Alex, I got the knob and love it. Big Al, the floors are very shiny but not for much longer...

As I previously mentioned, I made contact with the fellow who Robin purchased the 59 from. Hes been sending me lot of good info on its history. I guess he purchased the car back in the early 60's for $100. Kept it over 40 years! In the early 90's in underwent a full rotisserie restoration. Yeah I know people throw that term around but as luck would have it, Mr. Murphy took pictures. He indicated that the bodywork and paint was done by a reputable shop in Columbia, South Carolina (Pips Import). Obviously this is when the madness under the bonnet took place.

Jay

Alex:

That would have been the start of Robin finally finishing off the interior of Murph:

I firmly believed Robin never finished the interior just to be controversial, but those bare steel red floors were real shiny

Big AL

Right at the tag-end of MME 2003 in Magog, Robin bought an alloy gearknob off me.  No idea if he ever fitted it to Murph.

Thanks for confirming that Matt. Heres a little story that I was sworn to keep secret, but given the circumstances I think would be OK to tell.

So I finally find a Mini that sounds like it fits my needs. I drive north from Cincinnati and meet this really cool guy with a '59 thats quite a little monster. We shoot the breeze, haggle over a price and shake hands on a deal. I tell him ill be back up with a trailer and the rest of the cash. Deal is done so we just start chatting about minis, life, family, work, and..... This really nioce guy tells me he works with caning and filling machinery and he wants to show me something cool. He shows me a machine that he can use to "insert" your favorite adult beverages into 355ml "cola" cans that remain sealed as tho they came from the factory!! I say "thats really cool, but why not just drink Bud from its original can?". Well, as he explains, some professional sports venues allow people to carry in to events 6 packs of their favorite soda pop. With this little device, you could, if you wanted to, enjoy your ice cold favorite adult beverage in a very discreet manor (and save a bunch of $$$). 

Thats a true story. 

It made my day to finally be able to tell it. I hope you guys enjoyed it.

Jay

We all miss Zip, He and Jan visited with us in Niagara several times, he liked coming up to the Big Bronte car show-

I remember when Zip sold Murph to Jay, l believe it was at MM East at Columbus OH- I had made him my "Death Offer" but he politely told me in his sarcastic way to $iss Off( Good for him )

My next encounter with Zip is when l sourced "Barb" the white U K Moke for him in Northern Ontario, did l say Barb was originally from Barbados, thus the nick name BARB

And we all know how Barb turned out after Robin did his magic on it

Big AL

Yes he was still in and liked the ADULT beverage industry.  (See what I did there.)  He was highly dedicated to work and extremely passionate about the Mini/Moke community.  He loved making those kind of connections.  I am just glad the red car with a white roof and no interior is putting a smile on a wonderful families faces.  (Don't need pics but it would be nice.)  Also that car needed an interior, so do it.  These are the kind of stories the community needs more of.  SPG smiles per gallon.

Most excellent, Jay! The saga has come full circle. Thanks for updating the folks here on, as Zip used to write, "the bored". Good stuff.

Just wanted to update the post. I kinda took it upon myself to track down the former owner of Murph. I received an email from the former owner Jett Murphy who built the little beast. It made my day to say the least as I know Zip had been trying to track me down to connect me and Mr Murphy. Kinda cool to connect the dots. I told Mr Murphy its like Ancestry.com for cars!!!

Anyway, just wanted to let the group, and Matt, know.

Cheers

Jay

Matt,

Murph has not suffered at all. Kept indoors, and has less that 10k miles since I got him from your dad. It has remained pretty much as it was the day I picked it up. I recall being given a sheet of paper by your dad that guesstimated the speeds based on rpm and what gear it was in. Never had the heart to fix the speedo cable, I figured it added charm. Car was indeed from Gibraltar, 1380cc, Left hand drive and very fun to drive. 

If I recall correctly, your father when i met him was involved in the beverage industry. I may be mistaken as it was over 10 years ago.

If you ever get up to Vancouver, please dont hesitate to let me know as id be more that happy to have you take Murph out for a couple hours.

Jay

 

Hey, Jay.

I am Matt Jones his son.  I was asking around about Murph as well.  At least he got to spend time with his only grandson.  At least to me its ok.  Don't stress things always happen for a reason.  Great to know the car hasn't really suffered.  [email protected] 

You're missed Robin !

I actually was honoured in being allowed to drive Murph for a short while during the rally in MME 03 in Magog, QC.
I was very surprised how much power it had.
IIRC, the car was from Gibraltar or some such far off place I think.......with a 1380?
I recall it having a giant "nut" in place of a proper shifter knob, and the speedometer did not work, but Robin
sorta had it worked out how fast we were going in each gear depending on RPM.  The seats were "flat" as the cushions had
almost no spring left to them at all.
My first road rally and first time driving a mini with that kind of power (Big Al had let me drive a baby poo Clubman the day before)
Surprising what I can remember from ~13 yrs ago.

Good times !

Not at all seeing his face made my other wise soaking wet day much better. The smiles come easier with time. Steve (CTR)

I'm so sorry to hear this. I remember him as a very good person and I know he is missed by many folks on this board. I apologize if my posting has caused any heavy hearts today. 

Jay

Jay:

Sad to say that Zip passed away just about a year ago. Needless to say many of us here who knew him miss him.  He was one of a kind. 

Hey there Zip, long time no hear!!! This is Jay up in Canada. Murph is doing just fine. Moved to Vancouver 7 years ago and unfortunatly been out of the Mini community since starting my family.

Murph is doing fine. Actually dont drive him much these days as the 3 kids take up most free time. Going to be doing some work over the fall and winter months. Finish the interior (all black leather), new carb, intake and brakes (4 pot alloys). Will post pics when done.

Actually just posted some items on the for sale page to help fund the project.  New SC/CR gears and sracer springs from my 72' Pickup project that were never needed.

Anyway, its good to be back on. Take care and keep in touch. JAY

Jay works for Maynard auctions in Vancouver BC-

//www.maynards.com/who-we-are/our-divisions/

BIG AL

Jay Scott purchased "Murph" my '59 FrankeinMini. Just wondering what happened to him & the car.
Last we heard from him was that a wayward bolt had done a double salchow into the timing cover on the bell housing.

Edited to add: Jay and his family had an industrial auction business. I'm pretty sure he moved from southern Ohio up to Canada. (Pacific Northwest)
Reason for the post; Jett Murphy, the previous owner, contacted me just wondering whatever happened to it.