This stunning 1961 Morris Mini Minor 850 started out as a CKD (Completely Knocked Down) kit which had been dispatched and assembled in South Africa. It was interesting to see the differences in welding techniques used at the South African assembly plant during the restoration work that we did. The Mini arrived in a overwhelming bright yellow colour scheme which had been applied in its later life, having originally been painted in Smoke Grey from new. We went about stripping down the body and it was soon apparent that there was a considerable amount of body filler hiding bumps and scrapes and more worryingly, areas of corrosion. Having said that, the corrosion was limited and we were able to save the original floor assembly with little repairs needed. The Mini went through our usual process of restoration and everything was overhauled, repaired or replaced before being refinished in its original Smoke Grey paint, which does infact look more blue than grey. The Mini had been a basic model and so the material for the seats had to be specially sourced before the re-trim could take place. Originally the basic would have had rubber matting instead of carpet but these were long gone and sadly they are nigh on impossible to source. Instead, we had a special set of hessian backed hardura mats made to keep within the bounds of the Mini’s original specification. Interestingly, the Mini had originally been bought as a 21st Birthday Present for a young South African lady who was still in regular contact with the current owner of the Mini until recent times when she sadly passed away well into her eighties.