Mini Magazine - Summer 2018

1965 MKII WOLSELEY HORNET
Looking unique; Mini
Special wheel arches
are a nice touch.
TECH SPEC
BODY 1965 MkII Wolseley Hornet, de-seamed
rear valance, Mini Special wheel arches,
standard Mini front bumper, waist line trim
welded up for that smooth look, resprayed
Porsche Miami Blue with a gloss black roof.
ENGINE 1999 600cc Yamaha R1 4xv engine,
bigger jets in the carbs, K&N air filter,
Maniflow twin box exhaust system.
SUSPENSION Spax adjustable coilovers with
adjustable front lower arms and tie-rods, KAD
alloy front hubs, alloy drive flanges, KAD alloy
rear radius arms with KAD rear adjustable
camber brackets.
TRANSMISSION Standard six-speed Yamaha
gearbox, with the Pro-Motive reverse gearbox
mounted on the output of the bike gearbox,
chain driven to the Pro-Motive diff with a
Quaife ATB differential.
BRAKES Goodridge braided brake hoses,
KAD six-pot front callipers with 8.4-inch
vented and grooved discs, KAD rear disc
conversion and KAD alloy hand brake
quadrants.
WHEELS AND TYRES 12x6-inch JBW Mamba
wheels with Yokohama AO48R tyres.
INTERIOR Alloy dash, Sparco 300mm steering
wheel, DSN Classics alloy throttle pedal,
Cobra Monaco Pro bucket seats, Schroth
our-point harnesses, Safety Devices 18-point
roll-cage, ear defenders.
Period-perfect YAM number plate.
The stripped out finished interior of
Tom’s Hornet is made up of an alloy
dashboard, with the Yamaha R1
instruments, a Sparco 300mm steering
wheel with a DSN Classics RetroSport
alloy steering drop bracket and throttle
pedal, with the finishing touch being
that set of Cobra Monaco Pro bucket
seats, with Schroth four-point harnesses,
which look great.
FINISHING TOUCHES
Outside, that Porsche Miami Blue paint
is far from subtle — but it works well on
the Wolseley with the black roof and
The man who made it possible, Tom Read.
“The wheel arches were a necessity as
the wheels do poke out the arches”
de-chromed details bringing this car
bang up-to-date. Despite the de-seamed
rear valance, Tom has fitted a standard
Mini bumper at the front to go with that
distinctive grille. The only other change
Tom has made is fitting a set of Mini
Special arches and more period-correct
12x6-inch JBW Mamba wheels wrapped
in Yokohama AO48R tyres. So were the
Mambas a nod to this Wolseley’s age?
“Not really, I’ve always liked Mamba
wheels as they have nice big gaps
between spokes, which show off the
KAD brakes,” explains Tom. “The wheel
arches were a necessity as the wheels do
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