"Hang on a minute lads"

Over twenty years on and still going strong...

Worlds first and only sets in existence all built from the original MK1 body shells (not Mk2 modified to look like Mk1 like others) with the first set completed over 20 years ago in 1989.

The brothers passion for the film meant only one thing! They had to recreate the Italian Job Minis to celebrate the Films 20th Anniversary and the 30th Anniversary of the Mini at Silverstone in 1989.

On its first release in 1969 Daryl aged 14, Antony aged 10 and Gareth aged 12 saw the film on the Big Screen at the Odeon Cinema Coventry where Daryl and Gareth were born. We were instantly captivated by the 20 minute car chase featuring the mini coopers as they roared around Turin (and through Coventry sewers) to avoid capture with the old "over and under routine"?.

As children the three older brothers on a Saturday would play in the river and fields where the sewer scene was filmed as their father played Cricket at the GEC sports ground at Stoke Aldermoor.

Four years later and Gareth is seventeen and guess what his first car was a Mk2 Mini Cooper POJ 121G and from the day he purchased it his plan was one day to build all three.

"I've got a great idea"

30 years on and still rolling on…

I purchased POJ 121G privately only a mile away from my parents house in Balsall Common in 1974 who I recall could hear me driving home from the pub as the car was fitted with a PECO straight through exhaust, The girls loved it, but it gave me headaches.

In 1987 I started a complete ground up restoration replacing the Mk2 body shell with a 1967 Mk1 shell to match the film cars.

"Why Mk1"- The car chase scenes were filmed during 1968 but used the 1969 Mk2 registration letter 'G' to coincide with the films release in 1969. "not allot of people know that"