It's back!!! The annual Mini Spares Open Evening in concjuntion withe the British Mini Club on the evening of the 2nd July between 6 and 9 pm. With one night only MASSIVE discounts  on all your Mini parts. Free food. competitons and prizes to be won. Come along for a fantastic evening and meet many other Mini / MINI enthusiasts

Check out the event on Facebook as well. https://www.facebook.com/events/505800069475294/

This is very exciting news for everyone visiting Mini Fest. The amazing crew at The Customiser are bringing their roadshow to our British Mini Club event... The products they make are unique in every way. Just wait till you see what they bring along...

Once again the whole team at The Customiser are hitting the road to showcase some of our finest work.

This time we are taking our show team to Uttoxeter for the Ultimate Mini Fest and ran by the British Mini Club, The largest mini club in the world !We will be there early on Sunday the 1st September 2013 with our amazing items and truly transformed Mini Creations.

We will be auctioning off a very special item designed and custom built specifically for the show. The Profits will be going directly to the Charity the organisers choose.

Rest assured we will wow you with our creations and be prepared to be stunned ! We've done stretch minis and all sorts of projects we've even cut a Lamborghini in half recently for TV now its a LamBARghini

Wait till you see what we've got planned for your show !

The Customiser is coming....

Keep an eye out on twitter for special offers and discount vouchers to use at the show on our stand !

Twitter @thecustomiser

To see the other amazing stuff they do check out there website today including the LamBARghini and the Motor Mansion... we know you will not be dissapointed http://thecustomiser.co.uk/

Have you seen the Lightening Limo?

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They are promising to showcase a very special Mini project at Mini Fest which we can not wait to see.. Check out the gallery below and see the Cooper Couch, Cooper Coffee table and Cooper Bar

We must be getting close to raffling our 60th Classic Mini now. Our latest was a superb Mini Sidewalk at Himley Hall 2013 which had covered less than 20,000 miles. We had a big crowd who stayed behind for a very rainy presentation and raffle draw time. Understandably a few people had gone home because of the late rain. The first ticket was drawn out, with the alloted 60 seconds to claim your prize running by. After cheers from the crowd and a very excited Barry 'Wizzo' Williams watching with his tickets in hand we had to draw again.... 

To see how Nigel from Birmingham claimed his prize and the number of the winning ticket check out the video below. 

A BIG Thank you to everyone who braved the rain and to show sponsors Footman James who kindly provide £250 towards insurance to the winner

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The British Mini Clubs Himley Hall show in 2013 attracted many superb Classic Mini's and New MINI's to the event. With many entered into Concours and Show 'N' Shine, and including 21 MINI GP's on the GP Owners Club UK stand.

We have uploaded some 300 images from the event to our Flickr page, view the slide show below. We hope you enjoy the images from what turned out to be an excellent day, aside from the afternoon rain there was a good turn out of Mini enthusiasts

To view the set direct on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/britishminiclub/sets/72157633520909759

We also have many more excellent images on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/britishminiclub please feel free to tag yourself in any of the images.

Wayne Brownhill and David Hobbs win Car Of The Day awards at the British Mini Clubs Himley Hall event on May 12th 2013. Anyone who knows Wayne will know he is a stalwart of the Classic Mini concours scene over nearly 25 years. He has shown many cars over the years and quite rightly wins many trophies. David Hobbs swepped the board in the New MINI with class wins, special awards and New MINI of the Day. Davids MINI is a top quality car although he was up against massive competition he is still tough to beat. Both David and Wayne won a cheque for £250 for the incredible efforts. Visitiors saw some top quality cars on display although the field was reduced due to the threat of afternoon rain.

Show and Shine made its first appearance at Himley and looks like it will be a regular feature as well. There were some very nice Mini and MINI's on show, with entrants voting, rather than being judged, it worked very well. With the ladies taking a clean sweep in the new MINI Show and Shine. A Classic Mini Countyman owned by Geoff Beckett and Helen Graingers MINI Cooper S were the deserved winners.

 All class winners, Show 'n' Shine winners were kindly presented with a selection of AutoGlym products by Premier Concours sponsors Branson Automotive. The Car of the Day winners also received AutoGlyms High Definition Wax 

British Mini Day Himley Hall 2013 – Show results

Classic Mini Of The Day Wayne Brownhill YDU 721X

New MINI Of The Day David Hobbs F1 DJH

Classic Mini 1959-1969

1^st Sandra Britton PAE 360F 189pts 2^nd Dave Rippard 819 XUU 184pts 3^rd Jason Field NFO 644 183pts

Classic Mini 1970-1979

1^st Eric Madeley ACA 224W 182pts 2^nd Nick James HDU 200V 94pts

Classic Mini 1980-1989

1^st James Connor G339 POD 199pts 2^nd Sam Rodgers F739 DUE 195pts 3^rd William Dudgeon G114 JLH 179pts

Classic Mini 1990-2000

1^st Martin Wixon X174 UFC 145pts 2^nd Miles Green M786 SNH 103pts

Mini Clubman All Marques

1^st Wayne Brownhill YDU 721X 193pts 2^nd Adrian Edwards EKV 486T 191pts 3^rd Alan Slater  TAK 489J 186pts

Van and Pickup

1^st Paul Moran TTR 764J 195pts 2^nd Michelle Pizzey OEG 616X 187pts 3^rd David Bowers LAW 446W 182pts

Variants

1^st Trina Roberts Q318 RCA 193pts 2^nd Donald Nunn SPK 220F 170pts

Modified

1^st Mel Ward SHA 938W 194pts

Classic Mini Cooper and S

1^st Mark Ruff EOD 509D 199pts 2^nd David Palmer GNM 500F 197pts 3^rd Barry Chipman UTA 707J 193pts

Custom

1^st Mark Nunn  M247 OAC 189pts 2^nd Gary Parker J323 MTM 170pts

Limited Editions

1^st Ruth Lowe F902 SNH  154pts 2^nd Alison Bridgehouse H807 BJA 3^rd Andy Dickinson G304 NDY 126pts

Classic Cabriolet

1^st Julie Cairns L59 TBD 152pts

MINI 2001-2006

1^st Steven Moore H4 YGP 193pts 2^nd Richard Pryor W10 RKP 190pts 3^rd Dudley Sewell P5 GEW 177pts

MINI 2007 Onwards

1^st David Hobbs F1 DJH 194pts 2^nd Kevin Price N600 KEV 192pts 3^rd Geoff Walker  P5 GEW 177pts

Special Awards

Best Paint Classic SHA 938W Best Paint New MINI W10 RKP

Best Engine Classic PAG 360F Best Engine New MINI LD04 KYF

Best Interior Classic TTR 764T Best Interior New MINI N600 KEV

Best Presented Classic F902 SNH Best Presented New MINI F1 DJH

Show and Shine

Classic Mini

1^st Judith Wetherall NBU 46E Cooper S 2^nd C James FTY 750T 1275GT 3^rd Geoff Beckett Mini Countryman

New MINI

1^st Helen Grainger Cooper S 2^nd Sarah Wixon DV61 LVO 3^rd Emily Rawlinson CX10 BVS

Best Club Stand

1^st Renegade Mini Fun Club 2^nd Robin Hood Mini Club 3^rd Hill Top Minis

Many thanks to everyone for taking part at Himley. Remember all the 1st placed winners in Concours go forward to the Premier Class Final at Mini Fair 2 in October. We hope you enjoyed the day despite the rain

If you are looking to sell your Classic Mini or new MINI and want to show it of to a mass audience of Mini enthusiasts then simply bring it along to the British Mini Clubs event at Himley Hall this Sunday May 12th.

Just let the marshalls know and they will direct to the 'For Sale' area it really is that easy. Then it is upto you to sell your Mini :)

http://britishminiclub.co.uk/about-the-club/himley-hall

50 trophies up for grabs in Premier Concours at the British Mini Clubs Mini Day at Himley Hall on the 12^th May 2013

Plus £250 for Mini / MINI Of The Day, and all winners of each class go through to the grand Premier Final at Mini Fair 2 in October.

The weather is looking perfect or showing of you Mini / MINI on the 12^th with a high of 21 degrees according to the BBC Weather http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2646868

Just perfect for getting out that polishing cloth, with some of the finest Auto Glym products. Come along and win a trophy or two for your pride and joy. Winners also receive an AutoGlym pack from concours sponsors Branson Automotive

Prizes also for best presented, best engine, best interior, paint and much more.

Send for an application form now to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   Just £10 per entrant, which includes the cost of the concours and show entrance for the driver.

What are you waiting for? More details here: http://britishminiclub.co.uk/concours-at-himley

The British Mini Club are proud once again to be supporting Big Mac Racing in 2013 in the Dunlop Mini Se7en Challenge, sponsored by Mini Sport. Car #88 is now sporting British Mini Club graphics as part of its new livery. The 1st outing of 2013 was at Donington Park. Read the blog below to find out how they got on.

We made it to Donny and it was certainly down to the wire - poor Dave and Sam from www.trackroadandrace.com were a little worse for wear after zero sleep - but #88 was ready for what the East Midlands circuit had to offer. A few cosmetic bits remained to do but it was certainly worthy of showing its face and unleashing the new fresh look that had been kept under wraps.

It would be the 1st time car and driver would reconnect after the busy winter break (well after New Year to be precise), which was spent rebuilding #88. In fact, it was more like a fresh build - more details on that in my next blog. I am extremely happy with the work everyone has put into it - not just because of the great repair work and paint job, but the precision and thought process that has been applied to the build is clearly visible. I was now intrigued how it would act when put through its paces.

Quali crept up on us rather quickly - feeling shattered, no food or drink and my head was not in right frame of mind - late for quali and realised we hadn't yet adjusted the harnesses and to top it off lost my way in the paddock, forgetting where the assembly area was!!! Finally managed to get out onto the circuit to squeeze in only 5 laps. I returned feeling rather frustrated, as I really wasn't switched on. My lines were all over the place, braking far too early and under revving due to not having time to test the read outs on the digi dash. The car did feel a bit different but to be quite honest after such a long break, it was evident I just needed to get some laps under my belt and get my rhythm back.

Dave, Sam and Shaun cast an eye over the car, performing the usual checks - everything was looking good!! It was clear from the lack of fuel usage that I had just been out on a Sunday drive :-) A couple of tweaks with mirrors and dash, food and drink and a bit of time to collect my thoughts, this time I was ready to go out and have some fun! Having only qualified P16 out of 19, I had my sights set on climbing the field.

The tense moment sat on the grid, watching the red lights soon arrived - revs climbing all around.....and the lights are out and we're off. I had a pretty good start, managing to climb a couple of places as we headed down for Redgate. I opted to take to the outside, forgetting how long a corner it was and just about keeping at bay from the dirt.

Luckily I managed to keep my position so focused on a clean sweep down through the legendary Craner Curves behind the se7en s class of Proctor. I resisted lifting and late braked down the inside into the Old Hairpin, exiting behind Burrows. Foot down and starting the incline towards McLean's, I decided to dive down the inside before then climbing the hill for the tricky Coppice. De Silva was in sight, as were a large pack head of him, encouraged by this I pushed on.

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 I really was struggling with a couple of corners, mainly that of Redgate - I don't think I got that right

No matter how much I pushed I just couldn't seem to significantly close the gap - continually making mistakes. I must have cooked my tyres and brakes from over doing corners, no doubt as a result of wrong lines/braking. I just seemed to go backwards and my lap timings showed exactly that - as of lap 5 my times were way off.

I crossed the line, pleased to see the chequer flag in P9 - looking back, an extremely good end to the day, following a rather stressful lead up to the event.

Plenty of positives from our outing at Donny - got back out there after a long break with no testing, tested the

many new bits with the build, climbed the field after a disappointing quali, and best off - nothing fell off - a real testament to the high standard of work by www.trackroadandrace.com.

The car will now have a quick check over and possibly a couple of slight changes following its 1st outing.

Big thanks to our supporters and sponsors:

www.classicandcustomworks.co.uk

www.britishminiclub.co.uk

www.trackroadandrace.com

www.opieoils.co.uk

www.selbyengineering.com

Thanks also to www.mbracephotography.co.uk , Nick and Rain for some fantastic photographs. Plus of course none of this would be possible without the continuing support of my family.

Next up, Rockingham May 21st-22nd for rounds 2&3 of the Dunlop Mini Se7en Challenge supported by Mini Sport. Hopefully see you all there!

To find links to the full results from this years Dunlop Championship and how to find Big Mac Racing on Facebook visit there blog today http://www.bigmacracing.co.uk/Blog/2012rounds910racereport-thruxton

If you managed to watch a recent episode of Fifth Gear on the Discovery regarding the value of classic cars increasing by 20% last year, whereas Gold only increased by 10%!!  They may be a good investment for the future but sadly criminals are also aware of the value!  Please make sure you Mini is secure and if possible we would suggest fitting a tracker.

The West Midlands appears to be a particular hot spot for Classic Minis being stolen. Today we were contacted by a gent from the Stoke on Trent area who tells us the following... After reading his sad story please tell your friends and keep your eyes peeled. If you spot any of the said items for sale please contact your local Police immediatly....

"Just spent a day with the police on Sunday 21/04/13 searching for my 1983 Mini Sprite which was stolen  from my lock-up garage which I use for storage the garage is located in my cousins yard...safe you’d think...not so."

Luckily managed to recover the car that had been safely stored there since August 1995!!!!!!! It was hidden about a mile away ready for collection later

However from the garage I have discovered the following are missing

• 4 x 5 x 12 “GB Alloy” wheels without tyres, just refurbished as new
• 5 x “Mini Special” wheels with worn yokohama tyres
• 4 x 5 x 12 “Compomotive TF” Alloy wheels 2 with road and 2 with colway rally tyres (very 70's google them, now quite rare)
• 2 x Mini Cylinder Heads part No 12G-295 one standard one stage 3 Sealed in clingfilm
• 1 x new 998 stage 3 Mini Cylinder Head Marked “John Cooper” painted yellow sealed in cling film...part of genuine john cooper kit so very rare
• 1 x Mini stage 4  Cylinder Head Part No 12G-940 rimflow valves, bronze guides 11 stud
• 1 x 73.5 bored and decked(1425) Mini Engine Block, sealed in clingfilm
• 4 x Mini Cooper “S” connecting rods sealed in cling film, labelled... rare
• 1 x mini complete gearbox, brand new sealed in cling film
• 3 x mini Verto flywheel/clutch assemblies 2 SPI one carb
• Large clear plastic storage Box of Smiths Instruments including ammeters, voltmeters, clock and oil pressure gauges, dashboard parts and fittings
• Mini body panels including windscreen scuttle panel part no HMP441001 and dashboard panel Part No 14A6675
• Cardboard tube of Brand new roof aerials 1 black 2 chrome
• 2 x cranks one 1275 one 998
• 2 x K&N air filters, rare 1980's panel type, one boxed

Well pigged off with this as I've had no problems with this garage in 20 years and get it robbed 2 days before I move the stuff out!!!

The damage to the car was limited to a scratched front wing and a smashed steering lock.

I'll be keeping my eyes open for them for sale on ebay or at Himley Hall...

This type of crime appears to be on the increase so please make sure your car is secure at all times. Remember if you see any of the above do not hesitate to contact your local Police

BEN GRIDLEY NEEDS YOUR HELP

In 2012 the British Mini Club were proud to help and support young up and coming driver Ben Gridley. It's fantastic to see young racing talent come through the ranks This will continue this year and you can help as well. In 2013 Ben Gridley aims to compete in the Mini Challenge Cooper Class after a number of appearances in the series since 2011, and has his eyes set firmly on the class title. But he needs your help to be on track throughout the season, starting on the 6/7 April at Snetterton.

For just £2,000 you can support Ben for any of the 7 rounds this season. But what do you get back? You receive:

- Unlimited Friday tickets

- 8 Saturday & Sunday tickets

- Full car livery

- Television coverage

- Invitation to post season event where guests can have

passenger rides with Ben

- Link on bengridley.co.uk

If this is something that interests you, you can contact Ben via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or on 07553 444 392.

You can also support Ben for as little as £10, and have your picture on the bonnet stripes of his Mini. As well as this, you will be entered into a competiton to win tickets to rounds throughout the season:

1st Prize - 5 tickets to Zandvoort

2nd Prize - 3 tickets to any round (Exc Zandvoort)

3rd Prize - 2 tickets to Oulton Park or Castle Combe

T&C:

All prizes exclude travel and accommodation.

BenSamualRacing have the right to terminate the competition if it is necessary to do so.

You can support Ben for £10 by going to his GoFundMe page, www.gofundme.com/bengridley

To see more information about Ben you can see his official web site, www.bengridley.co.uk.