When asked how important Minis were to him during his youth, Nigel Sandell told us: “I rallied them and raced them. I was obsessed with them and I spent every spare penny on my Minis. My wife had Minis; we were very much a Mini family.” Tinkering with Minis has influenced his life as he learnt skills such as welding and engine building. This enabled him to become an apprentice mechanic which led to him specialising in high-end cars. “The Rolls Royce thing got under my skin, just like the Minis had, and I was hooked.”
He recalls his first Mini, a 1964 example that he bought in 1979, which slowly evolved with Cooper S elements. Minis spark nostalgia for Nigel. “My wife Jackie had a Riley Elf as her first car. We love the charm and cuteness of the Mini as well as the time period they came from. We made memories together thanks to Minis as we went everywhere in our Mini.” The couple owned Minis from 1979 until 2000. “I always regretted
