British Brick: 1961 Austin Seven Mini
When the original Mini was launched, it was by no means the first front-engined/front-wheel-drive car available to the motoring public. However, one of the characteristics that made it such a sales success was the fact that it represented a triumph of packaging efficiency. The ability to fit 4 adults and their luggage (albeit limited) into a car that was barely more than 10′ in length broke new ground in the motoring world. Marketed both by Austin and by Morris, the Austin version carried the “Seven” badge and name until 1961. This Austin version carries that badge, and that must make it one of the last production versions to do so. This particular car has led quite a life of travel. It was exported from the UK to New Zealand in CKD (Complete Knock Down) form, where it was assembled and sold to a local gentleman who retained the car until 2003. It was then bought by another gentleman, who imported the vehicle to the USA. He has used it on a limited basis ever since but feels that the time is right for it to head to a new home. The little Austin is located in Freeport, Maine, and is listed for sale here on eBay. The owner has set the listing to open at $14,999, but there have been no bids up to this point.
Early Minis had so many characteristics in their favor, and it is fully understandable why they were such a sales success. However, early examples did have one obvious weakness, and that was that they were prone to rust issues. If that worries you with this car, then you don’t need to fret. The owner states that the little classic is completely rust-free, which makes it a great find. The blue paint that the Seven wears is largely original, with the first owner having performed some minor touch-ups in the past. It has a few chips and cracks, but overall, it looks pretty good. The trim and chrome look good, and it is a real bonus to see that the original hubcaps have managed to survive undamaged. One feature of these early Minis and Sevens that I really love is the sliding windows. They just have a great look about them, but on hot days they certainly don’t allow as much fresh air into the car as traditional windows do. Still, for a car that is this small, they do seem to be adequate.
The Seven’s originality continues when we take a look inside the vehicle. The first owner tried to protect this as much as possible by fitting additional carpet over the factory carpet and placing sheepskin covers over the seats. This has worked to a certain extent, although the grey and blue upholstery is starting to show its age a bit. It remains serviceable, but it could probably do with a refresh at some point. One of the great aspects of the Mini and Seven is that parts remain readily available. That means that if the next owner wants the interior of this car to really shine, all of the interior trim items remain available today. A full kit can be found for around $1,000, and at that price, the one that I found has all of the correct colors and stitching patterns. By the way, I am aware that the steering wheel is on the wrong side of the car, but one thing that New Zealand has in common with Australia and the UK is that they also favor right-hand-drive motoring.
Lifting the hood on the Seven reveals the transversely-mounted 848cc 4-cylinder engine, which has its 37hp sent to the front wheels via a 4-speed manual transmission. This little Seven is said to be in good mechanical health, and apart from the distance that it clocked-up finding its way from New Zealand to the US, it has a genuine 81,600 miles on the odometer. The owner says that it runs and drives well, but that it will probably need a clutch in the near future. Many motoring journalists have said that you can’t call yourself a true motoring enthusiast until you’ve owned a Mini (or a Seven), but I am willing to compromise on that point a bit. I would prefer to say that you aren’t an enthusiast until you’ve driven one. I have been fortunate enough throughout my life to drive some pretty extraordinary cars, but I can place my hand on my heart and honestly say that driving a Mini was the most fun that I’ve ever had behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. The closest thing that I can equate the experience to is driving a go-kart because you sit so close to the road, and when you consider how tiny the tires are, the sheer grip that the car provides is almost eerie.
This 1961 Austin Seven is a great little car, and quite frankly, I’m surprised that no-one has submitted a bid on it up to this point. If you are on the hunt for an interesting classic this is a car that is well worth a look, because I can guarantee that no car will put a smile on your face as easily as this one will.
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Comments
A real Mini! very rare these days, too bad its RHD, I’d have trouble driving it. Good luck to the new owner, seems pricey but what do you compare it to??
Cheers and Cherio
GPC
Imagine how cool the US Postal Service would have been had they run a fleet of RHD Minis for mail delivery instead of goofy-looking Jeeps.
1. Wouldn’t be able to reach the mailboxes.
2. Workplace injuries from pretzel driving position.
3. Mail service was reliable throughout the production life of the Mini-Minor
4. Room for sorted mail bins.
5. Increased accidents from invisible postal vehicles.
Doesn’t sound even a little cool to me.
It was a joke, son.
I don’t think CJ has spent any time in a mini. You definitely are not in a pretzel position driving one, it has plenty of room and easy to get in and out. This isn’t a lotus or midget. And the mail box will be about eye level.
Fun little buggers to drive and they can accommodate a pretty large guy
I drove one when I was 14 years old, 5’9″ and about 150 lbs. It was too small for me to imagine spending a work day in then. The amazing thing about a Mini was that you could get four people into a ten-foot long car, not that any of them were comfortable.
You must be oddly shaped or very stiff CJ, I am 6’2″ & 220, and I fit well in a mini. I did a rally this past fall in one and still marveled out how efficient it is. No you don’t have the room of a suburban but it does offer much more room than an early E type coupe.
I bought one in 1975, at 22 years old and have had at least one ever since. I have weighed up to 240 lbs and am over 6 ft tall, though am now down to 180. I’ve driven one from Vancouver BC to Key West, only needed to change 1 spark plug along the way. The space inside is amazing.
That said they are all prone to rust, not just the early ones, which is very sad as they are phenomenal in the snow.
At one stage BMC thought it might have to fit bigger wheels on these things to make them taller, customers complained that dogs kept lifting their leg and pi..ing in the windows !
Ten minutes in a RHD car and the mystery is over….a challenge at round-abouts, drive-through ATM’s and toll booths, but it’s all part of the charm.
Well actually, you get great ventilation! I had a 1963 Austin Mini Cooper. You slide open the front half of the sliding front window, then pop open the hinged rear windows and you’ve got great flow through ventilation!
Unless it is a hot summer day, and you have to leave the heater on full, to cool the engine. Not enough ventilation to deal with that, though a good enough heater for -20F.
I’ve never had a serious overheating problem unless there was some obstruction, except for the day the main top hose decided to blow up! Pulled it off, dried it with the paper towels I always carried, then rebuilt the hose with the military-issue gaffer’s tape I also always carried. After I bought a new hose I carried the taped one as a spare …
Seriously, mine ran hot only if I tried to cruise well over 65 mph for longer than half an hour or so. As for ventilation, windows open front and back, either sedan or wagon, and it was excellent.
At first I laughed at the asking price.
Then I checked Hagertys and a good one is priced at 17 grand.
Regardless I would wait for a left hand drive one.
If you have ever driven one you will understand that you have to get out and push them up hills
Del:
Only if the Mini you are driving has 200,000 miles on it, without ever having had a service of any kind, and always driven at full throttle. Otherwise, you are in error.
Agreed!
And even an 850 automatic is entertaining!
Concur.
I had a 998, a 1098 and a 1275. All would scoot up a mountain with no problem. Even ran Chimney rock in one with little more than a roll bar added and it did well against much more powerful machines
Really? Did you have cars with between 50% and 100% more power that could climb hills competently? You must be both smart and sane to make that argument.
If you’ve ever driven one of the 275 Cooper S versions you would not even think about this car. All that horsepower really transforms that box into something else.
BMC lost money on EVERY one they sold.When the Mini came out,Ford bought one,took it to bits and concluded no way could it make a profit.
Ah yes. Ford. Rumored to be circling Insolvency yet again
an 850cc automatic was not available in the UK except to special order, the uk government offered them as disabled transport for ex servicemen, automatics were 1000cc and above,
Incorrect and the correct information is readily available.
looks a different colour under the bonnet, grey not blue?? grey was a common colour for early minis,
Anyone remember the elephant jokes of the sixties? “How do you get four elephants in a Mini?”
Sorry CJ, age has clouded your memory…at 6’2” it has the most headroom of any of my cars, and with the seats moved back on readily available brackets the legroom is also fine – enough so that it’s one of my go to cars for 5000m road trips to Cali.
They’re a surprising amount of fun with 37hp, but with a 1275 swapped in 90 hp is downright entertaining…and will easily pull up grants pass at 90mph without downshifting.
For those with a RHD phobia, it’s about 6hrs work and $250 for a new rack and gas pedal…the cars were built to work both ways.
Yup. I’m just at six feet and had oodles of room in my ‘63 Austin Cooper. Never had trouble on any hills either, including the Sierra Nevadas and the Unitas. A very entertaining and delightful little car.
I hope for your sanity and the safety of everyone around you that you’re being sarcastic.
CJ have you ever driven one?
My friend had several of these right hand drive versions. He thought shifting left handed would be hardest thing to get used to. Nope. Remembering where to look for the inside review mirror.
“Two in the front, two in the back” – it was funny at the time, just the British sense of humour.
What a great car! I had a Mini-cargo van while stationed in Scotland 1977-79. One day I loaded a Jag 2.4 engine in the back to haul it up a hill to where the Jag was waiting and did so with no engine hesitation or trouble from the Mini.
Right hand drive, left side of the road – cw turn-abouts! There is the adventure! Plenty of headroom, plenty of legroom. Just fun driving.
Do you mean a roundabout?I actually came across one in LA a few years back,and one I think in before that in Oregon(?)
I used to do the pre delivery on the Morris Mini as well as the Riley and Wolseley. The latter model had wind up windows, the Cooper S had a 1275 Engine. A part of my run after doing the pre delivery was up a quiet road where I would do at least one mini spin. My Brother In Law had one about this model and when I was going to high school he made a statement he had read at 108 M.P.H. it took 8 extra H.P. to push them along, he had great ideas he was going to race it so after I got home from school and I was 15 I asked if he wanted me to cut the gutters off. Well that became a surprise because I wasn’t aware that those seams held the body panel together hahaha, pop and the car started splitting open, oh well at least I learnt how to stitch the back of it back on again, all done in the old mans back yard. Painted it Metalflake Green and Gold. It could get the ton out of it across the Mamaku ranges just out of Rotorua. Not too much shake or rattle, they were a brilliant car in their day.
I have no idea how many miles I put on my ’62 Austin Countryman – that’s the station wagon version with the wood trim – because the speedometer fell dead the first time I drove it. But I bought it in Anchorage AK for $275 in late 1966, put about $1500 into redoing the collapsed front suspension. We shipped it by Sea-Land barge to Seattle, flew down to get it, drove it to Palo Alto and later down to Malibu and back. After trips all over California, then up to Oregon and back, drove w/new companion down to San Berdoo and then out to Nashville. In about 1980 I sold it to a Kentucky family as a resto project. Was disappointed that they did not keep in touch as promised.
This was an 850, dead stock except for an MG1100 head with bigger valves and heftier valve springs. The torque benefits made this a cheap and useful modification, and the electronic tach I installed made up for the never-fixed speedo – Just remember 14 mph/1000 rpm in fourth. It WOULD pull 5000+ rpm in fourth too, though not for long in warm weather …
In the early 2000s after we’d moved to Pasadena (Mrs. O’s home town) there was a young guy on Walnut with a garage and lot, importing and selling Minis, mostly from Portugal. The one I really wanted was a long-wheelbase car like my old wagon, only without that wood that I had never really liked (for being both heavy and un-aerodynamic). It was red, not my favorite color, but in excellent shape, and I was plotting to buy it right up to the day his business suddenly disappeared. Ran into him later, and after mutual commiserations he said that Yes, he’d finally sold that car.
I am still looking …
Dead speedometers were commonplace in Minis. Back in the day I took apart many (25+) keeping all that wasn’t worn out or rusted. I had a dozen speedos on the shelf and nearly all had hung up when they came to shifting four “9s” at once. I also had shelves with 998 engines, but only sold one, once, to a character who NEVER checked or changed his oil. They are tough engines requiring the minimum of maintenance.
Interesting story. Willowen. I believe that you couldn’t buy one of these in the late 60’s on, guess they wouldn’t meet safety or emissions? So grey market minis were imported. That guy that was bringing them in from Portugal is interesting, Thank The Lord there were guys like that bringing them in or we never would have any here. happy motoring!
Cheers
GPC
@Willowen I have an original 1969 LHD minivan with 1275 engine (UK built export car,never welded. The Portuguese cars were made in Portugal)). You can contact me via https://www.italclassic.com/en/
Don´t remember this blue (but it could be the light) on early Minis, but this is one to keep as is as much as possible. Looks like the interior is still ok, and change that and you have to make the rest of te car look new too.
This blue was common in 76-82 in Canada.
These Mini actually handled better than the Fiat 500! I was lucky enough to have owned a ’67 Mini Cooper S with a larger engine. Yes it does handled very well. Too bad mine rusted away in 1980. I really missed my mine Mouse!
I recalled my Mini reminded me of my old Alfa Romeo 1300 GT Jr. except the mini was on the road more than the Alfa!
Despite the close quarters in the engine room, the only really difficult job on either of my Minis was getting the exhaust downpipes into place. That was the only task I had that made me wish for another pair of hands! The biggest job I undertook was replacing the inner universals, which required pulling the engine. I’d gotten a “fix-it ticket” for some other issues and had a court deadline, and of course I waited until the day before to replace those rattly joints … so I rented an engine hoist and pulled an all-nighter! The only injury I suffered was when I was easing the engine back into place and got a finger in the way … hurt like heck, but no permanent damage.
Alfas can be a bit trickier; the power steering on my first Milano kept springing leaks, and the engine fan liked to go out of business on hot days in Nashville traffic. The current one is getting better, after the ABS set the transaxle on fire (Pasadena FD was there in time!) and it’s now got standard brakes. Only trouble really is keeping the windows going up and down on demand … but Benny at JAR showed me how to fix that. Or will when I head back down to West Pico for another lesson!
The later model inner CV joints are a huge improvement.