Lot details Registration No: 10 MWL Chassis No: M/AUH/134510 Mot Expiry: Mar 2008
First registered on September 1st 1961 to Morris Motors Ltd, '10 MWL' achieved considerable fame later that month when it was driven from Oxford to Moscow on a single tank of fuel by The Mayor of Oxford Ald. Lionel Harrison and local solicitor E.A. Ferguson. Although, the six-day trip had been orchestrated with help from BMC's chief experimental engineer J.E. Whitehead, the pick-up was to standard specification save for a RAC sealed 50-gallon petrol tank, radio and spare wheel. Arriving in Red Square with thirty minutes and 6-gallons to spare (having averaged 43.18mpg) on September 29th, '10 MWL' was given a hero's welcome. Repatriated by BMC employee Paddy Howells and E.A. Ferguson, the Mini lost its oversize tank and mayoral regalia before being sold to the acclaimed journalist / competitor, Gordon Wilkins, on October 30th 1962. Off the road between 1966 and 1986, the pick-up has been in the current (third) ownership ever since. The subject of a lengthy restoration during which it was upgraded with a Downton-tuned 1275cc A-series engine (sourced from Alex Moulton no less), disc front brakes and Cooper steel wheels, '10 MWL' felt noticeably taut and responsive upon inspection. Retaining its original tan vinyl upholstery, the pick-up has covered just 22,000 miles from new (though, very few of those have been recorded on the uprated engine / gearbox). Reportedly a former Guinness Book of Records entrant, this historic Mini is offered for sale with period newspaper cuttings, MOT certificate valid until March 2008, historic class (free) road tax until February 2008 and its original 848cc engine (though, the latter will have to be collected from Wiltshire).
All successful bids must be paid in full by midday the day after the auction at the latest.
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