1976 Mini Clubman Estate - the four door Mini Goes for a Drive

The Mini Clubman Estate replaced the Countryman estate and traveller, and the Clubman the Elf and Hornet, so the new Clubman Estate took the place of FOUR models. It had to be good....let's take a look around and find out
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[@pauledmonds3249]

My Grandad bought one of these new in 1976. He and my Nana used to drive up to Leeds from Coventry on a Friday afternoon to collect my sister and I when we were toddlers and drive us back to Coventry for the weekend. My Nana had a pack up ready for us, with tongue sandwiches and pickled onions and a tartan rug in the back to put over us in the Winter. In Summer we used to stop somewhere on the A38 and have a roadside picnic in the sunshine. My Grandad wore a shirt and tie and leather driving gloves for the journey. Great memories.

[@SubTroppo]

I how that they took you to see Kenilworth Castle.

[@paultaylor7082]

We had a 1975 P reg Clubman Estate in red (KJA 415P), complete with faux wood sides, from 1987 for 3 years, until the rear sub frame gave way. A lovely car to drive, ours had a 1000 cc engine and was very practical. I still miss it, my late missus really loved it also. After being without a car for six months, at one point I was made redundant, I then got a new job and company vehicle, we then bought the 12 year old Mini for £450.

[@RichieRouge206]

That first gear whine of the A-series is a definitive sound in my life. My nan had a 1984 Primula Yellow Metro 1.3L and I was fascinated with it. The tickover on a A-Series is like a sewing machine, such a sweet little engine. The noises and sounds of the Clubman really are - to petrolheads - the essence of driving. Superb video Matt, really enjoyed this little champ of a car!

[@davidsomething4867]

Yep Metro and Mini, you could always tell they were coming down the road without seeing them

[@weatherman10]

@@davidsomething4867 I could always smell when I was coming up on an A-series engined car in the late 80s on the motorway

[@markf4720]

Same here, my nan had a yellow 1275GT and friends mum a blue Mini 1000. I can still remember the engine oil / petrol / vinyl smell when getting in and the unmistakable gearbox whine. I was fascinated too and of course had to get an a-series for my first car, a black Metro City.

[@seldom_seen_kid]

Love it. Love it. Love it! My grandad had a woodie clubman estate, and this video brings back so many memories. It actually caught fire once because the battery cables under the rear seat chafed through the bodywork, overheated and set fire to the seat. He pulled over and put it out with his hands. What a man.

[@ceefeeshswim3772]

I had a Mk1 Mini Clubman with the wood. The sound takes me right back to 1979. It was my first car. What was the colour? Hand painted blue😂 I think it had a 1300 Austin engine in it. Sadly, I introduced it to a telegraph pole and it ejected me through the windscreen into a field. That was the end of it. Bits of glass came out of me for a long time after. Brilliant little car. I wish I still had it now, so much tinkering could be carried out by the amateur mechanic (me). Not like now. Love the content.

[@davidlloydjones752]

That colour is delicious!

[@farmergeddon7527]

XHO549J was my Mum's white and woody (with a considerable side order of rust) that came our way circa 1982. It did 6 years and was basically held together by Hammerite and the moss in the windows. The back doors were not to be opened in the latter years as were far too crusty and was considered far too much of a stress test. I think it passed MOTs based on them being executed by someone my old man knew. The car had been in a fire so had a new thick rimmed after market wheel with a big BL logo in the centre. I think the rest of the dashboard survived. My old man always had brand new company cars every two years but would spend the sum total of chuff all on a car for Mum! I don't remember it ever being unreliable considering it was 12 years old when we got it, it was just never in particularly good shape! On a cold day you always had the feeling it was warmer outside.

[@Londonfogey]

I remember that moss in the windows! Also, the battery was under the back seat, and ours leaked for several weeks before my parents changed it, giving me acid burns on the back of my legs because I was wearing shorts. My parents told me to stop whining and just move my legs!

[@davidhealy4534]

Yes my mum's first car was a Maroon one with silver trim . PRO 900R. Bought in 1985 or 86.

[@billb4089]

Had one in the 80s. Absolutely loved driving it, so much fun. Also very practical. Sold it for £200.

[@mpersad]

As soon as I saw the thumbnail I smiled - love, love, love the classic Minis! Great video Matt.

[@leefinney592]

It really needs it's proper seats putting back.

[@djmossssomjd8496]

I had a clubman saloon in about 1982...it was a wreck. Not rusty just shabby. It got a 1300 engine/box pursuaded to go in. It was a 3 seater as I am over 6' tall and I forced the drivers seat as far back as poss' and being an engineer, re made the floor brackets to make it safe. It was midnight blue with cracks in't paintwork so, a bit of stopper and a rub down it ended up midnight at the bottom and a metalic blue roof and A pillars...all from spray cans :-) As you rightly say, they ain't fast but when your bums 4" off the road, they make up for it easily. That estate your driving is cool. Those so called modern german minis ain't IMO real Minis. Thanks for the video 🙂

[@davidsomething4867]

Oh my days, my first car was a 1976 Mini Clubman (reg *** 578P), 15 shades of rust, the suspension collapsed and I could not get the old part off, got nicked on xmas eve and found 2 weeks later about 30 miles away, they got in by the sliding windows we think but could of been lousy locks. A lot of memories as my first car back in the late 80's. Car cost me £285 and the insurance was £265.

[@anthonystevens8683]

I owned one of these, with the 10H engine (1098cc or something) in a sort of olive green with the darker 'wood' panels. It was brilliant and arguably the best handling car that I've owned to date. OK it had been attacked by the dreaded metal moth but was in pretty good shape. Mine was original when I got it but I did fit a stereo cassette player (no radio). I only sold it after a friend who was starting university really needed a car more than I did. Somehow I wish I had kept it longer but I was in my 20's then and knew no better. We live and learn.... well we live anyway. Great video and thanks for sharing as it brought some fond memories back.

[@georgejohnson1498]

I failed my first car drive test in one just like this. That was a week after my seventeenth birthday, and the testers don't like that. Obviously no lessons! I failed on improper use of the clutch. Have grown up round farm tractors with crash straight cut gears, it is actually easier to change gears without using the clutch at all once moving. Just co-ordinate the engine rev to the speed and bob's your uncle. Unfortunately I did exactly the same thing in the car! The tester asked me what I was used to, "Ten ton truck, perhaps?" "Farm tractors." "That figures!" He then said I needed o learn how to drive a car, not just apply lorry and tractor techniques! I failed again, only passing the third go ... We also had a Mini Pick-up, which was a hoot! Best wishes from George

[@ncjunkgoian]

My Granddad had a white mini clubman and used to pick us up from primary School every thursday with a Shortbread as a treat. So many memories watching this, his was a white one with the fake wood and it was wonderful.

[@TheStobb50]

Funny enough I was just telling my son today you haven’t driven until you’ve driven an original mini it’s an experience that’s exhilarating exciting and out of this world experience, they are good as well I’ve had quite a few mines over the years

[@unbalancedcrank]

This one would definitely ride and drive better if the suspension was reinstated correctly. Teenagers might think it looks sick or whatever, but a lifetime of experience in road and various sports has shown me that Moulton was right, the modders are just wrong.

[@goclunker]

Not when you get proper coilovers, which doesn’t apply here obviously

[@unbalancedcrank]

But that takes away half of the Mininess from the Mini. Issigonis without Moulton could not have created it. Therefore coilovers are not “proper” cone or hydrolastic are proper.

[@goclunker]

@@unbalancedcrank hence why i said not applicable here. I am saying in general, good quality coil overs like bilstein pss9s ride lightyears better than oem on cars that have coil over shock suspension. You can’t throw all suspensions into one basket. Bilstein is not maxpeedingrods

[@nygelmiller5293]

To velocipedium. Quite Right! And those silly skinny tyres today are NOT only uncomfortable, but BURST on potholes! (SURPRISE, SURPRISE!) If they insist on having such skinny tyres, at least they should man-up/woman-up , and have SOLID rubber tyres, like on the very first cars, which DID have thinner tyres! The arrogant "designers" of today would have designed the Titanic WITH a hole in it from the start, and have thought "what's WRONG with THAT?"

[@nygelmiller5293]

To Go Clunker. I don't have experience of all of these suspensions- but the Moulton company DOES do a coil spring replacement for Minis, called SMOOTHER RIDE.

[@johang7498]

Though it has been often criticized, I always quite liked that square nose with cortina mk. 2-ish grille on the mini. Especially combined with the estate body. Looks like this was a fun experience and indeed again something very different after last weeks supra. Highly enjoyable, your "goes for a drives".

[@richardhargrave6082]

My first car was a 1976 1098 Clubman Estate. White, with fake wood on the sides and blue interior I changed the steering wheel of a faux leather Mountey wheel, much nicer in the hand The handling was fantastic, but the drum brakes were awful, but it teaches you about momentum and anticipation very quickly! It rusted a lot and broke down a lot, most cars from the 70's did that! It felt big inside and I look back with great affection, my sister had one of the last Issigonis Coopers and it rusted in the same places and had a better heater, two speeds! Great memories

[@buddy8225]

This is one of the coolest minis I ever seen. Awesome. Love the color. 🐸

[@thedeadstig123]

Also I remember the clubman always been hated by mini purists, you would get people buying clubman estates to fit the round nose on them, clubmans always seemed to be the cheapest way into owning a mini but about 10-12 years ago the price started creeping up and now the rarity value a clubman costs more than a standard mini 1000 of the 70s or 1275GT

[@rockall66]

Same as those idiots who bought perfectly nice rubber bumper MGB's & retroactively changed them to chrome bumper models, which they never were.

[@piuthemagicman]

@@rockall66 idiots? lol, a rubber bumper purist.

[@MrStabby19812]

With you talking about front end swapping it gave an idea. And yes somone has put a clubman front onto a Riley

[@coops206]

That A series whine brought back happy memories of my youth. My dad had several minis in various flavours over the years.

[@jasonfryer2090]

Great with you bringing back memories of my mum’s red 1981 W Reg mini Clubman estate HL with the dog in the boot and the first car I drove! Captivating, fun and happy memories!

[@giulianomarco]

My dad bought a new silver X-reg one in 1981. He loved it. We went down to Cornwall on holiday in it. 😁👍

[@manofthehour6856]

Love the Clubman! My familiarity with it in the States growing up was in the Dinky Toys Catalog! I liked the updated 70s albeit less distinctive look of this model. And a good name, too! Such a sensible vehicle in estate form! The modern MINIs are interesting, but the size continues to balloon with each new generation.

[@eclectarama]

Such a joy to watch. That sound is so incredibly evocative of growing up in England during the 70s and 80s. Thanks for making this, Matt.

[@benc8386]

Great video! I love this colour. Of course the indicator is on the right stalk, where it should be. And the fuel filler cap is on the nearside. Japanese cars are also mostly like this because they drive on the right side of the road like we do.

[@annabellaandrewkingdon7972]

Except on the estate they switched the fuel filler to the far side.....

[@andrewgardner9615]

:"right side of the road" meaning the left and correct side of the road, obviously👍

[@benc8386]

@@annabellaandrewkingdon7972 I didn't know that and should have noticed in the video! Great spot.

[@kamrankhan-lj1ng]

No. That is the left side of the road, to be honest. Hence the steering on the right side of the vehicles.

[@benc8386]

@@kamrankhan-lj1ng Yes the left side is the right side. The right side is the wrong side.

[@agunemnon]

The Clubman estate handling was superb, slightly over square Wheelbase and weight of glass over the rear wheels made it so good when driven hard

[@seancooke7332]

Don't tell anyone but I always preferred the Clubman styling to the original Mini. One of the Teachers at my school had a 1979 Mini Clubman HL Estate in Brown with a cream coachline and I must say that I could not pass it without smiling at. You mentioned a sign of the times with the right hand indicator stalk. Another sign of the times in 1983 was Mrs McKenna swapping her beautiful little Clubman HL Estate for one of the first K10 Nissan Micras in Royal Blue. A sad day indeed. I need a Clubman HL Estate.

[@goosegog]

Fantastic road test of a brilliant little car (which has a buckled right rear wheel 15:04 ). Re: right-hand indicator stalk - it's the correct side, so you can change gear and indicate at the same time. Something pretty much only the British car market lost from the 90s due to imports from Europe not being fully converted for RHD. We got used to it and now Japanese imports to the UK are made this way just for us! Madness.

[@Scouty66]

I bought a brand new Miniclubman Estate in 1975. It was red with red upholstery. Based in the Minivan it was an extremely useful vehicle and was irreplaceable by a Hatch back. Although my car lived outside during my 5 years of ownership it didn't go rusty probably due to the fact that before I took delivery of it I had it fully Undersealed by Ziebart. In those days most cars didn't have underbody protection as do present day cars hence the rust problem. My present car (a Citreon Berlingo Multispace) is the best vehicle for my requirements since trading on the Mini. Although the Citreon is a very different vehicle sizewise, it too is based on a Van and thus is even more useful all round than the MiniClubman.

[@willswheels283]

Fantastic! I’ve always been a big fan of the Classic Mini, I’ve wanted one since my first ride in one when I was a kid. And a Green Clubman Estate was the first Mini I ever went in, and that A series sound brings back so many memories. It’s on my bucket list to own one one day. That’s a nice one, the front seats and rostyle wheels are not my taste bud each to their own, but at least the rest is original. Thanks very much for that Matt! 👍😎

[@badatfootball4698]

Great video. Oh yes, my first car was a 1976 R reg Clubman saloon. Great drive and lots of rust. The front sidelights/indicators on the Clubmans were shared with the Austin Maxi. Fond memories!

[@QuoPaperPlane]

UFN 781T 1100 Pageant blue with beige vinyl roof was my first motor and the one I passed my test in. Three whole years of tender loving care, up and down the motorway, 5 of us on a Saturday night going in to town and all for a bloody Ford Transit to smash into it when I had it parked near the sea front one weekend in Weymouth in the mid 80s. I miss her like a favourite family pet!

[@WayneSpillett]

Countryman and Traveller were the same thing, the only difference being that Countryman was the Austin version and Traveller was Morris's version; likewise the Rilery Elf and Wolsely Hornet were the same thing but badge-engineered. In 1969, all badge-engineering stopped and the Austin Se7en and Morris Mini-Minor were just sold as the BL Mini, with only BL badges, although your V5 document would still have declared the car to be an Austin or a Morris. Not sure if this reflects purely whether they rolled out of Longbridge or Cowley or whether the branding was used to massage sales figures for the two competing stablemates.

[@stevelanghorn1407]

Fantastic little motor & great video. 👍

[@rahmann936]

I was behind one Clubman estate at the traffic lights this year. I couldn't believe how low & narrow they are. Now my car is not a big car, but it looked like a large family car in comparison next to the clubman estate. My next surprise was, when the lights changed to green we were both turning left, & it left me for dead & zoomed off in the distance, I couldn't keep up with it. 😀 Modern cars have come a long way with their refinement, safety, reliability etc, but lightness equals more power & it was probably modified as well to take off like that.

[@MrAdopado]

I had a 1380cc modified hot clubman ... it "won" many an encounter with more exotic machinery ... including Porsche!

[@leedsman54]

My wife had one and we toured Scotland on our honeymoon in 1978. It was very nippy but went rusty as hell due to water getting in at the silly sliding windows. Good old BPY 625L.

[@fhwolthuis]

Cute little mini! Love your carefully colour matched wardrobe to complement the autumnal theme here 🍂🍁😀👏🏼

[@mattw8332]

In the early 1990s I was thinking what sort of car I should have as my first. I was thinking an early supermini like a Vauxhall Chevette or VW Polo mark 1. Mini Metros were too new and thus expensive. My brother in law at the time convinced me to consider Minis because he had a couple. In BL Mini terms, what I really fancied was a Clubman Estate like this one over the more common 2 door saloon. Quite why a 17 year old really thought he needed the estate practicality I cannot recollect! Ended up buying a round nose 2 door saloon. I managed OK less practical option with it in the end! I actually preferred the Clubman front end styling. Roy Haynes did a great job. He also was responsible for the Morris Marina.

[@SimpsonsClassics]

One of my all time favourite cars. Although our 72 example isn’t as pretty but is original! Great little video 👍

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

first car fond memories could fit a whole marshall 4x12 jcm 800 stack and guitars in the back well good. still trying to find my old one aaaah. love em

[@peterrichardson9248]

I had one the same colour in 1981. It was a right mess when I bought it but polished up well and needed a new rear subframe as the suspension was seized. The gear box had bad synchro but the addition of speakers on the rear seat bins and a 50 watt stereo solved and mechanical noises.

[@user-blaster_2012]

My Grandma bought a Clubman 1100 salloon new in 1978. On a holiday to Wales, my dad found it almost impossible to follow her because she floored the thing at every set of lights, every roundabout, and was OFFFF!!

[@stephenjcuk7562]

That car is a credit to its owner but I wish it had white and yellow number plates. I remember these in the seventies and those 60's black plates just would not do on such a 'modern' car. I think LED versus Halogen halogen headlights is the modern equivalent to this trend. Either way it's still a great little car.

[@davidhinkson8856]

Haven't seen one of these on the road in years! Had a teacher and a secretary at my secondary school that had these in white with the dark fake wood trim.

[@carlreading9916]

Can I just pick you up on a couple of things you said in your review. 1 - You said the Mini is famous for it's Hydrolastic suspension, this is not so. ADO16 was famous for it's hydrolastic, Mini was always associated with is dry rubber cone suspension, although they did try hydrolastic on Minis for a few years, in the seventies I think, but it was not a success so they reverted to dry suspension. 2 - You also stated that the Clubman never got hydrolastic, however I remember back in the early eighties breaking a 1275 GT Clubman to build a Midas and that definitely had hydrolastic.

[@themancalledx1342]

Absolutely love this car

[@TVtwarn]

I’m biased because I have one … but, THE BEST MINI EVER 😬

[@mikehall117]

My mum had a 1979 Clubman in burnt orange with the fake wood trim. All the electrics used to randomly switch off including the headlights which made for some scary moments when driving on the country roads in the dark in Herefordshire.

[@paulie-Gualtieri.]

The Clubman was one of the first cars to have a printed circuit board

[@seancooke7332]

Hope they didn't always get stuck on a rinse cycle.

[@Steve-GM0HUU]

👍Remember lots of Clubmans (Clubmen?) on the roads in 70s and 80s. Sadly, never owned or driven a Mini.

[@tz6414]

Ha , another car I owned, the 998 version. Didn’t get a lot of street cred to be honest. Remember the shocking drum brakes and the somewhat flat engine. The oil light would come on at idle when hot., sold it for £525., it soldiered on for another 5 years with the new owner. An absolute death trap to be honest.

[@purplerhodes]

Ah - my first ever car! When I was a student. 1978, russet brown (the parts that weren't gauze & filler). Used more oil than petrol (or seemed like it).

[@paulsuddes1144]

My first car was a 71 clubman in the same colour…..cost me £250, and then £500 in repairs in first month😂. I loved that car….so cool.

[@nigelthrower8025]

My first car was a 1966 Woody in red. I now have a 1979 CE the same as the one in the video. No rust! 27k on the clock.

[@stepheng8779]

Oh that's a beautiful end to the week & the highlight 👍 Apart from the front seats, a shameful act of vandalism

[@X-Typewoes]

Genuine question, not an accusation; are those wheels legal? Anyway, lovely car. My dad had a metallic blue clubman with rear bull bars in the late 80s, nothing but trouble but I loved it.

[@jjrtech7806]

My parents had a 1972 Clubman 1000 in white with the fake wood panels which they bought new. When I was a kid, it seemed positively huge but now when I see one on the road, I wonder how on earth did we all fit in it, it's absolutely tiny.

[@martinclapton2724]

Correction , This is the original 3 door Mini, 2 in the front, and two halves at the back ! ha ha 😂

[@gaufrid1956]

My youngest brother's first car was a yellow Mini Clubman Saloon from the mid-1970's, while my first car was a light blue with a white roof 1965 Mini. Our dad had owned an Austin A40 and a black 1965 Morris 1100. You could say that back then we were a BL family!

[@BillyNoMates1974]

Does anyone know how many clubmans were made ? These should have sold like hot cakes, finally giving the mini a kind of hatchback it so deserved

[@MrAdopado]

Lots ... they certainly weren't rare! I had 2 1275GT clubman saloons back in the day.

[@nigelrudd670]

Grew up when these were around mini 1100 special memories, some basket nicked my stereo 😢🤓👍 long stroke crank 👍

[@scottishcarenthusiastsandtrain]

Great review Matt, dare I say I much prefer a Clubman over a normal mini, a few years ago I would have been preferring the mini over the Clubman, nice little clubman tastily modified is a winner in my books.

[@diddleysquat6644]

First car, aquamarine with Formica fake wood, vinyl seats and a massive steering wheel😂, loved it, HBJ 651J. Had Goodmans stereo as well😂 Forgot to put oil in it and ground to a halt on the A3 near Guildford, recouped £50 for it

[@tonys1636]

Back in the day, I thought the Clubman was a ruination of the Mini, My 'Skin and blister' had one, similar colour as that one but a dark fake wood stripe, she managed to fit both her dogs in the back with them in a bit of comfort, A Great Dane and a Golden Retriever (both rescue dogs from Battersea). A bit tight if the four kids were in it as well. Side windows had to be open otherwise the three in the back got covered in Dane dribble before a dog guard was bought. I also think that the BMW Mini should not be called a Mini as it is enormous compared to the original, maybe BMW should try shrinking it back to size.

[@paulscountrygarage9180]

Great video. I’m always amazed at your ‘surprise’ at the right hand blinker controls. We still have them here in Australia as the Japanese don’t alter the side for Aussie market cars and, when we built cars, we used right hand blinkers. Nowadays, of course, they can be on either side and of my 4 cars I have 1 right hand, 2 left hand and one center of the steering wheel.

[@terryc8164]

Many cars here in GB had right hand indicators till the late 70s, or early 80s in some cases. Ive been told the theory is that with RH indicators in a RH drive car you can still signal when changing gear, just as in a LH drive car with LH indicators you can do the sane. Sadly the manufacturers went for the easy route of LH indicators for most markets. My first Triumph TR7 from 76 had RH indicators but a later model from 81 had LH for example.

[@Banglish123]

@@terryc8164 I heard it was because they put it on the right because you would use your right hand for turn signals conversely left side for left hand drive.

[@terryc8164]

Yes, that's what I described, albeit in a long winded way :)

[@asciimation]

I hated the Rostyle wheels on my MGB so swapped them for Minilites but they really work well on that Mini.

[@MacBob]

Learned to drive in a yellow 1980 one of these - PRS760W. After passing my test, the freedom it gave was fantastic

[@phuketexplorer]

The whine is from the useless gearbox, not the A Series engine!

[@simonhodgetts6530]

I’m not sure that Roy Axxe worked with Roy Haynes - he was still at Rootes in the early 70s designing the Hillman Avenger, then he went on to design the Alpine and the various Talbot cars. He joined ARG in the early 80s, after David Bache was sacked. Maybe you were thinking of Harris Mann?

[@BITTYBOY121]

Great car ! - Looks like it's either been dry stored in someone's collection or its been restored as these use to rust quite badly (like most early BL products did !)... I love the rare colour too ! Great stuff !

[@zoeyzee6261]

it’s amazing to see the granddad of my car! mine is a 2009 :) always will love the clubman

[@TheRealMick]

Excellent video, thank you! 👍 Lovely little Clubman Estate too.

[@paulillingworth1242]

A proper Mini Clubman not like the new mini SUV thingy

[@simonchaddock4274]

No mention of the fact the rear seats folded down truly flat to give the same floor area as a Mini van!

[@thedeadstig123]

I always thought the clubman was a good cheap way to liven up the mini range but really I'll never understand why BL didn't import the innocenti mini from Italy as it was a completely restyled mini with a Hatchback that would of been a great stop gap before the metro would launch in 1980

[@thistimeimhere]

I had no idea those innocenti minis existed. I Want one now. Lol.

[@thedeadstig123]

@@thistimeimhere if you go to Italy they are remarkably cheap, a few have imported them

[@thistimeimhere]

@@thedeadstig123don't give me ideas. I've enough of a habit as it is. Ha

[@danieleregoli812]

Absolutely LOVE a good old Clubman!!!! well done mate!

[@robertsedgwick1629]

hydrolastic? yes they did! The 1275 GT and Clubman retained the hydrolastic system until June 1971, when they, too, switched to the rubber cone suspension of the original Minis

[@MostEasterlySteve]

Yes, I had an early Clubman saloon with hydrolastic (which collapsed on me with a failed displacer one day miles from home so I had to drive home with a serious lean on the car and other road users staring with alarm at me). Much nicer ride with hydrolastic but of course the estates/vans/travellers/countryman were always rubber cone, regardless.

[@pauljeffries]

Great car, nice video matt 👍

[@simonhawkins8913]

My first car was a 1971 mini and had a mini Clubman ABIT later..out of all the cars I've had over 40 years, the mini by far is my favourite despite now with all the mod cons with cars of today!! 🙂

[@TheSecurdisc]

I had one, from new 'L' reg. Mine did not have tyres that wide. Has the one shown had 'spacers' put on the axles ?. What I do remember about mine was if you went over 60 mph cross your fingers when you tried to stop it. I did enjoy it it I must admit. Did not have too much trouble with it..sold it at 89,000. 🇬🇧

[@marcdelaunay1]

My old man had one of these in putrid poo green/brown….with that fake wood plastic side…lol….loved it and it out drove our neighbours jag xj6 on the B roads big time, loved it! Great vid, great memories…thank you!

[@Canalsman]

This example is missing the rain shield that protects the distributor and HT leads. Essential equipment in any Mini and added to the Mini very early in its history.

[@Mark1405Leeds]

The indicators should be on the right in a right hand drive car! The fact all cars now have left indicators remains a pet hate of mine today!

[@frankie6849]

Very enjoyable seeing that little beauty 👍

[@Levenstone132]

We had a '76 Clubman estate back in 1980.Little Go Kart! Damask red and Automatic.Unlike most autos it didn't have a big brake pedal,just no clutch pedal,bit dodgy in big boots! I doubt if I get in or out of one now,even without lowering! MKJ 286P, long gone now I guess.

[@DanLTjoe]

Love it!😍 My dad in the early 90’s had a 1976 Mini Clubman estate in metallic black but it was fitted with a 1275cc A series from a Metro, dad loved it 😁It sadly got written off when a van rear ended it in 1993 ish.

[@barron204]

If the estate model had a hatch back rear door, would it be considered as a “shooting break” model? I wish we lived in a world where this size of vehicle was the standard size.

[@danielrussell446]

Definitely need one on the fleet Matt love the clubman estate my uncle des who worked at longbridge had a 1980 clubman estate in russet brown with light brown interior went miles with him in that car he loved it! Great memories seeing that one!

[@grahamclark4518]

AWWWW so cool, mine will be shipped off early next year for restore, I've saved up like hell. Mossed my wee guy so much

[@Phiyedough]

In about 1986 I bought a Mini 1275GT from a dealer and it came with 3 months warranty. It was so unreliable I didn't see much of the car for that 3 months. When it was in for repair the dealer would lend me a Mini Clubman estate. I could get to work quicker in that than the GT, which would overheat if you did 70 on the motorway!

[@IanV999]

My first car was a 1973 Clubman estate. It was terrible in every way, but I can confirm you could carry an extra passenger in the boot!

[@Mitch-Hendren]

The back seats go backwards as well to make the world's most uncomfortable bed. I had two of these both succumbed to tinworm . In the years between panels being discontinued and then them being remanufactured . There was literally nothing left to weld on to . The engine kept a Morris 1100 traveller going until 2002 when the bulkhead collapsed on it .. again with rust from inside .

[@golach420]

I had a Clubman "saloon" in the early 90s, L reg. My brother had chucked a 1.5 Allegro engine in it. Crashed it on a farm road.

[@MrAdopado]

It would almost certainly have been an Allegro 1300 engine. Not being an A series the 1.5 wouldn't fit without some serious engineering challenges ... certainly not a simple swap ... and I'm not sure if it was ever even possible.

[@john1703]

That one has 1275 GT Rostyle wheels with wider tyres, probably 165/70. All it needs now is a 1275 engine. I wonder if it has the disc front brakes?

[@sghagon91]

Yes it has been upgraded to the front disc brakes aswell. But the engine will remain as the standard one

[@tavners8044]

Lovely!!

[@garethdavies7326]

Bit of a wobble on that OSR wheel. Lovely car 👌

[@MrAdopado]

Yes, the wheel itself is distorted by the look of it.

[@Roger.Coleman1949]

Great review Matt, looks like the short-lived Bracken colour rather than Sandglow although the ' wood ' looks lighter shade than they were.

[@lesklower7281]

The Mini Clubman station wagon whst a top little car so much fun l liked the clubman when came out a mate of mine had the panel van and riding in the back of it was an interesting experience