Lot number	93
Hammer value	N/S (est. £5,000 - £6,000)
Description	Mini Van
Registration	BMW 114L
Year	1972
Colour	White
Engine size	1,380 cc
Chassis No.	XAV1821833A
Engine No.	155424
Documents	Part V5C; copy old style log book; MOT April 2017; 3 old MOTs; invoices

This fascinating customised Mini Van is a throwback to the time when the average bloke could light a bonfire, wire a plug and replace the clutch on his car in the street.

Custom Car magazine was full of articles on how practical men in sheds all over the country had taken their bog-standard Morris or Ford and shoehorned a Rover V8 engine into a space blatantly too small for it, painted flames up the side of the car and trimmed the interior with acres of dark-red buttoned Draylon, adding a drinks cabinet for good measure, usually in the hope of attracting the girl next door into the back seat!

A whole industry rose to the challenge, suppling any number of exterior glassfibre panels, engine conversion kits, big-bore exhausts and additional instrument binnacles that made the flight-deck of a Boeing 747 look positively basic.

The owner of this tastefully modified 1972 Mini Van acquired it as a part-finished project in 1996. It shows just three previous keepers in the logbook, presumably starting life as a working van, before being given a series of upgrades, many of which have come from a donor Cooper S.

The shell has been de-seamed and fitted with period glassfibre panel extensions and the rear door is now a single piece unit with ‘bubble Perspex’ rear window. It sits on alloy wheels and has had the exterior door handles removed and replaced on the driver’s side with a button that opens the door electronically. The front windows are also electrically operated.

The engine is understood to have come from the Cooper S and has an extra head stud, three-branch exhaust manifold matched to a big-bore system and twin-SU carburettors. It has been bored to 1,380cc and fitted with an alternator conversion, which all add up to a very rapid macine, according to the vendor. The brakes are upgraded too, with a servo and front disc conversion.

Inside it has a comprehensive array of dials, is fully carpeted and sports the customary ‘thumping’ stereo as well as a pair of Recaro sports seats. Registered with the attractive number BMW 114L, it is very nicely finished and something a bit different from the norm. This tax-exempt ‘fun-sized’ custom Mini is MOTd until April 2017 and comes with associated bills, three old MOTs and a grin from ear to ear. Lock up your daughters!