The Mini racing green is one of the limited edition Mini's released in 1990, the same year as the Flame red and Checkmate limited editions.

The Racing Green, as the name suggests, came in British Racing Green with a Diamond White roof. 2,000 were sold in the UK for a retail price of £4,795. Featuring a crossed flags bonnet badge, distinctive Racing Green decals and white pin stripes (coachlines) on a gold background.

The Racing Green had sporting appeal and looked very similar to a Mini Cooper with its contrasting white roof. White wheel trims were supplied with black Mayfair arches, together with a black grille with a Mini grille badge.

The engine was a stock 998cc. Internally there were black crayon fabric seats, a 3 spoke sports steering wheel and a 3-dial instrument cluster. A stereo radio cassette player was also supplied as standard.

We picked up a rather sorry looking Racing Green in fairly standard condition. Most of the original features were sill there with a few upgrades such as Minilite alloy wheels and a Sony CD player. The car is a solid as you could hope for, for a 17 year old Mini that has not been restored. There was rust in the usual places, around both headlights, the nearside windscreen scuttle and the offside a-panel. It also has blemishes where learner plates and been stuck to the paintwork, after removal the lacquer had lifted.

It had a small dent on the nearside front indicator, the grille surround was damaged and the front indicators did not match (both Orange lenses but was was an early type the other the later screw type).

Besides being absolutely filthy, inside and out there were also mechanical problems. The gear linkage or synchromesh was badly worn, changing between first and second gear was fine, as was third and fourth gear. However moving from second to third or third to second was extremely difficult. The gear stick waved around as if not connected to anything. The usual oil drip was also present, only a few spots so not too worrying. The idle speed was extremely high, 2,000 to 2,500 rpm, not helped by a broken vacuum pipe between the distributor and the carburettor. Besides that the 1000cc engine ran well, although covered in grime and not showing any signs of being serviced recently.

The front suspension (not hydrolastic obviously!) had been rebuilt in order to give the car a fresh MOT certificate. A couple of new tyres and a few wheel bearings were also necessary, but that's where the previous owners cash lapsed. It's the age old problem, how much money do you continue to put into a Mini to keep it going. At some stage enough is enough and it's no longer economical carry out all the repairs it deserves. However fortunately for Mini's there's always the next owner, they buy the car with a fresh enthusiasm and budget. A little (or lot) more cash and time gets invested in the Mini, breathing life back into the car.

So, as the new owner, what are the intentions for this superb limited edition classic Mini? Well, it's not time yet for a total restoration. However a make over to fix up the faults and to prevent any further deterioration as best as possible. This should be enough to keep this Mini in the land of the living for many years, hopefully somewhere down the line the Mini will be rewarded with a full restoration (whether that's me or a future owner remains to be seen). One day pouring money into old Mini's will be recognised as an official disease! You know you are unlikely to recover your investment but there is a sadistic pleasure in doing your bit for to keep a Mini going. My investment in this particular Mini will be a lot of time plus a few hundred quid. Ideally replacement panels and a professional respray would be carried out, but this time assumes an unlimited budget. For now the rust will be removed. The panels will be patched up, sprayed using aerosols to make them presentable and to stop further rot. The mechanics will be sorted and the Mini will be back on the road.

After having some fun with the Mini, should I decide to sell it, hopefully the next owner will continue the work and eventually the Mini will be better than new! Having provided many years of enjoyment in the meantime.

After removing the headlights, bowls, indicators, grille and front bumper the rusty areas are rubbed down with a wire brush on an electric drill. A metal grinding disc is then used to cut out the rust, getting to shinny new metal where possible. What looked like minor rust on the offside headlight turned out to be the worst area.