Al Frost came up to me in Winona, Minnesota as MMEMW 2009 got underway...after he had set out for Hyder, Alaska (and made it) then wandered south to Minnesota.  He was told it was too late to register to attend.

I spoke to a committee person of some importance and said, "When someone shows up to Mini Meets the answer is always YES."

Al was welcomed as he should have been with no questions asked.  Al knew that he might not make the trip to Alaska and back, that if he did, he might not get a Meet goody bag, Meet regalia and ticket to the Banquet...that was OK with him and so it should be with every organizer of that Mini Meet and every Mini Meet going foreward.

That was it Chuck. Thanks.

Mal, close to my saying of, "If I had to sell all my Minis except one, I'd keep the Moke."

Mokes came with and have roofs, some even have side curtains and heaters.

If you read the background on the Moke you would understand the design (oh forget that i know you don't like to read).

If you have never owned one Robster it is hard to understand the attraction but as more than one person has said "if i had to sell off some Mini's and keep one it would be my Moke."

HAHAHA!!! can't stop laughing here !!!  golfcart in a highway?!! lol..  but yeah why is moke designed like that??!  and why would someone drive a moke in a highway, lol windshield is so tiny and there is no roof, my wig will fly away at 70mph. lol.... but anyhow, moke belongs to the mini family, i love it whatever it is. as long as its a mini

Bob Overdorf did that trip with him also and previously he had done a 10k mile round the Country plus trip with only a head gasket failure which he fixed on the side of the road. He also did a long trip in a Moke around 6k miles or so that was when he got pulled over on the Interstate for driving on the Interstate in a golf cart, true story.

Did Phil still bought the car despite the U joint thing failure??.... but oh my goodness he shouldve paid you 3x the cost for driving that long distance.  and what month was that?  if it was from june to august, the temp here in az wouldve been around 130F....car with no A/C  along interstate 8 spells disaster.

hahaha but yeah some wouldnt want friends to see them driving a mini,  my friends always sees me driving it,they smile ,laugh,and ask hey whyyy do you drive that?? i always tell them,  "it's a Mini thing, you would'nt understand".... lol...we are all under the "mini" spell , lol

"...not a document, not even a theory but somebody else's horrible experience, remember what happened to tvander? the lower front support shaft that holds the lower control arm of his mini, the nut came off his mini and caused him to lose control, that is due to road vibration, if the vibration can loosen a huge nut, how much more those little tiny nuts inside the dizzy holding the points in place, plus it's a constantly moving part, dizzy shaft rotates at high speed creating vibration..."

Please stop trying to pass off your wild ideas as facts.
I have no idea what an improperly installed* part on the front suspension has to do with points ignition. Folks have been running points a lot longer than electronic ignition systems.

*-I'm making the assumption that there was something wrong in the installation of the part. My Moke went over forty years without issue in that area.

In 92, while stationed in England, I shipped a Wolseley Hornet to Charleston in order to have a vehicle to drive to the Mini Meets.  Picked up the Hornet and drove to Knoxville to pick up my son, then to Ohio for MME.  While there I put the car up for sale.  Only one person expressed real interest, but he lived in California.  Phil Cook said if I would take the car to MMW in Arizona that he would purchase it there.  As I had planned on selling the car while I was home on leave, it was clear that a trip to AZ was in order.  Left MME and headed back to TN to drop off son (who at 7 yrs would not likely have been a good cross country traveller) and then headed to AZ.  Arrived during the Mini Meet and sold the Hornet.  After closing the deal, Phil reminded me that he lived in CA, which was still quite a distance from where we were at.  Long story short, Phil paid me to drive the Hornet on to Simi Valley so he didn't have to return to AZ and retrieve the car.  The only issue I hac with the Mini was that one leg of the rubber U joints came apart just as we hit LA traffic.  Car made an awful sound and vibration was even worse.  After confirming the car would still pull under it's own power (at no more than 45 mph to avoid vibration) we continued on to Simi Valley.  Scarry driving thru LA at 45 mph, but we made it. 

Now, as to driving a MNI, I personally wouldn't drive one across town...sure they may be fun to drive, but would you want your friends to see you in one?

Cheers, Hugh

Thanks for all the replies guys. As I suspected...it's a lifestyle . I'm really glad I found this place.

Compaired to the points system the electronic igntion system is relatively new.

I'd say a points distributor in good shape should be good for atleast 20-30 K with adjustments along the way for wear.

Points system is easier to trouble shoot and easier to fix. Most people don't have issues with the points in a distributor.

I'm not sure you do either.

What would Jeremy Thorpe do ? 

not a document, not even a theory but somebody else's horrible experience, remember what happened to tvander? the lower front support shaft that holds the lower control arm of his mini, the nut came off his mini and caused him to lose control, that is due to road vibration, if the vibration can loosen a huge nut, how much more those little tiny nuts inside the dizzy holding the points in place, plus it's a constantly moving part, dizzy shaft rotates at high speed creating vibration

ill document this, lol

Can't remember when I last felt road vibration......Oakland quake?...or was that bridge vibration.  I think there were a few cars in that one with more than points failure.

Please show me any document that says "road vibration can easily upset the points settings"
How do you come up with this stuff?
 

Al Frost drove from Florida to Alaska and back. He departed Florida without even having the paint dry (no kidding). His son, Brandon, joined him for much of the trip. Possibly all of the trip. They don't do the internet posting thing--  But they are the most iron-butt Mini guys I've ever met.

Whee, may i ask, did you have the electronic distributor system or the points system?  since iam new to mini id like to ask can a mini with a points dizzy do a hundred or thousand mile trip? i mean points system as we all know has a lot of moving parts/ friction and all that , and i mean moving parts can get tired and wear,  road vibration can easily upset the points settings., the spark on the contact point can produce corrosion as well and upset the good connection. 

but seriously im impressed with your 1000 mile trip.

i really want to make my mini a reliable daily driver thats why im asking these things to get ideas... thank you

800 miles in one day on my 3,600 mile round trip from Costa Mesa, Ca to Pendicton British Columbia for MMW; plus I should get extra points for using my little racer as a hotel room for 9 nights on that run, plus more points for the car being the fastest mini in attendance on the Autocross course.  On the way up, was getting 43MPG at 60 MPH....On the way home, hit 120 at 8 grand in 4th a few times and still had 5th left.  I brought no spares along and didn't need 'em. 

Now, 5,000 miles in one continuous trip in a Mini?  I think that's gonna go beyond my level of pain tollerance.

I did 1000 miles in a day in a 68 Mini....

Well,  Mini 56 will be the 5th CMU event I've driven back and forth to, roughly 2,400 miles round trip each time. Maybe I'll keep going one day to get one of these badges

I know Ian...and every Mini produced in Australia until the end of production there in 1978 was a Clubbie!