Bnicho's 1971 Morris Mini Moke.

[bnicho]

Here is my 1971 Moke I call Mopoke.

It's my favourite car, because it's such a hoot to drive and it attracts so much attention.

We have a lot of fun together and I don't mind if she gets the odd paint chip.











Mopoke is a constantly evolving project. I like to fiddle and change things all the time. The latest is the custom dashboard, and the seats will be changed very soon.

Specs:
1990 1275 A+ with four speed auto
HIF38 carb, sports filter, extractors
Nissan Pulsar ignition.
Honda City Front Disks
Hotwire 13 x 5.5 mags with 185/60 Yokohamas
Custom roll bar to CAMS (FIA) specs.
Home spray job in a Ford Yellow. DIY, so it's not great.
Inside and engine bay done in "Panelfleck" to resist chipping and make it easy to change colour if I decide Yellow is too common.

Why the Auto?

I drove a mate's 1275 Auto Mini years ago and loved it. So I decided I wanted the Moke to be Auto someday.

When I started building it I fitted an Auto subframe, planning to fit my spare 1100 manual (with spacers on the engine mounts), then fit an Auto later. But then another mate happened to be offered a low km 1990 1275 A+ Auto at a bargain price. So the 1100 is still in the shed, and the 1275 Auto is in the car.

The Auto is surprisingly smooth, and it downshifts when you slow down, like a modern car. You can also shift manually when you feel like it. It's great.

Yes, it saps some power, but when the car only weighs 550kg, you don't need much power to have fun.

The Auto has a 3.2 diff, but like all FWD A series autos the drop gears are not 1:1 like a manual. So the gearing works out overall at about at 3.7ish (can't remember the exact figure). With the lower rolling diameter tyres (185/60R13), that makes the gearing similar to a manual Mini with 165/70R10 tyres and a 3.2 diff. I find that a good compromise between acceleration and top speed. She sits at about 3,600 at 100km/h - our usual open road limit.

It doesn't seem to be sluggish at all. It takes off smartly and it does hold on to the lower gears if you keep your foot down. I'd say performance is better than a stock 1100 Moke, but not as quick as a stock 1275 manual.

Having said all that, I'm building a twin cam 16 valve A series with bike head and carbs....

Cheers,
Brett.

[JPB]

Now that's a Moke I'd gladly find space for! I love the AP 4-speed auto, way ahead of its time and an absolute must for me.
At 550Kg, that could be driven in the UK by someone with only bike entitlement (unless they passed only recently) on their licence since that's the cut-off point nowadays.

Lovin' that dashboard, a brilliant bit of work.

[bnicho]

Thanks, the dash took a lot of thought in the planning. But it was surprisingly easy to make.

The main part was simply folded by hand from a single piece of stainless steel on "Black and Decker Workmate". I then made sure everything fitted the way I wanted and cut the holes with a jigsaw before covering it in dense foam and then the vynil. Once it was fitted up to the car I made the end-pieces so they would plug the gaps perfectly. I'm quite pleased with the way it turned out.

The glove box is from a boat shop, chosen as much for the fold-out cupholders as the weather-proof properties. No, I don't drink and drive! The can was for example purposes only.



I also bult a small trailer to match the Moke.





Cheers,

[pryantcc]

Lovely work Bnicho! What a fun little machine to have. You get better weather than us for that kind of wagon, but nice to have it road legal and available for a fun spin whenever you choose!

Going by the Vic 'plates, I guess you have neither flood nor fire to contend with at the moment. Poor old Aussie getting a bit of a battering at the moment!

[bnicho]

The Moke does not get used much in winter. While the top is reasonably effective, the fun part is driving with it down. So I avoid taking it out when rain is forecast and I didn't bother fitting a heater.

It seems Queensland and Perth get all the disaster press.

Victoria has had a battering with floods, but not as bad as Queensland. A few towns to the West of me went partially under in January.

Last Friday was Melbourne's turn as the remains of the cyclone that hit North Queensland reached us. My yard flooded. We were one inch from getting water in the back door of the house and my back garage flooded three inches deep.

Driving home from work the water was eight inches deep over the road in places. My Beetle forded the floods with no problem, but the carpets are still drying out.

The Moke Club trip the next day was cancelled as some of the roads we intended to take were still under water.

The slightly worrying part is this is the second once in every fifty years flood we have had in my area in the last five years. I guess that means we are good for the next hundred now?

Cheers,

[bnicho]

I finally got Mopoke's new front seats back from the trimmers on Friday and fitted them over the weekend.







They are Australian made SAAS buckets from the 80's. I was given one, realised it was exactly the size I needed for the Moke and tracked down another. I then had them trimmed in yellow and black so I could keep the old rear seat. They are mounted on rails liberated from a Honda Civic and position me exactly where I wanted. I'm delighted with them.

Cheers,

[Luxobarge]

Nice one Brett - on any other car I'd vomit on sight at those seats, but in a yellow Moke they look spot on!

[bnicho]

Nice one Brett - on any other car I'd vomit on sight at those seats, but in a yellow Moke they look spot on!

Agreed! They only suit a flamboyant, summery open car.

Why people put colours like that inside the Imprezzas and Lancers is beyond me.

[bnicho]

I fitted a custom front bar to Mopoke today that I picked up on eBay. I modified it a bit, removed some weight and cleaned up the dodgy welding that was hiding under filler and spray putty. With a fresh coat of black paint it looks quite good. I'm going to try and space it up a little higher though, and will be fitting a slimline front numberplate so it's less likely to catch on things.





I'm reasonably pleased with the results.

[bnicho]

My four year old son and I recently went on a camping trip with some mates. The chosen campsite was about 350km or 220 miles north of home, over the border into NSW and on the banks of the Murray River. I decided to take the Moke and trailer. Rather than use the freeways I decided to use the backroads in a straight line to our destionation. It was a more interesting drive, with very little traffic and was actually just as fast.

About to leave. Even though we had the top up, Kenzie insisted he put his "Moking Goggles" on.


Crossing an old interesting old bridge on the way north:



Welcome to New South Wales:



Camp set up:





My son testing the accomodations:



Camp fires. The place all the world's problems are solved!





Fun in the dirt:



Echuca - on the way home. A bit muddier than before.



The Moke averaged 10 or 11L per 100km, which is not bad when towing a trailer. Usable range is only about 250km, hence the 25L fuel can on the trailer. I need to fit a second tank for touring.

Cheers,