Mini Tractor moving snow 1970

I purchased my Mini (Model 9/16) circa 1969 and it was immediately put to work. At that time I ran a small operation on 50 acres as a part time hobby farm with 30 head of beef cattle, in addition I rented another 50 acres The main power I used was a John Deere 710 and the Mini looked after the barns and a small bit of arable land plus the snow removal with a blower attached on the back.

I found that the Mini was quite capable of dealing with a 12" two bottom plough and an 8' spike harrow which was ideal for a couple of acres. Manure removal from the barns was an ongoing operation. I had the Mini equipped with a front end loader. Occasionally when the John Deere was otherwise occupied during the haying season, I attached a baler and a wagon behind the baler. I have to admit that although the Mini handled this bit of heavy work quite well, it was not the fastest in town! In fact it was rather slow. I also used the Mini for towing the grain wagons around and also for powering a corn grinder. To do this I had to attach a belt pulley and again the Mini performed this task very well indeed.

Snow blowing was a major operation in the winter.. I attached, on the 3pt hitch a snow blower and which was powered by the PTO. Our driveway was +/- 1,000ft which was not the easiest track to handle. The driveway descended from the road down a fairly steep grade, flattened out and then up a steep grade to the house and barns. We used to get some substantial snow falls but we were never without access to civilization. The Mini handled this operation superbly but, the only criticism I have is the fact that the reverse gears are in the middle range and Reverse 1 is just a wee bit fast as there is a tendency for the Mini to try and eat too much snow. Had I been able get into the Low range it would have been great. I have many times considered carrying the drive to the front which would solve the problem.

We moved to another location where we had 200 acres and rented another 200 acres,which required the addition of two larger tractors, a 100 hp Ford and a 60 hp Massey. Here we got out of the cattle and became involved with pigs, a big mistake!!!. The Mini of course, went with us and again was used extensively for all the operations noted above plus attaching a Bush Hog to the 3pt Hitch for clearing unused pasture of red cedar trees. In addition the Mini was put to work in the bush. I cut roads through the bush which was heavy with under brush and of course there was quite a bit of logging to be taken care of and handled very well by Mini. Unfortunately, the logging and bush work dealt with things like head lights, side lights front grill etc!!! On top of all the foregoing Mini has flexed her muscles on tons and tons of rocks. Rock moving and digging has been a rather large segment of her career.

Now, the important part. I have only had two service calls in the +/- 40 years of work 1.. when someone (not me) filled the tank with gasoline instead of diesel and 2. I had the injectors and pump serviced. The differential lock has got jammed in the open position (a very strange situation) and the tachometer gave up at 2,000 hrs. The ignition switch, as you know, gave up and which I have replaced with a Massy switch which, from all outward appearances is exactly the same switch but,there is no provision therein for the Glow Plug connection.

In summary; after 30 years on the farm we have downsized, moved to 4 acres and naturally the Mini came with us to continue dealing with rocks and bush and all the other jobs around the home. I can not speak too highly of this little tractor, it has always been up to the task and never let me down. She is still working but not quite as hard as she used to and is really at the stage when I should put her in the garage and completely restore her to her original splendour. That probably is a pipe dream but you never know. I see many Kabotos around of the same, or more horse power but I don't think I would be scared to have a tractor pull and with only two wheel drive. I do envy the superior hydraulics installed on the new tractors but, I have always made out quite well with Mini.

The attached pictures were taken this summer about six weeks ago and as you can see the old girl is equipped with her Bush Hog and is contemplating a bit of rock work. If there is anything else you would like to know don't hesitate to ask. Perhaps I have gone overboard with the "words" and if you have got this far with reading this "Magnus Opus" I admire you!!!

In conclusion, I wish to state that the Mini is a magnificent piece of machinery and it is so sad that BMC, Nuffield and Leyland have all gone by the way. .I have seen the odd bit in print where the Mini has been criticized as being, unreliable, too small etc. I can only assume that the operators had no idea how to use the Mini and/or treat it with the respect that it deserved.

Mike Dickinson

Still hard at work after 38 years.

Advert in 1965

March 1989

The car was purchased in February 1989, and as you can see from the above picture it was in a very sorry state. When you see a vehicle in this condition you do wonder how long is it going to take to restore. So the first thing was to take it to the workshop. First phase was to strip it down to a rolling shell, and start on the body. The body had a new floor, inner and outer sills, new back wings and countless other repairs. The engine actually ran, but was striped cleaned and fitted with new rings. The suspension and brakes were then overhauled. It was now time for its MOT which it passed first time in September 1989. So in just seven months it was back on the road and been used for local days out. Various jobs were done on it in the Winter months so by the spring of the next year it was ready for a good run. (this was not going to be a museum exhibit !!).

From April of 1990 to may 2004, the car covered 65000 miles, and included 16 trips to the Scottish highlands, Cornwall and Devon, the lakes 6 times and a 2500 mile epic tour of Island. Eventually in 2004 the engine failed.

Rebuild number 2
The engine was completely rebuilt:- crank reground, re-bored new pistons, lead free conversion and electronic ignition, and a few tunning mods to take the BHP to 81 @ 6000RPM (proved on a rolling road). The suspension was rebuilt and fitted with polyurethane bushes and adjustable telescopic dampers. The brakes have Kevlar linings. The rust had started to appear again so it required some work to the body, and by the September 2007 it was ready for a fresh coat of RD9.

It was delivered back from the paint shop on 8th Sept 2007 in its bright red coat. On the 14 Sept 2007 it was time to take it for a test run, and on Saturday 15th Sept we arrived at Elgol on the island of Skye. We arrived back home on the 23th Sept after covering 1,600 miles with no major problems.

All the work was carried out by me, except for the engine machining and the top coat of paint.

Gary Hinson

This picture makes it all worth while (17th Sept. 2007)