News : BMH launches Mk1 Mini bodyshells

British Motor Heritage (BMH) has long since been at the forefront of supplying panels for all marks of classic Minis, and complete bodyshells for models from 1976 onwards. What’s been missing until now is a full replacement shell for the Mk1.

Mini enthusiasts were given a preview on BMH’s stand at the NEC Classic Motor Show last November, and the response was positive. The first production batch of 15 bodies will begin in April, with deliveries occurring through May and June. The launch price is £9950 and the company is accepting orders accompanied by a 25 per cent deposit.

The early body is markedly different from its later counterparts – the major differences are:

  • Smaller: door aperture with different step profiles; sliding window doors with external hinges; rear window; rear side windows; rear light mountings
  • Different: ‘A’ panels and hinge reinforcements; cant rails; floors; sills; front and rear parcel shelves; switch panel; boot panel, bonnet and inner valences; front valance and number plate mounting

Since creating the prototype body, BMH has commissioned more tooling to refine the finish and improve the build quality. BMH has also used the later front bulkhead crossmember assembly as retooling for this non-visual part would have been prohibitive and opted not to form the rotodip hole in the rear seat squab; recognising that a significant element of demand for the new shells will almost certainly be for historic motor sport.

All enquiries about the new Mk1 Mini shells should be made to sales@bmh-ltd.com or +44 (0)1993 707200.

Keith Adams

5 Comments

  1. Very interesting, considering I paid £275 for my complete (1967) Mini 850 in 1975! It had the exterior door hinges & sliding windows but I cant remember if it had exterior boot hinges too. Obviously a lot of exacting work has gone into these bodyshells which has to be reflected in the cost.

  2. Will this be usable for street legal cars and how does it work out for registration purposes as a new body ?

  3. Nice, but a shame BMH deem themselves to be above later British Leyland offerings. Why no parts for Marinas, Allegros, Maxis, Princesses etc etc. Even a few token exterior panels like front wings, valances and sills would be a nice token gesture and profitable too given how many of these cars are now restored and how tricky (and expensive) finding original panels as become…

    • Dear Marinast
      I’m sure that if you gave BMH an order for several thousand Marina/Allegro/Maxi/Princess panels, they’d find a way of doing some. But the operation has generally depended on having the old tooling available, which seems very unlikely in these cases. Making new tooling from scratch at today’s prices is horrendously expensive, and this is reflected in the price of these new Mk I Mini shells !

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.