Classic Mini Race Car
Between 1959 and 2000 over 5 million Minis were manufactured. They were inexpensive and popular for racing due to their lightweight and excellent handling characteristics that allowed them to challenge and win against larger more powerful cars.
This Mini 1000 (Mk IV) was manufactured in January, 1978 by Austin Morris British Leyland UK Ltd at the Longbridge plant in Birmingham, England.
It was then shipped to Canada where it was sold and registered as a new road vehicle and eventually made its way to the U.S.A.
2007 Initial Conversion to a Race Car
After almost 30 years on the road this Mini was then converted by a South West Motor Sports (SWMS) Formula Ford race team in Albuquerque, New Mexico from a street legal road car to a “1972 continuation” vintage race car (see pictures for details).
For three years (logbooks included with car), from 2007 to 2009, the car was raced at:
• the Sandia Motor Speedway, Albuquerque, New Mexico with SWMS (South West Motor Sports)
• the Pueblo Raceway in Pueblo, Colorado with RMVR (Rocky Mountain Vintage Racing)
• the La Junta Raceway in La Junta, Colorado with RMVR (Rocky Mountain Vintage Racing)
2014 Race Engine Upgrade
In 2014 the Mini was purchased and moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada where it was fitted with a 1275cc based race engine (over-bored to 0.040” for 1310cc) prepared by Classic Motor Works (CMW) of St. Andrews, Manitoba, Canada (see pictures for details).
The twin SU carbs were rebuilt and modified by Retro Minis of Lancashire, U.K. to the David Vizard standards (“the Yellow Book”, pages 115 to 122, Tuning the A-Series Engine, Third Edition, by David Vizard) (see pictures for details).
This Mini weighs approximately 1,350 lbs and the horsepower of the 1310cc race engine was not known but estimated to be “somewhere north of 100”.
For five years (current logbook included with car), from 2014 to 2018, the car was raced by owner Ken Hilash and pit crewed by Hilash Brothers’ Black Hands Racing Vintage Motorsports of Winnipeg, Canada at:
• the Gimli Motorsports Park in Gimli, Manitoba, Canada with the WSCC (Winnipeg Sports Car Club) under WCMA/ASN Canada FIA sanctioning
• the Brainerd International Raceway in Brainerd, Minnesota, U.S.A. with the SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) Land O’Lakes Region / VSCR (Vintage Sports Car Racing)
• Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, U.S.A. with the VSCDA (Vintage Sports Car Drivers Association)
Results include:
• 1st Place - 2014 Vintage Road Race Championship, Winnipeg Sports Car Club
• 3rd Place - 2015 Vintage Road Race Championship, Winnipeg Sports Car Club
• 1st Place - 2016 Production Road Racer, Piston Ring’s 42nd Annual World of Wheels
• 3rd Place - 2017 Vintage Group-A, 19th Annual Classic Motor Works Vintage Race Weekend
• 2nd Place - 2017 Australian Pursuit Race, 19th Annual Classic Motor Works Vintage Race Weekend
Video - racing at the Gimli Motorsports Park, Gimli, MB (yellow Mini, number 172):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh-hZBmYX90
Video – racing at the Brainerd International Raceway, Brainerd, MN:
https://youtu.be/WAqd9A_lY8M
Video – racing at Road America, Elkhart Lake, WI:
https://youtu.be/ofZBSdlaMBs
2024 Significant Refresh
This Mini was raced regularly before the pandemic but was then un-used for five years sitting covered in a garage. In April/May 2024 it was extensively refreshed by Classic Motor Works (CMW) of St. Andrews, Manitoba, Canada including the engine being over-bored to 0.060” for 1380cc (see pictures for details).
In June 2024, Old School Garage of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada repaired the stone chips on the front of the car and then applied three coats of paint.
Includes all documentation and many new and used spare parts (see pictures for details).
Annual tech inspections in the logbooks including new July 2024 “WSCC Tech Inspection Passed” sticker in the current logbook:
• RMVR: 2007, 2008, 2009
• WCMA/WSCC: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2024
• SCCA/VSCR: 2015, 2016
• VSCDA: 2016
Note - there are multiple vintage and race sanctioning bodies and ensuring that the car meets the requirements to race at any specific event or racetrack is the responsibility of the buyer
This Mini is Ready to Race!
Note - importing the car into another country is the responsibility of the buyer however to facilitate moving the car across borders the bill of sale will state “this vehicle is a vintage competition vehicle and is for use exclusively in closed-course competition”
