New member

[arveehawaii]

I actually applied for membership to MOALA several years ago but after I sent my application and check, did not received anything. I spent travelling out of the country so I completely forgot to do a follow up. I again joined last November 2010 and after few emails I finally got my ID and now a legitimate member.

I fell in love with the mini after reading an article featuring Queen Elizabeth driving a mini in the palace ground. My first mini was a 67 Austin. My greatest experience on the car was driving it thorugh flood with seven guys in the car. The water was at the seat level and drove it 2 miles.

My second car was a 1968 Austin which I drove to SCCA in Hawaii. It's blue with Union Jack painted on top. Right now I have a 66 Morris Cooper S. It's red with tan interior, right hand drive with rag top. I plan to to start drivingi it this summer and hope to start getting acquainted with everybody.

[whitebuffalo]

Welcome! Glad to have you here. I can't fathom driving a Mini in a flooded area. I get nervous if the water is a few inches deep!

[steve]

Water? inches deep? My Mini doesn't get wet; not even to wash it. A damp towel is as close to water as it gets. If there is a cloud in the sky, it stays in the kitchen!

[whitebuffalo]

Water? inches deep? My Mini doesn't get wet; not even to wash it. A damp towel is as close to water as it gets. If there is a cloud in the sky, it stays in the kitchen!

Oh, a fair weather Mini owner! Good thing you aren't in the UK. You would have to keep the car inside most of the time only bringing it out minutes at a time.

[woodymini]

In the KITCHEN ???? -- LOL

[steve]

If I lived in the UK, I would move tomorrow!
Bob, well, the kitchen/dining room combined, no room in the living room; is occupied by my Cobra. Nothing compared to Whitebuffalo's place tho; He lives in an old church building, in a ghost town, in the desert! When you don't have a wife to deal with, the possibilities are endless!

[arveehawaii]

The Mini was exported from England to Southeast Asia along with Austin America, MG and Triumph to provide affordable and economical transportation to the masses. Cheap on gas(40 miles/gallon), easy to drive on crowded tiny streets and doesn't take much parking space. Mini came with 850, 998, 1275 S and a delivery van body. They were used as a workhorse through rain, flood and typhoon. The 1275 Cooper S was also used on rallys and slalom against Toyota Corolla, VW Beetle, Ford Escort, Ford Cortina, Renault and Fiat. People buys them as their main transportation. Mine was a simple Austin 850, single SU, no radio and park outside with no cover. Paid $500.00 and sold it when I got a Fiat 1500. Where a car is a necessity and not a luxury, one cannot afford to pamper it.
When I move to Hawaii I found out that my boss who races on SCCA owns a Mini along with his seven Lotuses. That is when I realize the Mini's different status as a collector's car and not just for hauling produce and merchandise. To all the Minis here -"Lucky you live in America"! Thanks for the comment.