Mini Moke
| Mini Moke | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | BMC, British Leyland Portugal, Cagiva |
| Production | 1964-1992 |
| Designer | Sir Alec Issigonis |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Light truck/Beach buggy |
| Body style | Beach buggy |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | A-series, 850–1275 cc |
| Transmission | 4-speed manual |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 2.02 m (78 in) |
| Length | 3.05 m (120 in) |
| Width | 1.30 m (51 in) |
| Height | 1.40 m (55 in) (with cloth roof and windshield raised) |
| Curb weight | 406 kg (896 lb) -- Early models 578 kg (1275 lb) -- Later models |
The Mini Moke is a vehicle based on the Mini and designed for the British Motor Corporation (BMC) by Sir Alec Issigonis.[1] The name comes from "Mini"—the car with which the Moke shares many parts—and "Moke", which is archaic British slang for "donkey".[2][3][4]
The initial design was a prototype for a light military vehicle in the style of the American Jeep, but its small wheels and low ground clearance made it impractical as an off-road vehicle. It was subsequently offered in a civilian version as a low cost, easily maintained, utility vehicle. The Moke finally achieved success as beach buggy - becoming a popular 'cult' vehicle in Australia, the USA and many tropical holiday resorts. The Moke used identical engine, transmission and suspension parts to the basic Mini.[5][6]
Mokes were first built at BMC's Longbridge, Birmingham plant, but production was soon moved overseas. 14,500 Mokes were produced in the UK between 1964 and 1968, 26,000 in Australia between 1966 and 1981 and 10,000 in Portugal between 1980 and 1993 when production of the Moke ended.[3]
History
When Issigonis designed the Mini, he planned another vehicle to use the Mini's mechanical parts, but with a more rugged body shell. This was an attempt to take a portion of the military vehicle market from Land Rover. Issigonis had previously designed the Nuffield Guppy in a failed attempt to break into that market. By 1959 BMC had working prototypes of what was code-named; The Buckboard later to become the Mini Moke. These prototypes were shown to the British Army as a parachute-droppable vehicle, but poor ground clearance and a low powered engine did not meet the most basic requirements for an off-road vehicle. Only the Royal Navy showed any interest at all in the Buckboard—as a vehicle for use on the decks of Aircraft Carriers.[3]
Early promotional material made much of the lightness of the vehicle, showing four soldiers riding in the Moke off-road, then picking it up by its tubular bumpers and carrying it when (inevitably) its low ground clearance proved inadequate to the task.
In a further attempt to make something for the army, a few four-wheel drive Mokes were made by the addition of a second engine at the back of the vehicle with linked clutches and gear shifters. However, this did nothing to solve the ground-clearance issue and mechanical complications discouraged development beyond the prototype stage.[5][6] This strange vehicle was called "The Twini" and was shown to the US Army - again with no success.[2]
British Mokes
Eventually BMC gave up on the idea of selling the Moke to the military and in 1963 the decision was made to build a civilian version; aiming it at farmers and other light commercial applications. The Moke was launched onto the British market in 1964. The British Customs and Excise department decided that the Moke should be classified as a passenger car rather than as a commercial vehicle which meant that it attracted purchase tax; damaging sales in its intended commercial market.[7]
The Moke attracted attention as a 'cult' vehicle as a result of the unprecedented success of the Mini and through media exposure in the popular television series 'The Prisoner'.[8] Despite this, of the 14,500 British Mokes sold, only about a tenth of them stayed in Britain.[3] Mokes continued to be made in Britain until 1968.
The British-made Mokes were fitted with a low-end 850 cc engine which had been tuned to run on low-octane fuel. They used the same supension, gearbox and 25 cm (10 inch) wheels as the standard Mini. In the initial offering, passenger seats, grab handles, heater, windscreen washer and a removable canvas top were all optional equipment delivered separately from the vehicle. Owners had to bolt these optional extras onto the vehicle themselves.[5] The base price was GB£405.[9] The only colour available was "Spruce Green".[3]
Australian Mokes
Mokes were built in Australia from 1966 to 1981. Australian Mokes had 30 cm (12 inch) wheels, which made them more practical for gentle off-road or beach use than the British version. This variant started with a 998 cc engine which was switched in mid-production to a 1098 cc version but eventually switched back to the 998 cc version to cut costs. Leyland Australia developed a variant called "The Californian" that had better waterproofing, yet larger 33 cm (13 inch) wheels, more comfortable seats and a 1275 cc engine. In 1972 these were briefly marketed to the 'flower power' culture in the United States. They were not widely accepted despite the addition of such trendy optional extras as nerf bars, a choice of flower patterned fabric tops, denim seat covers and spoked wheels.[6]
Australian Mokes were exported to many countries and pioneered large scale exports of Australian-made vehicles. Leyland Australia made much of these exports in its advertising. The use of Australian made Mokes by the Israeli army (complete with a machine gun tripod mounted in the rear) attracted controversy and media attention.[3][5]
From 1975 a pickup version of the Moke was produced with a 1.45 m x 1.50 m (55 inch x 59 inch) drop-sided bed which protruded behind the back of the vehicle. There was a cloth top over the cab area.[6] At least two four-wheel drive Moke prototypes were manufactured by Leyland Australia in the late 1970s. Unlike the British 'Twini' version, these used just one engine. One of those prototypes is now privately owned by an enthusiast in Western Australia. Leyland were planning to market this version but the end of Moke production in Australia in 1981 saw the demise of the project.[5][6]
Portuguese Mokes
As Australian Moke production wound down, manufacturing was transferred to British Leyland's subsidiary in Portugal, who made 8,500 of the 'Californian' Mokes in their Vendas Novas plant between 1980 and 1990. In 1990, British Leyland (by then called Austin Rover) sold the 'Moke' name to Cagiva - a motorcycle manufacturer in Bologna, Italy). Production continued in Portugal until 1993 when Cagiva transferred the tooling to their factory in Italy with the intention of restarting production in 1995 - which they never did. Since Cagiva did not own the 'Mini' name, the 1,500 cars they built were sold simply as 'Mokes'.[3][5]
This brought the total production run of Mokes and Moke derivatives to about 50,000.
Construction and maintenance
The Moke's construction is extremely simple. The body mainly consists of two box-section 'pontoons' running from the back of the car all the way up to the firewall. These are connected by the floor pan, the fire wall and a sturdy box-section cross-beam that runs under the front seats. The left-hand pontoon contains the fuel tank, the right-hand has a compartment for the battery and a small lockable storage area. In an effort to improve safety in some 'Californian' Mokes, the fuel tank was relocated to the rear of the vehicle. Later Portuguese Mokes have additional lockable storage space at the rear of the vehicle. The optional cloth canopy has plastic side windows and is held up by a thin tubular structure that can easily be removed when not needed. In later versions this was replaced with a more solid roll cage. The windscreen can easily be unbolted and removed if not needed. Every panel on the Moke is flat, with the exception of the bonnet which is only curved in one direction. This makes it possible to manufacture and replace Moke body components without access to sophisticated machine tools.[10]
Because the Moke's A-Series engine, gearbox and suspension are identical to those of a standard Mini (which was still in production up to October 2000), most spare parts are still readily available. Because there is no chassis, the front and rear subframes holding the wheels, brake assemblies and suspension are bolted straight onto the monocoque shell just as with a standard Mini. Mokes tend to require much structural maintenance if they are to stay in good running order.[10]
Island Mokes
The Moke gained much popularity as a beach buggy and was often rented to tourists in tropical island resorts such as Barbados.
The car also found a market in Macau, where it became the official transport for the local police,[3] and the 'Happy-Rent-a-Car' company owned 43 of the vehicles which were made available for hire, until February 2006 when they were outlawed by new car safety laws.[11] The Macau branch of the car rental company Avis ran a fleet of Moke look-alike "CUBs". The CUB, which although it resembled the Moke, was designed by Charles Andersen of Liverpool, England and used an Austin 1300 engine.[12]
On Magnetic Island, off Australia's Queensland coast, Moke Magnetic still operate a large fleet of Australian-made Mokes for hire to tourists.[13]
In the early 1970s, a Mini Moke became the first motor vehicle to be driven on Pitcairn Island and thereby became the most remote vehicle on earth. It was chosen because it was the only off-road vehicle that could be lifted by the island's only crane—there being no dock or airstrip at Pitcairn. However, the rough terrain and heavy rainfall proved too much for the Moke and it soon broke down. Eventually, a second and later a third Moke were sent to the island and by cannibalising the three for spares, the island's sole vehicle remained running until at least 1988.[6]
Competitions
The John Player & Sons cigarette company ran a team of Mokes in autocross competitions on grass tracks through 1968.[4] These vehicles were equipped with rollover protection and used the Mini Cooper S 1275 cc engine.
In 1977, another 1275 cc Cooper S engined Moke (this time sponsored by Coca Cola) was entered into the Singapore Airlines London to Sydney rally. The car was driven over 30,000 kilometres (18,600 mi) over 30 days and finished in 35th place.[2]
Popular culture
In Australia the Mini Moke was a popular car for college students into the late 1980s, often adorned with the iconic "Moking is not a wealth hazard" bumper sticker which went on to become an advertising slogan for the Moke.[9]
Mokes were famously used as taxis with distinctive striped canopies in the TV series The Prisoner.[8] They also appeared in the Beatles' film Help! and in the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun where they were used as runabouts in the villain's volcano headquarters.[2][14]
References
- ^ Wood, Jonathan (2005). Alec Issigonis: The Man Who Made the Mini. Breedon Books Publishing. ISBN 1-85983-449-3.
- ^ a b c d Tim Nuttall. Mini Moke 1964-1989. ISBN 1-870642-94-5.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Chris Rees. Complete Classic Mini 1959-2000. ISBN 1-899870-60-1.
- ^ a b R.M.Clarke. Mini-Cooper 1961-1970. ISBN 0-907073-17-4.
- ^ a b c d e f R. M. Clarke. Mini Moke Ultimate Portfolio. ISBN 1-855206-90-0.
- ^ a b c d e f R. M. Clarke, Tim Nuttall. Mini Moke, 1964-1994. ISBN 1-855202-40-9.
- ^ Rob Golding (1979). Mini. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 0-85045-314-3.
- ^ a b White, Matthew, and Jaffer Ali. The Official Prisoner Companion. ISBN 0-446387-44-4.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Independent, The (London), Sep 7, 2004 by Giles Chapman
- ^ a b William Norman Staton-Bevan. The book of the B.M.C. Minis: Austin and Morris Minis, Wolseley Hornet, Riley Elf, Cooper and Cooper "S" Models and the Mini-Moke. ISBN 0273406957.
- ^ "No Moke". Macau Business. 2006-03-01.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Andersen Cub". Mini Marcos Owners Club.
- ^ "Moke Magnetic". Moke Magnetic.
- ^ Alastair Dougall. James Bond - The secret world of 007. ISBN 0-7894-6691-0.