THE RIGHT STUFF

If you were to replace those Rosepetals with standard steels and line Mark Baker’s MkIII up with a dozen other Minis at a show, we doubt it would get much more than a second glance. Lift the bonnet, and it would be a different story, but even for the Mini enthusiast, here is a car that takes a little figuring out before it can be really appreciated.

Mark’s involvement with the Mini goes back six years. “I’d not had a Mini before.

I nearly bought one in 2008. I went and looked at one but it was rotten and needed too much work – I was hoping to just take the engine out and do a few bits and pieces, but it needed quite a lot of welding and I wasn’t in a situation to do that. I’ve been around cars and Minis since an early age, I just like them.”

“The Mini originally came from my brother-in-law who had purchased it when he was 16 years old for £50 as his first car. He’d done a few mechanical bits and some welding, but as he was doing this, obviously, more and more stuff was coming to light