Bongo Fury

francophile1947 wrote:

helen&tony wrote:Hi
The only mini variant I haven't had is a Moke...never had trouble with the dizzy in rain, puddles, OR a flood....Ain't maintenance wonderful!!!...
Cheers
Helen

I had a 1961 850cc Mini and it was a real PITA, until I blanked the middle of the front grill off. It was also prone to overheating during wet weather, because mud from the gutter used to spray up and block the radiator, which was sited behind the NSF wheel arch

Best Mini. Never sold in the UK as the Metro came out. Standard Mini front subframe, different rear one.
Innocenti De Tomaso special model. Still got this one. Front mounted rad, leccy fans so no water problems. Bought it new in Italy in 1980. Converted it to right hand drive and wife (now ex wife) rolled it and wrote it off. Bought it back and got new shell sent over and I gave it a complete rebuild with about two gallons of Waxoyl which explains why it's still around today.
All Cooper S spec. Must get it back on the road sometime with the Swiftune 130bhp Metro Turbo engine I've got stashed away

Lovely interior, well appointed dash

Had a red one as well, obviously these got called Innocenti De Tomatoes

Hi Briwy
I've had one of those Innocenti De-Tomasos...red and black with Campagnolo wheels, and a horrendously frightening engine built for me by a company specialising in A-series racing engines.....100 BHP at the wheels....and quicker off the line than you could imagine!!!!
Cheers
Helen

The Metro was crap as was the 1275GT with its square front end, much overheating problems and could not take a thrashing like the Cooper. I had 1965 Cooper S daytona yellow and a black vynil roof
sh*t off a stick.

shortly after I sold it I quickly purchased an 850cc model to throw the lump out and repalce it with an Austin 1300 GT enging just for laughs. It worked a treat. Later I tried to shoe horn a Wolsely Maxi 1800cc in one but gave up as a step to far

Cars were a lot of funs then and simpler to mess with. Also the coppers never bothered you too much either back then.

Hi
ELZE
I had a 1275GT...a gem and a half...It must have had an insurance job, as it was not like a few year old mini gets....I pulled the whole interior out, and it was like factory clean...I used to go clubbing in Chelsea in it in the era...it was a mildly customised, minty jobby, that got a few glances...mildly tweaked and 300% reliable
Coopers...Wolsey Hornets, you name it
BUT....the best of the bunch was a genuine one of a thousand 970 cc. Cooper S RARE hompologation model built by Leyland for 1000cc racing...My mum loved it!...it was as quiet as a pussycat and PUUUUURRRRfectly tame with respectable MPG of around 30 MPG....UNTIL......you opened the tap....It would consume both tanks of gas in moments, and it was PURE Jekyll and Hyde....I'd love that baby back again
Also....had a blueprinted 1100 engined mini ...deseamed, lowered ...well....SLAMMED, with huge wheels and flared arches that would accomodate a dustbin...in matt blue.....and every suspension mod...you could get into an average size roundabout at 70 MPH, and come out the other side at over 80, and grinning....YUM...one night it got me from Chelsea to Ickenham in 13 minutes!
Briwy...
That Innocenti was WAAY past late "S" specs...bored to over 1600 cc, and every part in the engine modified....The ignition system was a special Lucas that was so wild, that they couldn't calibrate it on a well-known rolling road.... ...from memory , I had just about run it in, when I was trickling along a motorway sliproad, saw a speeding Ford in the outside lane, and from a few miles an hour, I took lanes 1 , 2, and 3, and the Ford in an absolute flash...TOO frightening
My absolute wish-list engine was a lovely little 8-port cross-flow jobbie with fuel injection!!!!
Like minis????....LOVE 'em!!!
Cheers
Helen

helen&tony wrote:Hi
ELZE
I had a 1275GT...a gem and a half...It must have had an insurance job, as it was not like a few year old mini gets....I pulled the whole interior out, and it was like factory clean...I used to go clubbing in Chelsea in it in the era...it was a mildly customised, minty jobby, that got a few glances...mildly tweaked and 300% reliable
Coopers...Wolsey Hornets, you name it
BUT....the best of the bunch was a genuine one of a thousand 970 cc. Cooper S RARE hompologation model built by Leyland for 1000cc racing...My mum loved it!...it was as quiet as a pussycat and PUUUUURRRRfectly tame with respectable MPG of around 30 MPG....UNTIL......you opened the tap....It would consume both tanks of gas in moments, and it was PURE Jekyll and Hyde....I'd love that baby back again
Also....had a blueprinted 1100 engined mini ...deseamed, lowered ...well....SLAMMED, with huge wheels and flared arches that would accomodate a dustbin...in matt blue.....and every suspension mod...you could get into an average size roundabout at 70 MPH, and come out the other side at over 80, and grinning....YUM...one night it got me from Chelsea to Ickenham in 13 minutes!
Briwy...
That Innocenti was WAAY past late "S" specs...bored to over 1600 cc, and every part in the engine modified....The ignition system was a special Lucas that was so wild, that they couldn't calibrate it on a well-known rolling road.... ...from memory , I had just about run it in, when I was trickling along a motorway sliproad, saw a speeding Ford in the outside lane, and from a few miles an hour, I took lanes 1 , 2, and 3, and the Ford in an absolute flash...TOO frightening
My absolute wish-list engine was a lovely little 8-port cross-flow jobbie with fuel injection!!!!
Like minis????....LOVE 'em!!!
Cheers
Helen

Ahh I remember the cornering, stuck to the road like velcro!

helen&tony wrote:Hi
My absolute wish-list engine was a lovely little 8-port cross-flow jobbie with fuel injection!!!!
Like minis????....LOVE 'em!!!
Cheers
Helen

Helen.
I had a mate who had a Cox GTM with an ex works 1340 8 porter in it. That WAS frightening
Had lots of fun in it though round the lanes here in the Peaks. We used to go out following road rallies and usually ended up passing them.

Hi
Oh...some very happy memories of minis....I'd love another but for the roads here...a definite bit of fun , mini owning...that and VW Type 2s....There are some mighty flat 4's out there....I tried overtaking a type 2 some years back in the Bongo...and it's a damn' good runner, the Bongo, and nothing wrong, but this Type 2 just shot up the road like a rocket...no catching it...I guess it had a 2.2 Deano kit or similar!....and handling???...I modified mine considerably, and they can really corner if you work on them...I sold it before I got a tuned motor in, ....TOO much money!
Cheers
Helen

hi had to comment, my last bongo (yes I got another!) was a v6, went thro big puddles a few times never gave it a thought! eventually it conked out. Distributor cap was rusted out. A new one was not expensive, but a bu**er to fit

This does sound like you have a problem with the electricals. I have a V6 with LPG and it goes amazingly well through floods. I have just driven back from the center of Southampton through torrential rain. I did not try the bit where there was a river that escaped its culvert and turned into a ford, but no one else fancied it either. There were a lot of places with deepish water covering half of the road and no hesitation at all.

Last year I found myself in heavy rain driving down a narrow road to 321 Away, a Bongo specialist. That was flooded right across and as it looked fairly shallow and there was little room to turn round I went on. Water was pouring off the fields and it really got deep for the last bit, but the Bongo made it fine. The opinion at 321 Away was that a Bongo should have no problems due to its height and the radiators should protect the distributor. In normal weather I often drive through fords and bournes without trouble. Not now as they can flash flood to terrifying depths in a very short time.

The distributor cap is the most exposed part and a faulty seal could cause this problem.

Any one ever had an old Morris 1000? I had one that would do this on just a rainy day. did not even need a puddle. British engineering at its best. Endless damp start but if it was really wet you caught the bus.