fully even and straight. A tacky rather than slippery adhesive sometimes helps in getting the gasket to stay put. Then you lower the rocker cover carefully into place and tighten the bolts down evenly and gently. You only need enough pressure to hold the gasket in place, not compress it. Too much pressure only distorts the gasket. Similarly, it takes real care to install crankshaft and driveshaft oil seals so that they aren’t distorted or scratched when passing over splines etc.  But because they are wearing surfaces (the shaft turns, rubbing on the seal) and the sealing material ages, they eventually will leak. My car’s driveshaft seals leak a wee bit when it is left sitting unused, but not if it is driven regularly. I think someone once wrote here that they tend to dry out when not shifted regularly. On other cars, air conditioning pumps leak when not uses regularly. I suspect new cars with AC are designed to turn on the AC when you set the controls to windscreen defrost to activate the pump. It seems really counter-productive to have AC come on when it is -40 and you’re trying to get frost off the inside of the windshield.

Speaking about anti-freeze, in normal conditions, a Mini should not leak any. But you still need to check the level because most Minis do not have an expansion tank and need an air space in the top of the rad, unlike modern cars. Minis also do not generally have an overflow tank like new cars either. So if the rad gets too full, or the engine gets too hot, the coolant will expand, over-pressuring the rad cap and pushing a bit of liquid or vapor out the overflow tube, landing on the ground. So there is usually a constant slight evaporation loss due to this release of vapor. The Mini engine may overheat after you’ve turned it off because the head is hot and the coolant stops flowing. You can get localized boiling in the head which can push coolant out after you’ve parked and walked away. That’s why new cars have catch tanks, which let the coolant siphon back in as the engine cools down.

Other antifreeze losses can occur in a Mini due to loose hose connections or old, tired hoses, corroded rads and heater cores, leaky heater valve, and the worst… a failed head gasket. The last isn’t noticeable unless you experience rough running (leaking into a cylinder) or whitish creamy deposits around the oil filler cap and neck (leaking into the crankcase and mixing with the oil).

The basics of the technology in a Mini is over 50 years old. 50 years ago, these issues were commonplace in all cars, except maybe VW Beetles which don’t use coolant. Some of them had gasoline-fired heaters… rather not have that leak!

From: http://www.minimania.com/web/threadid/105785/msgthread.cfm

What is the best SU manual

What is the best SU manual to have on the shelf? I’m looking for tuning, technical, and identification info. Every manual advertised states that it is the best SU manual to have. What say you?

Tuning S.U. Carburettors, published by Speedsport Motorbooks 1981, ISBN 85113-113-1 is as complete an SU manual as exists. On the other hand, out of the four manuals I’ve accumulated over the years, the first one I pick when I need some information is the Haynes SU manual. It’s good and the print is bigger.

The SpeedPro “…Power Tune SU…” book has some worthwhile tips and tricks in it but it’s not a reference book at all.

Agreed.  I’m on my second copy, having worn out the first.  It’s now titled SU Carburetters Tuning Tips & Techniques  Brooklands Books, 5^TH edition, © 1994.  (ISBN  1 85520 2557)  1st impression was published in 1968 as Tuning S.U. Carburetters & Fuel Pumps by Speedsport Motorbooks.

Mini Mania has it:  http://www.minimania.com/web/Item/BOOK52/InvDetail.cfm