The story of the British Motor Corporations and British Leyland’s presence in South Africa is a fascinating one. Quite apart from the political posturing back in the UK, which ultimately led to the formation of British Leyland, in SA there was the small matter of import tariffs, which were increasingly punitive depending on the percentage of non-local content in the car.

For Leyland-Morris South Africa, the best-selling model was the Mini, which was as much of a trendy car in ZA as it was in the UK. It was also popular enough to spawn locally built examples of the van and pick-up variants, which were assembled in the Blackheath factory near Cape Town using 50% locally made parts, giving the models some strange anomalies over UK models.

For example, the car we have here is a 1966 Mini Pick-up. Ostensibly the same as the model sold in the UK, there are some key differences between a British Mini Pick-Up and the South African ‘Bakkie’, which was primarily aimed at farmers and land workers but later became a cult vehicle in its own right. 

The differences include door hinges, grilles, badges and a lot of the interior components, as it was often the bolt-on parts that were locally sourced. With a payload of 680kg, it was the smallest half ton bakkie ever.

This example of the Mini Bakkie has recently arrived in the UK and is now ready for its next owner – but it’s far, far from standard…

The Mini has been imported to the UK from South Africa by the vendor, who sources a few cars a year form the country. A British national, he worked in ZA for over a decade in the motor trade before returning to the UK and now sources a range of quirky and interesting right-hand-drive cars via his contacts in Cape Town.

Prior to its import, the Mini was restored, painted and retrimmed by its owner in South Africa, while some pretty impressive mechanical modifications were also carried out. It is now ready for a new life here in the UK, where it is currently stored in Norfolk.

The seller has completed all of the import and duty paperwork relative to the car so there are no additional taxes to pay, while the DVLA NOVA notification and original South African registration document are included. 

It will be supplied with a full UK MOT, as although the car is exempt from testing the vendor wants to reassure the buyer that it is roadworthy. He is also happy to help the buyer register the car in the UK if that’s where it remains after it is sold.

The Mini has been resprayed in Nardo Grey and the colour really suits it, while the paint finish is fabulous, complemented by a raptor-style heavy duty finish in the load bay. 

It comes with 13-inch ‘Revolution’ alloy wheels – an all-time classic Mini add-on, along with Stage Two arches to accommodate the wider rubber. 

The original sealed beam headlamps are long gone, replaced by LED-ring xenon lamps that give it far better night vision than a standard Mini, while all of the exterior chrome trim has been renewed. It looks absolutely fantastic!

It has also been fully undersealed underneath to protect it from the damp UK climate. There are no signs of the underside having ever been welded.

It’s normally pretty basic inside a Mini Pick-Up, as you’d expect from a vehicle that began its life as a commercial model for tradesmen on a tight budget. 

But this one has had the interior retrimmed, with smart black leather seats, a three-spoke steering wheel and new carpets and over mats. It’s actually quite plush…

The controls all work as they should and the central instrument pod is faultless, with. Anew speedometer being fitted at the time of its restoration just 767 miles ago. Additional oil pressure and coolant temperature gauges are a useful addition.   

New red seat belts complete the look.

Under the bonnet, the stalwart BMC/BL A-Series engine comes as no surprise, but this is not the Mini’s original 38bhp 1.0-litre unit. Far from it, in fact. 

It’s a bored-out 1,380cc unit with Hypolite Pistons and a completely balanced bottom end with new bearings and a DY CAM ,connecting the block with the head using performance pushrods and lightweight cam followers. 

The cylinder head has been fully ported and flowed with larger than standard valves. Fuelling the engine is an electric fuel pump feeding a 36 DCD Weber Carb on a matching Weber manifold, with a 286 electronic distributor and brand new NGK spark plugs.

An low centre branch manifold feeds into a brand new sports exhaust system, adding a lairy soundtrack to match the boosted performance, which also sees it get a fats road and race clutch and brake booster. 

It’s a great thing – and it has been beautifully built.

The Mini is, of course, an enduring classic and in pick-up form is one of the more unusual Mini derivatives, highly prized by collectors and Mini fans alike. 

That makes this one an especially desirable machine. Not only is it a mini pick-up, but it is seemingly rot-free, great to look at and mechanically fit, with the added fascination of being a South African built model.

But the real treat comes in the form of the modifications – tastefully done and in-period, they deliver giant-killing performance that sits wonderfully alongside the truck’s adorable and cheeky looks. It’s a vehicle that’s impossible not to fall in love with.


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