The Wilford Collection Pt 4: Minis

As I have spent most of the last two weeks studying Minis and creating ever-lengthening lists of what collectors may wish to search for, it seems appropriate to take a break from the gold and probably very expensive items and look at some of the more 'normal' models that I have available from the office drawers of the two Mr Wilfords.

Included in this post are five Rally Mini Coopers from the 1964-66 period and a reproduction of the Wilford family Mini from 1972.

The Mini Coopers all have a little extra detailing in silver and all but the Sun Rally 333 models have what seem to be unique Monte Carlo decals, being noticeably smaller than those on the issued models. Apart from the extra detailing, the Sun Rally models do look like those that were issued.

It is a little sad, perhaps that a Whizzwheels edition of the Morris Mini Minor was used! The old shaped wheels were a far better likeness to the real thing. Below is a 1966 advert for the Morris. The model is otherwise really very good!

This is a charming little item, with all the little details presumably added by Mr Wilford who then mounted the car using a simple bolt through a varnished wood base. 

The unique Rally Minis should fetch a good premium over and above the price one would expect to pay for the normal models and the company connection should add some value to the two 333s too which are themselves identifiable with the extra detailing.

The Wilford family Mini is just a delightful item to have and if you must have a Whizzwheels Corgi Mini then I guess this will be as good as any! So Mini collectors, get in touch and reserve any that you might like. These are being made available only here and on my main site at the moment to give our regular visitors and colleagues the first chances of acquiring them.

317, 321, 333 and 339 Rally Mini Coopers

'Monte Carlo' Mini Coopers were issued in 1964, 1965, 1966 and 1967, as well as a Sun International Rally edition in 1967.

The first three seem to be pretty straightforward, with just one version of each!

The 1964 issue was 317, with Morris Mini Cooper on an early base. That base was also associated with fixed shaped wheels but I think all the 317s would have free spinning wheels.

Some make a distinction of a pinkish roof as opposed to white. 

The 1965 and 1966 issues were both, confusingly, numbered 321. Fortunately they are easy to tell apart with different racing number transfers and different sets of jewelled fog lamps too. The 1965 edition had quite a different front end, with two fog lamps included above the grille in the casting.

1967 saw two Rally Minis. In February the 333 Sun Rally edition and the Monte Carlo 339 followed a month later. The 333 started as an Austin-badged type 1 casting and shaped wheels, surprising as cast wheels were generally available at that time. When the second cast type was used for this model it gets the Morris badge. There may be Austin-badged cars with cast wheels but I have not yet found any.

In a similar manner to the 333 model, the 339 Monte Carlo edition spanned the period when cast wheels became the norm and the change of casting to type 2. In addition, paper labels were used for the racing numbers on the doors, making it important to examine these models carefully! I am not sure whether Austins did appear with the paper variety as these had a comparatively short production life but good quality reproductions are available that tend to confuse matters!

For an explanation of the different types, please see my article titled Minis - the different types in September 2017.

Making a Rover 2000 International Rally Edition

One of my favourite Corgi models is the 322 Rover 2000 Monte Carlo rally edition. That's the maroon and white edition but in early 1967 the same catalogue number was represented by a quite different model. This was the International Sun Rally edition and was white with a black bonnet. These are extremely hard to find now and when they do appear they're usually at prices only rich people in Dortmund can afford.

Another collector friend said he was going to try and make one and so I thought I'd have a go too.

The base model was a 252 Rover 2000. I needed one at a really cheap price but it had to have an intact rear screen. That wasn't as easy to find as I'd expected and the best that came along was a maroon model with some pretty bad paintwork. Consequently, my creation has a cream interior and, of course, it should be red! I'm looking for a blue 252 wreck that I can steal the interior from and will then update this. I thought at the time that the trans-o-lite system was an integral part of the rear screen but now see that it just slots in to it. So I could, after all, use a replacement screen unit. That will make life easier next time as I can then use a cheap 252 or even a 322 with a broken rear screen that no-on else will want.

The 252 has three features that need changing (as well as the interior!); the wheels, fog lamps and front bumper. I can't do much about the front bumper - the 322 has what looks like an air intake below the bumper and no over-riders. the only base model with that would be an actual 322 International Rally model! The wheels and lights, however, looked feasible.

Changing the wheels wasn't too difficult. I had some spare cast wheels on a Rambler Marlin that is waiting for some repairs. To fit them on the Rover, however, I filed off one end of the axle, slipped off one wheel and then slid the axle through beneath the suspension wires. The wheel then could be put back on and, if I were an expert, I would have burred the edge of the axle properly. My friend had tried to lift the suspension wires to insert the axle without removing the wheels but the wires had become bent too much and he lost the suspension on his. Reversing the wheels also gave me some rather cleaner wheel designs than I'd had before. they're not shiny and silver like new ones but better than they were.

The fog lamps are a couple of jewels inserted either side of the Rover badge. I drilled a couple of holes and almost got them in the right position. The holes were slightly too narrow to take the jewel holders and, looking at how close the edges were to the existing headlamp holes, I decided not even try making them any bigger! Instead I dropped the jewels directly into the holes and they look pretty and pretty reasonable. In fact, I'm not sure how else I could have done the fog lamps without using a smaller jewel which wouldn't be right either. Using a 322 as a base would be a big advantage there!

My masking for the black bonnet area wasn't quite perfect but then I've looked at pictures of the real model and most of those have either the same surplus black or missed areas as mine! So that's OK, then.

The transfers came from a supplier in Milton Keynes, I think. They are excellent and just the right size, colour and material.

So, I've spent about £7 on paint, £2 on transfers, 60p on jewels and £10 on contributing models and I have to say I'm pleased with the result so far. It's not exactly right, I know, but a pleasure to have around until an affordable original can be found. Which may be some time!

And here's the real 322 model.

Scarce Rover 2000 on its way to Blackburn this week.

Rover 2000 Sun Rally Edition

It's not perfect but I have, at last, found a Sun Rally Rover 2000, the scarce second edition of #322 that came out for a short period in 1967.

Although it has the same number as the previous dark crimson and white car, this has quite a different casting, most obviously seen from the air intake below the front bumper. This also has the later type cast spoked wheels. Something I find odd is that it has the same racing number 21 as the Sun Rally Mini #333 that came out at the same time! The Rover has the number on both sides, though.

This example is not brilliant, with many chips and knocks on the sides but the roof and bonnet aren't too bad and the number plates are intact. That can't be said for the 21 decals, though. I am not sure there are any available to replace them as the Mini ones that you can buy have a white background rectangle. These would seem to be transparent. I suppose that might help hide some of the scratches! It does mean buying two sets, though.

If no-one buys this fairly quickly then I may see what I can do about them. There has been some touching up on the sides where the worst chips showed the bare metal below. It's not bad viewed at 'normal' size and I'm glad to have it photographed after a long wait. I will still look out for a better version though but they are so expensive.

A Sun RAC Rally Mini at the Bayko house.

The last but one mini has come along at last. Quite a decent looking #333 which has a large chunk of paint missing on one side but that's about all. There were no door transfers so I added some new ones which seem to be the right colour, unlike some that I have seen which are almost as red as the car.

The bonnet and boot transfers are original and sort of mostly there so I'll leave them. The new ones were from a chap with nothing better to do in Cambridgeshire. They came all as a single sheet, though, and so required cutting out before soaking. You try cutting those small curved corners! Impossible. But the ones that I found ready-cut were definitely the wrong colour so I went for these.

Observant readers may have spotted that the background I am using for many photos now is some strange looking building. It's a Bayko house, made from a set I had when I was 11 or 12 and of the same vintage as the Corgi Toys I had in the mid 1960s. The set is really quite big as I added several new bases and extra bricks and windows at the time. I was particularly fond of windows and most of my houses had as many as I could fit in!

I shall use this or, as time progresses, other designs of houses for future photos and not having a computer screen lighting up the wrong part of things on darker days will make for better photos too with a bit of luck.

This mini is the RAC Sun Rally version which has four jewelled fog lamps as well as the usual two headlamps. Only available for a short time in early 1967, surplus production, such as it was, finished up in the car transporter gift sets! Ridiculous. They were also the main source of the purple Rover 2000, the bronze Hillman Imp and the very elusive Whizzwheels Mini Marcos in blue. There is an article on that topic in my head but I'll have to do a bit more research first.

Wanted. One Year Later.

It's about a year since I had that idea of 'doing something with Corgi Toys' which became 'obtaining an example of each model' for a catalogue that I would create and share with the world.

Over that period I think the most remarkable thing that occurred was my inclusion of the Whizzwheels era. I really had intended to stop at around 1970, ending with the Rolls or whatever actually came last with 'normal' wheels or 'Golden Jacks'. Extending the list and collection to all the 1:43 (or thereabouts) scale models brought in a whole lot more. Many simply had to be included because they were the same damn car but with different wheels fitted and a different coat of paint. Others were actually quite attractive where a better design of wheel was used. Instead of being cheap because no-one particularly liked them, most are quite scarce and difficult to find in decent condition, resulting in some quite valuable items in amongst those ubiquitous black plastic wheels!

The other surprise was just how inaccurate many of the 'bible-like' sites that I had been consulting were. That is not to say that a lot of great work had not been done by the various people concerned but quite a few colour variations had not been well documented and I wonder whether maybe too much reliance was placed on that Great Book of Corgi. Putting them all together, though, we do begin to get somewhere near a complete picture and that is what I am trying hard to achieve. I am some way off yet and I know that some shades will be well nigh impossible to find. For example, I have been looking all year for a bronze Chevrolet Sting Ray!

It is interesting to look at just what is still to be tracked down. I have deliberately not yet sought out farm machinery or early racing cars. I am interested in the farm stuff but just haven't got round to that. The early racing cars do look pretty sad to me so I can't see me paying much for these so that is bound to delay getting them! I don't know what it is but they just look awful to me. Then there are several oddities that really do not interest me - commercial items mainly. Ice cream vans, Lucozade trucks, dog groomers and circus equipment can wait.

So here is the 'Wanted' list. In order of probable scarcity, based on production figures where known. [Updated 31 January 2015 and again 31 May 2015 but I've left my comments as they were]

349 Morris Mini Minor 'Pop Art'
224 Bentley Continental S2 gold edition
351S Land Rover RAF Weapons Carrier
281 Rover 2200TC
242 Fiat 500 Ghia Jolly
322 Rover 2000TC Sun Rally white version
422 Bedford CA Van 'Corgi Toys'
333 Mini Cooper Sun Rally
421 Bedford CA Van 'Evening Standard'
423 Bedford CA Van Fire Tender Mk 2
404M Bedford CA Dormobile
405M Bedford CA Fire Tender
412 Bedford CA Ambulance Mk2
513 Citroen Alpine Rescue
409 Jeep FC 150

---

304 Mercedes 300SL hard top
405 Bedford CA Fire Tender
213 Jaguar Fire Service
433 VW Delivery Van
159 Cooper Maserati F1
214S Ford Thunderbird hard top
305 Triumph TR3
404 Bedford CA Dormobile
210 Citroen DS19
202 Morris Cowley
408 Bedford CA AA Van Mk2
211 Studebaker Golden Hawk
301 Triumph TR2
437 Superior Ambulance
430 Bermuda Taxi
214 Ford Thunderbird hard top
303 Mercedes 300SL open top
434 VW Camper Van Kombi
206 Hillman Husky
255 Austin A60 LHD
300 Austin Healey 100/4
302 MGA
509 Porsche 911 Police car

I'm not sure where all the #255s are. They very seldom appear - I guess they all went abroad but I would have expected lots to have come on the market by now. The 509 Porsche is easy to find, I just haven't found one at the right (low) price with its beacon on the side intact and stickers in reasonable order. The Healey, MGA and TR2 and 3 are quite difficult to get in good condition at a modest price. There are plenty if you pay lots but I am not sure why with so many sold. It may be that the screens were very vulnerable and, once broken, have been discarded so the numbers surviving are significantly lower.

Those above the line have had less than 150000 made so are seriously scarce although the Jeep and Bedford CA vans are not fetching much at the moment so I am hoping sellers haven't looked too closely at their models. The M or Mk2 can make a big difference.

Whilst I can find almost all of these today, the prices for many are pretty high, extremely so in some cases, and I prefer to try and find a played-with model at a reasonable price that I can clean up a bit than purchase some shiny example that has been kept in a box all its life and is being sold by a dealer. He must have found it somewhere - and that's where I should be looking! They may well be wonderful examples and well worth the money but I don't need that immaculate one.

So, it will be interesting to see what this list looks like at the end of 2015. I would imagine that the #349 Mini will still be there, as well as the white Rover. There are also some colour variations that I haven't included here - like another white Rover (the #275) and other colours of the Jaguar Mk X #238. I don't know how the total production figures break down for those and there could be quite a lot more added if they were to be taken into account. Things like a Kingfisher blue Chrysler Imperial, for instance, I think are going to be really difficult to find. And that bronze Sting Ray.