Perfect restored Mini Pickup

Starting in the early 1970s, Les Winkworth owned a huge variety of cars but there was not a single Mini among them. For that privilege he waited until 2012... Les Winkworth knows a thing or two about cars. This is not really surprising as he trained as a mechanic, back in 1972, and has been in the job ever since. Today he runs a garage in partnership with one of his sons, Carl: C&L Motor Tech in Bury St Edmunds. Back in the 1970s, when Les was training, he bought his first car, a 1963 Vauxhall Viva HA. Quite a popular older car at the time and Les says that his "didn't cost a lot." But it was the first of a great many cars that he was to own in subsequent years, "far too many to list." He does mention a Hillman Avenger, Mk3 Cortina, several Escort Mkls and Mk2s, Vauxhall Astras, Vauxhall Cavaliers and some Ford Fiestas. Not a Mini amongst them. In more
recent years he has more than made up for this.



He and his two sons, Carl and Michael, were at one time involved in Autograss. Les would watch the Mini Pick-ups competing and rather liked the look of them. He promised himself:

"One day I will have one of those." So, a few years back, he started looking out for one. The problem with this is that Pick-ups are really quite rare today, especially in unmolested, original condition so trying to find one is no easy or quick task. The other problem is that Mini Pick-ups, in their day, were cheap utility vehicles, bought by builders and farmers, and the vast majority were terribly abused. This has contributed to their rarity; most ended up in the scrapyard.

The general abuse to which Pick-ups were subjected also meant that virtually all of the original, unrestored examples that remain are usually very bad indeed. He particularly wanted an unmolested car, as his plan was to carry out a complete restoration, "keeping the standard look and specification wherever possible." Eventually he found one in Norwich, an hour or so's drive from where he lives. He went to view it but it really was not what he wanted so he left, disappointed.


He continued to keep an eye out for another and then, in March 2012, he had a spot of luck and heard of a Pick-up that once belonged to someone he knew. It had been sold to someone who intended to modify it and hadn't planned on selling it. Then he changed his mind, so Les went along to take a look. It was Burgundy in colour and, as was to be expected, it was very, very rusty. "The floors had almost disappeared and the load bed was completely rotten." Undeterred by the awful condition, he bravely parted with £1400 and became the proud owner of GDO 802N, a Mini Pick-up first registered as a Morris Mini Pick-up, in Lincoln, on 3rd December 1974.

A little delving into the areas of bodywork that were still reasonably intact showed that, although he had bought a Burgundy-coloured Pick-up, it was not the original colour. That colour was Tundra (BLVC94), a darkish sort of almost-military-looking green that was quite popular on Pick-ups and Vans at the time. Although in a bad state, it seemed that it had clearly not always been abused or, if it had, it had periodically received some care and attention. Because it had been resprayed at least twice. Firstly in a "sandy gold" colour and then in the as-found burgundy.


Interesting stuff but first it was going to need major restoration so he transported it back to the workshop at his garage. Here it was completely stripped down to a bare shell and the shell then delivered to specialist bodyshop: M&D-Ltu Ltd., in Littleport, Cambridgeshire. M&D set about removing and replacing all of the rusty and damaged areas. The task was quite considerable as there was a great deal of rot present and, in the end, "everything was replaced except the B-pillars, bulkhead and roof." The replacement panels were a mix of Heritage and M-Machine, ensuring that everything was bui It to the highest standards. Originality was important and a replacement Van/Pick-up grille section from M-Machine was carefully welded into the new front panel.

No real problems were encountered in the build of the shell. The only 'problem' appeared later on and concerned the non-removable grille. "Maintenance, such as changing the oil filter, is a real pain." A small pain in exchange for a lot of gain, though, as the result is a very original looking straight shell, which is completely rot-free and as good as, if not better than, new.

With the shell now intact it was time to think about painting it. The two main people from M&D, who were responsible for the restoration work, Lucas and Keith, were not too happy at the idea of painting the Pick-up in its original Tundra. When he thought about it, nor was Les. A change of colour was not a problem as the entire shell, inside, out and underneath was being resprayed. But he wanted it to be an original BLMC colour and decided upon Pageant Blue (BLVC224), a late 1970s BL colour.


Whilst the body was being restored a great deal of work was going on sorting out the rest of the components. The engine and gearbox were sent off to Chris Allitt, at Allitt Motor Services, for a total overhaul. As well as completely reconditioning everything, including a +0.020-inch rebore and a -0.010/-0.010-inch crank regrind, a few internal A-Plus upgrades were made to the engine. These mods included using A-Plus press-fit rods and flattop slipper pistons, a CAM4717 A-Plus camshaft, with slot-drive oil pump, and a duplex timing chain fitted into the original A-Series casing.

A Metro 1.0 unleaded cylinder head was obtained and reconditioned. Said head was modified to include a bypass hose take-offand heater valve in keeping with the original A-Series engine. The gearbox and differential assembly
were completely stripped, thoroughly cleaned and everything checked and reassembled with new bearings, baulk rings, diffpin, planet gears, gaskets, etc, and a centre oil pick-up pipe was fitted. All of the ancillary components on the power unit were renewed or replaced.


A few nice touches were added, such as powder-coating the rocker cover and all of the brackets and mountings, including the front lower steady bar and alternator bracket. The inlet / exhaust manifold was blasted and painted. The clutch cover and flywheel housing were vapour blasted and refitted with new components, including clutch arm and clevis pins. To complete the job, new spark plugs, leads and a new old stock 45D distributor, with electronic ignition from H&H, all went on. Electronic ignition is absolutely essential to maintain sanity on a commercial Mini with that fixed radiator grille.

The running gear and interior were receiving their fair share of attention too. The subframes were powder-coated, the original front frame being sand blasted first, and a brand new Heritage frame used at the rear. The frames were assembled with all new mountings, springs and a new set of Sachs dampers was obtained. The original 3.5-inch steel wheels were blasted and powder-coated silver, then fitted up with a set of
Kings Tire 145x10 radial tyres. The drum brakes were reassembled with all-new backplates, cylinders, linings and drums. New brake and clutch master cylinders, rubber hoses and copper pipework completed the hydraulics.


All the major restoration work had now been carried out and it was just a case of putting it all together. During the fitting up of the shell, many more new parts were purchased and fitted. New Wipac H4 headlights with new plastic bowls went in; the interior was refurbished by blasting the original seat frames and retrimming them with
new covers. The seats were upholstered and floor covering was hand cut by P&M Taylor, a trimming company in Burwell, Cambridgeshire. Les was able to re-use the centre speedo from the Pick-up. New inertia-reel seatbelts, and new door handles, locks and window catches finished off the interior.

Many of the parts Les was able to source new but some took a little searching out. He was lucky to get hold of a new old stock air filter housing, for the single HS4 SU, and managed to find an excellent condition original steering wheel and some original wing mirrors at an autojumble. The latter were blasted and powder-coated black.


Overall the build went very well with the worst part being the fitting of the "pain in the backside wheel arch and sill trim." The other hitch was with the DVLA. They had the Pick-up registered as a four seater and Les had to resolve this with them. This kind of thing is not always easy. He had planned the first outing for the Pick-up to be the 2013 Stanford Hall Mini Day and he did finish the build in time. The only thing being that he had to trailer, rather than drive it, to the show because of the registration problem. Thankfully that is all resolved now and Les is attending shows and participating in runs with the car this year.


With such a superb restoration anyone could be forgiven for thinking that this is Les' only Mini. This couldn't be further from the truth for he also has a restored 26,000-mile Mini 35, two British Open Classics, a 1974 Mk3, a 1985 Automatic, a 1992 998 Mayfair, a 'modified by someone else' 1275cc Clubman Estate, a newly-purchased 'T'-registered Mini and "a wreck of a Mini Van. This is my next project." If the Van is only half as good as the Pick-up, we can't wait to see it.

Thanks Mini World for this amazing article.