Right Hand Driver: 1968 Mini Clubman Wagon
One of the common complaints from classic British car collectors is that nobody makes a good 12-inch tire anymore. A quick search for 165/70R12 on Tirerack gives a single option and even if you upgrade to the blingy 13s (yo! check out that lip dawg) you still end up with the choice between some 800 treadwear Korean built economy tire or a barely DOT legal slick. However, this is a small price to pay for correct size tires on my classic British driver, because size does matter. Find this 1968 Mini Clubman Wagon offered for $9,500 in Culver City, CA via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.
The Mini Clubman was released in 1969 (not sure why this one lists a 1968 title, something to ask the seller) with revised styling done by Roy Haynes (designer of the Ford Cortina, and Morris Marina). The new face was free from the cute pontoon fenders that were revived with the BMW Mini reboot in 2001, and looks almost like something from the Fiat family.
Up front you get the same selection of 998cc inline-4 cylinder engine (with 4-speed manual gearbox) that powers the regular Mini, but in the back you get a sizable storage area. This one has been sprayed with bedliner, so it is ready for your dirt hauling needs.
See a better car shod with classic Minilites? tips@dailyturismo.com
Ooooh! Shiiiiiny!
Try finding 145/80R14 tyres to fit a '59 Morris Minor van … after a long fruitless search I imported mine from the UK
Alan, That is because tyres are only available on that side of the pond. Tires, on the other hand, are easy to find here. Sorry, couldn't pass up a bad joke!! On a serious note, the tire (or tyre) wheel size issue might get better in the next few years as cars try and scramble for every ounce of fuel economy. Smaller is more efficient when all other things are equal. -Vince DT E-i-C
Good point. That Google clown car they showed a while back had tiny tyres.
Not sure which part of this is a 1968 apart from the VIN tag perhaps. This Clubman Front end didn't happen until somewhere around 1972. Looks pretty clean, I would want a 1275 or larger motor in this though.
Another fact that I had nomidea of, learned today at DT.
Peeve, though: Why do so many commenters with gobs more knowledge than me post as Anonymous? Guy/gals: please pick a name so we can appropriately ascribe your brilliance/grasp of trivial crap that the rest of us find really interesting and cool/obsession.
Too lazy and too ADD. Brilliance and a knowledge of trivia only goes so far, apparently. Plus, they don't care to have a conversation because they already know everything. And by everything, I mean whatever exists in their tiny bubble world. The fear of poking their heads out and actually positively interacting with other enthusiasts is too great. Good god, think of what could happen?!? The sky could fall and they could fall off the edge of the flat world!
[img] i.imgur.com/QDPuiQv.jpg?1[/img]
Oh nooooooooooo! LOL…thanks for the laugh.
You're welcome. Next in line, please.
I don't know for sure, I may be wrong and all that, since I've only owned 15 or so Mini's and the newest one was a 66,,, but I think the biggest reason he's having trouble sourcing tyres (sic) is that the Mini used ten (10) inch wheels and tyres. In the US, the Austin America and MG1100 had twelve inch wheels and tyres, but the Mini's used the 10's.
I mean, I could be wrong and all that, but I'm just sayin.
Have fun
Rufus
ps, I'd post as Rufus if the little computer thingy would let me, but I'm obviously not smart enough to figure it out, and don't have a website or url or that stuff, I'm just an old gearhead with a second hand computer and too much, tap tap, time on my hands.
You signed your name and so you not only get street cred but also our appreciation for making the effort. That's all Commandment II asks, even though it says there's an out if you're having mobile and technical issues, which is not particularly logical at this juncture because you just proved that anybody who can add a comment can also add their name. And you didn't even need any fancy tech to do it; you simply typed your name. Thank you for that.
Where is a good place to source ten inch tires? Moss?
Minis used 12" wheels from 1974 to clear the 8.4 inch front disc brakes on 1275GT clubman models, then on all of them after 1980. Another clue that this is not a 1968. Tires can be sourced from Falken and yokohama through Minimania.com
Thanks!
you can buy Yokohama 008 10" tires from TireRack all day long. Minimania sells them too.