Any love for Wood & Pickett Mini's here?
Discussion
I was just curious if there was any love for Wood & Pickett coachbuilt Mini's here?
I have a high spec one, but it has not been used for a few years, so its been put in dry storage in the back of my garage. I cant really afford to run 3 cars these days, so I may have to let it go sooner or later.
But still, Wood & Pickett is/was a very interesting company. They did amazing things to Range Rovers and Rolls Royces, as well as Mini's of course.
Anyone else got one? Owned one previously? Got any interesting information or picts of Wood & Pickett converted cars? For once, the internet has next to no information that I can find on anything by Wood & Pickett.
Of course Wood & Pickett is still going today, and they have a website, but it isn't really the same company now that it used to be.. Seems to be more accessories and sales of relatively ordinary Mini's last I saw of it.
All the best, P
I have a high spec one, but it has not been used for a few years, so its been put in dry storage in the back of my garage. I cant really afford to run 3 cars these days, so I may have to let it go sooner or later.
But still, Wood & Pickett is/was a very interesting company. They did amazing things to Range Rovers and Rolls Royces, as well as Mini's of course.
Anyone else got one? Owned one previously? Got any interesting information or picts of Wood & Pickett converted cars? For once, the internet has next to no information that I can find on anything by Wood & Pickett.
Of course Wood & Pickett is still going today, and they have a website, but it isn't really the same company now that it used to be.. Seems to be more accessories and sales of relatively ordinary Mini's last I saw of it.
All the best, P
Hi Mooncat. Its a fairly late one. 1991 I think. Its reasonably well known, or used to be. It was W&P's press/demo car, so has been in a couple of magazines and the odd book even. It had pretty much everything done to it. You name it, its probably got it.
Rolls Royce regal red paint (Burgundy to you and me), deseamed, elec sun roof, mirrors, windows etc. Full cream leather recaro interior with burgundy piping. Twin tanks, Nice sound system. 1380cc engine with Webber Alpha twin point fuel injection, plus 5 speed box. So it goes too..
I also managed to track down some original (probably 70's) Wood & Pickett Mini doors, complete with elec windows (with original tinted glass, not plastic laminated stuff laid on). And even better, they have the funky quarter light style windows in too.
I don't have many picts of the car, but i'll try and dig some up later and post them here.
Cheers, P
Rolls Royce regal red paint (Burgundy to you and me), deseamed, elec sun roof, mirrors, windows etc. Full cream leather recaro interior with burgundy piping. Twin tanks, Nice sound system. 1380cc engine with Webber Alpha twin point fuel injection, plus 5 speed box. So it goes too..
I also managed to track down some original (probably 70's) Wood & Pickett Mini doors, complete with elec windows (with original tinted glass, not plastic laminated stuff laid on). And even better, they have the funky quarter light style windows in too.
I don't have many picts of the car, but i'll try and dig some up later and post them here.
Cheers, P
Edited by PJR on Friday 8th September 02:06
Hi Mooncat. Im not sure about the doors right now. I was going to use them on my other Mini. But I got the W&P doors right after that Mini had already been restored, so im a bit reluctant now to take off 2 perfectly good doors, and repaint the W&P ones etc.. May be open to offers however.. The W&P doors are black, and the elec windows work fine. No real dings on them or rust.
Your project sounds interesting! Any picts of it so far? I know W&P built up quite a few Mini Clubmans, but im not sure about a Clubman estate??
I found some picts of mine, but not great ones.. I have more somewhere but cant find them right now..
And while im here posting picts, heres a pict of my other Mini. A Mini 30 that I bought as a wreck, and restored, with 1330cc Turbo along with other goodies..
Cheers! P
Your project sounds interesting! Any picts of it so far? I know W&P built up quite a few Mini Clubmans, but im not sure about a Clubman estate??
I found some picts of mine, but not great ones.. I have more somewhere but cant find them right now..
And while im here posting picts, heres a pict of my other Mini. A Mini 30 that I bought as a wreck, and restored, with 1330cc Turbo along with other goodies..
Cheers! P
Yeah there were 6 Wood & Picket Estates made apparently by the workers at W&P the bits I got came from a knackerd one that was dragged out of a garden it was all gold with a nice 3 letter 1 digit 1 letter number plate, I am still trying to get the V5 of the bloke I got the seats and grille off, if you email me at askrestorations@hotmail.com I can send you some pics, as for making an offer for the doors I would need to see a pic, I like you dont need them ( as I have brand new Mk7 doors ) but it would finish of the project nicely, also I remeber seeing your W&P at the time in mini world.... what a beast you lucky lucky man...!!! cheers Keith
What you have there is one of the "newer" Wood and Pickett Minis. The company name was brought by a couple of guys who had done some pretty good work on the ERA Turbo Mini if I remember rightly. Originally, Wood and Pickett made conversions along with the likes of Radford - and in the 60s they were the DB9 of the highstreet.
I actually drove your car on a demo once a very very long time ago - and Ive still got that magazine at home.
Sorry to hear you are selling it - but you have something there worth hanging onto - its a very interesting car with a very very good pedigree.
But, if I see it appear on the classifieds you might find me bidding!
CURLY
(still with a 1998 sportspack which needs a bit of TLC since the wife started using it 5 years ago as a daily drive)
I actually drove your car on a demo once a very very long time ago - and Ive still got that magazine at home.
Sorry to hear you are selling it - but you have something there worth hanging onto - its a very interesting car with a very very good pedigree.
But, if I see it appear on the classifieds you might find me bidding!
CURLY
(still with a 1998 sportspack which needs a bit of TLC since the wife started using it 5 years ago as a daily drive)
Hey Keith. Sorry, i've not forgotten about you. I just didn't get around to taking picts of the doors yet. I'll try and do it tomorrow though. Forgive me for being the mother of all procrastinators!
Curly.. Interesting news you have there! But I doubt the ERA-W&P link, unless I missed something. I actually had an ERA Mini turbo. I part ex'd it with W&P for the car you see above. The ERA Mini was great, and its definitely one of the few cars i've had that I really regret parting with. I got to know one of the main guys who was in charge of the ERA Mini's development. I forget his name, but he's one of the top Jack Knight tech bods too (He had a big hand in the development of the JK 16v mini head too).
Heres an old pic of me taking the ERA around Castle Coombe many years ago..
W&P did work on the odd ERA Mini however. Mostly to fit things like air con. The UK ERA's didn't have that as standard, where as the Japanese spec ERA Mini's did have it already.
The Turbo Mini 30 I built, also pictured above uses a number of ERA parts also.
When I had the ERA, I was often asked if it was a W&P Mini!
Mike Bush was the main chap who took on W&P back when my car was built, and I got to know him quite well, as one of my first jobs back in the day, was working for 'Mini Spares' so I had regular dealings with him, and ultimately ended up buying the demo car. I expect you must have known him?
After Mike Bush parted with the company, W&P went back to its routes in StAlbans for a few months. Which was handy as its very close to where I live. But they didn't do much there (it was just an office), and now as you know, they moved again and just sell accessories for the most part. I think very few full car conversions were built after mine.
I know a little about Radford too.. My late father had a high spec Radford Mini in the 60's. And of course Radford also made a bit of a come back around 10 years or so ago, and started building posh Mini's again. In fact they are still going now i believe, but concentrate on the BMW Mini's these days.
How did you get to drive the W&P Mini I now have then?
As for selling it, i've not used the poor car for so long. I feel guilty for having it in the back of the garage gathering dust all this time. Also, last time it was driven, the engine was occasionally quite smokey and I suspect it had sticking piston rings (although it still went alright!). The parts to fix it are cheap, but of course its a pretty big job to get the lump apart to fit them. Also, as its been stood still a while, the brakes will need seeing to, as well as new tyres i expect. But other than that! The interior and body are spot on. Particularly for its age. Its got to go as I plan in moving house in the near future, and i cant be certain i'll have a garage to put all my motors and bits and pieces in.
I'm not sure how i'll go about selling it yet, but if you think you may be interested, then by all means get in touch.
All the best, P
Curly.. Interesting news you have there! But I doubt the ERA-W&P link, unless I missed something. I actually had an ERA Mini turbo. I part ex'd it with W&P for the car you see above. The ERA Mini was great, and its definitely one of the few cars i've had that I really regret parting with. I got to know one of the main guys who was in charge of the ERA Mini's development. I forget his name, but he's one of the top Jack Knight tech bods too (He had a big hand in the development of the JK 16v mini head too).
Heres an old pic of me taking the ERA around Castle Coombe many years ago..
W&P did work on the odd ERA Mini however. Mostly to fit things like air con. The UK ERA's didn't have that as standard, where as the Japanese spec ERA Mini's did have it already.
The Turbo Mini 30 I built, also pictured above uses a number of ERA parts also.
When I had the ERA, I was often asked if it was a W&P Mini!
Mike Bush was the main chap who took on W&P back when my car was built, and I got to know him quite well, as one of my first jobs back in the day, was working for 'Mini Spares' so I had regular dealings with him, and ultimately ended up buying the demo car. I expect you must have known him?
After Mike Bush parted with the company, W&P went back to its routes in StAlbans for a few months. Which was handy as its very close to where I live. But they didn't do much there (it was just an office), and now as you know, they moved again and just sell accessories for the most part. I think very few full car conversions were built after mine.
I know a little about Radford too.. My late father had a high spec Radford Mini in the 60's. And of course Radford also made a bit of a come back around 10 years or so ago, and started building posh Mini's again. In fact they are still going now i believe, but concentrate on the BMW Mini's these days.
How did you get to drive the W&P Mini I now have then?
As for selling it, i've not used the poor car for so long. I feel guilty for having it in the back of the garage gathering dust all this time. Also, last time it was driven, the engine was occasionally quite smokey and I suspect it had sticking piston rings (although it still went alright!). The parts to fix it are cheap, but of course its a pretty big job to get the lump apart to fit them. Also, as its been stood still a while, the brakes will need seeing to, as well as new tyres i expect. But other than that! The interior and body are spot on. Particularly for its age. Its got to go as I plan in moving house in the near future, and i cant be certain i'll have a garage to put all my motors and bits and pieces in.
I'm not sure how i'll go about selling it yet, but if you think you may be interested, then by all means get in touch.
All the best, P
I actually recognise your ERA, and if you worked at MiniSpares in the late 80's then Id probably know you as well. At the time I had a 1976 1275GT in British Racing Green, with the obligitory White Roof. What made it really stand out at the time was on the "mini circuit" it was one of the first to have a set of 13" Alloys - Revolution RFX in White. Most of the guys in MiniSpares knew the car well and I knew fairly well the guy with the white Mini with the Orange roof and Alloys (ended up with RFX's), think he had a 1400 lump......and there was the guy who had a real nutter black Turbo Clubman with 7x12 Superlights...
I actually got to drive yours at a WP Demo day at a Mini Cooper Owners club meet and I spent last night trying to find the photos...
There was another Turbo mini which didnt go into big production like the ERA which launched around the Mini 30th Anniversary and maybe Im getting confussed with the link between W&P and Turbo Minis (might have even been a supercharger on it but I cant remember the damm name - well well expensive if I remember rightly).
Cant get Mini out the blood, no matter what other car I play with day to day I seem to always have a Mini tucked back somewhere. Just a shame the Sportspack has all the electronics on it otherwise I would have had that rebuilt in no time - just a bit confussed with Engine Management Systems....
I actually got to drive yours at a WP Demo day at a Mini Cooper Owners club meet and I spent last night trying to find the photos...
There was another Turbo mini which didnt go into big production like the ERA which launched around the Mini 30th Anniversary and maybe Im getting confussed with the link between W&P and Turbo Minis (might have even been a supercharger on it but I cant remember the damm name - well well expensive if I remember rightly).
Cant get Mini out the blood, no matter what other car I play with day to day I seem to always have a Mini tucked back somewhere. Just a shame the Sportspack has all the electronics on it otherwise I would have had that rebuilt in no time - just a bit confussed with Engine Management Systems....
I was 'doing time' at MiniSpares in the very early 90's I think.. But I was only there a few months before I moved on.
Jason King is the chap you are thinking of with the mad orange & white 1460cc(I think) Mini. It would not surprise me if he still works at MiniSpares! (But he sold that car long ago, no idea what became of it) And Stuart Gurr built the black turbo clubman. He built it at almost exactly the same time as ERA were developing their Turbo Mini.. So I guess they were the pioneers of turbo Mini's!? Stuart also went on to form Vmax racing, which is who I used to build up the engine in my Mini 30 Turbo. I was an early adopter of self built turbo mini's too. Except I took far longer to build mine! Infact it still needs finishing off really. But only minor wiring stuff (10+ years build time, must be a record!?)
As for the other posh Mini you mentioned.. I too forgot the damn name of the company who put them together! (I do have some info on it somewhere though). There was very few of them built however, far fewer even than they intended to build. It had a supercharged 1275 engine. But if you wanted AC on it, then the supercharger was ditched and a bored 1400 engine used instead, as it was not possible to fit the AC pump and supercharger under the bonnet simultaneously. Great interior though! And yes, this Mini too was also something like £30k. Impressive money for a Mini now, never mind 15 odd years ago! But at the time, I still preferred my W&P spec wise. The only thing my W&P lacks is AC, although it did used to have it at some point. Im not sure why it was removed. Other than that, its a pretty full on spec W&P Mini.
My W&P handled absolutely terribly when I 1st bought it.. I've a feeling some of the fancy suspension parts were pilfered prior to sale! So I rebuilt most of the suspension and had it professionally aligned, and it was then transformed. Drove beautifully last time I used it. In fact, the very last time I drove it was a long time ago, but was for a review in 'Car' magazine i think it was. I took it down to the Chobham (Cobham?) proving grounds in surrey near Woking. Was enormous fun, especially as there was a Mac F1 being put through it paces on the day. Apparently this is where McLaren took potential customers for test drives.. Was nice to see one being driven enthusiastically!
All the best, P
Jason King is the chap you are thinking of with the mad orange & white 1460cc(I think) Mini. It would not surprise me if he still works at MiniSpares! (But he sold that car long ago, no idea what became of it) And Stuart Gurr built the black turbo clubman. He built it at almost exactly the same time as ERA were developing their Turbo Mini.. So I guess they were the pioneers of turbo Mini's!? Stuart also went on to form Vmax racing, which is who I used to build up the engine in my Mini 30 Turbo. I was an early adopter of self built turbo mini's too. Except I took far longer to build mine! Infact it still needs finishing off really. But only minor wiring stuff (10+ years build time, must be a record!?)
As for the other posh Mini you mentioned.. I too forgot the damn name of the company who put them together! (I do have some info on it somewhere though). There was very few of them built however, far fewer even than they intended to build. It had a supercharged 1275 engine. But if you wanted AC on it, then the supercharger was ditched and a bored 1400 engine used instead, as it was not possible to fit the AC pump and supercharger under the bonnet simultaneously. Great interior though! And yes, this Mini too was also something like £30k. Impressive money for a Mini now, never mind 15 odd years ago! But at the time, I still preferred my W&P spec wise. The only thing my W&P lacks is AC, although it did used to have it at some point. Im not sure why it was removed. Other than that, its a pretty full on spec W&P Mini.
My W&P handled absolutely terribly when I 1st bought it.. I've a feeling some of the fancy suspension parts were pilfered prior to sale! So I rebuilt most of the suspension and had it professionally aligned, and it was then transformed. Drove beautifully last time I used it. In fact, the very last time I drove it was a long time ago, but was for a review in 'Car' magazine i think it was. I took it down to the Chobham (Cobham?) proving grounds in surrey near Woking. Was enormous fun, especially as there was a Mac F1 being put through it paces on the day. Apparently this is where McLaren took potential customers for test drives.. Was nice to see one being driven enthusiastically!
All the best, P
Edited by PJR on Thursday 28th September 15:37
Now you have mentioned the names its all come flooding back. It was definately Jason who had the Orange and White Mini and I remember him and me in the little car park round the back one Sat afternoon as he told me he wanted the same wheels as me but wanted to know the offset at the time. Mine had come from a Metro Turbo and fitted with the help of some fairly thick spacers on the back.
Stuart I knew through a friend and we did the London to Brighton together on the Turbo Minis first outing. As we didnt use the Motorways we did have a right blast going through some of the towns on the way and I especially remember him leaving a damm nice 911 (late 80's remember so all the rage) at the lights in a cloud of wheelspin smoke.
I think the mini we are both thinking about was the BAC Mini, but I cant find anything on the web about it....I'll have a look tonight in my old collection of MiniWorld Mags - Im sure there is a feature of one.
Edit - found this on the ERA forum - www.eraturbo.com/roadtests/minipulation.htm
Its the BAC-30 Mini Turbo.....
Great to touch base with you though....seems we share a passion for rarity Minis!!
Stuart I knew through a friend and we did the London to Brighton together on the Turbo Minis first outing. As we didnt use the Motorways we did have a right blast going through some of the towns on the way and I especially remember him leaving a damm nice 911 (late 80's remember so all the rage) at the lights in a cloud of wheelspin smoke.
I think the mini we are both thinking about was the BAC Mini, but I cant find anything on the web about it....I'll have a look tonight in my old collection of MiniWorld Mags - Im sure there is a feature of one.
Edit - found this on the ERA forum - www.eraturbo.com/roadtests/minipulation.htm
Its the BAC-30 Mini Turbo.....
Great to touch base with you though....seems we share a passion for rarity Minis!!
Edited by CoolCurly on Thursday 28th September 16:30
BAC M 30, that was it.. I would honestly be surprised if they built more than half a dozen of them though, and even that is being optimistic. MiniSpares used to supply W&P and BAC with a few bits, and even had dealings with ERA also, so the staff at MiniSpares always had a good idea what each company were up to.
It was a sad day when ERA went tits up.. But on the plus side, I got to go to the clearout auction, and came out with some good parts that you'd never be able to get now.
I hope I can punt the W&P Mini off to a good home soon. But the Mini 30 Turbo I will keep, as i've put so much work (and money!) into it myself. Plus im a complete sucker for turbo's!
Cheers, P
It was a sad day when ERA went tits up.. But on the plus side, I got to go to the clearout auction, and came out with some good parts that you'd never be able to get now.
I hope I can punt the W&P Mini off to a good home soon. But the Mini 30 Turbo I will keep, as i've put so much work (and money!) into it myself. Plus im a complete sucker for turbo's!
Cheers, P
Oh the Irony... the White and Orange Mini, lived up here and I did a wee bit of work on it, up here near John O Groats, its a small Mini world....!!! also cheers for the pics Paul, I will drop you a mail soon... I remember all these motors you are talking about, they all look wicked machines at the time, I have a really good memory when it comes to Minis, there is a W+P clubby on Ebay just now and it looked familar, I remembered it was for sale in Mini World no3 I emailed the bloke to say I had remembered the car and he was gob smacked.... Minis they are an obsession with no cure..
Hi, occasionally read but never joined Piston Heads. Owner of a Mini Cooper RSP (1990) converted and WP badged by Mike Bush in Surrey back in 1993. Just wondered if any progress on the sale of what I remember to be a Daily Mail competition car (at least it looks the same!). Would be interested in hearing if still for sale? Steven
herring_s said:
Hi, occasionally read but never joined Piston Heads. Owner of a Mini Cooper RSP (1990) converted and WP badged by Mike Bush in Surrey back in 1993. Just wondered if any progress on the sale of what I remember to be a Daily Mail competition car (at least it looks the same!). Would be interested in hearing if still for sale? Steven
Hey Steven, The W&P Mini I have was used for the photo's in the Daily Mail competition. So yes, its exactly the same car you saw in the paper (I think I even have that same paper around somewhere). It was their press car so had appeared in quite a few publications. Most of which I still have copies of. Someone did win the Daily Mail competition too, but he wanted a W&P Mini built to the most revolting specs. I don't remember the details of what he wanted apart from that it had to be bright yellow. And not just the outside, but inside as well. Not very W&P like then.. So it was no surprise that W&P refused to build it, and instead offered him something else for the prize. Was something very ordinary like a Vauxhall Astra or similar. Anyway, he took it and everyone was happy.
I've done nothing to advertise/sell the W&P yet. Although I am still interested in selling it this year. But be aware that it needs work. Its been stood still for quite a while, so naturally the brakes will want seeing to (normal mini brakes though). And the engine was occasionally smokey too. But again, that can be sorted by a competent Mini savvy mechanic (I've been tempted to just get a new ready built 1380cc half lump for it, as they don't cost so much).
More importantly however. The Interior and body/paint are still in great condition, which is the key thing with a rare coach-built car like this. So its largely still as you see it in the pictures. Its only done 20k miles or so.
As it needs work, it wont be sold for an extortionate price of course. Having said that, its hard to put a price on a one off. But if you are interested, then by all means feel free to get in touch via a PM.
Cheers, P
Gassing Station | Classic Minis | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff