Like so many fans of the BMC Mini, Jim Stafford joined the ranks through family. It was his dad who lit the spark; wind back to the late-1990s and his father bought an Australian-assembled 1978 Leyland Mini S, as Jim puts it: “the Clubman-style one with the square front…” It was not in the best condition and Jim’s sister at the time conveniently had a boyfriend who set out on a restoration project that was so successful that, by the new millennium, it was scooping trophies wherever it went; Best Boot, Best Engine Bay, Best Interior, People’s Choice award, Best Car in Show, to name just a few. Jim was impressed. Who wouldn’t be?
But until this earth-moving moment, Jim was hooked on locally-built General Motors Holdens – as so many Aussies were in those days. Jim had got his driving license the day he was legally entitled to and at just 18 years of age he was behind the wheel of Holden SLR 3300 Torana. These were the wheels to own for a young man in those days and they have now have become something of a collector’s piece – some $5,500 (£2,900 in today’s money) new in 1976 is now worth $70,000 (£37,000).
Although Holdens were Jim’s standard form of transport (he has owned a total of six) he had always been taken with British cars, and this was fuelled when dad bought the ’78 Mini.
In the post-war years,nations. In many ways it was ahead of the game, bringing in-line transfer machining of engine blocks to Australia, an advanced ‘Rotodip’ rust-preventative system and paint shop and an automatic conveyor production line. British Motor Corporation (Australia) as it then became known, also introduced a form of just-in-time parts supply – another prelude to what was to come in the motor industry. Austin Lancer and Morris Major models – based on the Wolseley 1500 but modified for Australian conditions – were rolling off the production lines, as was an Australian version of Austin A95 Westminster, named the Morris Marshall. The Mini came into the picture in 1961 – less than two years after the car took the UK market by storm – and was known as the BMC Morris 850. It proved popular, but Aussie motorists wanted more than the just the basic specification sold in the UK. So, by 1965, the Australian Mini used locally pressed body panels, sported locally designed wind-up window doors, ignition key operated starter, and improved levels of trim. Along with the Morris 1100 sedan it was also the first with Hydrolastic suspension.
