Untitled

makings of a real collector's piece. In
1995 the list price of this special edition
was .l13,495.
The appeal of owning such a car was
not lost on Richard and Sandie BolweIl
when they looked into buying a new
Cooper S from John Cooper Garages a
couple ofyears ago. At that time Richard
was a dyed-in-the-wool Mini enthusiast
and Sandie simp I y humoured and tolerated
his addiction, probably in the mistaken
belief that he'd grow out of it. Fat
chance of that happening.
The tables were turned when Sandie
was caught reading about the new
Cooper S in Minimag ("out of boredom,"
is how she put it!} and mentioned
thatshe wouldn't mind a Cooper S.
Richard grabbed his chance. A few days
later a package came through the door
trom John Cooper Garages. Within was
some information on the Cooper S, but
there were also some details about the
Cooper Grand Prix.
The Bolwells hadn't heard of the
Grand Prix until that point, but it looked
good, and at the end of the list of used
cars for sale there was a Grand Prix. It
was car number six and it had covered
just 800 miles, so basically it was a
brand-new car. Priced at some f3000
less than the new list price it seemed not
only a bargain, but a unique opportunity.
It was the same price as a new
Cooper S, but with a much higher spec,
and far too good to resist. "1 rang up and
asked if they still had it," says Sandie.
"They said yes, so I said I was definitely
interested and could they hang on to it
for a few days. We went up the next
Saturday and bought it there and then.
It was a real spur-of-the-moment job."
Both Sandie and Richard were well
pleased with the car. They were going
to buy a Cooper anyway, and were well
aware that when you add up the cost of
all the leather interior, the walnut, the
engine conversion, the alloy bits, the
wheels and suspension, and everything
else, this was worth five or six thousand
pounds on top of the cost of the Cooper.
"It was the interior more than anything
that attracted me to the car" says
Sandie, "but, after the initial euphoria
of having a new car, I began to get a bit
bored with the exterior. I'd park it next
to an ordinary Rover Cooper and it
looked the same, except for the extra
Right. Front ends
of Minis don't come
much better thon
when fitted with o
Zeemax bodykit.
Above. MB alloys look fantastic. Can we have
a set for our Mini 40. Mr Publisher Please...
60 MINI MAGAZINE AUGUST 1999

A~ firs~ i~
like
i1; 1;0 a Grand Prix
lights. Then I saw an article on the
Zeemax kits in Mini Magazine and
decided that's what I wanted on my car.
And the idea grew."
Sandie knew the colour it had to be
too. All the Grand Prix Minis came in
British Racing Green metallic, a standard
Rover Cooper colour, but Cooper's
own car -Grand Prix number 1/35 -
was painted a darker non-metallic shade
to match the old Cooper Fl cars. It also
had a cream roof and slightly wider bonnet
stripes extending onto the scuttie.
This, together with the Zeemax body
and wheelarch kit, was exactiy what
Sandie wanted to make her Mini classy
but subtie.
Richard was unconvinced at first,
aware of the implications of altering a
very rare and sought-after original. "I
nearly fainted!" he says. "I couldn't
believe what this lady was talking about.
Bodykits Arespray To a Grand Prix
No way!" It seemed like sacrilege but his
objections evaporated when they sawa
Zeemax at last year's Mini in the Park.
A kit was ordered the same day and
before long the Mini was sent to the
approved Zeemax conversion people at
the Diss Body Repair Centre in Norfolk.
Richard reckons they've done a
~uperb job, and I reckon he's right. "At
first, I didn't appreciate that to fit th~
kit and the larger wheels y ou have to
modify the wheelarches so much," he
says. "I knew that to fit 13-inch wheels
y ou have to cut away the front arches,
but here, the rear arches and inner
arches are raised bv about 1.5 in or so.
They've clone all that ancl blendecl it all
in, ancl irs a superb job.
" Ancl of course, a lot of the interior
has to come out to do the welding. It's
all neat ancl tidy afterwards, ancl even
inside the boot area is sprayecl up nicely.
They've given it a lovely paint finish, ancl
before the paintwork was appliecl they
sent down swatches of colour to confirm
the colours of green ancl white. It
was spot on. Shaun ancl Kevin dicl a
really goocl job, but if I'cl seen them cutting
away at my car I might have had
seconcl thoughts!" he explains.
Now that the deed is clone, both
Richarcl ancl Sandie think it looks stunning
ancl weIl worth the !1900 that it
cost for the work. One of the aspects
that further enhances the quality look
of the car are the 7x13 in MB Racing
split-rim wheels. Again, this was Sandie's
idea. Zeemax's Barry Perman reckons
that Superlites look best, but Sandie was
equally insistent that MBs look fantastic
as weIl. She's absolutely right too..
There are only a few sets of these wheels
arouncl right now, ancl they're beautifully
made ancl finished, ancl set off the
car to perfection.
With the exterior now to the requirecl
levelof finish ancl with that extra touch
of exclusivity, Richarcl made one or two
final modifications to complete the
transformation. Most urgent of all was
to r~i~e the lower section of the front
skirt ta enable the car ta get ta their >
Belaw. Thanks ta baredam, Sandie nawawns
ane af the best Minis featured in Minimag.
.
Above. Leother ond wolnut look like they've co me from 0 Bentley while the corpet's from 0 Jog.
AUGUST 1999 MINI MAGAZINE 61

Above. Grond Prix special edition benefited from a John Cooper engine conversion which boosted
power up to a useful 86 b hp. A custom stainless steel exhoust takes OWOy 011 the unwonted gosses.
house, which is at the end of an unmade to detail that makes this car such a gem.
road. He also made up some cunningly All in the whole package is so right -
concealed bracketry forthe extra front no part of the car doesn't gel with the
lamps and fitted a new J aguar-quality rest and there's just the correct balance
dark green carpet to replace the rather of well-chosen extras.
unsubtle red item. Judge the finished car for yourself,
This needed special attention to fit but of the dozens of Minis that I've writsnugly
around the tunnel, achieved by ten about within the pages of Mini Magcutting
and shutting, then bonding on azine, this is probably the one that I'd
to a foam backing with double sided most like to take home with me and
tape and adhesive. It's these little touches keep in the garage for days when I need
an enjoyment fix. It's not the fastest, it's
certainly not the showiest, and neither
is it the most costly Mini I've ever come
up against. But for sheer desirability,
Sandie Bolwell's Zeemax-enhanced
Cooper Grand Prix hits target ~
dead centre. ~
62 MINI MAGAZINE AUGUST 1999