Mark McGrath remembers leaving school and starting work as an apprentice electrician. “I was only earning £40 a week so I couldn’t afford to keep a car on the road. I used to walk to a workmate’s house and he would give me a lift and that is where, parked in his drive, I first saw this 1979 1275GT in Tara Green, a dealer option colour, with a dealer-fitted black vinyl roof. When I was growing up, my uncle had a few Minis, including a Mk2 Cooper S and then a Pageant Blue Pick-up, so I spent a lot of my youth in Minis.”
Mark was interested in this 1275GT and, after a few enquiries, found out that it had an MG Metro engine but, as he was on an apprentice’s wage, he had to be patient. “I saved up some money and then started to pester my mate, asking if he would sell the Mini. Eventually he gave in and, in 1993, I was able to buy it, and its original engine, for £500. It wasn’t in perfect condition but I was able to use it as a daily driver straight away.”
As anyone who has taken to the road in an unrestored, 15-year-old Mini from the
