Wolseley Hornet
Austin Heinz 57 Mini Mk-II
1966 Wolseley Hornet Mk-II (Heinz 57 Mini) Conjured up at a cocktail party in London, England in 1965, two members of the Promotions Department from Heinz Soups met with two representatives from Crayford Coach Works of London. Heinz was set to introduce a new line of soups in England, and the Promotions Department was looking for a spectacular giveaway item to promote this new product. · Crayford Coach Works, still in existence today, is a custom automobile coach builder. They helped create a limited edition car to use as the promotion piece. · British Leyland, (General Motors had a series of product lines, such as Cadillac, Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac and Chevrolet); British Leyland had Wolseley, Morris and Austin, with the premium mark being Wolseley. British Leyland had developed the now famous Mini, powered by a 998cc engine, run through a 4-speed transmission with the engine mounted transversely driving 10” wheels. · The interior of this Wolseley was originally upholstered in Connelly Hide leather and Wilton wool cut pile carpeting, the same as used in Rolls Royce automobiles. I found this automobile in Los Angeles in 1980 and after several hundred fun miles, decided to do a ground up restoration. New paint, convertible top. carpet, upholstery. The engine was rebuilt to 1275 cc Mini Cooper S specifications, Cosmic alloy wheels with lower profile tires were added. The original, approx. 2”x3” interior rear view mirror was replaced with a near windshield width Wink mirror, with sun visors removed to allow for the Wink mirror installation. When driving the car, the top of the drivers head is near the top of a tire on a semi-truck. Being this small, it is critical to know what is going on around you on the road. When I found this car, in 1980, there were only 13 of the original 57 cars still in existence, with only one other in North America. A couple of evenings after taking possession of the car, I received a call from the Seattle owner who asked what I intended to do with the car? I responded that I intended to drive and enjoy the car, that was what auto insurance was for. He stated that his car was in storage and was to look at and not drive. What a shame. This is such a fun car to drive; like a roller skate with a powerful motor. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. Many other documents available pertaining to this car and the location of the few left in as well as documentation on everything done during this cars restoration. Copies of two seperate appraisals are available upon request as well as any questions you have about this unique car will be answered. On Sep-03-08 at 11:29:38 PDT, seller added the following information: Original Equipment removed from the car during restoration will go with the car when sold. These incluse original steel whels and hubcaps, ashtray, and interior rear view mirror