September-October '08:
Four MINI Takes The States venues, debut of the JCW Cooper S and Clubman Cooper S, plus attending Mini Meet West, Le Mans Classic in France, it has been a hectic summer for the staff of MC2. We do it to keep you up to date with all things Mini, and because it is fun!
On The Cover: This month's cover story is on the JCW Coupe and Clubman. We tested them both. Publisher Barry Brazier got behind the wheel of a JCW Clubman at Road America, Wisconsin and our UK Correspondent, Rob Marshall doing his behind-the-wheel duty at Donington Park racetrack in the UK. Barry's, "The Works!" story begins on page 34. Rob's, "Works On The UP!" article follows on page 36. The opinion of both journalists is that the new JCW cars are MINIs worth waiting for! Barry says that the Clubman will put a smile on any small-engined performance enthusiast's face and Rob reports that the Coupe's fun quotient weighs in by the truck load.
Major Event Coverage: Our leading story this issue is MINI Takes The States: Miami and Boston, starting on page 24. In it, we detail all the crazy goings on; from rally driver Rauno Aaltonen's flagging off the drivers in Miami, to a MINI Rock Concert in Boston. Between Publisher, Barry Brazier and Editor, Peter D. DuPre, we covered all four MTTS venues this past summer. Due to production considerations, however, only the Miami and Boston events are covered in this issue. Chicago and Los Angeles coverage will be in our next issue.
Following up on the excitement of the MINI Takes The States tour, was Neil Chirico's coverage of Mini Meet West, a classic Mini meet held each year in the Western US. Neil, a former staffer at Motor Trend, is published throughout the US and Europe and we look forward to seeing more of his writings in MC2 in the future. For this issue, he braved the heat wave in Southern California to document an event that attracted over 200 classic Minis and attracted 1,000 visitors. His story, entitled California Mini Dreamin', starts on page 44.
Driving a bunch of Minis to the top of New Hampshire's Mt. Washington has become a annual event that attracts hundreds of Minis every summer for a few days of fun and for charity and this year's Minis On Top was the best yet. Minis Invade New Hampshire begins on page 50; author Michael B. Smith, assisted by photographers Ian Cull, Sally Kershner, Brian Lalor, Ben Martin, and Josh Wardell, describes the highlights of one of the biggest Mini events in the Northeast. According to Michael, this 6th annual Minis On Top raised some $14,131 for the Mt. Washington Observatory and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, AND it delivered a great time to all who attended, as well.
Mini Heritage: On page 30, our Senior European Correspondent, Graham Robson writes about The Other Minis. In order to prop up sagging sales of its other lines, British Motor Corporation developed badge-engineered Minis such as the Riley Elf, Wolseley Hornet, and the famed Mini Moke, to name but a few. And as usual, Graham delves into the behind the scenes discussions that led to the developement of these other Minis. Then, on page 38, Rob Marshall -- along with his pal, Neil Jefferies -- set off for France to Le Mans Classic - A French Mini Adventure. In true MC2 fashion, Rob crossed under The Channel in a Chocolate, Clubman Diesel for a weekend of classic racing fun at the famed racetrack. Although Minis of old were known more for their rallying exploits, Rob attended this race because a few rare Mini Marcos sports coupes were in the running and he wanted to see just how well these aging kit cars performed. The Mini Marcos cars did quite well, as it turns out. Do did the MINI Clubman diesel, which delivered reasonable performance and delivered almost 53 mpg! Not bad for a car loaded with two journalists and a weekend's worth of camping gear.
How-To and Tech: Late summer/early fall is a great time to get a little maintenance or repairs done on your car and our special DIY highlights three projects of note. Beginning the section, Design Editor, Stephan McKeown, and Technical Editor, Matt Richter, team up on a concise how-to, step-by-step replacement of the serpentine belt in Taming The Serpent on page 61. While generally reliable, these rubber drive belts should be replaced on a regular basis. In fact, Matt suggests an annual swap out, especially if you track your MINI. After that, Neil Chirico takes us to Steve's Auto Clinic in the Los Angeles area to hit the high points on replacing the supercharger. In Silencing the Death Rattle! (page 66) Neil points out that while the MINI supercharger is certainly reliable, it doesn't last forever -- especially if you are running a performance pulley. Finally, Stephan McKeown (our in house detail freak) shows how to detail your window glass in Shine On Brightly (page 70). Stephan says that over time, the MINI window glass can get clouded with grime and water spots that just don't wipe off at the service station. Luckily, Griot's Random Orbital polishing machine, along with with their glass polish/wax can cure the problem with a little short work. He tells us how he does the job and delivers a couple of detailing tricks to us in the process.
Feature Vehicles: The Editor, Peter D. DuPre, writes about Pedro Vidal's 1972 Cooper, which ran in last year's La Carrera Panamericana. There aren't many vintage Minis still running rally races, but Pedro and his Carrera Classic (page 48) soldier on. Pedro and his car put on a strong performance last year, right up until an engine failure pulled him out of the running. But not one to be deterred, Pedro and his Co-driver, Jose finished the race by pushing their aging classic across the line to receive the final day medal, and the applause of hundreds of race fans at the finish. And if you are hungry for more MINI features, how about taking a bite out of the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile? In Hot Dog! It's a MINI (page 54), you'll be taken on a tasty ride in this newest crowd pleaser. It's small. It's yellow and red. It's fun to drive. Wouldn't you just relish owning one?
Clubs and Events: In local club news, we have reports on the British Return to Ft. Meigs, The Pub Mini Meet, the PhillyMINI Girl Scout Car Care Day, MINI Takes the States - Charleston Style and Miami Style, and the Blue Ridge Parkway Tour. Also in this issue, there's an update on our Project Clubman, a Mini Calendar of Events, all our regular columnists, Minis in Miniature, MINI News, Your Wheels, The Doctor is In, Mini Cindy and Across the Pond. In short, this issue promises to be a great read.
Erratta: Before we sign off, there is one bit of housekeeping that needs to mentioning. Due to a printer error, the table of contents page of this issue has a few typos and some missing photographs. The page shown here, is how the finished TOC was supposed to look. We had a last minute switch of pages to meet advertising needs and in the shuffle to make the changes at the printing plant, the unfinished place holder page was accidentally picked up.
Well, that about wraps up this synopsis of the September-October 2008 issue. We hope you enjoy reading each and every page. ~ Peter D. DuPre, Editor-In-Chief
