Live From MINI Meet East

Sections: Uncategorized Jul 1st, 2003 10 Comments

As reported by Timothy Sipples:

Mini Meet East 2003 gets underway tomorrow here in Orford, Quebec. I took lots of photos today, although I'm having a bit of trouble getting them uploaded. (That may have to wait until this coming weekend.) Missed the fuzzy interior Mini, but I'll be sure to get a photo of that when I see it again. (Groovy, baby.)

Most of the cars here are classic Minis. I saw Minis from as far away as Florida already. An Iowan (British ex-pat) drove his Indi Blue MINI Cooper S here, and we convoyed for about the last 80 miles of highway, passing a pair of classics with friendly toots, obeying the speed limit of course.

The drive here was long but relatively uneventful. One exception: horrible downpour going through Toronto. (I stayed overnight in Markham, right next to Toronto.) It was one of those torrential downpours which had a fair number of motorists parked beneath the overpasses, hazards on, waiting out the mess. The water couldn't flow off the roads fast enough, and I sloshed through shallow ponds a few times. For about five minutes I passed through rain mixed with peanut-sized hail, wondering if frogs would fall out of the sky next. The hail wasn't big enough to do any damage, thankfully, although it was noisy and made the road surface “interesting.”

They speak French here! As in, not English! I stopped at a bakery and had to struggle, pointing at various things and using my “vast” French vocabulary: “cafe petit” (small coffee) I managed, for example. I pointed to the ice cream case and said “verd” (phonetic), which means green — I think. Like magic I ended up with a “petit” scoop of pistachio ice cream, just as I requested.
Tomorrow (July 1st) is Canada Day. Happy Canada Day. It's also the day when the Minis (and a few MINIs) in various categories are judged by all the attendees. There's a gorgeous woody wagon with a custom-fitted wooden luggage box in back that's high on my list. The first day looks pretty uneventful if you're not entered into the judging. Otherwise it's a bit like getting your dog ready for a dog show: lots of washing and polishing and prepping. I'll probably go for a bike ride tomorrow before the big group photo at 5:00 p.m. Or maybe afterward. It looks like the planners left plenty of time to vacation, which is nice. Or maybe that's time to recover from all-night drinking.

Anyway, pictures to follow when I figure out how to get them uploaded. Please pass along any requests.

Sounds like a fantastic time. Can't wait to see the pics!

Written By: MF Staff

Jason

The Eastern Townships(Estrie) have some of the best roads in North America, made for Mini! Make sure to head over to Magog and North Hatley. It should take you about 20 minutes from Mont Orford. The hills and hair pins from Magog to North Hatley are fun! North Hatley is a real gem with its large lake and french restaurants. The Pilson Pub is a fun place to sit outside and bird watch! Enjoy! I wish I had driven out for the Quebec Mini meet. I have to wait until August to enjoy some clean Canadien air.

Cheers,
http://calabashcattery.com Peter Braun

Cool! Wish I was there! Give my best to all my Mini and MINI friends up there in Quebec this weekend! Hi, all! Debbie and Keith – send me a Mini, eh? ! Cheers, Peter
Timothy Sipples

Day 1 (part 1)

I awoke this morning to discover a note left on my MINI's windshield:

“Please don't be alarmed by the pool of oil underneath your car. It's only someone's idea of a bad joke.”

Ah, yes. It must be a Mini — that's Mini, not MINI — meet. The MiNi caste system is in ample evidence at this year's event. All in good fun, though. (I think.) You'll see some photos as evidence. For example, one Classic had a sticker that said “100% Free of BMW Parts.” Another had a sign that decried the BMW Neon, a reference to that Chrysler-derived engine of course, and that the car is not worthy of the name MINI much less Mini.

Of course, the dozen or so MINI drivers here had some laughs at the expense of Classic drivers. My contribution: “How can you tell it's a Classic Mini at a petrol station? Answer: The car's oil bill is larger than its fuel bill.”

Today was the big exhibition, with attendees judging the various Minis. It took me at least an hour and a half to fill out my judging form. There's a beautifully restored original 1959 Mark I here, for example, that ranked high on my list. The Mini stretch limo, built from “two and a half Minis,” is priced at just U.S. $17,000 if anyone is interested. It took 11 years for a Mini enthusiast to build, complete with 5 inch TV and VCR in the back (playing the original Italian Job when I saw it). Photos to follow.

Plenty of Mokes are here, including an Australian import and one from Illinois. Speaking of which, Illinois has a few other representatives here besides me. Missouri and Wisconsin are also represented. I have the only BRG new MINI here, oddly enough, so there were actually some people mildly curious about it.
Timothy Sipples

Day 1 (part 2)

…A fair number of the Minis are available for sale. I spoke at length with a British ex-pat couple up from South Carolina with a beautiful 1967 Mini sedan for sale, all original. I asked them if a “little old lady” owned the car, since it was so beautifully kept, and they thought that might be the case. They're asking U.S. $12,000 for that one.

Then there are just the plain bizarre cars. There's a functional flatbed Mini tow truck, for example. The Mini cabrio with the fuzzy fur interior is another. One Mini Mark I had been converted into a beach car, with open sides and wicker seats, in a beautiful cream colour. Yet another Mini was fairly ordinary except for the electric motor turning what looked like a clock's windup mechanism, to make the whole thing look like a toy windup car. Several owners had props, such as a disembodied arm sticking out the back of a woody wagon, hand on the door handle. A stuffed Homer Simpson sat in another vehicle. I also saw a summertime Mr. Bean car, with an armchair and parasol mounted atop. (Yes, people took turns sitting atop the Mini.) Photos to follow, naturally.
Timothy Sipples

Day 1 (part 3)

After much gawking, we all drove to Mount Orford ski lodge and, in a big open field, got arranged for a giant panoramic group photo. It look a little while to pull off, with 160 cars, including a few that were towed in, such as the limo. (The limo might have had problems with some of the road bumps.) Yes, the new MINIs were held in a little group then placed in the last row. Some of the kids ran from one side of the photo to the other, preserved twice for posterity.

That's it, really, for Day 1. Except for much drinking tonight, I assume. Tomorrow is the drive through the hills, mid-day picnic, and visit to the Bombardier museum, with lots of historic recreational vehicles there, particularly snowmobiles. I'm probably going to hit the museum first then join up with everyone at the picnic, since I'll meet some family here tomorrow evening. The pace is relaxing here, since there's plenty of time to bike, swim, go shopping, etc. (I did a little of all three today.) Mini owners can't be in a hurry. That's why there are four seats. One's for the take-along mechanic.

Next update in about 24 hours, and all the photos this weekend. Cheers.
Timothy Sipples

Day 2 1/2

OK, it's the morning of Thursday, the last day of Mini Meet. Still lots of Minis. (Yawn. :-)) Yesterday was less intense, with the (organized) rallye and then a picnic. I drove around the countryside on my own and met up with some family and friends for dinner. Today, though, is the autocross (driving around lots of traffic cones on a track) and “Funkahna” (trying to drive through an obstacle course with a Mini's controls all wired incorrectly — steer left and the car goes right, for example). I'll watch the autocross and (maybe) try the Funkahna, if I can get a slot. Then the awards banquet tonight, and it's a wrap.

Photos now delayed until sometime Monday, July 7. My computer has a problem and is out for repair until then. Sorry about that.

I didn't win Powerball. (Vermont is one of the states that sells tickets.) Nor did I win anything in the Mini Meet drawing this morning. :-(
Timothy Sipples

Day 3

OK, we're done! Today's autocross and funkahna are history, and the awards banquet just ended. Now more drinking and merriment, followed by long drives home for many, dripping oil throughout North America.

One new MINI managed to bend a front bumper slightly in the autocross, while a classic received considerably more damage. No one hurt, though, thankfully.

Illinois takes home some of the funkahna honors. (Two on the first place team are from Illinois.)

The Mini beach car, a modified Mark I, earned top honors overall as the People's Choice (and also first in the competitive Mark I class). “Killer Bee” from St. Louis got the top spot among the new MINIs. K.B. is a black Cooper with lots of yellow accents, and it also did well in the autocross rankings, although none of the MINIs did particularly well on the oh-so-tight course against the classics. Only one MINI Cooper S entered the autocross and, thus, it won that class. (Let that be a lesson: you can't win unless you enter, and if you enter you may automatically win.)

Mark your calendars for June 29 to July 1, 2004, for the big combined Mini Meet in close-by Rockford, Illinois. If you like Minis, you will be there. (If you don't like Minis, why are you visting this web site?)
http://bridger.us Gabe

Thanks for sharing with us the sights and sounds of this event. I can't wait for next year when it's just a couple hours away.
http://revorg.org/mini.html Scott

Timothy, it's too bad the monkey boy from North Carolina tried to spoil your fun, and I'm glad he didn't succeed (re the oil incident). Sounds like you had a good time. Thanks for the report.

Rockford should be a great opportunity for us next year.
http://briefcase.yahoo.com/timothy.sipples@sbcglobal.net Timothy Sipples

Got the photos now! Sorry for the delay, folks. I'm uploading them as I type this. Visit http://briefcase.yahoo.com/timothy.sipples@sbcglobal.net to get your photo fix of Mini Meet East 2003. Enjoy!

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