Historic Mini Racing

21/07/2026

We will have another Playmini car available very soon 😀 ....
This is a 1979 Mini Pickup, painted in Tweed grey with genuine Rosepetal wheels covering Cooper S brakes and wide rear drums, fed with braided fuel lines and the correct bore master cylinder. Suspension is generally standard about from the adjustable height cones. P700 headlamps, new wiring loom and all copper pipes ( fuel and brake ) The interior is boasting a Newton Commercial trim kit and seats made by C&S Custom Upholstery with a Playmini limited edition Moto-lita steering wheel, new Smiths magnolia gauges and Cooper S 130mph speedometer, roof is clad in cream crackle Cooper S material and sun visors. Many parts on this build have been powder coated for finish and longevity, rear lamp housings, tailgate hinges, fuel tank, subframes, suspension arms, master cylinders, pedal box, seat hinges etc.
The engine is a Swiftune bespoke unit just for this build.
Now displacing 1216cc and producing 88bhp @ 6500rpm thanks to Swiftunes exceptional build quality and design.
A 998cc cylinder block was ultrasonic de-rusted, bored and honed for CST+100 1098 flat top pistons, it has a steel centre main strap, line honed main housings, re-ground and balanced 1098cc crank and rods, built with ARP bolts. A Swiftune SW5 billet camshaft and vernier timing gear, CSI pro distributor was fitted.
The cylinder head is a 12g940, modified for high air speed, has new valve seats and race spec 35/30 valves with bronze guides and double valve springs. Valve pockets have been machined into the block to accept the 12g940 cylinder head and attached with ARP head studs.
The water ways have been modified to give better flow, Swiftune 1.5 ratio roller rockers & heavy duty rocker shaft have been fitted.
The CSI programable distributor was dyno mapped for optimum power & torque – even the distributor drive has been balanced !
Transmission – a 4.4kg steel flywheel and 2.2 steel backplate are fitted using a blue clutch plate, all balanced. Gearbox is fitted with a Minispares C-STN48 close ratio helical gear kit, cross pin differential, 3.44:1 final drive and central oil; pickup – built by Swiftune.
Fuelling provided by a set of Playmini twin 1 ¼ SU carburettors with K&N air filters

16/07/2026

The catalogue ( German ) that Japan gave us as the roadmap for this build

16/07/2026

Our Japanese resto build "project orange" is now finished and ready to ship out to Japan for some motor shows 😀

11/07/2026

Coming up for sale, a rare opportunity to own a superb example of the classic Mini .............................................................................
A rather special build by Playmini – this car has quite a few interesting notes to the specification, starting with the bodyshell and the owner !
The mk 3/4 bodyshell, was built for British Motor Heritage at the Longbridge plant and painted by BMH – this shell was on display at the Silverstone Mini 40th anniversary show on a 3 tier bodyshell stand in red, white and blue.
The car is painted in tartan red, the underside is colour coded stone chip.
Built using all original genuine Rover parts, subframes, hubs, brakes etc.
The interior sports a full Newton Commercial kit, carpet, seats, panels and S cream crackle head liner, trimmed top dash rail with Japanese vent finishers, alloy gear k**b and Cooper S ashtray.
Swiftune Engineering had a hand to play in this build with all the suspension recently having all the geometry and corner weights set, combined with the super sticky Yokohama tyres and adjustable front tie bars with poly bushes, adjustable rear camber kit, adjustable shock absorbers, genuine Rover suspension cones with adjustable height trumpets this Mini corners on rails but still uses the correct rubber bushes elsewhere to ensure the car drives as comfortably as a Mini can.
Originally fitted with an SPI running carburettors, we then upgraded in 2010 with the help of Swiftune, who built the engine, this is a 1380cc producing 100bhp, has Playmini twin 1 ½ SU carburettor kit, K&N air filters, electronic fuel pump, roller rockers, Swiftune modified cylinder head and distributor, Playmini stainless-steel small-bore exhaust, Maniflow LCB Lucas gold sports coil and uprated clutch.
Power is delivered via a straight cut close ratio four speed gearbox with a Quaife ATB differential and straight cut drop gears.
Brakes are genuine Rover drums at the rear and Cooper S callipers at the front utilising a Rover brake servo and braided brake lines.
Playmini door escutcheons, dummy twin tank kit, boot board kit, alloy interior handle kit, limited edition Playmini Motolita steering wheel steering wheel with polished billet boss, early heater assembly, wicker picnic under seat baskets, Smiths rev counter and three clock centre dials with 130MPH Cooper S speedometer.
Externally, reverse rim alloy wheels looking like steels - with hub caps, corner bars and overriders, Cooper S grille with quick release kit, TEX polished mirrors, chrome arch trim, clear glass flat indicators, halogen headlamps, MK1 boot lid and hinged number plate and MK1 rear lamps, opening rear windows.
This car was built for Nicks wife and used very little – most of the 1478 miles that have been covered since her birth in the year 2000 were her yearly pilgrimage to Playmini for a check over and service ( which was not really needed but carried out religiously regardless - using quality oil and fluids ) and a few local car shows – rust free and warm dry stored all its life this Mini is a turn key purchase with no work needed to enjoy and drive.
Road tax free as this was a restoration / re-shell of a 1961MK1 Mini 850 that was more rust than car and makes a perfect Cooper S replica Evolution at half the price of a genuine Cooper S !
link below for full photos of the Mini
https://drivebyshooting.uk/cooper-s-replica/ See less

10/07/2026

We have a bit of Playmini royalty in today for a check over and clean before she goes up for sale, Mrs Playmini's own Mini 😁

16/06/2026

Some footage from the weekends Mini Miglia race at Silverstone that was strewn with bumps, crashes and a fair few near misses :)

Mini Miglia race at Silverstone, June 13/14 2026

12/05/2026

Great shot from of Nicks little slide / off from the weekends race at Snetterton 🙃

11/05/2026

Some in car video from the Mini Miglia race at Snetterton. A few starts, a spin, a Mini pouring fuel over the track, red flags and some good hard racing ...

in car video, a few starts, spins and some hard racing

10/05/2026